It may have been just another mid-May regular season game, but there was something about Tuesday’s 3-0 loss that should keep Chicago Cub manager Lou Piniella sleepless in St. Louis.

At least for last night.  And, if any of the Cubs remaining games in the series resemble Tuesday’s nightmarish effort, maybe a lot longer.

Watching the Cubs go gently into the good St. Louis night was freakishly reminiscent of another Chicago pallid performance from the not-to-distant past.   While, like most Cub fans, I’d just as soon forget last year’s meek exit from the NLDS, the similarities between those games and Tuesday night were too striking to overlook, the effort-less play too dismal to dismiss.

From Joel Pineiro’s opening pitch to Alfonso Soriano’s feeble strike out swing to end the game, it was evident better things awaited the Chicago Cubs elsewhere.

Side bets on which Cub player could make the quickest out?  Two-fers awaiting in the hotel lounge perhaps? Whatever the case behind the Cubs early exit, they certainly wasted no time in removing themselves from Busch Stadium.

How easily did Chicago go down?  It took the Cardinals a mere two hours and five minutes to dispose of the free-swinging Cubs.  And Chicago hitters were dominated by a pitcher who’s last shutout was six seasons ago and Tuesday’s complete game was his first since 2006.

Pineiro threw just 92 pitches, 28 of those balls to the 28 Cub batters he faced.   Or as my calculator points out, an average of one ball per batter and just one Cub hitter over the limit.

As I mentioned earlier it was a stark reminder of another dominating pitching performance from a normally less-than-dominating pitcher - Hiroki Kuroda.

Remember him?  He was the Dodgers who, along with two relievers, handcuffed Cub hitters to complete the NLDS sweep.  And like Pineiro has enjoyed a mediocre at best big-league career.

Both Kuroda and Pineiro have proved it doesn’t take overpowering stuff to shut down the Chicago Cub offense.

“They’re a very aggressive team, they want to try to knock the pitcher out,” Pineiro said. “You make your pitches down in the zone, they’ll be on the ground like they were today.”

And as the offense has been for most of the season.  The Cubs are 22nd among major league teams with a .252 batting average, 17th in on base percentage and 19th in runs scored.

That potent Cub offense of 2008 is beginning to look more and more like a remnant of a distant past.  Unfortunately, showings like Tuesday night only serve as a reminder that the faces may have changed but its still the same Chicago Cub team.