Cubs' offense coming up empty over and over and over again
Cubs manager Lou Piniella chose to focus on his own team's run total Friday instead of the final score.
That final score, by the way, was Cincinnati Reds 12, Chicago Cubs 0.
The Reds scored 9 of those runs on only 3 hits in the seventh inning to blow open a 1-0 lead.
"I'll tell you this, you've got to score runs," Piniella said. "You've got to score runs. Look, we lost, what, 12-0? It was really ugly. It could have been 2-0 or 3-0. But it's still nothing."
The Cubs have grabbed themselves a whole lot of that nothing lately. Friday's loss sent their record to 34-46 and to 111/2 games behind the first-place Reds. Since June 19, the Cubs have been shut out five times.
On this homestand against Pirates and Reds, they've scored a grand total of 6 runs in five games.
The question now is how the Cubs keep things together so the season doesn't unravel completely.
"How do we keep it together?" Piniella asked. "The only way you can do it is go out and play on the field. I've said that many times. What else can you do? There's not much you can do but go out and play. The other teams don't care if we're struggling or not. They're going to come in and try to beat you every day.
"I'll tell you this, when you don't do much, you look flat. I don't see that. What I see is basically lack of hitting. When you don't have many baserunners, you don't get any hitting, how are you going to look (spry)?"
Believe it or not, this was a ballgame until the disastrous seventh, never mind that the Cubs managed just 2 hits the entire game against Bronson Arroyo and the Reds bullpen.
Cubs starter Ryan Dempster had given up only a third-inning homer to Brandon Phillips until the disastrous seventh when he walked the first two batters. The Reds ended up sending 13 men to the plate.
Second baseman Mike Fontenot committed an error on a potential double-play bouncer, and reliever Brian Schlitter walked three.
"Things can happen in a hurry, especially when you put guys on," Dempster said. "It's unfortunate. The game was closer than the score dictated. It turned what could have been a good game into a terrible one."
Dempster's take on keeping things together: "Guys are working hard. Guys aren't showing up a half-hour before they have to be out there or not putting the work in. They continue to put the work in. Hopefully, that will get the results."
The season reaches the halfway point Saturday. It looks like the times that will test the Cubs' character are upon us already.
"A little adversity never hurt anybody," said catcher Koyie Hill. "You can trust guys' character a little bit, the team's character. We've got a strong group in here. We've got a strong bunch of hearts. Guys are going to come in tomorrow with their heads held high, with confidence. In the long run, when it turns around, we're going to feel good about it, battling through it."
Hill criticized the team's fundamentals in Milwaukee last month after a sloppy loss. He says this isn't the same.
"Back then, I thought it was maybe a lack of concentration," he said. "The effort's always been there, from everybody. It's baffling. I don't know. We've answered these questions for a long time. I'm running out of things to say."
<p class="factboxheadblack">Bruce Miles' game tracker</p>
<p class="News">Reds 12, Cubs 0</p>
<p class="News"><b>Believe it or not:</b> The Cubs' Ryan Dempster actually earned a quality start. He worked 61/3 innings, giving up 2 hits and 5 runs, but only 2 of those runs were earned. Dempster walked five and struck out nine, throwing 116 pitches.</p>
<p class="News"><b>Rough day:</b> Rookie pitcher Brian Schlitter saw his ERA zoom to 15.00, as he gave up 2 hits and 5 runs in one-third of an inning. He walked three, one intentionally. </p>
<p class="News"><b>Then came Bronson:</b> Reds starter Bronson Arroyo improved to 8-4 as he limited the Cubs to 2 hits over 6 innings. Reds relievers Logan Ondrusek and Micah Owings held the Cubs hitless the rest of the way. </p>
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