"So a manager, a coach and a rabbi go into a bar ...

Make that a car. And leave out the rabbi.

''I don't know what happened,'' manager Lou Piniella said. ''I probably shouldn't have taken the nap.''

If it seems like the Cubs are starting to lose their way as the season grinds down, maybe it's just Piniella and first-base coach Matt Sinatro driving around the wrong end of Ohio looking for Cincinnati.

Then again, maybe not. After all, Lou and Matty's Excellent Adventure ended up in the right place Friday -- albeit, three hours after they planned to get to the ballpark on their drive from Chicago and only after overshooting that right turn at Toledo by 90 miles and buying a map.

''Anyway, we're here,'' Piniella said.

Not that they liked what they saw in Cincy any better than Sandusky.

It took the Cubs all of two innings to look as lost as they did against Houston at home earlier in the week -- falling behind quickly and decisively in a 10-2 loss to the Reds that extended the Cubs' season-long losing streak to six games.

Ted Lilly (13-9) had his worst start of the season. Jon Lieber didn't fare any better in his first appearance since July 10. And the bats slept through their own series of on ramps Friday night -- with Koyie Hill's RBI double in the seventh providing the first extra-base hit for the lineup since Tuesday. It ended a 19-inning stretch that included just 11 singles -- six of them infield hits, including all three Friday before Hill.

When it was over, the sum of their hitting for the night was one double, four infield singles and one single that reached the outfield.

''I don't know where the offense has gone, I really don't,'' Piniella said. ''These guys are trying, so I've got no complaint from that standpoint. But the truth of the matter is, you've got to get it done.''"