DeRosa won't soon forget fifth-inning double play

Call him Downcast DeRosa.

<p class="MsoNormal">No matter how many hearts Mark DeRosa crushed when he hit into an inning-ending double play in the fifth inning of the Cubs' 5-1 loss to Arizona at Wrigley Field on Saturday -- a setback that left the North Siders eliminated from the postseason -- it might be difficult to find anyone more heartbroken than DeRosa himself.

<p class="MsoNormal">"It's unbelievable," he said. "I felt like I had a decent season and a lot of meaningful hits but also a lot of big opportunities that should have been better.

<p class="MsoNormal">"This one is going to take a while for me to get over."

<p class="MsoNormal">The old park was rocking. Sure, the Cubs trailed 3-1 when DeRosa came up, but they had the bases loaded with one out. And so Wrigley Field was arguably as loud as it had been all season.

<p class="MsoNormal">But DeRosa -- third on the team with 72 RBI in the regular season -- hit into a 6-4-3 double play, prompting Arizona starting pitcher Livan Hernandez to pump his fist and beat his chest as he ran back toward the dugout.

<p class="MsoNormal">The next inning, Cubs reliever Carlos Marmol surrendered a solo homer to Eric Byrnes that gave the D-backs a little breathing room.

<p class="MsoNormal">Hernandez had been in and out of trouble all night, but the Cubs really had him on the ropes in that fifth inning.

<p class="MsoNormal">Ryan Theriot singled and stole second. After a Derrek Lee groundout, Cliff Floyd and Aramis Ramirez walked. The crowd noise was getting louder with each pitch during those dramatic walks.

<p class="MsoNormal">DeRosa worked Hernandez to a 3-and-1 count.

<p class="MsoNormal">"It was an awesome feeling, and I thought I was having a great at-bat to that point," DeRosa said.

<p class="MsoNormal">A fourth ball would cut the Cubs' deficit to 3-2. But DeRosa swung and grounded the ball to shortstop Stephen Drew, who threw to second baseman Augie Ojeda, who whipped the ball to first baseman Conor Jackson for the inning-ending double play -- one of four twin-killings the Cubs hit into in the game.

<p class="MsoNormal">"It was the same pitch I lined for a base hit the at-bat before," DeRosa said. "This time, I got out a little in front of it and rolled over it. It's the play of the game, in my mind. If I get a knock and tie the game - even if I walk and get it to 3-2 and give Jacque (Jones) a chance with the bases loaded, I think it changes the whole complexion of the game."

<p class="MsoNormal">Just DeRosa's luck: He singled up the middle with the bases empty with two outs in the eighth inning, but it didn't spark a rally because Jones flied out to end that frame.

<p class="MsoNormal">"We're going home," DeRosa said. "I'm stunned. I was stunned when we were down 2-0. I'm stunned now. We didn't swing the bats. It's going to be a long offseason."

<p class="MsoNormal">-- The Daily Southtown