2008 Chicago Cubs

National League Central Division Championship

Coming off the 2007 division title but the disappointing playoff-sweep loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the 2008 Chicago Cubs made more major off season moves. They brought in a number of new players both before and during the year, and were determined to make the Chicago Cubs 2008 season a great one. For the whole season it looked as if that would be the case, but more disappointment and heartbreak awaited the club at the end of it all.

2008 NL Central Standings Team W L Pct GB Cubs 97 64 .602 -- Brewers 90 72 .556 7.5 Astros 86 75 .534 11 Cardinals 86 76 .531 11.5 Reds 74 88 .457 23.5 Pirates 67 95 .414 30.5

The offseason was a busy one for the 2008 Chicago Cubs. They tried frequently, and unsuccessfully, to bring in 2nd baseman Brian Roberts of the Baltimore Orioles. They signed Japanese baseball star Kosuke Fukudome, who captured fans' hearts at first but was never really able to come close to meeting everyone's expectations. Jim Edmonds was also brought into the mix, as was Reed Johnson and Jon Lieber.

The lineup for the 2008 Chicago Cubs was very deep. Five players hit 20 or more homeruns, and Edmonds came up just short of making it six, with 19 home runs in just 85 games. The team also sent a record-tying eight players to the All Star game. Catcher Geovany Soto hit 23 homeruns and was the rookie of the year in the National League. Alfonso Soriano led the team with 29 homeruns, Aramis Ramirez added 27 and 111 RBIs, Derrek Lee chipped in with 20 and 90, and Mark DeRosa added 21 and 87.

Things were looking great for the Chicago Cubs 2008 season, and with all of the star power, the team cruised through much of the regular season. They won the NL central again, marking the first time that the team would enter the postseason in back to back years since the 1906-1908 seasons. The 2008 Chicago Cubs finished with a stellar 97-64 record, won their 10,000th game of franchise history, and entered the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers as heavy favorites.

The team had brought in Rich Harden late in the year, and he was fantastic, going 5-1 with a 1.77 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 71 innings. Plus, Carlos Zambrano was hot, having pitched a no hitter on September 14th. But, surprise, things went wrong in a hurry in the series against the Dodgers. James Loney hit a grand slam off Ryan Dempster in game 1, and the Cubs never rebounded, getting swept out of the postseason for a second straight year.

The 2008 Chicago Cubs really had a ton of potential, and that showed as they won a great 97 games. With all of the new talent in the field and on the mound, and with the sour taste of last season's early postseason exist, this team should have been poised to at least make it to the NLCS, if not further. But they couldn't get the job done, and the NL Central title for the Chicago Cubs 2008 season would be all they could hang on their hat on, as the Dodgers quickly upended them in the playoffs.

2008 League Division Series

NLDS GAME 1	R	H	E
Dodgers	7	8	1
Cubs	2	9	1

W: Derek Lowe, L: Ryan Dempster,
Save: none

NLDS GAME 2	R	H	E
Dodgers	10	12	0
Cubs	3	8	4

WP - Chad Billigsley, LP - Carlos Zambrano;
Save - none

NLDS GAME 3	R	H	E
Cubs	1	8	1
Dodgers	3	6	0

WP - Hiroki Kuroda, LP - Rich Harden,
Save - Johnathan Broxton

Los Angeles Dodgers win series 3-0

The 2008 Chicago Cubs Season comes to an end again 3-0.

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