There may have been some fundamental breakdowns by the Cubs during Monday night’s 1-0 loss to the Expos. But there also was some stunningly bad luck, typified by the triple play.
“There are a lot of things you can’t control,” Cubs manager Jim Lefebvre said. “One of which is a bullet up the middle where the pitcher makes a sensational play and turns a potential game-winner into a triple play.”
Misfortune alone didn’t put the Cubs where they are-but this, beginning with Ryne Sandberg’s spring injury, has been an uncommonly unlucky ballclub.
“We’ve had our share of those games this year,” Lefebvre said. “You need breaks. We have not had our share of good fortune in those types of games.”
Shaking it up: Lefebvre rested Sammy Sosa (2 for his last 16) and Steve Buechele (0 for 13) against Ken Hill.
“I don’t think he’s swinging the bat worth a darn right now,” Lefebvre said of Sosa. “He’s kind of dragging.”
Buechele? “He’s tired,” Lefebvre said. “He needs a rest.”
Hear something? The last triple play at Olympic Stadium, before Monday’s, was on the final pitch of what would be the final home game in 1991. A few days later, a 50-ton chunk of concrete crashed to the ground outside the stadium, shuttering the place.
Complete stats: Greg Hibbard’s complete game Monday was the Cubs’ seventh. Four have come in the last two weeks. In all, they’re 4-2-1 in completions.
Welcome back: Candy Maldonado’s return to Toronto in a Cleveland uniform as a pinch hitter Monday night drew a warm ovation from the fans, who remember his contributions to last year’s championship.
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Maldonado responded with a game-tying RBI single in the seventh inning of a game eventually won by the Indians.
And former teammate Joe Carter responded with a sneak-jab to the back of Maldonado’s head after the inning ended.