Wow.  Just...wow.  In the immortal words of Jack Buck, "I can't believe what I just saw."  Only this wasn't a Kirk Gibson miracle, it was a Brewers meltdown.

The last time I saw five errors in a game was while watching my kid brother's Pony League team.  Suffice it to say Yost won't be taking the boys out for pizza after this one, especially since, for a second straight night, the Crew blew a golden opportunity to gain a game on the Cubs.

More accurately, they booted the opportunity to gain a game into left field.  You know things are bad when Dale Sveum (managing while Yost served a one-game suspension) must have been thinking about bringing a defensive replacement in for Braun by the fourth inning.

Sveum, by the way, summed it up pretty well afterwards.

"We sit and watch the Cubs lose two nights in a row; not being able to take advantage hurts a lot," he said.  "We're in a rough situation."

You've got that right, Dale.  Hope isn't lost quite yet, however.  The Cubs face the Reds' twin aces in the next two games, so it's possible that their slide will continue.

Tonight, they go against Bronson Arroyo, who is 0-2 against them in three starts this year, but has a dazzling  2.53  ERA.  Better yet, while Arroyo is a mediocre 9-14 on the year, he's a much better 6-4 at Great American Ballpark.  Of course, he will pitch against the Cubs' Carlos Zambrano (17-13, 4.08 ERA), so this won't be a cakewalk.  But think about this:  the last two times Zambrano started against the Reds, he gave up a combined 10 runs and 20 hits and took the loss in both games.

Tomorrow afternoon, the Cubs have to face Aaron Harang who, with a fantastic 16-5 record,  3.70 ERA, and  205 strikeouts,  is one of the Reds' few bright spots in an otherwise dismal season.  Against Chicago this year, he's 3-1 with a 4.85 ERA and has beaten them twice since August 1st.

Naturally, this is all predicated on the Brewers actually winning when the Cubs lose, so the matchups in Cincinnati are wholly irrelevant if the Brewers let another one roll through their legs.