Ex-Cub Club

Matt Bruce

Even the Giants are capable of losing. This I had forgotten as of last Sunday, when San Francisco suddenly had the best record in baseball at 89-59. After going exactly .500 through the end of June, this team went on a 51-21 tear, including 11 straight wins in games I attended. Former Giant Oswaldo Fernandez ignored this trend in his complete-game, 7-1 victory on Monday.

In the second inning of this game, Shawn Estes had an 0-2 count on Fernandez with the bases loaded and two out. He didn't come close to the strike zone in any of his next four pitches, walking Fernandez and forcing home the first run. While Fernandez coaxed easy fly ball after can of corn, Estes gave up some rockets in a three-run fifth. Quite a similar game to one on June 30, the last time I saw the Giants lose, when Russ Ortiz couldn't find the strike zone but Kevin Brown pitched on cruise control.

It's still unclear how these uneventful losses compare to a nail-biter, a heartbreaker, a squandered opportunity. One reason why San Francisco took so long to reach the top this year was a terrible record in one-run losses, including a game I saw last May. Felipe Alou seemed to empty his bullpen to prevent the tying run from scoring, even bringing on Dustin Hermanson as the Montreal closer. During one eighth-inning stretch of situational platoon-split jockeying, my seatmate complained about how boring she thought the game had become.

One thing about a cakewalk is that one is spared the motivational video, complete with scenes from Rocky, that has played on the Pac Bell Park scoreboard both times I've seen the Giants take a slim deficit to the bottom of the ninth. At least it worked once, when Armando Rios ended a sweep of the Rangers with a three-run buh-bye bomb.

Instead, on Monday night the middle of the ninth brought a generic homage to outstanding defensive plays. No fuss, no clarion call, no real indication of what the score was. Much like June 30, when Robb Nen came on without fanfare for an inning of meaningless work. All in all, I'd rather hear Smoke on the Water and see him close out a hard-fought win.

At the very least, after a loss I'd like to trudge out of the park to a more inspired tune than the Police's I Can't Stand Losing You. The lyrics sound appropriate at first, yet is America's pastime really the forum for some overly pensive Brit to kill himself over a breakup? By contrast, May's exit music was Bittersweet Symphony, beautiful and only mildly sad.

As I write this, Livan Hernandez prepares to avenge Monday night's debacle. Having him around gives me confidence for the postseason run, given his role on the last World Championship team not to wear Yankee pinstripes. Maybe he could even face his half-brother this October, giving the touchy-feely types a human interest story to fawn over. Since Fox has the Fall Classic this year, we wouldn't even have to put up with Jim Gray interviewing them.

Speaking of the Marlins, do they have anybody left from 1997? Some quick research turns up four: Alex Fernandez, Cliff Floyd, Luis Castillo (75 games, 263 at-bats) and Mark Kotsay (September call-up). You could probably win some bar bets on Kotsay, since he also has arguably the best glove and arm of any outfielder that casual fans have never heard of.

San Francisco itself has a pair of 1997 Marlins: Hernandez and Nen. That would give them a huge edge in most series, except that the Mets have three: Edgar Renteria, Kurt Abbott and Dennis Cook. Other playoff-bound teams with a Marlin Factor include the Cardinals (Edgar Renteria) and White Sox (Charles Johnson). Okay, so it's not exactly the Ex-Cub Factor but it's at least something to look for and banter about during blowouts.

Luckily for the Giants, the Ex-Cub Factor itself nearly guarantees a playoff win against the Mets. According to the late Mike Royko, any team with three or more ex-Cubs cannot win the World Series and probably cannot win in the postseason at all. Take a gander at the Mets' roster: Todd Pratt (1995 Cubs), Matt Franco (also 1995), Todd Zeile (also 1995 -- is there some loophole surrounding that year?) and even the legendary Turk Wendell (1993-97).

Team	Ex-Cubs	1997 Marlins
Mets	4	3
Blue Jays	3	0
Braves	2	0
Red Sox	2	0
Yankees	2	0
Cardinals	1	1
A's	1	0
Mariners	1	0
Giants	0	2
White Sox	0	1
Indians	0	0

The Giants themselves have a failsafe postseason roster despite taking some chances on their September expansion. Terrell Lowery (1997-98 Cubs) was all but guaranteed a call-up. Recent former Giant Scott Servais (1995-98 Cubs) was claimed on waivers from Colorado but apparently will not be eligible.

Speaking of former Chicago catchers, Braves fans should hope that Mike Hubbard (1995-97) does not somehow find his away on Atlanta's post-season roster. Atlanta already has Greg Maddux (1986-92) and Terry Mulholland (1998-99). In addition, while neither B.J. Surhoff nor Walt Weiss has ever been a Cub, for some reason I think both of them ought to have been: Call them honorary Cubs, in the Robin Ventura mold.

When the Yankees got rid of Joe Girardi, they briefly achieved a Cub-free nirvana. Then they had to go and trade for Jose Vizcaino (1991-93) and Glenallen Hill (1993-94 and 1998-99). They gave up Jim Leyritz for Vizcaino: If trading The King for an ex-Cub doesn't give you bad karma, I don't know what does.

If you're looking for an AL wild card favorite, note that the Cleveland Indians are free of ex-Cubs. The Red Sox are stuck with Rod Beck (1998-99) and Manny Alexander (1997-99), a pair of roster moves that should have warned us about Dan Duquette's 2000 meltdown. If the A's make it to the playoffs, they will have only Doug Jones (1996) on their roster, though September call-up Bo Porter also spent his previous September in the Friendly Confines.

The Blue Jays were in the thick of the AL East race in midsummer, with only Frank Castillo (1991-97) bringing memories of Harry Caray to the Toronto clubhouse. In the span of a week, they traded for Steve Trachsel (1993-99), Mickey Morandini (1998-99) and even Davey Martinez (1986-88, 2000). Neither they nor Castillo have been the same since: Let that be an object lesson.

about the author

Matt Bruce has a confession: He did it. He let the dogs out. Write to mb@strikethree.com and remind him to be more careful with the gate next time.