When Terry Mulholland came to the Cubs as a free agent last winter, he told everyone he wouldn’t have signed unless he really liked their playoff chances.
But the Cubs are as close to making the playoffs as Chicago is to becoming a construction-free zone and Mulholland is now a lame-duck pitcher who is likely to be gone with nothing in return after the season’s end.
So why would Mulholland take the mound in Wednesday’s 7-4 loss to San Francisco with an injured right knee and nothing to pitch for?
“I didn’t show up here to quit a ballgame,” Mulholland said. “It’s my turn to pitch, and I’m going to take my turn.”
Mulholland hurt the knee while warming up in the first and said it felt like “stepping on a toothpick.” But he declined to come out and suffered his 12th loss in 18 decisions, giving up six runs on seven hits and six walks in 5 1/3 innings.
Mulholland’s earned-run average rose above 4.00 for the first time this season and once again he got no offensive support from his teammates.
Mulholland has pitched much better than a 6-12 record indicates, but the fact of the matter is, he’s still 6-12.
“The thing about statistics,” Mulholland said, “is that this time next year, someone’s looking at my baseball card and says: `6 and 12? Boy, he stunk.’ So what’s it matter? I just want to go out and compete.”
Mulholland was nursing a 2-1 lead in the fifth when he gave up the tying run on Rich Aurilia’s double and the go-ahead run on a Mark Lewis single. After loading the bases in the sixth, he watched Kent Bottenfield let all three inherited runners score to put the game out of reach.
“It was a gutsy effort (by Mulholland),” said Cubs manager Jim Riggleman. “But we just couldn’t do anything.”
Sound familiar?
