Little Good to Be Seen in Cubs' Loss to Reds

Believe it or not we are fast approaching baseball season and MLB is not facing a strike or walkout or lockout. They are ready to go. As usual as a Chicago Cubs' fan I am brimming with anticipation but already the Cubs are struggling. They lost to the Cincinnati Reds 14-13 on Friday. Unfortunately as part of that loss to the Reds we saw two Cubs' supposedly star pitchers stumble.

Carrie Muskat has posted an article as the MLB website titled "Cubs collect 22 hits, but Zambrano, Silva toil."

Of course in the "Cactus" and "Grapefruit" Leagues the emphasis is on getting back into shape and "ready form" more than wins and losses. However this late in the spring season you start looking for promising results. The Cubs did not see any Friday unless they count the hitting; there was a lot of hitting. The problem was that it occurred on both sides and the Cubs came up losers.

It doesn't seem that long ago (and really it wasn't) that I was holding my breath to see if Mike Quade, the third base coach who had been named Interim Manager to replace Lou Piniella, would be offered the true Manager's position. Typically I would have expected for him to carry the banner until the end of the season and get guys playing time to be evaluated and then be replaced. However under Quade the Cubs began to prosper and bloom. Ultimately they went 24-13 when, given their record at the time, we might have expected 8-29. Quade seemed to have a special relationship with the players.

Some people are unhappy with Quade because his hiring left fan-favorite Ryne Sandberg out in the cold. He went to the Phillies.

It is hard to know what is going on with the Cubs. It is a little disconcerting that two good pitchers, Carlos Zambrano and Carlos Silva were both pummeled by the Reds' hitters. Will Quade have the same relationship with the players and will he be able to get them to win again? Was last year a fluke or are the Cubs exactly where Quade thinks they should be?

There are a lot of unanswered questions. Only time will reveal the answers.

Reference:

MLB.com Website, Carrie Muskat, "Cubs collect 22 hits, but Zambrano, Silva toil"