Cardinals Sweep Offensively-Challenged Cubs

The Cubs appear to be embroiled in another of their trademark offensive slumps, having managed only 2 runs in a three-game sweep at the hands of the Cardinals.  And if you want to understand how such a run-scoring funk comes about, well, you don’t have to look much farther than the feeble performance of the top of the Cubs’ order.  Hitters 1-3 – Soriano, Theriot and Fukudome – went 3-32 in the series.  It didn’t much matter that Derrek Lee finally broke out of his own slump, because there was never anyone on base for him to drive in.  Unfortunately, with the talent the Cubs have on the roster, there aren’t many moves Lou Piniella can make to rectify this situation.  Is he supposed to bat Bobby Scales lead-off?  We’ll just have to wait for Soriano to get on one of his hot-streaks.

It sort of sucks, if you ask me, that the team’s fortunes are allowed to depend so much on whether one guy is in a groove.  But that’s how it is.  And having Aramis Ramirez on the shelf makes it even worse.  The good news is, the pitching was solid against the Cards, though this might be somewhat of a mirage given the injuries that have decimated St. Louis’s line-up.  Yadier Molina hitting behind Albert Pujols is not what Tony LaRussa had in mind.