Chicago Sports
Posting Date: November 3, 2008
For the Cubs, 2008 Was Another Season To Forget
Well, the Wet Series... um, the World Series...has concluded, and it’s now official: The Cubs have gone another year without winning it. But as Jack Brickhouse would say, anyone can have a bad century.
That Philadelphia won the World Series was not such a bad thing. After all, the Phillies have had their problems over the decades, and 1980 — the last time the Phillies won the title — was such a long time ago. (That isn’t too sarcastic, is it? Transpose ’80 to ’08 [1908, that is], and then you’ll know what “a long time ago” really is!)
Actually, the fact that Tampa Bay was even in the Series was disappointing. When the Rays were up 3-games-to-1 against Boston in the series for the American League pennant and led by a large margin late in Game 5 — only to lose — the hope here was that the BoSox would eventually go on to win the series. Not that we love Boston or hate Tampa Bay, but, as Cub backers, we’re fans of Great Collapses for other teams. And what a Great Collapse that would have been. Almost enough to forget how the Cubs, for the second year in a row, were eliminated from post-season play as soon as they were in it.
And on this point, hasn’t it been great how the New York Mets have not even made the playoffs the last two seasons because of two September Great Collapses?
Wishing the worst for other teams is kind of like the misery-loves-company argument. But even in this area, the Cubs come up short. When it comes to Great Collapses, no team — in any sport — can come close to the beloved. The Cubs have a body of work — 2003, 1984, 1969, most of the 20th Century — that cannot be matched. Nonetheless, we can still hope for the worst for other teams.
But enough about feeling miserable and praying for the misery of others. Now, let’s take a look at what this space said in March, and predicted how the season would progress.
Talk about miserable...
If predictions were losses, this space had a 100-loss season. How about stating that Carlos Zambrano would win 20 games, that Ryan Dempster would be replaced in the starting rotation by Kevin Hart (Kevin Who?), or that Rich Hill would pick up the slack for a less-effective Ted Lilly?
Or how about this one:
Kosuke Fukudome will become a fan favorite. Let’s hope the opposite is not true, because it could get kind of ugly. (Just look at the first 4 letters in his last name.)
Actually, that prediction was not that bad. Fukudome, indeed, was a fan favorite, but only for three months. And as for his final three months, Cub fans were turning his last name into a four-letter word.
And while there were plenty of misses on preseason predictions, there were some hits too. The feeling expressed here that the Cubs needed to trade for someone to replace Alfonso Soriano in the leadoff spot was right on. Although the Cubs won 97 games during the regular season, Soriano’s disappearance in the playoffs — and for the second year in a row — was especially accentuated as a leadoff hitter, or non-hitter.
And, as far as the season would go, it was noted in this space that the Cubs would win their division “but look for them to make another quick exit in the first round of the playoffs. And that, in turn, will mean the century of futility will then go to a 101st year.”
Maybe the next century will be more uplifting.