Error of Cubs' ways costs them Game 2

Lou Piniella didn't like what he heard Thursday before the Cubs went out and fell 10-3 to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

And he certainly didn't like what he saw during the game, in which each of his infielders committed an error, sending the Cubs to L.A. down two games to none in the National League division series. The Cubs now have lost eight straight postseason games dating to 2003, when they let a 3-1 series lead slip away to Florida in the championship series.

Beforehand, Piniella was taken aback by second baseman Mark DeRosa saying the Cubs already were in a do-or-die situation. If that was the case, Piniella said, they might as well forfeit Game 3.

Piniella had a little talk with DeRosa and amplified his feelings afterward.

"And this is why I don't like talking about do-or-die things, and I heard that from a few of our players," he said. "I'll talk to them about it. This is not do-or-die. Actually, we're sending a pretty good pitcher out there on the mound in Los Angeles on Saturday in (Rich) Harden, and we're sending a darned good pitcher to the mound also on Sunday in (Ted) Lilly."

Piniella is assuming a lot, thinking his team will play Sunday, especially after Thursday's performance.

The defense let starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano down, committing 2 errors in the Dodgers' 5-run second inning, with DeRosa and first baseman Derrek Lee committing miscues. Third baseman Aramis Ramirez, who refused to talk after the game, committed a harmless error in the fourth. Shortstop Ryan Theriot completed the dubious cycle with an error in the ninth.

"I don't think you can win 97 ballgames playing that way," Piniella said. "It wasn't good baseball. In fact, the last two days, they've probably been the two worst games we've played all year from a walking and errors standpoint. It wasn't fun to watch, I can tell you that."

DeRosa owned up to his mistakes, both physical and verbal. With runners on first and second and one out in the second, DeRosa slipped tyring to field Blake DeWitt's grounder. He misplayed the ball and was late throwing to second. Lee's error came one batter later.

"He came up and talked to me," DeRosa said of Piniella and the "do-or-die" comment. "You just don't want to put yourself in this position. Probably wrong choice of words, but at the same time, to go there 1-1, start fresh."

It was a strange night all the way around. The 8:37 p.m. start time was odd enough, as the teams took batting practice after dark. At least the crowd was into it at first. Piniella called Wednesday's quiet gathering a "corporate crowd."

Cubs starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano began the game by working a 1-2-3 inning, and the Cubs looked like they might be in business in the bottom half.

Alfonso Soriano, who has been under the gun for underperforming in the postseason, opened the game with a line-drive single to left on the first pitch. Soriano took second on a wild pitch by Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley. But Ryan Theriot and Derrek Lee struck out before Aramis Ramirez ended the inning with a flyout.

Soriano, a flop in last year's NLDS, is 1-for-9 in the series. He heard the boos from the crowd of 42,136, and he heard from Piniella at the far end of the clubhouse and said he couldn't blame the manager.

"It's not only him, but I think the whole team's upset," Soriano said. "We're angry, too. We're not supposed to play like we're playing right now. We're the best team in the National League, but right now, we don't look like it. We have to forget what happened in the last two games and try to win Saturday. They have to win three games. There are three games left, and we have to win one at a time."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Photo Galleries</h2> <ul class="gallery"> <li><a href="/story/?id=240147">Images from NLDS Game 2</a></li> </ul> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=240138">MIKE IMREM: Zambrano hardly fits definition of an ace <span class="date">[10/3/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=240123"><b>BURT CONSTABLE:</b>The Late Show with Carlos Zambrano tops debate for fans with a Cubs vice<span class="date">[10/3/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=240123"><b>DAN PLESAC:</b>Pressure taking huge toll on Cubs <span class="date">[10/3/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=240155">Continued lack of production from Soriano <span class="date">[10/3/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=240138">This Dodgers team looking very familiar <span class="date">[10/3/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=240139">Continued lack of production from Soriano <span class="date">[10/3/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=240092">Zambrano comes through but gets little help<span class="date">[10/3/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=240106">Torre admits to Game 4 'superstition'<span class="date">[10/3/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=240100">Piniella fed up with Fukudome's play <span class="date">[10/3/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=240152">Cubs by the numbers <span class="date">[10/3/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=240121">Cubs question of the day <span class="date">[10/3/08]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>