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Cubs face busy off season
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The Chicago Cubs season ended on Sunday with one final loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. There were no celebrations on the field after the game, nor were there many celebrations around the park after the game. Some fans did gather in nearby bars to lament the season that was. Talk was about whether Lou Piniella would actually be back as manager, filling out the option year of his contract and who might be on the trading block. 
Sam Fuld rounds third base after hitting his first career home run in the last game of the season.
. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
The biggest talk was speculation about where suspended player Milton Bradley will end up after this season. General consensus is that he cannot remain a Cub. Jim Hendry likely was on the phone when he suspended Bradley and will continue to try and find a new home for him. The biggest problem? Bradley’s salary and how much the Cubs will have to eat for this mistake. The blame here is on Hendry. Did he do his due diligence before signing Bradley? It appears not. In recent days some Cubs members have said that Bradley is not a good teammate. Did he talk to Bradley’s former teammates?
The Cubs also need to make some big player changes. The only coaching change will be batting coach. All other coaches have been retained for next year. Von Joshua has been offered the AAA batting coach position. Ryne Sandberg will not be offered the batting coach position with the Cubs, which is a good move if he is in line as a future manager of the team. As one Cubs fan put it recently, “Batting coaches are the scapegoats when things go wrong.” Sandberg does not need that on his resume if he wishes to advance in the organization.
Will Carlos Zambrano be back as a Cub next year? He has said openly that if he has another year like this past year, he will retire. One predictable thing about Zambrano is his unpredictability. Perhaps a change of scenery would suit Z better than another year with the Cubs. And what are the possible outlets for a Zambrano trade? The Mets or the White Sox would be good fits for Z. With both teams he can find management that may understand him better, especially with the Sox as Ozzie Guillen is also from Venezuela.
Carlos Marmol made a case for himself as Cubs closer, taking the job at the end of the season from Aaron Gregg. As for Gregg, it’s time to trade him. Aaron Heilman is another trade-in-waiting. While his performance improved at the end of the season, he was not as effective as he should have been. The Cubs also need to give serious thought to trading Sean Marshall. While a very good pitcher, Piniella did not use him properly and he saw very little work. His biggest claim to fame this past season may be the one hitter he played against in left field, a brilliant move by Piniella at the time to keep Marshall in the game to face specific batters.
Who else will be on the trading block? It’s all speculation right now, until the Ricketts are handed the keys to the Cubs and Wrigley Field. That move should come just after the World Series ends. Major League Baseball owners have already approved the sale.
While this season didn’t end the way the Cubs or their fans expected, there are a few things to keep in mind. The Cubs did end the season with a winning record of 83 – 78, in second place, 7.5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals. Some will say that it wasn’t all Piniella’s fault. After all, the Cubs started the season with nobody on the disabled list, and eventually almost every player, or so it seemed, spent time on the DL, including every one of our starting pitchers.
There were some milestones set this year. Aramis Ramirez had his 5,000 at bat on April 21 against Cincinnati and managed to receive his 1500th hit on September 22 against Milwaukee despite a long stint on the DL due to a shoulder separation. Sam Fuld hit his first major league home run and received his first two runs batted in on the last day of the season. Alfonso Soriano hit his 1500th hit on August 18 against San Diego. He also had his 5000th at bat on April 25 against St. Louis. Bobby Scales finally saw not one stint but two in the big leagues after 10 years in the minors.
And here’s a bit of trivia for you to mull over. The Cubs now own the record for a team going the longest without being no-hit against. Sandy Koufax was the last pitcher to throw a no-hitter against the Cubs. That was achieved on September 9, 1965. The record was broken on August 29.
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