And once again, it comes down to patience at the plate. Sure, it was a Rolen single that drove in the winning run in the 10th, but it was another case of bullpen wildness -- and a Cardinal willingness to exploit that wildness -- that led to the winning run.

Walks for walks sake is not what I'm talking about, and it's easy to get caught up in overemphasizing the end result (walks) over the process (patience). It's the process that is most valuable to a hitter: a patient approach, waiting for your pitch, working the count in your favor. And this is exactly what the Cubs offense is so poor at doing.

Matt Morris and Carlos Zambrano threw equally dominant games, but Morris lasted nine innings, Carlos seven. This discrepancy despite Morris throwing ten fewer pitches that Carlos overall in the game. Zambrano has always been prone to higher pitch counts, due to a combination of going for strikeouts and fits of wildness, but Z doesn't create these high pitch counts in a vacuum.

Consider this picture of the two team's offenses last night:

             1st/2nd     #P/PA     BB
Cardinals    7           4.12      7
Cubs         12          3.46      1

The Cardinals drew six more walks than the Cubs last night, and saw an average of half a pitch more each time they came to the plate. But the first column is equally important: the number of times an at-bat ended on the first or second pitch. Cubs hitters slapped at the first or second on five more occasions than the Cardinals, managing three meager singles (and one double-play) in the twelve times their at-bats ended so quickly. More egregiously, the majority of these quick at-bats happened towards the end of the game, when Morris would theoretically be a bit more vulnerable in a long at-bat.

Last night it was a waiting game, and the Cardinals didn't blink, pulling out a victory where the only difference in performance was a bit of patience. I know Dusty gets righteously (and rightfully) indignant when his pitchers walk too many batters. Why can't he and Sarge see the flip side, that fostering patience in your hitters is just as valuable as teaching your pitchers to avoid the free pass?