Cardinals 2, Cubs 1

Cubs invent new ways to lose

Baserunning gaffe, Wilson's 2-run HR spoil solid Lilly start

By Dave van Dyck | Tribune staff reporter

4:18 PM CDT, April 20, 2007

Just when you think you have seen everything in the 115 years the Cubs and Cardinals have compromised family friendships, along comes Friday's game.

Something new was added to the collection that includes such recent scrapbook memories as beanball wars, managerial one-upsmanship and the Cardinals' claim of cold water in their Wrigley Field showers.

Just when it appeared the two old rivals could enter a peaceful era of friendly competition between boyhood teammates Lou Piniella and Tony La Russa, along comes a controversial ending with an umpire confrontation.

Suffice it to say the Cardinals won the ruling on the field and the umpires won the postgame war of words with Piniella.

Oh, and the Cardinals won the game 2-1, leaving the Cubs in last place in the National League Central and 38,955 red- and blue-clad fans looking for explanations from a bizarre afternoon that included two umpire huddles.

"They got both plays right," Piniella said after he had calmed down from a one-sided shouting match in the dugout runway immediately after the last out.

"You have to have some displeasure with the umpire once in a while," Piniella said with a chuckle. "Why not? They do their job and I try to do mine.

"We were just exchanging pleasantries in the runway. They told me where their dinner reservations were and I told them where mine was."

Surely, they are not at the same place.

"No, not tonight," Piniella laughed.

Umpire crew chief Larry Young also dismissed the incident, overheard by the media.

"Always nice talking to Lou," Young told a pool reporter. "I've known Lou for 25 years, so we've done it before."

But rarely before has a game included two such strange plays.

The first came with the Cubs behind 2-1 in the seventh with runners on first and second, nobody out and Henry Blanco bunting for a sacrifice.

Blanco popped the ball up and Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina wrapped his arms around Blanco's neck while trying to field it. Molina tagged out Blanco, threw the ball to second and then the relay went to third for a tag before going on to first base.

A triple play? A quadruple play? No play?

After a huddle umpires ruled Blanco out on batter interference, making the ball dead immediately and putting the runners back at first and second. But Cesar Izturus and pinch-hitter Daryle Ward struck out to end the inning.

Or, as Young explained:

"The ball's dead. Whatever happened after that with the Keystone Cop-type of thing was irrelevant."

Onto the ninth, Cubs still trailing 2-1, one out, Ronny Cedeno pinch-running at first base. Jacque Jones walked as Cedeno attempted to steal second base. But Cedeno slid past the base and was tagged out after he was safe.

After another huddle Young ruled Cedeno out. Pinch-hitter Matt Murton then popped out to end the game and ruin a seven-inning, four-hit outing by starter Ted Lilly.

"You can't over-slide the bag," Piniella said. "The mistake was [Cedeno] never glanced back to see if it was ball four or strike three."

"The umpire told me I passed the base, so he has to call me out," Cedeno said. "Next time I will look back at home plate."

In the end Preston Wilson's seventh-inning, two-run homer was the difference, nullifying the Cubs' first-inning RBI from Aramis Ramirez. Both teams had six hits, but the Cubs' were all singles.

"This was a good ballgame, we just got beat, that's all," Piniella said.

So the first of 16 games between the two Tampa teammates goes to La Russa, who is working on his sixth Cubs manager since taking over the Cardinals in 1996.

"The dominant thing is Cubs-Cardinals," La Russa said. "We're kind of side players."

But La Russa admitted that, "Where Lou goes is always interesting."

If Friday is any indication, very, very interesting.

dvandyck@tribune.com

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