MARLINS 4, CUBS 2
MIAMI Ninety minutes before Tuesday’s game, Lou Piniella sat in the Cubs’ dugout reciting a familiar mantra few believe.
“There’s no curse,” Piniella said. “There’s no curse.”
Keep saying it, Lou.
Eager to sew up the NL Central, Piniella’s Cubs instead managed only two hits in eight innings against Dontrelle Willis and lost to the last-place Florida Marlins 4-2.
Given the Cubs’ tradition of collapses, it takes little imagination for their long-suffering supporters to envision another one this week. The Cubs have a two-game division lead over second-place Milwaukee, which beat St. Louis 9-1 on Tuesday.
“That’s why we had a three-game lead when we came,” Piniella said. “Now we squandered a piece of it. You can’t win every day. You want to, but it just doesn’t happen.”
Chicago’s magic number for clinching the division remained four, with five games left in the regular season.
“We’ve been playing really good baseball lately,” right-fielder Matt Murton said. “We ran into a good pitcher tonight. We’ve got five more games. We’re still in a good position.”
Amaris Ramirez, unhappy with the way balls and strikes were called, was ejected by plate umpire Andy Fletcher after flying out for the second out in the ninth. “I didn’t say that bad a thing,” Ramirez said. “I think he was hot already because we argued the whole game.”
Playoff Outlook
Games Ahead
Any combination of Cubs wins and Brewers losses that equal four would clinch the NL Central division for the Cubs.
Cubs HITS
Manager Lou Piniella confirmed Jason Marquis still would start Wednesday’s game, but when asked if Steve Trachsel was still on track for Thursday, he hedged. “I said [Wednesday’s] starter is the same,” Piniella said. “I haven’t said anything else. And I haven’t said the rotation for Cincinnati either.”
– The announced crowd was 16,044, with most cheering for the Cubs. When highlights from the Marlins’ 2003 playoff victory over Chicago was shown on the scoreboard screen between innings, fans booed.
– Cubs President John McDonough shot down the latest unsourced rumor out of New York that Alex Rodriguez already was planning to exercise his escape clause and sign a 10-year, $300 million deal with the Cubs that included a future ownership stake. “Outrageous, and obviously not true,” McDonough said.
– Derrek Lee had a news conference before Monday’s game along with former “Saved by the Bell” star Isaac Lidsky to help support Hope For Vision, a national non-profit organization that raises awareness of blinding diseases.
– WGN will air the “Lead-Off Man” at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Cincinnati and will have a one-hour postgame special. after the game.
