The Cubs finished the first half of the season as the National League’s hottest team, going 22-12 from June 3 to the All-Star break.
The only teams with better winning percentages over that span were Detroit at 21-10 and Seattle at 22-11.
What was the turning point?
The Cubs’ 10-1 victory over Atlanta on June 3 snapped a six-game losing streak that included several memorable episodes, including Michael Barrett’s botched pick-off attempt that led to an 11-inning loss in Dodger Stadium, base-running gaffes by Barrett and Mark DeRosa in a 9-4 loss to Florida, a players-only meeting and a separate meeting between manager Lou Piniella, General Manager Jim Hendry and club president John McDonough only hours before a 9-0 loss, a pair of brawls in the dugout and clubhouse between Barrett and Carlos Zambrano and the ejection of Piniella for kicking dirt on umpire Mark Wegner.
“It got so bad that week when it seemed everything that could go wrong went wrong,” first baseman Derrek Lee said. “That might have been [the turning point] because we were teetering, teetering, teetering.
“We had lost six games in a row, and we just said, ‘Enough is enough.’ And we’ve played better ever since.”
In other words, chaos preceded consistency. Or is it that simple?
“We’re just getting a little more comfortable,” starter Ted Lilly said. “We had some guys step up and help us out, [Mike] Fontenot being one of them, [Alfonso] Soriano getting hot …
“I’ve said this a few times, but if guys just compete and play to their abilities, we should be in pretty good shape.”
Hendry and Piniella subtly changed the makeup of the clubhouse after their meeting, trading Barrett, adding Fontenot, moving Carlos Marmol into a set-up role, benching Jacque Jones and Cesar Izturis and using DeRosa in a super-utility role.
Did the clubhouse meeting factor into the turnaround?
“You never know,” Lee said. “You don’t know, whatever the reason was, June was a good month. I couldn’t point to one thing, but … it’s a whole different feel when we take the field, like we’re going to win every game right now.”
THE CUBS HOPE TO …
… begin the second half with the same spirited attitude that became so prevalent over the last six weeks.
SOX
The clock is ticking for Ken Williams, and time is moving even faster for White Sox players trying to convince their general manager they’re capable of a furious second-half run.
“I think we have a little run in us,” Williams said after not giving in to the temptation to trade staff ace Mark Buehrle. “The question is, when will Cleveland and Detroit and Minnesota have their lull? Everyone has one. And when will they have it?”
The Sox must make a move soon if they’re to have any chance of making the postseason. They’re counting on their once-potent offense to lead a second-half surge similar to those made by American League Central rivals Cleveland and Minnesota the last two seasons.
The Sox trail AL Central leader Detroit by 13 games and have 39 division games left, including three in Cleveland and five with Detroit at U.S. Cellular Field before the July 31 non-waiver deadline.
“As a matter of fact, it will be a necessity,” Williams said of must-win games against the Indians and Tigers. “You have to beat them head-up to have any hope. But we’ve seen some of the Oakland A’s teams over the past years do it. We’ve seen Minnesota do it last year. We’ve seen Cleveland do it the year before and almost catch us, 16 games behind. It would be different if we didn’t have talented veteran players who didn’t have a track record, but we do.”
Nevertheless, right-fielder Jermaine Dye and second baseman Tadahito Iguchi are free agents, and neither has hit as well as in past seasons. Both could be dealt if the Sox don’t improve quickly. Pitcher Jose Contreras, whose no-trade clause expired Dec. 31, 2006, could be moved to make room for Gavin Floyd and help the Sox address a need.
“It absolutely exists,” Williams said of a trade possibility before the deadline. “I’m not happy with the way we have played. Granted, it has been much better over the last couple of weeks, but there still have been some games where we played very poorly, so yeah, everything is being reviewed constantly and reviewed from the sense of what we can do to make ourselves better right now.”
THE SOX HAVE TO …
… hurdle three teams to win the division, and they trail Cleveland by 12 games for a wild-card berth. Last year, the Twins needed a 49-27 second-half run to win the division on the final day.
