Chicago Cubs
Record: 75-87 (Fifth place in NL Central, 16 games behind Cincinnati)
Batting Leaders
Batting Average: Starlin Castro (.300)
Home Runs: Aramis Ramirez (25)
RBIs: Aramis Ramirez (83)
On-base Percentage: Starlin Castro (.347)
Pitching Leaders
Wins: Ryan Dempster (15)
Strikeouts: Ryan Dempster (208)
Innings Pitched: Ryan Dempster (215.1)
ERA: Ryan Dempster (3.85). Bullpen- Carlos Marmol (2.55).
WHIP: Ted Lilly (1.14)
Saves: Carlos Marmol (38)
Highlight of the Season: After playing miserably under Lou Piniella for the majority of the season, the club appeared to be rejuvenated under interim manager Mike Quade, finishing the season at 24-13 under his helm. This stretch included a 17-9 September, a month in which the Cubs significantly damaged the postseason hopes of their rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, going 4-2 against them.
Lowlight of the Season: On July 30, the Cubs got clobbered by the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, 17-2. The Rockies would score 12 of their 17 runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, stringing together 11 consecutive two-out hits to set a major-league record. Also on par with this was the verbal altercation between Carlos Zambrano and Derrek Lee in the dugout during a June 25 game against the White Sox.
The Lowdown:
The 2010 season was quite possibly one of the more frustrating seasons for the Cubs and their fans in a long, long time. While some prognosticators expected the team to be competitive, nobody could have predicted what happened to the Cubs this year, even if they did appear to be somewhat weaker. There was not a single point during the first five months of the season where the team looked remotely competitive, and what’s worse, they appeared to not even care. Complacency and apathy seem to dominate the team’s demeanor, from manager Lou Piniella right on down to their overpaid, underperforming stars like Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, Carlos Zambrano and Derrek Lee. Even Bob Brenly (the television color analyst for the Cubs) took the team to task on one broadcast this summer, calling them a “dead-ass team” on the air, and it wasn’t a slip of the tongue, either. Even though the team finished strong and avoided 90 losses under the new leadership of Mike Quade, their finish was possibly fool’s gold, as fans have seen the same old song-and-dance before. The team will usually play well under their new manager in his first season or two, before ending disastrously a few years later. What reason should Cub fans have in hoping that Mike Quade’s leadership will somehow be better than the leadership of Lou Piniella, Dusty Baker, Don Baylor or Jim Riggleman? Honestly, can you blame them for being skeptical?
Offense:
Their offense was mediocre for the most part in 2010, finishing 18th in runs scored (685), 16th in batting average (.257), 21st in on-base percentage (.320), 17th in slugging (.401) and 17th in homers (149). However, you cannot take these stats at face value, since no statistic occurs in a vacuum. What may be considered “promising” for one team can be considered “underachieving” for another, and the Cubs are precisely the latter. With the amount of money that was spent on this team (their opening day payroll of $146 million was the third-highest in MLB), you would expect their offense to be significantly better. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, as virtually all of their big-money stars failed to produce in a manner befitting their contracts. Alfonso Soriano, who currently makes $19 million a year, hit only .258 with 24 home runs and 79 RBIs, along with a .322 on-base percentage. Aramis Ramirez, making $16.75 million this year, had numbers only slightly better, leading the team in home runs with 25 and RBIs with 83. First baseman Derrek Lee, making $13.25 million this year, hit only .251 with 16 home runs and 56 RBIs before being traded to Atlanta on August 19. Three big-name players who were all expected to be the anchors of the lineup were precisely the people who contributed to it underachieving this year.
In spite of this, there were some bright spots worth mentioning, as outfielder Marlon Byrd and shortstop Starlin Castro had solid seasons at the plate. Byrd was the only Cub player to make the NL All-Star team this year, and his solid .293 average, with 12 home runs and 66 RBIs at least provided some consistency in this disappointing lineup. Castro, in his rookie season, hit a solid .300, and if he were on a better team, he would have likely received more consideration for Rookie of the Year honors.
Unfortunately, the performances of the aforementioned two cannot save this lineup. Even though they hit better than some teams, their underachievement earns them a lower grade.
Final Grade: D
Pitching:
The Cubs’ pitching was about as lackluster as their offense, finishing 21st in ERA (4.18) and last in complete games with just one. In Cub-like fashion, their one complete game didn’t come with the full nine innings, but with a technicality, as Ryan Dempster went eight innings in a 2-0 loss at Seattle on June 22.* Dempster still proved to be the leader of this staff in 2010, going 15-12 in 215.1 innings, striking out 208, while recording an ERA of 3.85. Other than Dempster, the rest of the rotation wasn’t terrible, but it was disappointing nonetheless. Carlos Zambrano appeared to have solid numbers on the surface (11-6 record, 3.33 ERA), but that was largely overshadowed by an early demotion to the bullpen, as well as a run-in with Derrek Lee that resulted in a lengthy suspension from the team. Carlos Silva and Tom Gorzelanny were mediocre for the most part, while Randy Wells regressed from his solid 2009 campaign, going 8-14 with a 4.26 ERA this year. The Cubs’ only other solid starter, Ted Lilly, was promptly traded to the Dodgers shortly after the deadline in order to unload salary.
The Cubs bullpen was flat-out dreadful, recording the second-worst ERA in the bigs at 4.72. Carlos Marmol and Sean Marshall were the only two pulling their weight in the bullpen, as they were the only relievers to record ERAs under three. Marmol also started to show improvement as a closer this year, lowering his ERA from 3.41 to 2.55, and by lowering his walk total from 65 to 52. The lower walk total has to provide some relief for Cub fans, as he showed fewer tendencies to create ninth-inning adventures on the mound this year. After the tandem of Marmol and Marshall, no other reliever is really worth mentioning.
The Cubs pitching is pretty mediocre in general, but with a payroll this high, it should be better.
*- For those of you who are unfamiliar with baseball rules and statistics, a pitcher can still earn credit for a complete game despite going only eight innings. The pitcher would have to be on the visiting team, while the home team would have to win the game without needing the necessary last at-bat. With the exception of rain-shortened games, a pitcher will lose any time he has an eight-inning complete game. I hope I explained it well!
Final Grade: C-
Wild Card: Fielding
Adding to the misery of this past season was the Cubs’ inability to field, finishing tied for third in the majors with the most errors at 126.
Final Grade: D-
Overall:
Really if it wasn’t for the Mariners’ dreadful season, the Cubs would easily be the most disappointing team in baseball. This team needs a huge overhaul, and badly. Perhaps they could begin turning things around by investing heavily in scouting, so they can find and draft capable young talent to replace the overpaid veterans once their contracts expire. That way, their young talent can all come up around the same two to three year window, and they can possibly have a sustained run of success. Think about it: when was the last time you have seen the Cubs put together a sustained run of success through their homegrown talent? Even the Yankees have their homegrown core in Jeter, Rivera, Posada and Pettitte. Just a suggestion, that’s all.
Final Grade: D
Check back soon for the report card on the Houston Astros!
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