Win Against Marlins Shows Hope for Embattled Cubs

COMMENTARY | Marlon Byrd hit a home run in the eighth inning of the Chicago Cubs' game against the Florida Marlins to give the team a much-needed win; the final score was 7-5. To say Chicago has been struggling would be an understatement. As the song goes, "If it wasn't for bad luck the Cubs wouldn't have any -- "

David Villavicencio has posted an article at MLB.com titled "Byrd's home run lifts Cubs in seesaw affair."

The Marlins scored the first run of the game on a homer by Hanley Ramirez. Ryan Dempster has not been sharp this year, although he did settle down for awhile after Ramirez's first-inning score.

After Florida took a two-run lead in the bottom of the fifth, the Cubs uncharacteristically (for this year) tied the game in the sixth with a two-run by Reed Johnson. Johnson set the stage for Byrd's heroics in the eighth.

What about this Chicago 'Ëœbad luck?"

While it's true that Chicago's opponents play in the same bad weather as the Cubs, the Cubs have to play half of their games in what heretofore has been unruly weather.

The Cubs had two of their five starting pitchers, Randy Wells and Andrew Cashner, go down with injuries. Then, during rehab, Cashner re-injured himself and is out of the running indefinitely.

The entire Cubs pitching staff has been struggling in general.

The Cubs' main catcher, Geovany Soto, is on the 15-day disabled list. This after injuries great and small to Kosake Fukudome, Aramis Ramirez and Starlin Castro, and batting woes -- notably for Carlos Pena.

The Cubs have battled weather, injuries, and pitching and hitting problems in a way few other teams have. And yet, they are just five games under .500, sitting six games behind the Cincinnati Reds.

Chicago has another game with Tampa Bay before heading to Boston to tangle with the Red Sox for a weekend series.

The Reds are starting to hit their stride, so it is imperative that the Cubs hang tough.

At the end of last season, by winning 24 of 37 games, then-interim manager Mike Quade gave a lot of Cubs fans a lot of hope.

It may not be anyone's fault, but it's beginning to fade if only a bit.

References:

MLB.com Website, David Villavicencio, "Byrd's home run lifts Cubs in seesaw affair"

MLB.com Website, "Video-Marlon Byrd Eighth-Inning Home Run"