Williams: This team looks familiar
going to hit in the big leagues until about two years,’’ said Williams, whose teams lost a club-record 103 games in 1962 and again in 1966 before running off five straight winning seasons starting in 1967, when Fergie Jenkins joined the rotation.
‘‘But you get the confidence after about the second year.’’
The Cubs seem to have the first part of the Williams-era recipe down — on pace for 100 losses even after rallying for six runs in the sixth inning Thursday to tie and three more in the ninth to win.
But even after all that Rizzo hype and in the wake of Castro’s $60 million contract extension this week, it’s a crapshoot on the eve of September to project how many members of this core will stick, much less succeed.
Even in the feel-good aftermath of Thursday’s win, little seemed clear as a writer asked manager Dale Sveum if he wanted to start talking about the win.
‘‘Good or bad?’’ Sveum said.
‘‘Huh?’’ Sveum said. ‘‘ Oh, rallies. I thought you said Raley.’’
That would be rookie left- hander Brooks Raley, who lasted just four bruising innings in his final start of the season, giving up a mammoth grand slam to Jonathan Lucroy in the third and an even longer two-run shot to Ryan Braun in the fourth.
Raley, who was in Class AA and not on the 40-man roster when the season started, reached his prescribed innings limit (155 at three levels) for the season and was shut down following his fifth big-league start. Lefty Chris Rusin will take his rotation slot the rest of the way.
Yet Raley, despite an 8.14 ERA and with only one qual- ity start among the five, will be in the mix for a rotation job next spring, Sveum said.
‘‘He’s proven to us he can make pitches, that he can get big-league hitters out, with some adjustments,’’ Sveum said.
Sveum wasn’t happy with Raley’s execution on this day. Or the pitch selection from his catchers. Or some of the plays in the field that led to easy bases for the Brewers.
The good for the moment: Castro, Rizzo and Jackson each had two hits and two RBIs and reached base a combined nine times.
The not so good: Former No. 3 overall draft pick Josh Vitters has lost most of the playing time until further notice to Luis Valbuena because of a deep hitting funk.
‘‘Obviously, we’ve shifted gears a little bit that way because we’re just not getting nothing out of that position,’’ Sveum said. ‘‘We’re just going to evaluate and keep plugging along and determine what we have moving forward. …’’
For Williams, it’s 50 years ago all over again.
‘‘There’s about five guys I think who’ve come up from the minor leagues and can have some good years up here,’’ Williams said.
He’s not guaranteeing anything. But Williams likes the team’s approach.
‘‘I think it’s the best,’’ he said, ‘‘because you see a lot of flags flying in St. Louis, and you see a lot of flags flying in Dodger Stadium. That’s how they did it.’’