Cubs Win Ugly

The Cubs improved their ST record to 3-3-1 on Wednesday by beating the Oakland A’s 9-8. A masterpiece of a baseball game by the Cubs it was not.

Carlos Zambrano started the game for the Cubs and survived three innings. He threw 61 pitches and gave up two runs. Z also walked three batters in his three innings, setting the tone for a day that saw the Cubs give up a total of 10 walks. The defense committed four errors and there were two hits credited to the A’s that could have easily been scored errors.

The offense carried the day. Derrick Lee, Aramis Ramirez, and Jacque Jones all had three hits. Alfonso Soriano, Matt Murton and Michael Barrett all contributed two hits apiece.

But the story of the day was the poor pitching and poor defense displayed by the Cubs. I’m afraid this may become the MO for the 2007 team. I expect a good record (89-91 wins), but I also expect a lot of ugly games. I guess winning is winning, but it’s a lot easier to lose when you play ugly.