Soriano Delivers Go-Ahead Bomb
Cubs Beat Milwaukee 6-5
MILWAUKEE -
Lou Piniella revealed a little-known secret Saturday night after watching his Cubs rally in the ninth for a 6-5 victory over the
Brewersat Miller Park.
Believe it or not, Sweet Lou is just another karma chameleon.
Saying he was looking for a "change in karma," Piniella sent beleaguered pitching coach Larry Rothschild out to the mound to yank
Neal Cottsin the seventh inning of a 3-3 game after
Angel Guzman and Cotts had walked three straight batters to load the bases.
"My handoff wasn't good," Piniella said. "I said, 'Larry, go change the karma.' "
Aaron Heilman promptly gave up a two-run single to J.J. Hardy that gave Milwaukee the lead, but
Alfonso Soriano's two-run homeroff Carlos Villanueva in the ninth put
the Cubs ahead for keeps, and
Carlos Marmol closed it out inthe ninth for his first save.
So does that mean Rothschild will make all further pitching changes in 2009?
"I'll go out," Piniella said. "But if they're walking, Larry is the pitching coach. He may have a better message. Who knows? But it wasjust to change the karma around."
Piniella also changed closers, albeit temporarily, calling on Marmol instead of the struggling Kevin Gregg.
But Piniella put an end to any controversy before it had a chance to incubate, saying he had warmed up Marmol and didn't want to get him up without usinghim.
"I said when the season started there would be opportunities for both of them," Piniella said. "But believe me, [Sunday] if we get into asimilar situation, Gregg will be the closer."
Marmol insisted he no longer cares when he pitches, as long as he gets a chance to pitch. He ended the game pumping his fists into the air after he got PrinceFielder on a called third strike with the tying run on first.
So could Marmol be the emergency closer?
"Next question," Marmol said with a laugh.
Until Soriano's heroics, the story was the Cubs' inconsistent bullpen and its effects on Piniella's psyche.
Carlos Zambrano, making his first start at Miller Park since his no-hitter there in September against Houston, jacked up his pitch countearly and was done after the sixth, leaving after 118 pitches with the Cubs trailing 3-2.
Soriano beat out a potential double-play grounder with the bases loaded in the seventh to tie the game 3-3. But Guzman walked
Corey Hart and Ryan Braun with one outin the seventh. Cotts then walked Fielder, and Rothschild, the designated karma changer, trudged out to yank Cotts.
�I keep replaying the HR on my DVR just to see the reaction ofthe Brewer fans there.
