Cubs Down Stubborn Astros 9-5, Give Zambrano 10th Straight Win

COMMENTARY | A lot of sports are being played in Chicago. A lot of Chicago teams are playing well. The Bears already went to the playoffs. The Blackhawks are in the playoffs once again. The Chicago Bulls have the best record in the NBA. They will have the home court advantage all the way through the playoffs.

Among all of this hoopla, the Chicago Cubs, Chicago's lovable losers, have quietly started what has so far been a mediocre season-but not, as is often the case, a poor season. A case in point is Wednesday night, when the Cubs evened their record at six wins and six losses in a 9-5 win against the Houston Astros.

I am using as reference an article by Richard Dean at the MLB.com website titled "Streaking Zambrano stings Astros again."

This is the Carlos Zambrano I railed the Cubs should get rid of when he pulled his "anger tactics." It seemed to me a player who had to go to anger management classes had no place on a team as fragile as the Cubs. It turned out what the Cubs really needed was a manager who was stronger than the players, which they now have in Mike Quade.

Zambrano had every right to get angry last night, but he didn't come close. After the Cubs had established a 6-0 lead in the early innings of the game, helped by a homer by Zambrano, they stumbled, allowing the Astros to get close by scoring five runs before "Big Z" was yanked in a most embarrassing way.

Part of the problem was left-fielder Tyler Colvin and second-baseman Darwin Barney misjudged a long and deep pop-up between them-something that would have sent the "old" Zambrano skyrocketing into a tantrum. Right after that, he gave up a two-run home run.

It was interesting to watch Zambrano after that. He thanked all of the players and took his place to cheer on the relief pitchers rather than retreating to the dugout to pout. They rewarded him by keeping Houston scoreless the rest of the way and still giving him the win, his 10^th straight going back to last year.

While on the surface it seems the highlight of this game is Zambrano and his pitching streak, I would urge you to look deeper. The Cubs regained a .500 record for the fourth time this year; they took their first road series, beating Houston 2-1, and when the Cubs could have folded they showed a lot of character and won the game.

Some good sports are being played in Chicago this year. So far at least, one of the teams providing the success is the Cubs.

Reference:

MLB.com Website, Richard Dean, "Streaking Zambrano stings Astros again"