Little-known Diamondbacks dismantling Cubs with ease

PHOENIX -- They closed the roof at Chase Field Thursday afternoon.

And the Diamondbacks slammed the door on the Cubs on Thursday night.

The Snakes, showing little respect for nearly a century of despair, have most likely ended any hopes of a drought-quenching celebration before the centennial arrives a year from now.

Arizona, the team Cubs fans mocked and experts dismissed, has not only taken a commanding 2-0 lead in this best-of-five series, but they've done it in embarrassingly simple fashion.

They play solid defense and display old-fashioned fundamentals, while the Cubs spit up all over themselves and generally look like a mediocre team that has no business being in the playoffs.

Oh, wait, they don't have to pretend, because they absolutely were a mediocre team that didn't belong in the playoffs, and only got in because MLB insisted the Central Division of the National League be represented in 2007.

On the other hand, Arizona has played all season like a genuine baseball team, even if a large majority of the country ignored the 90-win club.

"I know there was a lot of talk about the Cubs heading into this series and that's OK," said Arizona first baseman Tony Clark. "We read how they were going to sweep us. We were rarely talked about all season and that's OK, too.

"Talk is cheap. You have to prove it on the field and so that's our job. The team in this room knows what we can do."

It's enough to make Lovie Smith proud, this rallying cry of disrespect. The Bears rode it all the way to the Super Bowl, and now the D'backs hope to get on board the underdog train and take it deep into October.

"It's rewarding to get here, but now that we've got a couple (victories) under out belt, the expectations become greater," said Arizona manager Bob Melvin. "Two here is huge for us. We know at the very least it's coming back here (to Phoenix) and that's a good feeling."

Baseball being what it is today, this watered-down version, it would be a mistake for Arizona to assume this series is history, because any team is capable of getting on a roll and winning three straight.

But for the Cubs to do that, for them to bring the series back here for Game 5 Tuesday, they'd have to start playing decent baseball and their stars will have to appear at a Major League Baseball facility.

Soon.

So far, the great Alfonso Soriano -- all $136 million of him -- looks like the player the Yankees dealt four years ago because he disappeared in the postseason. And since the Cubs are no longer fattening up on the pathetic Central foes, against whom Soriano went to town, he looks like a hitter without a clue, not to mention a position.

Besides butchering a ball in left that cost Cubs starter Ted Lilly a run, Soriano managed only 2 lonely singles with no one on base.

His two-game totals are a sickly 2-for-10 with 4 strikeouts, and 6 runners left on base, 3 in scoring position. His career postseason totals are a mirror image: A .219 average with 51 strikeouts in 40 games.

"They've done it a lot this year with their pitching, and they're an athletic team," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said of the D'backs. "They caught some balls I didn't think they'd catch."

Derrek Lee has also struggled, going 2-for-8 with 4 whiffs and 6 left on base, but as usual, Aramis Ramirez provided the best example of how selfish baseball looks in the postseason.

In the top of the ninth with the Cubs down 8-4, and with runners on second and third, Ramirez swung for the Grand Canyon again, and struck out to end the game when a quiet single to right would have plated a pair and put some pressure on closer Jose Valverde.

Even a home run wouldn't have tied the game, but Ramirez wouldn't dream of a basehit there, and his series total stands at 0-for-9 with 4 strikeouts and 7 left on base.

"We're executing pitches against those guys," Melvin said. "Every one of those guys is dangerous, starting with Soriano.

"Our scouting reports know their strengths and weaknesses and it's a matter of execution."

Execution is what the Cubs are staring at if they don't get out of the gate quickly Saturday, and Piniella sounded like he believes his team doesn't need blindfolds yet.

"We're going home to our fans," Piniella said. "Let's see what happens in our home park."

Piniella is whistling past the graveyard, and he must forgive the D'backs if they're not terrified of the Little Blue Machine.

"We've worked very hard since February to be here right now," Clark said, "and the only people who think we're overachieving aren't in that room with us. We know who we are."

Chicago's getting an education. The rest of the country will catch on soon enough.

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