Hasenfeffer Incorporated

Cubs 3 Brewers 5

After tonight's game, I could use a beer....Why can the Cubs beat the Cardinals and not the Brewers? I do not understand it. After tonight's loss the Cubs have 6 wins in 14 games against the Brewers. And have dropped 3 games under .500 and 1/2 game behind the Brewers for 3rd place in the Central. Tonight did not even seem like the same team that took the field on Sunday. Remember this...the Brewers will be a lot better next year and this is just the beginning of the Cubs troubles with the Brewers. The Brewers have a very strong farm system. Do not be surprised if the Brewers make the playoffs or even win the Central Division next year. (I will talk about this after the season is over).

Jerome Williams had a rough start, settled down and ended up giving up 4 runs on 9 hits in 6 innings. Carlos Lee continued giving Cubs' pitchers nightmares, he had 2 big RBI's that proved to be the winning run. I really do not care for Carlos Lee and I hope he does not end up with the Cubs next season. Lee's name has been mentioned in the rumor mill for next year. He is a good hitter, but I do not like his attitude or playing style. The Cubs are almost finished paying for one headache, I hope they do not add another.

The Cubs biggest problem again tonight was fundamentals. For example they loaded the bases in the 7th inning with no outs and failed to score. They miss the cut off man, get caught stealing 3rd, miss sacrifice bunts and cannot catch the ball at home plate to tag a runner out. Spring Training should be very interesting for the guys that are still on the team next year. Nomar had a 2 run homer and Murton had a solo shot and went 2 for 4. Tonight was Murton's 40th game at the big league level and he is hitting .340 with 5 home runs and 10 RBI's. He has an OBP(on base percentage) of .402 and a SLG(slugging percentage) of .545. The lack of clutch hitting has been the downfall of the 2005 Cubs and it continued tonight. As much as I do not want to admit it, the Brewers played the game tonight to win and the Cubs just showed up again. I will talk about the overhaul I think this team needs after 11 more games.

Wednesday - Mark Prior(11-6/3.70) vs. Tomo Ohka(11-8/3.97)

Tomorrow's game is the 15 of the season between the Cubs and the Brewers and believe it or not, Mark Prior will make his 1st start of the season against the Brewers. I think this is another good example of what went wrong for the Cubs this season. Like Nomar hitting his 1st home run in August, Prior making his 1st start against the Brewers in September is a good recipe for a losing season. Tomo Ohka lost his only start against the Cubs this year giving up 5 runs on 9 hits in 6 2/3 innings. Ohka has had a good season, but if the Cubs bring their bats, he can be beat. The Cubs need these next 2 games to have a shot at .500 and 3rd place, plus a split of the season series vs. the Brewers.

Be patient, hit the ball...and just beat the (blankin') Brewers!!!