Yesterday in the Mug, KL noted that yesterday's game was essentially a must-win game. While it wasn't technically a must-win game, it was a very important one. Well, 11 walks and a slew of runs later, we failed to win. We now have only 2 more games against the Cubs before the season starts. Those two games, May 7 and 16, are now truly must-win games. How can we expect to challenge for the division if we can't even win a series against the frontrunner in spring training?! Perhaps Macha doesn't realize the importance of this rivalry.
With that said, I think Doug and Mark A. need to sit down and have a discussion about how to manage important games. Here's what NEEDS to be covered in that discussion:
1. The Mikes - Rivera and Cameron both hit homeruns in yesterday's game. If a player is named Mike, he had better be on the lineup card vs. the Cubs.
2. Show your ex-Cards - Gallardo and McClung proved that our young pitchers can't handle the pressure of this matchup. Suppan and Looper have had more experience with Cubs-Related-Rivalries (CRR) than anybody else on the team. Suppan is our highest paid player; he deserves to be given a shot to face our formidable opponents. Unless, of course, Yovani changes his name to Mike Gallardo.
3. Free Pass - Jake Fox and Joey Gathright need to be intentionally walked. Period.
4. Leave your starters in - How can you expect to win if Ryan Braun is the only player left in past the halfway point? That can't be tolerated! Our bench has virtually no CRR experience.
I really hope Doug and Mark can get the message across, otherwise we're in for a long season.