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 And this time, they can curse what happened at the plate and on the mound instead of a billy goat or a black cat.
The Cubs' "big three" hitters were a big disappointment, and things weren't much better on the mound as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat Chicago 5-1 on Saturday night to complete a three-game sweep in their NL division series.
Derrek Lee got two hits in the final game after going 2-for-8 in the first two, but Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez combined to go 0-for-8. Lee, Soriano and Ramirez did not drive in a run in this series.
So the Cubs' quest for their first championship since 1908 continues. Even after a $300 million offseason spending spree.
Soriano, who signed a $136 million, eight-year contract in December, was 0-for-5 and went 2-for-15 in the series after hitting a club-record 14 homers in September. Fittingly, he made the final out
-- a fly to right.
Ramirez, who agreed to a $75 million extension in the offseason, was worse. He went 0-for-13 in the series and capped it with a strikeout, double play and groundout to go with a walk.
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That explains why fans booed him and Soriano after their final at-bat. But the blame extended beyond the big sluggers.
Manager Lou Piniella, in his first season in Chicago, was criticized after pulling Carlos Zambrano after just 85 pitches in Game 1. Mark Reynolds promptly hit a tiebreaking homer off Cubs reliever Carlos Marmol, setting the tone for the series sweep.
Piniella, who managed the Cincinnati Reds to a title in 1990, was brought in for his passion and experience, but his team looked pretty listless in its first-round flameout.
[Associated Press;
by Andrew Seligman]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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