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Piniella annoyed as Cubs lose again

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From the Associated Press

ST. LOUIS -- Highly agitated, Lou Piniella rolled up his sleeves during a postgame news conference to illustrate a point. The fiery manager of the Chicago Cubs wants his players to roll up their sleeves, too, and finish off the competition in the Central Division.

“We’re playing like we’re waiting to get beat,” Piniella said after a 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.

“You don’t have a big enough lead in September to play ball like that.”

Aramis Ramirez had three hits and two runs batted in for the Cubs, who have lost eight of nine while scoring three runs or fewer six times. The Cubs have a 4 1/2 -game lead on the second-place Milwaukee Brewers, but Piniella thinks players are acting as if they’ve already won the division.

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“Teams that play ball like that invariably get caught, no matter how big the lead,” Piniella said. “You’ve got to stay aggressive.”

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