Improved my eye!!! The 2008 Rays may be the feel good story of the year, but I assure you that the Cubs beat themselves last night, violating way too many rules of baseball in losing 3-2 down in Tampa. And even with a very exciting 9th inning rally to make things interesting, it still doesn't change the facts.

Consider:

Number 1: Take what the pitcher gives you. And starter Scott Kazmir looked very ready to give them walks. And lots of them. Kazmir threw 110 pitches in less than five innings of work, while only 65 were strikes. Most of the pitches were high. And outside. And I mean starting at the belt high. But the Cubs didn't, and got no-hit into the 5th for their troubles, with five strikeouts to boot. Kazmir lasted 4 2/3rd, and in reality probably could have been hooked by the 4th, and it was evident early on that he just wasn't going to find the plate. Even what they did hit was lucky; a weak Reed Johnson infield hit in the 5th to 3rd, and a seeing-eye ball by Ryan Theriot that skipped past the 1st baseman and high-hopped into Right to score Henry Blanco in the fifth are prime examples.

Number 2: Not take advantage of runners in scoring position. Aramis Ramirez not being able to deliver with the bases loaded in the 5th was bad, but pinch hitter Micah Hoffpauir not being able to deliver in the 9th with Kosuke Fukudome on 3rd -- and one out -- was inexcusable. Son, put some contact on the damn ball and don't swing for the fences. Hit it to the right side. Put it in the air. Something. Striking out is not going to cut it.

Number 3: Run yourself out of games. Only Lou and Reed know what compelled Johnson to try and steal third with two out in the 7th. This ended what looked to be a promising opportunity, and probably cost them the game. Where I come from, you don't run yourself out of an inning, especially when your runner with better-than-average speed is already in scoring position.

Number 4: Bad bullpen management. It's on you too Lou. Yes, Cotts stunk. First giving up the Evan Longoria home run in the 6th, then throwing the ball away on the play at first that ultimately allowed Akinori Iwamura to score. But it's Neal Cotts. With a bunch of rested arms, I can't figure out why he was there in the first place; and certainly not back in the 7th after looking sluggish the inning before. Look, Neal Cotts should be relegated to left matchups, and big leads/blowouts until you can trust him. Period. Your choice of Cotts as opposed to say a much rested Jon Lieber, or Michael Wuertz was a little dumb in my opinion.

Number 5:Bad defense. Not to harp too long on Cotts, but that error was tragic. But perhaps worse was MIA right fielder Mark DeRosa. It was shoddy defense all around.

It was an ugly loss. The only good news was the return of Matt Murton, who started the game in Left Field. He was solid if unspectacular in the field -- actually making a couple of really nice play -- but horrible at the plate; 0-3, with a couple of strikeouts. Calm down Matt. Do what you do best, and let the chips fall where they may.

Till tonight then.