Baseball’s All-Star break came at what I thought was a perfect time, promising a four-day vacation from the frustration that has plagued the Chicago Cubs for the last month. Four days without anemic offense, without the new development of bullpen disasters, without bad starts, bad finishes, bad middles and the “curse of the top of the seventh.”

Well, it was my mistake to think that.

Wednesday’s All-Star Game (which counted this time, I should point out), won 7—6 by the American League in Chicago, was for Cubs fans simply a rerun of a script that’s been played out a lot lately — specifically, 20 times in the Cubs’ last 31 games.

Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood pitched a flawless bottom of the fourth inning, giving up a single and fielder’s choice groundout among strikeouts of two terrific AL hitters, the Mariners’ Edgar Martinez and the Angels’ Troy Glaus.

Then, the National League notched five runs in the top of the fifth. With a 5—1 lead and a truly terrifying NL trio of relievers — Eric Gagne of Los Angeles, Billy Wagner of Houston and John Smoltz, Atlanta’s closer who boasts a 0.95 ERA and a major league-leading 34 saves.

Gagne and Wagner brought decent qualifications into the game, too, with Wagner having participated in a no-hitter this season and Gagne a perfect 31 for 31 in save opportunities.

Foolish man that I am, I began thinking in the fifth about the possibility of Wood picking up an All-Star Game victory, becoming the first Cub to pull off the feat since Lee Smith did it in the 1987 game in Oakland.

I should have recognized the pattern from earlier games this season. Wood is 9—6 at the midway point of the season, having won four of his last five starts to get there. In Wood’s six losses and four no-decisions, the Cub offense has scored a total of 30 runs, only 12 of them coming with Wood in the game. Throw out Wood’s forgettable three-inning Fourth of July outing in which he served up three home runs and seven earned runs to St. Louis, and the Cubs average 2.4 runs per game when Wood can’t pick up a victory.

Wood hasn’t had enough runs all year, but his bullpen has more than made up for that by blowing saves in two games he left with the lead.

Wood’s teammates have been shut out in two of his starts. Other times, they’ve put a crooked number on the scoreboard early and hoped it would stand up. April 6, the Cubs scrambled four runs in the top of the first before putting their bats away and losing 5—4, giving Wood his first no-decision of the year.

The All-Star Game combined a few ways Wood has managed to avoid winning. Only the Braves’ Andruw Jones saw fit to add on to the NL lead after the five-run fifth, knocking a solo homer in the seventh. The AL began chipping away at the lead almost immediately.

Wagner came into the game in the seventh inning, giving up one run to close the NL advantage to 6—4. Things still looked good.

Gagne took the mound in the bottom of the eighth inning. I’ll remind you that he had not blown a single save all season.

There’s not really a lot of suspense here anymore. As you either know or guessed, Gagne got two outs before giving up a run-scoring double. Then the Texas Rangers’ Hank Blalock hit a two-run home run in his first All-Star at bat, and the AL led 7—6, the eventual final. Blown save for Gagne, no victory for Wood.

I guess I have seen this story before. Lots of times.

And Hank Blalock? I suppose he represents another trend the Cubs started recently, having unlikely heroes beat them. In the four-game series preceding the break, Atlanta’s Vinny Castilla went 11 for 15 against the Cubs, raising his average from .248 to .271. He included three doubles, two homers and 10 RBIs for good measure.

Of course, Wood’s missed opportunity makes no difference in the baseball season, unless the Cubs stumble into the World Series (Stop laughing, this is the year! Really!) and lose a seventh game on the road because of Gagne’s ineptitude. (Remember, “This time it counts.”) But that’s a long time from now.

The Cubs open the second half Friday in Miami against the Marlins, and Wood will probably get the start. I’ll be anxious to see what happens then.

There aren’t any major league games Wednesday, and the Cubbies are off Thursday, so I think I can safely consider those two days my vacation from a frustrating season.