Cubs ... lose

Sheesh ...

Lots of big games today. Pennant races going down to the wire. Managers already getting canned ...

So I started my 'final Saturday of the regular season' with the Cardinals-Brewers game on Fox. Not exactly a thriller. The Cardinals took it fairly easily and look to be in the playoffs ... Meanwhile the Phillies won. But so did the Dodgers and the Padres. The Phils are out; the Dodgers and Padres are in. ... I would've rather preferred the Dodgers and the Phillies, but just having the Dodgers in makes me happy ...

Then at about 3:15, I switch over to WGN for what might have been a meaningless game -- the Cubs-Rockies -- to some. Then again, it is the Cubs. At Wrigley. Our manager is as good as gone (pssst, Hendry... Let's go for Girardi ...) ... and we're just trying to save face on what has been a disastrous season, even by Cubs standards ...

... yeah right. The Rockies promptly got off to an 8-0 lead.

... and then the Cubs came back!

... Up until the ninth, I had only been half watching the game. But when Matt Murton walked with two outs in the bootom of the ninth... got to third on a passed ball ... and then Jacque Jones slapped a single that tipped off the Rockies' first baseman's glove, allowing Murton to tie the score ... I was jumping and hollering so loud I nearly tore off our roof ... which wouldn't have been a good thing given that it was pouring rain outside ...

... the game went into extra innings ... went to the 10th ... the 11th ... endured a 38-minute rain delay... the Cubs had chances to win, but couldn't ... the defense (Ronnie Cedeno made a phenomenal catch, running out to left field, lying flat out and snagging the ball over his shoulder ...) and some nice pitching by Jae Kuk Ryu kept the Cubs in it ... and finally in the 14th -- with two outs, two Rockies on base, a 2-2 count and Ryu looking as though he was going to get out of the jam again -- a single up the middle scored two for the Rockies and broke the tie ... I watched as Len & Bob sang the 14th inning stretch for the Wrigley faithful ... thought maybe the Cubs could tie it up again as Cedeno got on in the bottom of the 14th, but Carlos Zambrano -- yes, Zambrano -- flied out to end it ... at about 9:15 p.m.

Talk about an exhausting game to watch ...

* * *

During the rain delay, Len & Bob had the voice of the Cubs, Pat Hughes, in the booth ... as usual, he was full of insight and comic relief about the Cubs season and Ron Santo. He also made a great plug for his new project: recording the voices and history of some of baseball's legendary announcers ... check it out here.