Chicago Cubs 2009 Season

The Party's Over

Well the Party for the Chicago Cubs for 2009 will end just like that of the last 101 years. As we complete the Labor Day weekend it is quite obvious, even to us die hard Chicago Cubs fans, that the fantasy of post season is just that, a fantasy. We are at best a 500 club at the moment. We are 11.5 games behind the Cardinals and 8 games back in the wild card with just 27 games remaining.

Our pitching was pretty good all year. But our offense was a major disappointment. We didn't score runs like we did the last couple of years. We left so many runners in scoring position. We had players not playing to the level expected. Alfonso Soriano, Geovany Soto, Mike Fontenot all were off this year. Not by a little but by a lot. Aramis Ramirez had a good year but he missed 50 games after dislocating his shoulder. We traded Mark DeRosa and replaced him with Milton Bradley who didn't come close to DeRosa's production. Jim Edmunds didn't return and we didn't have a replacement for him. Edmunds had 20 home runs and 55 RBI last year. And as much as I admire Reed Johnson and his energy his year was off and watched from the disabled list a good portion of the season. Micah Hoffpauir and Jake Fox have hit pretty well both connecting for 10 homeruns each. Hoffpauir batting average maybe suspect. Carlos Zambrano brilliant at times was also just as unbrilliant at other times. Kevin Gregg won and lost the closer role that contributed to some very killing loses. Aaron Miles was just not there. Not sure what is wrong there but sure was not a Mark DeRosa replacement in the infield.

As much as we have had a disappointing season there were some bright spots. Derrek Lee has bounced back and is having a great year. We found a new starting pitcher in Randy Wells. An unknown Jeff Baker popped up in a trade and I think is a keeper. Plays a decent second base and is hitting .331 in 45 games with the Chicago Cubs. Fukodome has rebounded from a disappointing second half last year and put together a year we were expecting. Koyie Hill proved to be a better back up catcher than expected and very durable. Better at throwing out runners than Soto. Has a great winning percentage when he starts.

We had an influx of players from AAA. Mostly to fill in for injuries, find hitting production from second base and others just to help in the bullpen. We found some players that I think have potential but of course will need to see how they perform at the major league level. Jake Fox has produced and does not get cheated at the plate. Fast balls leave the yard in a hurry. But will he be able to hit a major league breaking pitch and off speed pitches? That is the problem so far with Micah Hoffpauir. Sam Fuld is fun to watch crashing into the walls. Has made some unbelievable plays. He has a decent batting average at .279 and good on base percentage at .402. He may even be a base stealing threat but let's not get ahead of ourselves. But you can't win a division with your AAA club of players.

We have a boat load of young pitchers but there isn't enough data and field testing at the major league level to really determine what there is there. Potential is a common term for the unknown.

So what happened to the Chicago Cubs in 2009? Injuries, players not playing at the level needed to win games, not driving in runners in scoring position or is it chemistry? Chemistry is hard to define. Like momentum. We had a lot of line up changes, not just with players but batting order as if we just didn't know where everyone was to fit. Winning builds chemistry and momentum. They go together. We never put together a winning streak that built on itself. We failed so many times, lost games in walk offs that we should have won. These are games that the last two years we did win. It makes the difference between winning a championship and not winning.

We are at the wait until next year phase. The Chicago Cubs 2009 season is not over yet. We need to have a good finish. There are some big question marks. What input and impact will the new owners have? What are we going to do with Rich Harden? He will be a free agent and his durability history is a concern. We have a number of players that did not have great years under expensive long term contracts--Carlos Zambrano, Milton Bradley and Alfonso Soriano to list a few.

The party's over. Wait until next year is here.

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