I did the math.
By my calculations, the tragic number is 36,514.
That’s how many days now have gone by without a World Series being won by the Cubs.
So, you can see why Thursday was a tad important. I mean, what with the Cub-tennial 100th anniversary coming up Oct. 14 and all.
Face it, the Cubs had to come through in Game 2. They had to avoid the ghosts and boos on this dark October night at spooky old Wrigley Field, which one visiting Dodger mocked after Game 1 as becoming quiet “like a cemetery.”
They had to win.
“It’s Pretty Do-or-Die” was the battle cry Cubs second baseman Mark DeRosa came up with — a classic.
If ever a ballgame qualified as “pretty do-or-die” rather than “do-or-die,” it was this one.
Remember all those obnoxious slogans? “It’s Gonna Happen” and the rest?
Not right for this night.
A loss like that Game 1 one can alter a team’s perspective in a hurry. Kill your self-confidence. Knock your home crowd’s ego down a notch.
No time for braggadocio now. No time for guaranteeing everybody how this is the Cubs’ year.
When you gag Game 1 of a best-of-five on your home field, you are in trouble and you know it.
So do your opponents.
Somebody wanted to know which pitcher Dodgers manager Joe Torre might have in store for Game 4. His response?
“First of all, we don’t know if there’s going to be a Game 4.”
Holy cow. Say it ain’t so, Joe.
I know, you know and everybody over the age of 8 understands that even the Chicago Cubs can’t be eliminated from a five-game series in Game 2.
But “pretty do-or-die” did pin the tail right on this donkey. At least it did in the eyes of everybody but Lou Piniella, the by-the-book old-timer who manages the Cubs.
“Do or die?” Sweet Lou spat out sourly. “If we lose tonight, well, we might as well just stay home and forfeit the game in Los Angeles.”
We get you, Lou.
Down two games to zip isn’t as bad as down three games to zip. We aren’t idiots. I nevertheless appreciate it that his Cubs players appreciated how perilous their plight was.
“Got to win [Game 2],” pitcher Ryan Dempster said. “That’s it.”
Having been humbled by Game 1, the team lost some momentum and the crowd lost some enthusiasm. For the last few innings Wednesday, according to L.A. outfielder Matt Kemp, it felt “like a cemetery in Wrigley.”
Carlos Zambrano was called upon to change this. On some nights, he is (as another Dodger said) the best pitcher in the National League. On those nights, you absolutely don’t mess with the Zambrano.
On other nights, though, he doesn’t look so good.
Zambrano looked shaky in inning No. 2 of Game 2 on Oct. 2 — and so did the Cubs behind him. He gave up five runs. They messed up plays in the field. The ghosts appeared in the park and you could hear thousands of them go boo.
Wrigley Cemetery’s horrors included these vampire at-bats:
*A ball hit by L.A.’s James Loney that bounded off Cubs shortstop Ryan Theriot’s bare hand.
*A ball hit by Blake DeWitt that went directly at DeRosa, who muffed it.
*A ball hit by Casey Blake that turned first baseman Derrek Lee’s sure hands into butterfingers.
Zambrano thrashed about on the mound, moaning and groaning.
And the fans howled.
Russell Martin cracked a three-run double, the Dodgers were up by 5-0 and at this point Zambrano had gotten a grand total of five men out.
It was the beginning of a very scary October night — a game that these accursed Cubs absolutely had to win as a 100-year clock continued to tick.
———-
mikedowney@tribune.com
Get your Cubs result
Thursday night’s game ended too late for this edition. For complete details on the game, commentary, photos and other features, go to chicagotribune.com/cubs
