Cubs notebook: Pineilla's Game 1 decision still looms large
Wrigley Field didn't host a game Sunday.
<p class="MsoNormal">Sunday was scheduled for Game 4 -- if necessary -- of the National League Division Series for the Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks.
<p class="MsoNormal">It wasn't necessary. The D-backs swept the best-of-five series in three straight.
<p class="MsoNormal">The game that Cubs manager Lou Piniella was so worried about getting to never even took place. That rekindles criticism that started Wednesday during Game 1 of the series.
<p class="MsoNormal">Piniella lifted pitcher Carlos Zambrano from a 1-1 game after six innings and 85 pitches in order to allow Zambrano to pitch in Game 4 on three days' rest.
<p class="MsoNormal">Rookie Carlos Marmol allowed two runs in the seventh as the Cubs dropped the series opener 3-1.
<p class="MsoNormal">The furor would have died down if the Cubs had won Saturday and Zambrano pitched well enough to win Sunday, and the buzz would have focused on a possible Game 5 on Tuesday in Phoenix. Heck, Piniella might have even been hailed as a genius.
<p class="MsoNormal">It didn't work out that way, and Pineilla's Game 1 decision still looms large.
<p class="MsoNormal">Zambrano, who was itching to pitch again, maintained his manager made the right decision.
<p class="MsoNormal">"It was his decision, and I never question the manager," Zambrano said. "It's his decision to bring somebody in and take somebody out. He was good for us all year long. If he made a mistake when I was pitching the first game, I don't know. He had to trust his bullpen, and so far he had been doing a good job with our bullpen. They are all good pitchers."
<p class="MsoNormal">It's going to be a topic that will be debated for months.
<p class="MsoNormal">"They can blame Lou, they can blame Lou all they want," Cliff Floyd said.
<p class="MsoNormal">"But Lou was there for us when we didn't know what direction we were headed in. For me, he gave me an opportunity to come here and help this club.
<p class="MsoNormal">"They can blame him all they want. To me, he kept us together and kept us as one. That's all that matters."
<p class="MsoNormal">Speaking of second-guessing ...
<p class="MsoNormal">Piniella benched rookie catcher Geovany Soto -- who hit the Cubs' only postseason home run and drove in two of the team's six NLDS runs - because he said he wanted an experienced catcher behind the plate with Rich Hill starting in Game 3.
<p class="MsoNormal">Veteran Jason Kendall drove in the only run Saturday for the Cubs, but he didn't help Hill much. The left-hander allowed three runs in three-plus innings.
<p class="MsoNormal">Flash back to 2006.
<p class="MsoNormal">The Cubs went deep into the season without having had a pitcher throw a complete game. They were threatening to become the first team in major league history to go an entire season without one.
<p class="MsoNormal">Finally, on Sept. 16, 2006, Hill tossed a complete-game shutout in a 4-0 win over Cincinnati at Wrigley Field.
<p class="MsoNormal">His catcher for that game? Soto.
<p class="MsoNormal">Short hops
<p class="MsoNormal">The Cubs hit into four double plays in Game 3, tying a division series record. ... The Cubs had at least one runner on base in 13 of the 27 innings and produced just six runs. ... Saturday's crowd of 42,157 was the largest postseason crowd at Wrigley Field since 43,463 customers were on hand Oct. 7, 1945, for Game 5 of the World Series.