Cubs lose first game! Zambrano pulled early

The Cubs lost their first playoff game last night, 3-1 against the D-backs. The big controversy is whether the manager, Lou Piniella should have pulled the starting pitcher, their ace Carlos Zambrano out at the end of the 6th inning. He was pitching well, the game was at a 1-1 tie and he had thrown about 85 pitches which is not excessive. Still, Piniella took him out in favor of Carlos Marmol, who has been outstanding in relief this year. Sadly, he promptly gave up a home run, and then another run after that and the game got away from the Cubs. It does seem odd to have pulled Big Z when he was pitching so well, but Piniella said that he was saving his arm so he could start again in the 4th game. Hmm. Perhaps all this foresight lost us the game. Or then again, perhaps the game would have been lost anyway, as the Cubs managed only 4 hits against D-backs pitching with the big 3 (Soriano, Lee, and Ramirez) looking befuddled at the plate throughout the game. We'll see what tonight brings. A win tonight would lead to a fourth game, potentially making Piniella look like a genius!