Levine: John Lackey, Plate Umpire Throw Timid Cubs Off Their Game
By Bruce Levine--
ST. LOUIS (CBS) -- The pitching by Cardinals right-hander John Lackey was great Friday evening in Game 1 of the NLDS, and the catching and pitch framing by All-Star catcher Yadier Molina was even better in St. Louis' 4-0 victory against the visiting Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium.
With an assist from home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi, Molina helped the Cardinals steal many important strikes for Lackey, enough that the Cubs had little chance to do what they do best -- take close pitches and work the pitch count.
The Cubs led the National league in pitches seen in 2015, and those types of quality at-bats helped them win their last nine games before Friday evening. Producing similar at-bats was nearly impossible with the trifecta of Lackey, Molina and Cuzzi working against them. Cuzzi's an honorable umpire who was no slouch in calling strikes for losing pitcher Jon Lester as well, but his bigger strike zone undoubtedly contributed to the Cubs failing to find a rhythm.
Lester allowed three earned runs on five hits and a walk while striking out nine in his 7 1/3 innings of solid pitching. Lackey was just better, tossing 7 1/3 shutout innings of two-hit ball while striking out five and inducing many weak swings from the Cubs, who didn't adjust their approach much. The Molina factor was enormous, and it was evidenced by how far out of the catcher's box he was stationed at times and how that impacted Cubs hitters when he still got strike calls.
Molina was playing his first game since tearing a left thumb ligament on Sept. 20 on a tag play at the plate against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, making his performance even more remarkable.
In this tight game, both Molina and the Cubs catchers David Ross showed non-analytical thinkers how essential pitch framing and moving the umpire's eye is. Catchers like these two veterans can and do help win close ball games, regardless of their bat.
Molina could hit .230 with 40 RBIs and still have an MVP case. His reputation and savvy have made the Cardinals pitching staff the most effective in baseball for years, and the game Lackey pitched was phenomenal with his catcher's guidance.
Molina's manipulation of the plate vantage for Cuzzi was classic. Cubs manager Joe Maddon and a few players expressed their frustrations by barking at Cuzzi several times.
"The catching was outstanding on both sides tonight," Maddon said, carefully choosing his words. "I totally agree with that on the catchers. That is something I really want to stay out of (commenting on the umpiring). I voiced my opinion a couple of times (on the strike zone). It's really hard to argue with an umpire with all that noise in the ballpark. Unless I would have gone out there to get kicked out, from the side I saw what you guys saw. You can report on that as you choose."
Crying about umpiring is a largely lame and futile exercise -- and also a trail for more losing. If you let that fester in a short series like this one, it can eat a team up.
Losers complain, but in this case the tide of a short series can be impacted by a moving strike zone.
Having done a superb job of handling Lester all season, Ross didn't complain about the strike zone. Instead, he gave credit to the victorious Cardinals, who got an RBI single from Matt Holliday in the first inning and homers from Tommy Pham and Stephen Piscotty in the eighth inning to prove the rest of the scoring.
"When the other guy executes pitches like Lackey did and Jon (Lester) as well, hitting is hard," Ross said. "This is baseball. We are not here to accuse anyone of anything. We are not here to rip on the umpires. We aren't here to rip on John Lackey doctoring the ball. (Umpires checked a ball in the sixth that Lackey had thrown.) We are just trying to win. We didn't win today. We will come back and try to win one tomorrow."
Game 2 is late Saturday afternoon, with the Cubs turning to right-hander Kyle Hendricks as the Cardinals give the ball to left-hander Jaime Garcia.
The young Cubs got a taste of playoff baseball this week. A huge wild-card win and a deflating NLDS Game 1 loss is something they will have little chance to ponder.
Time will tell how they react to the rest of this acid test, known as baseball's postseason.
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
