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The Chicago Cubs began playing baseball in 1878. The team has had many highs and many lows in their history. The Cubs were a force to be reckoned with early on, winning 16 pennants before 1946. The team brought home two World Series titles (1908 and 1917). The club had one of the best single seasons in the history of the National League four years after its formation in 1880. The team won .798 percent of its games. That season was only 84 games long, so the team finished with only 67 wins, but would have won 129 games if that had been a modern season.
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The Cubs last World Series win was in 1918, but the team threatened several times after. It was not until the 1945 World Series against Detroit that the Cubs officially became cursed. As the story goes, local tavern owner Billy Sianis was kicked out of game four of the series with the Tigers for trying to bring in his pet goat. Sianis, upset, cursed the Cubs.
Since then the Cubs have handed their fans a century of close calls and humiliations. The ’69 Cubs and the talented roster of Ron Santo, Ernie Banks, Ferguson Jenkins, and Billy Williams led the National League East deep into the season, but a last-stretch crumble and a surge by the Miracle Mets found the Cubs listening to the playoffs from their radios.
The 1984 squad had a 2-0 lead in the NLCS and a team loaded with NL MVP Ryne Sandberg, Rick Sutcliffe, Scott Sanderson, and Ron Cey. The team could not finish off the San Diego Padres though, and surrendered three games in a row after only needed one more to go the World Series.
The young 1989 Cubs had Sandberg, Sutcliffe, Andre Dawson, Mark Grace, Shawon Dunston, and Greg Maddux. They won the East once again and had a lead in the NLCS again. But, once again the team collapsed with one victory to go to win the series. Three games later the San Francisco Giants were in the World Series.
Sandberg may have retired and Dunston may have been traded, but the Cubs brought in Swinging Sammy Sosa and Henry Rodriguez to replace them in 1998. The club, on the strength of Sosa’s 66 home runs, won the wild card, but was swept by the Braves in the first round.
The Cubs latest collapse was in 2007. Lou Pinniella took over as manager and took the surprising Cubs to the playoffs in a late season surge that caught and passed the Brewers. The team could not carry that spirit very far into the playoffs, losing in the first round to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a series that stranded 30 Cubbies on base.
This may be the year that the Cubs finally win the World Series. It has been 100 years since the last crown and since then it seems every team with a long drought has ended theirs, including the cross town White Sox. The hopes are not with out warrant as the Cubs won the National League Central title last season under the management of Lou Piniella. The Cubs return a team with a mighty pricey roster that was built for one reason-to end the pain of Cubs fans.
The starting rotation is filled with strike kings. Power pitcher Carlos Zambrano returns as the Cubs’ ace and a Cy Young contender. Ted Lilly, Rich Hill, and Jason Marquis provide for a solid middle rotation. The fifth spot is not so strong with converted closer Ryan Dempster, but going four deep in starting pitching is still something to be envied.
The closer role hopes to be decided by mid-season, but the contenders are Bob Howry, Carols Marmol, and Kerry Wood. After their roles are decided, the bullpen will look very strong. The batting order is a mix of contact and power. First baseman Derrek Lee offers both, but is joined in the power department by third baseman Aramis Ramirez and leftfielder Alfonso Soriano.
Shortstop Ryan Theriot and second baseman Mark DeRosa offer nothing more than contact, but it always helps to get runners on. Kosuke Fukodome, playing right field, is a mystery. He was a huge success in Japan, and figures to be an excellent hitter in the NL, but it is always difficult to tell what will happen with imported players.
Wrigley Field will once again be an exciting place to watch baseball. The friendly bleachers will be a joy for fans and home run hitters. The Cubs have a strong roster and are heavily favored to repeat as Central Division champions. The season is long, though, and only the team that plays best over the entire 162-game schedule will go to the post season.
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