Testy Piniella looking for results
HOUSTON -- An edgy Lou Piniella still was in no mood to talk about his team's approaches at the plate Wednesday, one day after his Cubs left five men on base in a 5-4, 11-inning loss to the Houston Astros.
"Look, what we want, truthfully, is results," Piniella said, repeating his stance from the night before. "You look for approaches in spring training. You look for approaches and April and May. Now, what counts are results. You can have all the approaches that are good or bad or indifferent. What you want are results at this time of year."
Leadoff man Alfonso Soriano entered the game with an on-base percentage of .332, which is considered subpar for that spot in the order. He popped out on the first pitch of his at-bat Tuesday in the eighth inning with runners on first and second and one out. Soriano led off Wednesday's game first-pitch swinging and popping out.
"The whole thing, basically, is our hitters here have been aggressive all year, OK?" said Piniella, himself growing impatient with the topic. "Is it going to change in September, the last two weeks? I don't think so. The important thing, hopefully, is you get a little selective and you swing at a good pitch to hit and give yourself a better chance. Outside of that, we're not going to change anything here the last two weeks."
The Cubs, as an organization, have not valued patience at the plate in recent memory. Piniella addressed that fundamental problem.
"The whole thing is that, if you want selective, patient hitters that look for a base on balls, you sign that type of player over the winter, and now you got it," he said. "You're not going to change what hitters do during the course of a year at the end of a season just because it makes a little more sense."
Rotation roulette: Steve Trachsel starts tonight's game, and it could be his last start of the year. Lou Piniella has pretty much everything mapped out.
Next Monday-Wednesday at home against the Reds, it'll be Rich Hill, Carlos Zambrano and Ted Lilly. After an off-day, the Pirates likely will face Jason Marquis, Hill and Zambrano. It looks like Lilly and Marquis will pitch the first two games at Florida, Sept. 25-26, with the third game to be determined.
If the final three games of the season are meaningful, the Cubs will go with Zambrano, Hill and Lilly.