Season in review: Chicago Cubs

On paper, this club looked untouchable. They had the best starting five in all of baseball, and had great power hitters to put runs on the scoreboard. Defensively, this team looked solid, and their manager, Dusty Baker, was one of the best in the game. The Cubs made all the right off-season moves acquiring a great defensive first baseman and solid hitter, Derek Lee (also a World Champion), and Todd Walker from the Red Sox. Too bad games aren’t played on paper–the Cubs would’ve won a long time ago.The cynical Curse of the Billy Goat lives on in Chicago after the Cubs failed to reach the playoffs, again. I bet at the beginning of the season nobody though the Cardinals would be atop the NL Central, and that the Cubs would be in third place behind the Astros. The Cubs came so close to a World Series appearance last season, but fell short. This season, they seemed stronger, faster, and more energized then ever before.

When you tell a team they are going to finish the season with a record of 89-73, most teams would think that was pretty good. Not the Cubs. That record landed the Cubs third place in the Wild Card and knocked them out of playoff contention with less than a week in the season. From injured starters, to violent sneezes, to the newly patented swing-and-miss, the Cubs couldn’t stay consistent throughout the season.

So who do we put the blame on? Sammy Sosa? Certainly not. Despite his abysmal average of only .253 and 133 strikeouts, a player can only be responsible for so much. In my opinion, the blame should be held against the manager, Dusty Baker.

At one point, I considered Baker one of the best managers in the MLB, now I can bluntly see I must rebuke that statement. Baker led the Giants to the World Series in 2002, only to be defeated by the Anaheim Angels. He found success managing the Giants, and I thought his prior triumphs would carry over to his new club, the Cubs. I guess I was wrong.

Most managers are asked to make something out of nothing, but Baker was given all the parts he needed, he just didn’t achieve. And in my view, that is the sign of a weak manager.

One manager that has proved to me that he can make something out of nothing, Phil Garner. Garner was slung into a frenzy after the Astros fired their previous manager. Garner proved that he deserved a shot, and he made the most of it. Now the Astros are in the playoffs. Baker couldn’t muster a playoff birth when he had a better team surrounding him. Baker’s first season with the Cubs was a total failure.

A poor managing decision by Baker was to sit newly acquired second baseman Todd Walker for almost 40 games. His replacement, Mark Grudzielanek…enough said. How could he do this? Walker had a phenomenal season with Boston; I don’t understand Baker’s reasoning.

It baffles me how this team could look so good on paper and still fail to reach expectations. The Nomar Garciaparra trade should’ve and would’ve been enough for any other team to succeed, but somehow Baker found a way to lose. Garciaparra added the well-needed line-drive bat that this lineup lacked. The Cubs couldn’t get anything done with it.

Derek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Garciaparra, Moises Alou, Corey Patterson, and Sosa. Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, Greg Maddux, Carlos Zambrano, and Matt Clement. How is this possible? How can you lose with a club of this caliber? Baker’s got a lot of explaining to do this off-season.

The second most pivotal key to the downfall of the Cubs in 2004 was without a doubt the distressing performance that closer Latroy Hawkins put forth the entire season. 5-4 record, 2.63 era, but most importantly, Hawkins blew 9 saves in 34 chances. And down the stretch, when the Cubs needed him most, he failed to step up. I for one, as well as the rest of the world, have given this bum so many second chances and yet he still couldn’t perform well. Hawkins is a terrible closer with no future on a winning team, and that would be an understatement.

Whatever lame excuse Cubs’ fans try and make about why their team did so poorly, it doesn’t make a difference. This season just goes to show you that apparent “great teams” may not be so great if they have an awful manager that can’t get the job done when the pressure is on. No excuses this year Baker, Bartman didn’t screw up anything.