(“‘I’d rather win ugly than lose pretty,’ Piniella said.”)

I Tivo’d today’s game off WGN only to see by the 4th inning that “techinical difficulties” meant they lost the picture from PNC Park where the Cubs and Pirates opened Pittsburgh’s season. So, I got to stare at the CUBS/WGN in HD logo while the Cubs scored that 7 run lead that they would later blow in the 6th. Then the game went into extra innings, so my Tivo cut off, and I missed the Cubs win it 10-8 in the 12th. My impression of the game? A Cubs logo in HD isn’t as impressive as you’d think.

I will let Mark DeRosa incriminate himself for you, as his error allowed the Bucs to tie the game. Carrie Muskat of CUBS central command gave DeRosa a shoulder to cry on, but to paraphrase Harry Caray on the player who makes a costly error, “Nobody feels worse than he does right now. But then, he did throw the ball.”

“You don’t mind making errors in inconsequential times,” said Chicago’s Mark DeRosa, whose seventh-inning error led to the Pirates’ tying run. “That game should’ve been over an hour and a half ago. I never point fingers at anyone else, I always point the finger at myself.

“I feel like we played the extra innings because of me,” he said. “I’ll forget about it a lot easier when we win ballgames.”