No relief in sight, but Cubs not about to panic
The mantra coming from manager Dale Sveum and the Cubs’ clubhouse Saturday was “no panic.”
Try selling that one in this town.
For the second straight game, Cubs relievers Kerry Wood and Carlos Marmol turned a possible victory into excruciating defeat.
The Cubs were looking good Saturday, taking a 4-2 lead into the eighth inning against the Washington Nationals on a pleasant afternoon at Wrigley Field.
Wood, who was charged with a blown save Thursday on Opening Day, got the first two batters before giving up a solo homer to Danny Espinosa. Two singles later, in came Marmol.
Out went the lead after a walk to Jayson Werth and singles to Chad Tracy and Roger Bernadina.
Down came the boos from the 40,102 in the stands. For those counting, that’s 5 runs, all after two outs.
“It’s no panic situation, obviously,” Sveum said. “These guys have been here before. A couple bad innings so far. That’s all that’s happened this season. That’s it.”
That’s all well and good, but nothing, but nothing, but nothing will sap a team’s confidence and send the locals into an uproar than the bullpen blowing leads.
As much as the Cubs don’t like to talk about last year’s bullpen blowups, they’ve had two in two games, and everything gets magnified on and around Opening Day.
“The thing that quiets all that is a win and coming back and showing what you’re made out of and the character you’re made out of and doing it right again the next day, because they’re going to get the opportunity to do it tomorrow, too,” Sveum said.
Wood, through a team spokesman, declined to meet the media after Saturday’s game. Here are the ugly numbers for him and Marmol:
ŸBoth pitchers are 0-1 with ERAs of 27.00.
ŸIn 1 inning over two games, Wood has given up 3 hits and 3 runs with a homer, 3 walks and 1 strikeout.
ŸMarmol also has worked 1 inning, giving up 4 hits and 3 runs with 2 walks and no strikeouts.
“You can’t do anything about it,” said Marmol, who had 10 blown saves last year. “You’ve got to go forward and think about tomorrow.”
Marmol said he “deserved” the booing. When I asked if his command was the problem, he cited his slider, which had been a devastating out pitch for him in the past.
“My slider, I can’t grip my slider right now,” he said. “I think I’m going to be fine. I don’t know what it is, but I can’t feel my slider.”
The Cubs have ruined 2 quality starts, one by Ryan Dempster on Opening Day and another by Matt Garza on Saturday.
Garza worked 6 adventuresome innings, giving up 5 hits and 2 runs. He slipped or fell at least three times on or around the mound. After Adam LaRoche homered off the right-field foul pole to give Washington a 2-1 lead in the fourth, Garza staged a dugout rant caught by the TV cameras. He said he was mad at himself.
“It’s my job to finish what I start,” he said. “All the blame is on me. I didn’t finish my job. I gave us a shot to win, but my job is to finish what I start, go as long as I can. Six innings isn’t something I like bragging about.”
The Cubs did a few things right. They ran the bases well. Reed Johnson hit a 2-run triple in the fourth followed by an RBI single by Joe Mather.
“I think we played well,” second baseman Darwin Barney said. “I think we’ve played pretty well fundamentally. We ran the bases aggressively and smart. A little more run support obviously would help.
“It’s early. It’s only two games. There are 160 left. There’s no panic. We’ll win some games, for sure.”
Maybe before panic really sets in.
bmiles@dailyherald.com