Astros 4, Cubs 2

Piniella catching on, Cubs aren't

Poor fielding, hitting lead to 3rd loss in row

By Paul Sullivan | Tribune staff reporter

10:48 PM CDT, April 10, 2007

Cubs manager Lou Piniella took the Belmont Avenue exit off Lake Shore Drive on his way to Wrigley Field on Tuesday morning, after getting off at Fullerton on his first day Monday.

"I made strides today," he said.

Eight games into the season, however, his players can't say the same.

The Cubs dropped their third straight game Tuesday, a 4-2 loss to Houston in which they scuffled in all phases on another chilly afternoon at Wrigley Field.

Cesar Izturis committed three errors and Alfonso Soriano misplayed a fly in the Astros' three-run first inning. Jason Marquis lasted only five innings, and the lineup had only three hits until a belated rally in the ninth.

"They've jumped on us two times in a row in the first inning," Piniella said of the two losses to Houston. "It hinders us as to what we can do offensively. We have to give ourselves a chance to establish a lead, instead of playing catch-up."

A crowd of 35,924 turned out on a sunny day with a cold wind blowing from right field to left. The Cubs didn't draw a crowd that small at Wrigley until Sept. 5 last year, their 138th game of the season, and they had only eight home games in '06 with lower attendance.

Those who came out saw Soriano take a bad route on Luke Scott's two-run double to center in the first, then cringed as Izturis made three errors in a five-batter span in the fourth and fifth innings, costing Marquis an unearned run in the fifth.

Chris Sampson (1-0) held the Cubs to three singles through five innings to earn the victory.

Piniella doesn't worry about the Cubs' stealth offense, although he conceded before the game that his team wasn't built to succeed in cold conditions.

"The way we're put together as a team,if we play in 40 degrees all year, I don't think we're going to do very well because we don't have that type of team," he said. "We have more power in our lineup.

"We need to bang it a little more, and once the weather warms up we will. We have more of a fly-ball-hitting team and we don't have as much team speed to play the little ball that you need in this environment. For us, the quicker the weather warms up, the better."

After the loss, Piniella asked reporters not to "misconstrue" the meaning of his pregame statement.

"My statement is that we hit a lot of fly balls," he said. "We have to play in cold weather the same way the other team does, and we have to win our fair share of ballgames in cold weather, the same way the other team does.

"I don't want you all to misinterpret it [as] we can't win baseball games in cold weather. That's not what I meant."

With 12 of their next 14 games at home, and unseasonably cool temperatures on the horizon, the Cubs need to learn how to win under any condition.

"Regardless of how cold it is, Lou wants us to win," left fielder Cliff Floyd said. "We have to get through it, just as the other team does. I'm glad he knows how tough it is."

Piniella hasn't been visibly upset with his team's execution, although how long he'll stay patient is the question of the day.

"Look, I don't see anything wrong with getting upset with a loss," he said. "Some losses are a little harder than others but they're all losses. You show me a guy who's a good loser … if you have too many good losers, you're going to lose."

How long does it generally take for Piniella to get over a loss?

"Until I have a nice glass of wine," he said.

psullivan@tribune.com

More articles

Copyright © 2008, The Chicago Tribune