Viewpoint: Talk of October becoming premature

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CHICAGO - This all could be a quick shower, a short burst of rain. Or it could be the beginning of the downpour. There's a gray cloud hovering over the Cubs these days, not unlike the storm cell that briefly passed over the stadium Friday afternoon, pelting the area with precipitation. For perhaps the first time since early April, there's concern. Concerns, actually. Injury concerns. Rotation concerns. Concerns about Derrek Lee's bat. Eric Patterson's glove. Carlos Marmol's arm. Whether you want to admit it or not, it's raining. Sure, the Cubs (49-31) have the best record in baseball. No one's denying that. But they're hardly running away with their division. And they've lost six of 10 for the first time in two months. And they've dropped consecutive games in Chicago for the first time since April. And they've surrendered 29 runs over their past four games. It's not panic time, but that talk of printing playoff tickets? That talk of October? Seems a little premature. Last week, Lou Piniella was fielding questions about how the Cubs would match up against his 2001 Seattle Mariners, a team that won 116 games. This week, he's fielding questions about a left fielder who can't play left field. “I don't think so,” Piniella said, then repeated, when asked if Patterson, the goat of Friday's loss, would be in the lineup Saturday. “We'll get somebody else out there. We'll make some changes.” You can't blame Patterson - he shouldn't be out there in the first place. If not for Alfonso Soriano's injury (there's that “i” word again) and the organization's complete lack of faith in outfielder Matt Murton, Patterson would be on the bench. Or in Iowa, where he probably should be. The one place he shouldn't be is left field - yet that's where he's playing. Check that, starting - in June, for a division-leading team. And you still think this team is set? Ready for the stretch run? As it currently stands? The Cubs have a No. 3 hitter, Lee, hitting .246 since May 1. They have a center fielder, an injury-prone center fielder, who could break down at any time. Their ace is on the DL. Their most expensive position player is on the DL. Their folk hero is on the DL. Their left-handed reliever could be headed to the DL. Kosuke Fukudome's calf is sore; Jim Edmonds pulled up lame Friday afternoon. The Cubs are thin. And Piniella knows it. “We're losing people every day, which is not good,” he said. One member of the Opening Day rotation, Carlos Zambrano, is hurt. Another is floundering in Mesa, Ariz., unable to find the plate. So thin is the rotation, Sean Gallagher and Sean Marshall are mainstays. Jason Marquis, pegged to be a fifth starter, is a top-of-the-rotation guy. The current ace, Ryan Dempster, was shelled Friday. “Forget about this one, come back ready tomorrow,” Piniella said. He may say that publicly - he's seething on the inside. Piniella sees what he has to work with. Patterson? Murton? He must have looked at his roster Friday morning and said, “Fukudome's hurt, he can't play right. I'm not going to play Murton. Mark DeRosa needs a day off. “I've got to start Daryle (bleeping) Ward in right field? Are you kidding me?” So livid was he Friday, it was surprising when he didn't pull an Ozzie Guillen, throw his general manager under the bus and say, “Get me new players.” The rain may be brief. Zambrano could be back next Friday. Reed Johnson should be back Thursday. Alfonso Soriano's latest x-ray showed progress - he won't be hitting today, as he hoped, but he remains on pace to return around the All-Star break. With those players, it's a different story. With those players, the Cubs instantly become deep and dangerous. They instantly revert back to one of the league's powers. But right now, it's raining. It may stop today. It may stop tomorrow. But it also might rain for a week. Or two. “We're not worried,” Lee said. Piniella seems to be. Because he's looked at his roster, and he doesn't see an umbrella. Timothy Wolfmeyer is a Shaw Suburban Media sportswriter. Write to him at twolfmeyer@nwnewsgroup. com.