2007 Chicago Cubs

National League Central Division Championship

The 2007 Chicago Cubs entered the season with a loud bang, thanks to some major moves in the offseason. 2006 of course had been terrible, and the team finished in last place, the first time they did that in 2000. So it was time for some changes, and the team brought in some big names that ensured they would do just that. It all ended with an NL Central title and a 85-77 record for the Chicago Cubs 2007 season.

2007 NL Central Standings Team W L Pct GB Cubs 85 77 .525 -- Brewers 83 79 .512 2 Cardinals 78 84 .481 7 Astros 73 89 .451 12 Reds 72 90 ..444 13 Pirates 68 94 .420 17

The team fired Dusty Baker after 2006, much to the relief of most fans, and brought in Lou Pinella to replace him. Pinella, all fire and spirit and toughness was the opposite of Baker and was supposed to inject some life and fire into the players too, and he did just that. To go along with Pinella, the team signed Alfonso Soriano in the offseason to the biggest deal in team history, $136 million over 8 years.

Soriano joined a lineup that featured some other high powered sluggers, adding a lot of potential for run scoring to the team. Derrek Lee had a great year at the plate, batting .317, Aramis Ramirez hit .310 and was second on the team with 26 home runs, behind Soriano, who hit 33 home runs and bat .299. The team also had brought in Cliff Floyd and Mark DeRosa and other position players included Ryan Theriot and Jacque Jones. The team also imported pitching as well. They brought in Ted Lilly, who went 15-8 on the year and Jason Marquis, who went 12-9, to join Carlos Zambrano and Rich Hill.

Carlos Zambrano vs Michael Barrett

The fire from Pinella was seen with the 2007 Chicago Cubs right from the start.
The season began with a slow start and then a notable brawl between Zambrano and catcher Michael Barrett.

Lou Piniella out at third

The Cubs were 9 games under .500, and then Sweet Lou had one of his famous blowups arguing with an ump, and the Cubs were able to turn it on from there, they stormed to the division lead and overtook the Milwaukee Brewers along the win, eventually clinching the NL Central.

The NLDS though for the Chicago Cubs 2007 season was a disaster. They were swept out by the Arizona Diamondbacks in three games. While Pinella did so much right during the year, he received a lot of the criticism for the series loss. He pulled Zambrano in the sixth inning in the first game when he was dueling with Brandon Webb, because he wanted to save him for later in the series. Of course, the Cubs lost the game and Zambrano never got another chance to pitch.

The 2007 Chicago Cubs featured a lot of fresh faces in the field and on the mound, and of course on the bench, with Pinella leading the team. They made a dramatic turnaround from 2006, going from last place in the division to first place in the division, but they then finished the year on yet another sour note, as the Diamondbacks easily swept them and left the Cubs searching once again for more answers.

2007 League Division Series

NLDS GAME 1	R	H	E
Cubs	1	4	0
Diamondbacks	3	6	1

W: Brandon Webb, L: Carlos Marmol,
Save: Jose Valverde

NLDS GAME 2	R	H	E
Cubs	4	8	0
Diamondbacks	8	9	1

WP - Doug Davis, LP - Ted Lilly;
Save - none

NLDS GAME 3	R	H	E
Diamondbacks	5	10	1
Cubs	1	7	0

WP - Livan Hernandez, LP - Rich Hill,
Save - none

Arizona Diamondbacks win series 3-0

The 2007 Chicago Cubs Season comes to an end again.

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