With Wood on mound, Cubs feel confident
_____________________________________
BY TONI GINNETTI
Staff Reporter
The Chicago Sun-Times
October 15, 2003
Kenny Lofton's first two words said it all about what could be left of the Cubs' 2003 season.
"Game 7,'' Lofton said. "You've got to win [tonight]. There's no other words to say.''
There was little to say after the Florida Marlins' stunning 8-3 blow to the Cubs' stomach Tuesday.
And yet the Cubs tried to be resilient, tried to put aside the rising chorus of doubts that they have shunned all season -- but that now stare them in the face like so many Cubs teams of the past.
"We've been through this before this year,'' first baseman Randall Simon said of the must-win situation facing the Cubs tonight. "We just finished playing one like that against Atlanta [in the Division Series]. We have to feel we're at home with our best guy going to the mound.''
Perhaps that is fitting. Kerry Wood has been the Cubs' quiet leader all season, the pitcher who clinched Game 5 of the Division Series. Now he must be the savior that Mark Prior appeared poised to be until an unpredictable eight-run eighth inning that came out of nowhere -- or perhaps from the Cubs' spooky past.
"Momentum is obviously on their side,'' pitcher Matt Clement said. "But we have a couple things on our side -- we're at home and we've got Woody throwing. We had momentum after Game 4, and it took a good pitching performance [by Josh Beckett] to stop momentum. We've got the right guy on the hill to stop that momentum and hopefully put us where we want to be.
"Everyone said when this started it would go seven. Obviously when we were up 3-1, we weren't expecting it to. But you have to give them credit. [Carl] Pavano kept them in the game, they got their crack and a couple breaks in that [eighth] inning and they ran with it.
"What do you do? You can't sit here and blame things. You have to credit them, have a short memory and get ready for [tonight].''
There were plenty of folks eager to blame the fan in the left-field corner who appeared to interfere with Moises Alou's attempt to catch Luis Castillo's foul fly ball. Castillo walked, and the floodgate opened.
"That play would be a tough call to make because I don't know if the fan was actually in the field of play,'' first baseman Eric Karros said, "but it looked like clearly Moises was going to grab that ball. That changes things, but that's part of the game. We still had opportunities after that.
"You have to credit the Marlins. They did a great job. It's done. It's over. You move on.''
Karros was philosophical about what lies ahead tonight.
"Momentum in baseball is that day's starting pitcher,'' he said. "We've put ourselves in a corner numerous times this year, and we've always battled.
"This is what we all play for, Game 7. That's why most of us are in the big leagues, because we persevere and we overcome things. This is just going to be another challenge.''
Sammy Sosa, who drove in the first Cubs run and scored the second, was calm afterward, offering reassuring words in the face of a daunting specter of doubt.
"We let that one go, no question about it,'' Sosa said. "But everyone here feels we have a chance [tonight]. We're going to come through.
"They took advantage of that eighth inning, and that was everything. If Moises had made that play, it might have been something different, but it happened. After something like that, you have to move on. It was a tough call, a tough situation to deal with, but I feel very confident with Woody that he'll take care of business.''
The controversial play was an easy one to focus on, Sosa said, but it wouldn't have mattered had the Marlins not used it to their advantage.
"The Marlins didn't give up, so we have to be ready every inning,'' Sosa said. "Everybody thought about that play. It was a little tough, but it happened. We know we have another chance, and we'll come back and we'll play.
"We have to forget about this one. If you go home thinking about this one, you won't get your sleep tonight. I just tell [the fans], 'Get ready for [tonight].' We haven't finished yet.'' |
