With their eighth loss in a row Tuesday night, the Cubs equalled a losing streak they have posted seven other times since the club-record 14-game losing streak to start the 1997 season.
Since that record streak, they have lost more than eight in a row two other times:
Nine in a row from July 24-August 1, 1997
Nine in a row from May 8-May 18, 2002
So, unless they can pull out a victory tonight, they not only get swept by the Astros, but will have their longest losing streak in 10 years.
Such is the state of the Chicago Cubs in 2012.
Incidentally, if you missed the .gif version of the photo at the top of this post, that I posted courtesy of Grant Brisbee at Baseball Nation in the comments to yesterday's recap (and again in this fanshot), here it is again:
And here's another angle:
Cubs lineup:
DeJesus rf, Johnson cf, Castro ss, Soriano lf, Mather 3b, Baker 1b, Barney 2b, Hill c, Samardzija p
Same ol' same ol'. (sigh)
Astros lineup:
Altuve 2B, Lowrie SS, Buck RF, Lee 1B, Bogusevic CF, Johnson 3B, Martinez LF, Castro C, Rodriguez P
What would you have done?
Sixth inning. Cubs and Astros in a 1-1 tie game. Travis Wood had pitched very, very well after giving up a home run to Jose Altuve on his third pitch of the night.
But Wood had thrown 97 pitches. After Wood retired the first two hitters he faced in the sixth, he walked Justin Maxwell. The next scheduled hitter was Carlos Lee.
Lee has been a Cub-killer since... well, pretty much forever. But he's not the hitter he once was, and this season, including his first two at-bats Tuesday night, he was 7-for-34 against lefthanders.
It's not the easy call it appears to be at first glance. Dale Sveum decided to take Wood out and replace him with Shawn Camp, who has been one of his more reliable relievers (never thought I'd write those words).
In a season where virtually everything has gone wrong, something went wrong. Camp's pickoff throw got by Bryan LaHair and Maxwell took second. Perhaps rattled, Camp then walked Lee and J.D. Martinez singled Maxwell in for a 2-1 Houston lead.
So. What would you have done?
Bryce Harper or Mike Trout. Who you picking first to start your team for the next 15 years? Or are you picking neither?
Iowa Cubs
The Iowa Cubs whupped the Tacoma Rainiers (Mariners), 18-8.
Chris Volstad made his first Iowa start and picked up a win after allowing four runs on seven hits over six innings. Three of those runs came in the sixth inning after Iowa was up 16-1, however. Volstad walked two and struck out six.
First baseman Anthony Rizzo hit his league-leading 15th home run of the season to lead off the bottom of the second inning. It went to the opposite field, as well. Rizzo went 3 for 5 with three RBI. He also scored all five times he came to the plate. (He reached on an error and a fielder's choice)
Second baseman Luis Valbuena also hit his fifth home run of the year in the third inning with Rizzo on base. Valbuena went 3 for 4 with a double, the home run and four runs batted in.
Right fielder Alfredo Amezaga went 2 for 6 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored. Third baseman Josh Vitters was 2 for 5 with a double. Vitters scored once and batted one in.
Center fielder Dave Sappelt was 2 for 5 with a double and two runs batted in. Left fielder Nate Samson went 2 for 5 and scored three times.
Steve Clevenger had two at-bats at DH in a rehab assignment. He was 1 for 2 and scored once.
Tennessee Smokies
The Smokies were dispersed by the Mobile Bay Bears (Diamondbacks), 5-4.
Jeffry Antigua started because Brooks Raley was promoted to Iowa and Eric Jokisch had only two days of rest after his promotion from Daytona. Antigua did OK under the circumstances, although he did get the loss. Antigua allowed two runs on six hits over four innings. He did not walk anyone and struck out three.
Shortstop Junior Lake led off the game with his second home run of the season. Lake went 3 for 5, although he made two errors, including one that led to a crucial insurance run in the seventh inning.
First baseman Justin Bour went 3 for 4 and scored once.
Here is a list of seasons in the last 60 years in which the Cubs have had a worse record over their first 42 games than they have this year:
1953: 13-29. Run differential -68. Finished 65-89 (equivalent: 68-94 in 162-game season)
1957: 13-29. Run differential -62. Finished 62-92 (equivalent: 65-97 in 162-game season)
1962: 14-28. Run differential -74. Finished 59-103
1966: 13-29. Run differential -83. Finished 59-103
1981: 9-31. Run differential -75. Finished 38-65 (had two ties; equivalent 60-102)
2002: 14-28. Run differential -52. Finished 67-95
And then there's
2012: 15-27. Run differential -41.
The Cubs averaged the 162-game season equivalent of 99 losses over those six seasons. I can't see this one as being much better, and the way things are going now, it could be worse. No sugarcoating this one. The Cubs are the only team this season with two losing streaks of at least six games. They've got a way to go before they get to this year's worst (Royals, 12), but it sure looks like they're heading that way.
Cubs lineup:
DeJesus RF, Johnson CF, Castro SS, Soriano LF, Mather 3B, Baker 1B, Barney 2B, Lalli C, T. Wood P
Astros lineup:
Altuve 2b, Lowrie ss, Maxwell rf, Lee 1b, Martinez lf, Johnson 3b, Snyder c, Schafer cf, Happ p
