D'backs add to Cubs' end-of-season woes

The last time before Friday the Cubs and Diamondbacks played October baseball, the games meant something, the weather was warm and Wrigley Field was rocking.

On Friday, the game meant nothing, the weather was damp and a season-low announced crowd of 33,786 watched the Diamondbacks pummel the Cubs 12-3.

The Cubs have talked bravely of a strong finishing kick, but they've gotten kicked around by the Pirates and Diamondbacks in 3 straight losses.

Friday's victim was lefty Tom Gorzelanny, who lasted 3 innings and gave up 7 runs, 6 earned.

"Well, Gorzelanny didn't really have a good outing," said manager Lou Piniella, whose team dropped to 82-77. "It started with that, and we had a little weather. And then we didn't swing the bats all that well except for one inning."

Gorzelanny fell to 7-3 with a 5.55 ERA. Since coming to the Cubs from Pittsburgh at the end of July, he's 4-2 with a 5.40 ERA. As of now, he'll compete for a starting job next spring.

"I think that going to spring training, he'll be in the mix," Piniella said.

Gorzelanny gave up 3 runs in the first and 4 in the third.

"I couldn't make pitches," he said. "I'd try to throw a strike, just leave it over the middle of the plate and guys would hit it. There's nothing I could really do about it. It happens. It's not the way I wanted to go out. Not everybody goes out there and deals every day."

Gorzelanny said it's obvious he wants to vie for job next spring.

"That's where they make the decisions," he said. "I just want to spend the off-season getting ready and working hard and being ready to take a job next year."

The Diamondbacks got big days from Eric Byrnes and Chris Young, each of whom had 4 hits. Young hit his 14th homer in the first off Gorzelanny. Byrnes, who is batting .226, touched Jeff Stevens and Aaron Heilman for homers.

"These teams that we're playing are swinging the bats a little bit, and they're nice and healthy," Piniella said. "They got their same players on the field that started the year, and we're quite the opposite. That being said, there's no excuse for going out there and getting whomped, either."

Piniella sounded a similar theme before the game when asked if there was anything the Cubs could learn from such a disappointing season.

"The positives are that you remember the good times from last year, and you remember how much of a struggle this year has been, and you want to get yourself back to that (2008 level)," he said. "That means for some of these guys working hard over the winter. For all these guys, thinking what they need to do for next year to get back to where we were. This year here, it was a struggle for us. But to these guys' credit in the clubhouse, we've been able to hold it together and keep it respectable. It could have gotten away.

"You look at the list of players that I have here on my desk and the amount of time that they missed, if somebody would have told all of you this, especially myself and my staff, you'd have shuddered a little bit. You're talking about 40 percent of our roster."

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