Cubs with 4-3 walk-off win against Giants in emotional game; Darwin Barney gets his Gold Glove award

Wow, what an (Opening) week it's been for the Cubs and Wrigley Field.  First off, the Wrigley renovation talks are still ongoing, but seem to be making progress.  Secondly, if you haven't heard about the severed goat head that was delivered in a box to Gate K at Wrigley Field and addressed to Cubs owner Tom Ricketts, you don't follow the Cubs all that closely.  Also, Cubs top prospect Jorge Soler was ejected from the Daytona Cubs Class A game earlier this week after a bench-clearing incident and has been suspended for five games.

Lastly, the Cubs blew another lead in the ninth inning against the San Francisco Giants today, but were able to come back with a walk-off win.  The final score was 4-3 Cubs.

David DeJesus and his Cubs teammates celebrate after he scores the game-winning run on Friday against the Giants (Chicago Tribune photo)

How it happened:  Carlos Villanueva had a great start as he allowed just three hits and no runs and walked one and struck out three batters over 7.1 innings pitched.  When newly named Cubs closer Kyuji Fujikawa came into the ninth, he must've been channeling Carlos Marmol as he blew the 2-0 lead for Villanueva.

Entering the bottom of the ninth, the Cubs were trailing the Giants 3-2 but Dioner Navarro got things started with a home run while pinch-hitting.  David DeJesus then had a two-out single and Starlin Castro followed by hitting a double for DeJesus to score the game-winning run.  DeJesus and Castro both also homered earlier in the game.

It was very satisfying to see the Cubs come back after losing the lead and watch them jump around on the field with so much enthusiasm after the walk-off win while "Go Cubs Go" could be heard in the background.  On a side note, Villanueva said the following about not getting credited with the win today, "Personal stats will come.  Keep doing my job and they'll come eventually.  But the atmosphere in our clubhouse right now...I wouldn't change that for the world.  I'm happy."  Glad to hear it, Carlos!

Before today's game, second baseman Darwin Barney received his Gold Glove award in a ceremony on the field, since he will be rehabbing at Triple-A Iowa starting tomorrow through Monday and is expected to rejoin the Cubs lineup on Tuesday.  Hooray!

Darwin Barney poses with his Gold Glove award at Wrigley Field on Friday (photo from @Cubs on Twitter)

Tomorrow, the Cubs and Giants will play the rubber game of the series at 1:20pm CT.  Jeff Samardzija will start for the Cubs and try to earn his second win of the season.

Darwin Barney wins the Gold Glove award

One of the brightest spots in a tough season this year for the Cubs was when the announcement came on Tuesday night that second baseman Darwin Barney won the NL Gold Glove award for his position.

Darwin Barney's 141-game errorless streak earned him the NL Gold Glove award at second base for 2012 (photo from Chicago Tribune)

Barney had an incredible season as he played in 141 error-free games and tied a Major League single-season record at second base, which had been set in 2007 by Placido Polanco.  Barney was just three outs away from setting a new record when he was charged with a throwing error in the eighth inning on September 28th against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Barney is the first Cub to win a Gold Glove since first baseman Derrek Lee in 2007.  He is also the first to win a Gold Glove at second base since Hall of Fame member Ryne Sandberg, or as some like to call him, "Ryno," won his ninth and final Gold Glove in 1991.

Ryno and Barney are well acquainted, as Sandberg was Barney's manager in the Minor Leagues for three seasons and had a big part in working with and training Barney for second base, since he originally played shortstop.  

"I'm extremely thrilled," Barney said.  "It's something you came into the season working towards, but it's not something where I thought the results would be there as quickly as they were.  I'm extremely happy about it.  There's a lot of good competition.  I'm really surprised it ended up happening for me.  It's an exciting night for me."

Cubs manager Dale Sveum said, "It goes without saying he's Gold Glove material.  I've been in the game 30 years, and I've never seen anyone play second base like [Barney] has."

Every Major League manager and up to six coaches on each staff helped determine the winners of the Rawlings Gold Glose Awards.  They chose from a pool of qualified players in their respective league and couldn't vote for players on their own team.

Even though Barney is thrilled about winning the award, he isn't letting it get to his head.  "From top to bottom, you have to continue to work on your routine plays and being consistent," he said.  "You know you're not going to run into a streak defensively every single year -- or I guess not very often at all.  You want to be as consistent as you can and keep working.  You can't be satisfied."

He also said, "Winning Gold Gloves doesn't satisfy me for the future.  It makes me proud of my season.  It makes me hungry to work and try to get another one someday.  It's been a long path.  It's a big accomplishment for me."

Darwin Barney shakes hands with teammates after scoring the winning run in the last game of the season on October 3rd (photo by Karen Burchell)

Congratulations to Darwin Barney - I'll always have a soft spot for you since meeting you in January of 2011, when you weren't even sure if you'd make the big league team out of spring training, but you were extremely nice and down to earth and I could tell you would soon make an impression in the baseball world!