Cubs manager Don Baylor huddled his players before Saturday’s game for his umpteenth team meeting of the season.
Baylor and his players were understandably tight-lipped about what transpired.
“I can’t give you the details,” Sammy Sosa said. “That stays with us.”
Whatever the message, it didn’t result in any semblance of a change on the field.
The Cubs fell to Houston 7-3 before a restless Wrigley Field crowd of 39,644 that witnessed another offensive showing that was simply offensive.
The Cubs struck out 11 times, including four by shortstop Alex Gonzalez.
Their lone extra-base hits were provided by the pitcher, Mark Prior, who drove in two runs with his first big-league hit, and catcher Joe Girardi, who reached third base after right fielder Richard Hidalgo lost his fly ball in the sun.
Contrast that with the Astros, who littered the bleachers with three wind-aided home runs.
“We haven’t been able to hit our own fly-ball home runs,” Baylor said.
“That’s been a mystery. But we’ll continue to run the guys out there. Maybe someone will get hot here soon.”
By then it will surely be too late. At 21-33, the Cubs would have to win almost two-thirds of their remaining games to have a shot at the postseason. At this point, respectability is a more realistic goal for a team with the worst home record (9-17) in the National League.
“We were hitting line drives that were caught,” Girardi said. “And when the wind blows in, we hit popups. It doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
Girardi tried to coax Prior through a ragged performance that resulted in his first major-league loss.
But Prior’s lack of command caught up with him in the fourth inning when the 21-year-old right-hander gave up five hits in a span of seven hitters. The final blow was a sharp single to right by Lance Berkman, who had homered earlier along with Hidalgo and Geoff Blum.
“They worked the count and fouled some balls off when they had to,” Prior said. “That’s what big-league hitters do. You can get two strikes real easy, but [the difficulty of] getting that third strike is what makes them so successful.”
Prior said he would check for a flaw in his delivery Monday when he watches film with pitching coach Larry Rothschild, who had to watch most of Saturday’s game from a clubhouse TV.
Rothschild was ejected before the bottom of the second after calling for more consistency from plate umpire Jeff Nelson.
“I don’t blame [the calls] for Mark’s outing,” Rothschild said. “By no means is that what I’m trying to say. You want consistency so he knows where to throw the ball.”
Prior struggled with his location, walking three batters in his first two innings.
“I thought there were some questionable pitches,” Girardi said.
“But sometimes you can take some good out of a game like this. It’s not always the best if you always succeed. He can see the importance of location.”
Or, as Baylor put it:
“He knows he has to keep the ball down with the wind blowing out. He learned that lesson.”
