Struggling

Ben Sheets - what more can I say? Here is the current Cub roster's line vs. Ben Sheets:

Opposing hitter	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Totals	197	49	12	0	5	16	11	42	.249	.296	.386	.682

That's a strikeout every 4.69 official at bats. I was hoping for some offensive output in the 8th when Vizcaino came in to pitch for Sheets who had been pinch hit for. The Cubs had a shot with Derrek Lee and runners on 1st and 2nd, but it didn't work out. Guess what Lee did? Yes, he struck out. Danny Kolb wasn't going to cut the Cubs any slack either as he shut the Cubs down (or just kept them down) for the 9th.

The Cubs are sending Prior to the hill tonight. I'm looking for a great outing from Mark. I'm feeling a high-caliber performance against these Brewers.

A Side Note

I saw the Cardinal game on Sunday against the Mariners. Just to confirm any suspicions: yes, the Cardinals cannot lose. They are passing into immortality despite their Joe Schmo rotation. I can't understand why they have been so hot for so long. It's uncanny. My brother-in-law got to see his Busch Stadium record go to 20-0. I despise this.

I'm eating a whole lot of shoe now.

Looking for a Retraction?

You're not going to get one from me... exactly. Yes, I bit my tongue just a bit for my previous comments and I'm tasting a hint of shoe, but the Houston problems I have been bringing up came to surface again yesterday afternoon. Yes, Beltran bailed them out, but it was only possible because of Roger Clemens and a failed opportunity for the Cubs to put up more runs in the eighth.

The Astro bullpen showed how it dislikes keeping leads as Dan Miceli pitched a no-out homerun to Michael Barrett. The bridge to Lidge is officially burnt. Roger Clemens was able to keep the Cubs down all day and the Cubs failed to get a clutch hit with the bases loaded in the eighth that would have made Carlos Beltran's ninth inning homer off LaTroy Hawkins meaningless.

Today

Mark Prior is taking on Heath Munro @ 1:20 CST. We'll see if the Cubs can put up some serious runs as we all root for the Pittsburgh Pirates. I'm heading to Busch on Sunday to see the Mariners attempt to help out the Cubs. My in-laws are Cardinal fans (sympathy cards will be accepted) and I'm really looking forward to a potential Cardinal loss. My brother-in-law has been to Busch 19 times now and hasn't seen the Cardinals lose. I have lost faith in the existence of justice in baseball. I figure this is a safer situation for me because all the previous games I've gone to with them were Cubs/Cardinals games and it made me sick.

I saw two identical games that spanned two seasons. You may recall the bitterness of these games.

Both involved:
- Carlos Zambrano vs. Matt Morris
- Cubs squander scoring opportunities
- Cubs suffer a late inning XBH
- Cubs get shutout
- Cubs lose by 1 or 2