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I am going to write a new article about the Cubs every month of the 2005 Cubs season. Here is issue #5. Bad Year |
Trades
I wouldn't call these white flag trades but the Cubs did end of moving a few pieces our of town before the end of August. Moving Hollandsworth was smart, even though he was my buddy but this should give my newbuddy Murton more at-bats. I am not sure about the Lawton deal. I thought he was going to be our next leadoff hitter but I will quickly forget about this if we can land Furcal in the off season. I hope they don't move Walker. I like him. He seems like a good clubhouse guy. This off season is going to be really interesting. The Cubs will have a lot of money to play with. They better spend it. I hope they go after big name guys like Dunn, Damon, Furcal, Washburn, and Billy Wagner.
Next Year
Here is the lineup I want.
1) Damon
2) Furcal
3) Lee
4) Aram
5) Dunn
6) Murton
7) Walker
8) Barrett
9) Pitcher
I might be asking for a lot but screw it. The Cubs have money. Spend it.
Waste of a Season
This whole season has felt like a big waste. Since we unloaded Sammy it felt like we were rebuilding and then with the injuries of Wood, Prior, Walker, and Nomar it felt like our main guys were out and we kept waiting for them but when they came back, we were out of the race. The thing that makes the season a big waste for me is the look to the future. It seems like this is the 1st offseason in a while where we have a lot of questions. The great thing is that we have a lot of money that will hopefully answer these questions. We will soon find out.
Postives this year
I think we can sum this up with 2 words, Derrek Lee. He has had a career year. Too bad that it has not really helped the Cubs and a playoff run. There would have been nothing better than to see Lee going for the Triple Crown during meaningful games at the end of September. Also I liek that Lee is such a nice guy. He is like the anti-Sammy. Matt Murton was also a positive this year. It was nice to see a young guy have success. This would be interesting if Murton ended up being our everyday leftfielder in the future considering we didn't really know or care about him in the Nomar deal. I was so excited about Nomar when we made the trade a year ago. I didn't even know we were also getting this Murton kid.
Negatives this year
There are quite a few negativers but I am going to narrow it down to Wood, Patterson, and the cubs announcers. I know the bullpen was roughed up this year also but tell me a team who didn't have bullpen trouble. That is the nature of a bullpen - a place where failed starters go. Negative #1 was Woody. He is made of glass. His mechanics are bad and his it seems like every time he throws - you expect him to grab his elbow or shoulder in pain. When he is good, he is great. But he has spent more time on the DL than he has on the mound. Negative #2 is Patterson. He should be the top negative but I will spare him. He had a bad year. And he has been in the big leagues for about 5 years you think he would have learned something about the strike zone by now. For a fast guy, he swings at too many bad pitches and pops up too much. This is something I am sure he will learn, in another team's uniform. The last negative I want to talk about is Len Kaspar and Bob Brenly. I have given them plenty of chances but the bottom line is that hey suck. They are annoying, boring, and are worried about watching what they say instead of just reporting the game. They are like the anti-Steve Stone. I don't like them.