Cubs 3, Pirates 2

by Charlie Wilmoth on Apr 18, 2008 7:44 PM EDT

First, an apology. Last Friday, I wrote:

Today, [Nyjer] Morgan tried to run down a ball in the outfield that appeared to bounce off his knee, then tried to compensate with a ridiculous off-balance throw that didn't even seem to have a target. Later in the game, he tried to steal second and got tagged out when he slid past the bag.

Neither of these were the worst offenses against baseball I've ever seen. They weren't even the worst offenses against baseball I've seen this week. But it is very hard to imagine [Nate] McLouth doing those things. That's not how he operates.

Well, sure enough, Nate got caught stealing today doing exactly what I said he wouldn't - he got picked off, then made it to second safely but got tagged out because he slid awkwardly and came off the bag.

Anyway, it was amazing that Ian Snell and the Pirates only allowed three runs today. The Cubs constantly seemed to have a runner on second or third. There was bad defense all over the place, from 0-for-3vas and Xavier Nady especially. Rivas didn't get called for yet another error, but he might've, because he double-clutched a throw to first that allowed the Cubs to keep their fourth inning alive. If he'd made the throw, Snell might have gotten out of the inning with only one run allowed instead of three.

Speaking of which - why in the world is Rivas still batting second? He's now hitting .200/.217/.244. Please, John Russell, make it stop. "0-for-4vas" just doesn't have the same ring, and "0-for-5vas" certainly doesn't.

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