An Old Fashioned Pitchers Duel

October 04, 2007 | 9:48 AM

As expected, pitching dominated the landscape during game one of the NLDS at Chase Field in Arizona. Reigning Cy Young award winner Brandon Webb and Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano locked into a classic pitchers duel on Wednesday night that ushered in this series with style. Sure, it would have been a lot more fun if the Cubs could have figured out how to get more than 4 hits in the 3-1 loss, but what can you do?

In Webb and Zambrano, baseball fans nationwide were treated to the pleasure of two of the elite pitchers in the game performing at their peak on the big stage. I don't want to oversell this thing here, but (other than the result) Wednesday's opener in Arizona is what playoff baseball is all about.

What separates Webb and Zambrano from their peers is the movement on their pitches. When these two guys are on top of their games, they sink, cut, and curve the ball in ways that are damn near impossible to hit; on Wednesday they were both sharp. TBS color analyst Ron Darling compared the movement on some of Webb's pitches to that of a slider from a lefty. Darling nailed it; at times I felt like I was watching a wiffle-ball game. Webb throws a heavy ball that moves late and seems to dive in and have missile lock on the hands of right handed hitters. On Wednesday in Arizona, Webb used his considerable strengths to mow through the Cubs and put the d-backs up a game in this best of five series.

Carlos Zambrano was just as nasty on Diamondback hitters as Webb was on the Cubs. Through six innings, Big Z held Arizona in check and seemed to be getting stronger as the game went on. …Then came the decision that could be scrutinized for years to come. With his ace locked in an epic pitchers duel, Lou Piniella decided to turn the ball over to Carlos Marmol and the Cubs bullpen instead of riding Zambrano's hot hand. Zambrano had only thrown 85 pitches when Lou yanked him, so the move seems to have been done to keep Zambrano fresh for a possible game 4. Lou's decision blew up in the team's face, as the D-Backs immediately scored on Marmol and cruised to victory.

Lou's decision is easy to criticize for one simple reason. When you find yourself in the middle of game 1, game 4 is not a guarantee for either side. If the Cubs ride Zambrano to a game 1 victory… they have a chance to sweep. If you pull Zambrano and the Cubs lose… the Cubs have a chance to be swept. In a short playoff series, you have to go for the jugular every time you get a chance, and if the Cubs don't come back and win this series, people will remember Lou's decision in game 1.

Scrutinizing managerial decisions is pointless if the Cubs can't find a way to put the bat on the ball. The Cubs have got to score to win (no matter who they have on the hill), and on Wednesday night, they couldn't get the job done. The Cubs had their chances against Webb, but they weren't able to get the clutch hit when they needed it. The ability to get the clutch hits was an Achilles heel for the Cubs during much of the regular season. Seeing that issue help kill the Cubs in game 1 was an all too familiar (and painful) sight to see.

Game 2 starter Doug Davis is not in the same class as Brandon Webb… but he is left handed, and we all know that our Cubbies can have issues with lefties. The most important game of the season starts tonight @ 9:07. We all know that Cubs fans will be ready to go. Let's just hope that the Cubs offense is ready too.