Tuesday night’s game was like watching the Cubs grab their ankles to take a paddling, repeating after each thwack, “Thank you, sir, may I have another?” Then again, that would mean they were making contact with something, however passively. When play was stopped briefly in the late innings due to a beach ball on the field, I hoped for a moment that home plate umpire Gary Cederstrom might allow it to be used in the game. Alas, he did not.
This makes two straight games in which the Cubs have been shut out, a funk made all the more frustrating by the late explosion in the series opener.