Oct. 10--In a quiet Cubs clubhouse Friday night at Busch Stadium after a 4-0 loss to the Cardinals, pitcher Jon Lester's words backed up his body language as he stood somberly at his locker.
"Obviously, this one stings," said Lester, the losing pitcher.
For a Cubs team that endured defeat for the first time in 13 days after nine straight victories, that's all one loss can do. Stings go away quickly. Now the Cubs must prevent any pain the Cardinals inflicted from lingering, or else this National League Division Series will be a short one.
Now we will learn how the Cubs handle playoff adversity, a dilemma much different from a run-of-the-mill regular-season losing streak. Now we will find out if the Cubs simply are happy to be here or plan to stay awhile. Now we expect manager Joe Maddon to do what Maddon does so well and work whatever magic is necessary to turn this negative into a positive before returning to Chicago.
The proper response doesn't involve blaming the umpires even if plate ump Phil Cuzzi's strike zone would have been labeled XXL if it were a sweatshirt.
"That's a dead-end question," Cubs catcher David Ross answered when asked about the umps. "Tomorrow's a new day."
Friday was a long one for Cubs hitters, who looked as if they experienced a letdown 48 hours after the highlight of the season.
Cardinals right-hander John Lackey and Lester, two former Red Sox pals forever linked by tales of fried chicken and beer and a 2013 World Series title, engaged in an old-fashioned playoff pitchers' duel for seven innings. Lackey bested his buddy, giving up only two hits in 71/3 innings and resembling the ace Maddon remembers from the Angels' 2002 World Series title when he was their bench coach.
"That's how I saw him as a baby," said Maddon, who compared Lackey's demeanor to John Wayne. "He was just on. We could not get anything generated."
Meanwhile, as the Cubs and their captivating national story moved on to Missouri, the Show-Me State, the Cardinals showed America what made them the best team in baseball. Smart pitching. Sound defense. Timely hitting. Clearly, the foundation of the house of Cards remains as solid as ever.
To the delight of Cubs fans, Lackey left leading 1-0 with one out in the eighth after just 86 pitches. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny pulled his starter before he had to face Chris Coghlan, a left-handed hitter who entered with eight hits in 17 lifetime at-bats against Lackey. That move, along with pinch hitting Tommy Pham -- who homered -- gave Matheny the strategic edge over Maddon, who responded curiously.
Instead of opting for a right-handed pinch-hitter such as Austin Jackson or Chris Denorfia to face left-handed reliever Kevin Siegrist, Maddon stuck with Coghlan despite his .116 average against lefties this season in 43 at-bats. In contrast, Jackson hit .281 against lefties with six home runs and 28 RBIs in 167 at-bats. Even if left-handed hitters were hitting .278 against Siegrist, as opposed to .164 for righties, the decision raised eyebrows when Coghlan struck out looking.
"Siegrist is really good against righties," Maddon explained.
Righties, lefties, didn't matter. As Maddon put it, the Cubs "were weak on contact." The closest they came was when Addison Russell broke up Lackey's no-hitter with a single up the middle to lead off the sixth. Russell advanced to third after a stolen base and a groundout but was stranded when Dexter Fowler flied out to the right-field warning track to end the inning, allowing Cardinals fans all over the city to exhale.
This home crowd of 47,830 was more behaved than boisterous, noticeably quieter than the one at PNC Park for Wednesday's wild-card game that resembled a football atmosphere. History says the Cardinals have a right to expect long postseasons, so perhaps their fans were pacing themselves. In some ways, the crowd's reaction to events mirrored the efficiency of the team it was cheering -- a perfunctory night at the ballpark but far from flashy.
In a festive gathering at Ballpark Village along Clark Avenue hours before the first pitch, they expressed understandable confidence more boldly than at any time during the game. A voice boomed into the microphone to rev up the crowd: "They're probably having a pep rally at Wrigley Field today, too, because the Cubs are only going to play one game there this series!"
Local pride permeated the city. On the front of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports section, an illustration displayed a Cardinal polishing one of the franchise's 11 World Series trophies with its back to a small bear with a disgusted look sitting between the Cubs' two. A Page 2 headline showed the kind of respect Maddon's team has earned: "Same old rivalry, not the same old Cubs."
Nope. Maddon spoke in reverential terms pregame of the team he grew up rooting for in Hazleton, Pa., retelling stories about his youthful love of the Cardinals. As if to document his Cardinals fandom as a kid, Maddon revealed he has a framed letter in his Long Beach, Calif., home from former Cardinals announcer (and later Cubs icon) Harry Caray that he received in 1967 after writing the broadcaster.
"I didn't even know my dad had kept it," Maddon said wistfully.
The bigger stage gave Maddon a more captive audience in the interview room and, not surprisingly, he left everyone wanting more. In typical Maddon fashion, for instance, he turned a simple question about his season managing the Class A Peoria Chiefs into an impromptu tribute to late Chiefs owner Pete Vonachen, Caray's best friend.
"I was never treated so well in the minor leagues as I was treated by the Vonachen family," Maddon said.
A few minutes later, reflecting on how managing in the minors helped him now, Maddon cited the Class A game in Eugene, Ore., when he started runners and it resulted in a triple play. He also referenced the time in El Paso, Texas, when he pulled his Double-A starter too early and paid for it, a move Maddon occasionally still thinks of when he considers going to the bullpen.
"The minor leagues, to me, I'm so grateful that I have had that much time to spend there and the people I spent it with because it really matters," Maddon said.
Reminiscing about the past hours before the Cubs' first postseason meeting ever against the Cardinals made Maddon even more appreciative of the present.
"It's just kind of crazy how the paths cross in an eventual moment within your lifetime," he said. "But I feel fortunate to be in this moment."
For the moment to last as long as the Cubs want, Maddon must make sure they recover as quickly as Lester suggested.
"We've done a good job of coming back the next day," Lester said. "There's no reason we can't beat these guys."
Saturday, the Cubs need to prove it.
dhaugh@tribpub.com
