This is what a real contender looks like.
That
had to be the takeaway after the Reds clinched a wild card with
Thursday?s 5-3 win over the Cubs and didn?t even bother to celebrate
inside the cramped visiting clubhouse.? ?
When Dale Sveum won the
stadium club press conference last November, he promised to get this
team to play every night like it?s Game 7 of the World Series.
The smallest announced crowd at Wrigley Field this season ? 25,891 but nowhere near that inside the building ? watched the Reds (91-59) finish off a three-game sweep that reminded you how far the Cubs still have to go.
This felt like the crash after the Cubs (58-92) appeared to get a nice bounce from almost fighting the Nationals in a bench-clearing brawl two weeks ago in Washington.
Maybe they?ll get exposed in October, but the Reds seem to have it all now. A centerpiece in Joey Votto. A young, healthy rotation. Bench guys like Todd Frazier and Chris Heisey who could play every day somewhere else. A diverse bullpen that can throw heat or kill you softly. ?
That?s what the Cubs should look like in...2015?
Jason Berken ? a guy the Cubs claimed off waivers from Baltimore 13 days ago ? matched potential Cy Young Award winner Johnny Cueto with six shutout innings. ?
But otherwise the Cubs seemed a bit off, whether it was Starlin Castro getting picked off first base in the second inning, or being stranded after a leadoff triple in the fourth.
Gold Glove candidate Darwin Barney almost threw a ball into the visiting dugout on a tough play. Reliever Manuel Corpas allowed five consecutive singles in what turned out to be a five-run seventh inning.
And Sveum still couldn?t believe that Luis Valbuena, the potential tying run, was picked off second base to end the sixth inning the night before.
?It seems we have one of these things every three, four days that are just not even explainable,? Sveum said. ?You obviously don?t practice staying on a base when a pitcher isn?t on the mound. Things (like) that just boggle your mind.
?For major-league players that have played a lot of baseball to be looking off into left field before the pitcher?s on the mound ? these things get unacceptable and why these things happen drives you crazy as a manager. Because you just have no rhyme or reason for things like that to happen.?
Sveum said that?s not on the coaching staff.
?If we?re screwing up bunt plays or fundamental breakdowns and all that ? that can be a reflection,? Sveum said. ?But I don?t take anything to heart when a player gets picked off standing and gazing at the stars.
?It?s not one of those where he was dogging it or anything like that. It?s just: Why (do) these brain farts happen??
Berken ? who spent almost the entire season at Baltimore?s Triple-A affiliate ? certainly feels a sense of urgency.
?There?s always something to prove,? Berken said. ?You?re never comfortable and you can never assume anything. For me, it?s a matter of stringing together a couple more good starts and going into the offseason on a positive note. By no means is it time to ease off or sit back.?
Berken said he checks the standings to see how the Orioles are doing, and still has a lot of friends over in that clubhouse. Whatever hopes he may have had of being dropped into a pennant race and experiencing this magical season in Baltimore, he?s fighting for a job here now.
?I?m extremely happy for those guys,? Berken said. ?They deserve everything they get. It?s a great city, great organization and I don?t think anybody over there is surprised, including myself.
?This opportunity is not something I take lightly. I want to take advantage of it as much as I can. I?m thrilled to be a Cub. It means a lot to be here. It?s on me now to do my part.?? ?
You know the Cardinals won?t have any problems focusing this weekend. Not with a playoff spot on the line, Chris Carpenter making his first start of the season on Friday and all those St. Louis fans dressed in red filling the seats.
Pretty soon it will be time to go golfing, hunting and fishing, but there are still 12 games left and the Cubs are on notice. ?
?We don?t have people here that are guaranteed jobs,? Sveum said. ?That alone is a motivating factor for stuff like that to not happen. You got to learn how to focus 300 pitches a game, nine innings. ? Those are things we?re evaluating for people that we want in this organization when we get ready to win.?
Tags: Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Johnny Cueto , dale sveum, Luis Valbuena, Jason Berkengroundhog soulja boy did the groundhog see his shadow punxsutawney phil groundhog day ground hog donald trump
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