Odd Ball: Erroneous
By Editorial Staff
The Chicago Cubs have had a pretty disappointing season to date, but last night was a new low for a team battling with the Astros to stay out of the NL Central’s basement.
The Cubs entered Tuesday hoping to split their two game series with the division leading Cincinnati Reds. Things started off well enough for Chicago as resurgent slugger Carlos Pena went yard for the second night in a row. The first baseman’s blast gave the Cubs a 3-0 lead.
Then came the 4th inning.
With runners on 2nd and 3rd and 2 outs, Cubs starter Matt Garza made the logical decision of walking Ramon Hernandez to bring up Reds pitcher Edinson Volquez. A pitch later the decision appeared to work out.
Volquez bounced to the normally sure gloved Pena at first, who was unable to make the play. The ball eventually made its way back to Garza, who tried to gun down a runner at the plate to end the inning. His throw was way off, going out of play. This allowed a third run to score, knotting the game up at 3-3.
As ugly as the sequence was, the Cubs were able to rally back to regain the lead.
Then came the 8th inning.
Cubs reliever Kerry Wood entered the game, looking to hold things in place for closer Carlos Marmol.
Wood quickly got into trouble, giving up a double and infield single to put runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs.
Ryan Hanigan then tried to move the runners over with a sac bunt. The bunt was not a good one, and Wood thought he could start a third to first double play to diffuse the threat.
The ball sailed on him as it did Garza earlier. The errant throw allowed two runs to score, again tying the game.
Wood went on to give up the winning run on a sac fly later in the 8th. Each of the 7 runs the Reds scored were unearned.
You can watch the entire erroneous series that also includes an incident involving a strange third strike here.
We’ve already seen clips of the strange ways players keep themselves busy during rain delays, but this next story is probably my favorite.
The Radford Highlanders faced a weather stoppage during their game against High Point. To pass the time, the teams volunteered their catchers to take part in a little medieval fun.
In this clip, the catchers mounted their teammate’s shoulders to create their version of a jousting competition. I’m not sure how impressed the coaches were, but the players certainly seemed to enjoy themselves.