It's All Over

A disappointing season came to a close today with a disappointing loss to Arizona 5-2. Sam Fuld was the lone bright spot with his first and second career RBIs. There were a few themes throughout this season that really hurt us:
1) Injuries
2) Lack of Runs

And when you don't score, you don't win. The good news Cubs fans: There's always next year. This year, from the start, never had the same feel as last year. We won only 83 games. This year ended a lot different from the past two years in the sense that in '07 and '08 nobody saw the end coming, which made it even more disappointing. However, at least we were in the postseason. This year we've know that this wasn't going to be "the year" for about a month. There's a lot of things that we could talk about that didn't go our way, but let's focus on 10 good things:

1) Randy Wells- This year we found ourselves a quality big league starting pitcher in Wells. He has a chance to be the Rookie of the Year, and tied with Lilly for the team lead in wins with 12. However, let's keep our fingers crossed that he doesn't have a Soto-like Sophomore season.

2) Ted Lilly- The one Cub All-Star, the "Bulldog" gives you 110%, and you get bet your money that you'll get another strong year out of Teddy in 2010.

3) The Start- On Opening Day 2009, one of my favorite moments of the entire season occurred in the first batter. The second pitch of the season, Alfonso Soriano nailed a solo-homer. We waited all offseason for the start, and the year got off to a great start with a win over the Astros. I, for one, thought that this Soriano homer would set the tone for a great year. Needless to say, I was wrong, but it's still one of the great moments of the season.

4) Woody's Return- June 19-21, the Cubs swept a 3 game interleague series at Wrigley against Mark DeRosa, Kerry Wood, and the Indians. The Cubs were down by 7 in Game 1 of that series as late as the 5th inning, but they rallied with tallies in the 5th and 6th, then scored 4 in the 8th and were down by just 1 in the bottom of the 9th. Former Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood came on, and Derrek Lee took his former teammate deep to tie the game. The Cubs won it on a Ryan Theriot single in the 10th. Another one of the top games of the season.

5) Baker/Hart Trades- Jim Hendry may have struggled last offseason, but he made a pair of great trades during the season this year. Jeff Baker came over from Colorado, and filled that hole that DeRosa left playing all over the field. In addition, Baker tore it up at the plate. Hendry made a trade just before the deadline that brought a duo of solid left-handed hurlers over from Pittsburgh in Tom Gorzelanny and John Grabow. Gorzelanny, Grabow, and Baker could be a big part of this club in 2010. Let's hope these in-season moves are a start to some good moves this offseason by Hendry.

6) Getting a Look at the Kids- Because of the injuries, we did get a chance to get a look at guys like Andres Blanco, Jake Fox, Koyie Hill, Tyler Colvin, Esmalin Caridad, Justin Berg, Jeff Stevens, Jeff Samardzija, Sam Fuld, and others. These young players got a lot of playing time for the 2009 Cubs, and they did a nice job for us. Expect to see many of them competing for jobs in Spring Training.

7) The Minor League Teams- The Cubs had a great draft in June as top picks DJ LeMahieu and Brett Jackson ended up leading the 2009 Peoria Chiefs to the postseason. The Tennessee Smokies had a great season under manager Ryne Sandberg, and ended up going to the Southern League Championship game. The Future is looking bright...

8) Derrek Lee- The oldest starting position player on the Cubs put together a GREAT season even though the hitters around him in the middle of the Cubs order struggled. Lee is the only Cubs hitter who had a solid season.

9) Ryan Dempster- Demp dealt with an up and down season on and off the field, but Demp is a real pro. Most of the time, he stayed focused despite some difficult situations off the field.

10) Pat and Ron- No matter where the Cubs are in the standings, Pat Hughes and Ron Santo make the broadcasts on WGN Radio worth listening to. They always have fun, and Cubs fan have enjoyed them for 14 full seasons.

The one thing that worries me is that Jim Hendry and Lou Piniella seem to think they can bring back close to the same group they have now next year. Will it be an interesting winter?

Breaking News: According to Judd Sirott of WGN Radio, Jim Hendry has announced that he will bring back the entire Cubs coaching staff in 2010 except for hitting coach Von Joshua. Von will be offered a job in the Cubs farm system. The Cubs will look elsewhere this offseason for a new hitting coach.

Tomorrow morning I will have a post that puts together all of the latest Cubs Related Rumors and Notes for you, as we enter the "Hot-Stove Season".

I want to thank all of you for reading my blog this year. It's been a fun year of blogging on the Cubs, and I hope you enjoyed reading. Remember: The season is done, but Everything Cubs Blog is not, our offseason posts and blogging will start tomorrow and continue all winter long.

And remember...
183 Days Until Opening Day 2010 @ATL