Picking Through the Cubbie Guts

Looking over the rotting carcass of an ugly loss from the Chicago point of view, there is nothing salvageable to move forward with.

Goatskin gloves around the infield, termite infested bats, and a catatonic manager—hey, that's all good from the opposing Dodger point of view.

A couple of days kickin’ it in the Windy City later, the only baseball team in Los Angeles gets to come home up two games to egg and looks to close out the team that won the most games in the National League this season.

The Cubs were a prohibitive favorite coming into this series. Isn’t that one of the signs of the apocalypse? Well, the only massive devastation so far has been to the hopes and wishes of Cub fans throughout the country.

Which leads to a salient question: Why are so many Cub fans spread out all over creation? Could it be because the weather totally blows? Even a senator that hails from the state is trying to get approval to move eastward.

OK, enough about those flea-invested, fur-bearin’ varmints, let's talk about the team with one more bearskin tag left on their hunting permit. How can the team that causes Hank Steinbrenner's blood pressure to rise be slapping the National League standard bearer?

It’s because they are playing as a TEAM; they're playing through enough injuries to choke a horse—Schmidt, Garciaparra, LaRoche, Furcal, Bennett, Penny, Jones, Kent, Pierre, and Proctor.

Playing with a new manager who had to split his squad in the spring and take a trip to China, had to get used to working in a new league, and who’s 12-year playoff qualifying streak wasn’t good enough for his previous employer—FYI, the manager’s streak has extended, the previous employer’s got shattered.

A team that was floundering into August started getting some transfusions from its slumbering general manager. First was a shortstop that had been in the minors, Angel Berroa, a slick fielder who was not known for his hitting prowess. In the last two months, he found his stroke, making him far from an easy out.

Up next was a veteran everyday third baseman, Casey Blake, who is a product of Middle America—low key and steady. A solid fielder with a power bat, which ended the revolving door at the position.

Then came the big bang—a slugger with a Hall of Fame resume that arrived with a big Dodger Blue bow and dreadlocks. Manny Ramirez became a lighting rod for fan excitement.

On his second day in a Dodger uniform, Manny blasted a monster homer against the first-place Diamondbacks, giving them a preview of what was to come over the balance of the season. Makes one wonder: Can snakes cry?

His presence assisted those around him in the lineup, changing the way pitchers would work and offering a better selection of pitches to hit. They hit them, then they hit them some more, and then even more. Before anyone else knew what happened, the Dodgers were in first place, counting down their magic number.

Up and down the lineup, they spent the last two months picking each other up and sharing the load. The young guns that have been maturing at different levels started taking advanced courses. Martin, Ethier, Loney, and Kemp have been around for a couple of years now and are just coming into their own. DeWitt, Wade, Hu, and Troncoso are the rookies who have helped in various degrees.

The return of Furcal and Kent the last week of the regular season has been a booster shot of adrenaline. Furcal has shown, to Torre’s satisfaction, that he is ready to return to his duties at short. This has come as a surprise to many, but his play the first two games in Chicago prove Torre has once again made the right selection.

Kent is being held back for pinch-hitting duties for now. The cold weather in Chicago could be one factor; the excellent play of Blake DeWitt is the other. While not yet fully able to perform the advanced detail work that come with the position, DeWitt does have excellent range, soft hands, and is swinging a hot bat.

He seems to have made the adjustments to the adjustments the pitchers made to him around mid-season, after Blake was the surprise starter at third this season, due to the injuries to Garciaparra and LaRoche.

Throughout their years in Los Angeles, pitching has usually been the Dodgers' trademark. This year’s team was second in the league in ERA. Derek Lowe has taken over the role of ace of the starting rotation. Often in the past, Lowe has had trouble with big games.

Down the stretch, Derek allowed two runs in his last four outings. In Game One, he shackled the Cubs, allowing only a wind-aided homer. Large and in charge, with lots of advice from good friend and the last roster addition, Greg Maddux.

Chad Billingsley is the ace in waiting, having completed his second season as a full-time starter; Chad abused the Cubs in Game Two. He showed great composure, something that he has issues with, but he has been lessening. Continued growth will have Chad becoming an All Star and Cy Young candidate in short order.

Game Three starter will be Hiroki Kuroda, who came over from Japan after starring with the Hiroshima Carp to fill out the back end of the rotation and be an innings eater. 181-1/3 innings of work in 31 games and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 116:42 says he did just that.

The 9-10 record is a reflection of some poor defense, as Hiroki had more unearned runs than any other Dodger starter, and a bullpen that surrendered a handful of leads. By all right, Kuroda should have won 15 games and been a front-runner for Rookie of the Year.

It is a distinct possibility that Kuroda will finish off the Cubs on Saturday night. He has dominated at home this year, and Torre will no doubt advise his squad to dispatch the wounded bears as such an animal is dangerous and still has sharp claws and teeth.

The furry beasts are on their knees; all that is left is to lop off their heads. Doing so without delay is the best way to go. It will also end the suffering of Cub fans, without unnecessarily teasing these depressed folks.

Maddux and Clayton Kershaw round out the Dodger rotation. One is a salty old dog that has used guile and finesse to win multiple Cy Young’s and punch his ticket for Cooperstown.

The other, just learning about life in the show, carries an impressive heater and nasty curve. Once he perfects a third pitch, batters will be curled up in a corner sucking their collective thumbs at the thought of facing Clayton.

Torre is being cagey about saying who would start a Game Four, and hopes not to have to make that decision. Maddux finished off Game One and both were warming up in Game Two, and Torre feels no obligation to tip his hand at this point.

The most troubling aspect of the team right now is the bullpen, specifically the closers. Takashi Saito has not returned with his usual control after injuring his elbow. Pitches are a tad bit slower and do not have their usual bite. The result is they are getting slapped all over the lot.

Jonathan Broxton was the set-up man pushed into the closers role. This role has not suited him. While fairly effective, Broxton’s pitching does not inspire confidence, as he has escaped from many high-wire acts, either by smoking the batter after way too many pitches or with his defense coming up with some big plays on line drives. This has not been good for my blood pressure.

Corey Wade and Joe Beimel have done fantastic work this year as set-up men. Wade is a rookie that pitches far beyond his years. It is conceivable he could one day be the closer, with his nasty stuff and strong mental makeup.

Beimel has turned two excellent years in a row after his postseason self-induced injury that cast him in a very bad light. A lefty specialist who will most times face only a couple of batters, Joe has been highly effective at getting the opposing team's top left-handers out without giving up the longball, not allowing a homer in 104 outings.

Chan Ho Park served as this year’s pitching reclamation project. Returning to his original major-league team, Chan Ho has regained his fastball, which has allowed him to be successful after struggling for the last few years while bouncing around the Rangers, Padres, and Mets. Chan Ho has been effective both as a starter and in relief, though has seemed to tire down the stretch.