Grading the 2009 Chicago Cubs: Season (Almost) End

In the middle of the season, I put together my grades for the Chicago Cubs roster, manager, and general manager.

At that point in the year, Milton Bradley hadn't done anything, Aramis Ramirez was hurt and Derrek Lee was warming up. The pitching staff was rotating injures.

At that point, the Cubs still stood a chance of seeing postseason baseball.

Now we're in the middle of September. Bradley woke up, Ramirez got healthy, and the team fell apart at the seams. Now, October is reserved for Blackhawks hockey and Bears football on Chicago's North Side.

Granted, we've still got three weeks of baseball, but here are my season-ending grades for the Cubs. Why now? Because football starts Sunday, and my misery ends when Jay Cutler begins.

General Manager Jim Hendry

He started 2009 by replacing Mark DeRosa with Aaron Miles, spending DeRosa's salary on Milton "Oliver Stone in stripes" Bradley, and traded one of the team's top pitching prospects, Jose Ceda, for Kevin Gregg.

He also traded Ronny Cedeno, Felix Pie, and Garrett Olsen for the grand sum of Aaron Heilman.

He had a well established F by the All Star Break.

But my gripe with Hendry extended into August and the beginning of September. I liked his move to add John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny at the trade deadline.

But when the San Francisco Giants claimed Heilman off waivers and the Cubs did not unload the loser, Hendry cemented this as the worst job a GM has done in Chicago since Greg Maddux was allowed to leave for nothing almost 20 years ago.

You flunked, Jim. This season is your fault.

Manager Lou Piniella

Let me first say that not everything that's gone wrong between the lines at Wrigley Field was Hendry's fault.

Not all of it was Piniella's fault, either.

Hendry put together a mixed bag that Nuts on Clark wouldn't sell to a blind customer.

Piniella's been handcuffed by having almost zero depth and inconsistent bats that, when coupled with attitude issues, leave any manager looking like Piniella does in this photo.

But Piniella didn't help himself. When he dropped Alfonso Soriano in the lineup, Derrek Lee started having runners on base to drive in. When Milton Bradley was moved up to the second spot in the order, he became the on-base machine Hendry overpaid to bring into the team.

Piniella also took five months too long to remove Gregg from the closer's role, allowed Heilman to blow too many leads, and waited too long to admit, in public, that Koyie Hill was the better option behind the plate this year.

Pinella gets a C- for this season, and that might be generous.

SP Carlos Zambrano

My million dollar question for the future of the Cubs is this: How good could Zambrano be if he ever grows up?

He's been suspended, injured, and failed to tell the team he was hurt.

In fact, one could argue that his missed start against the Rockies was the catalyst that sunk the season for the Cubs, as that series taxed an already-thin bullpen during a stretch where the Cubs didn't have enough days to rest anyone.

Zambrano gets a D for 2009. He's paid to be a leader, and he's done anything but that this year.

SP Ryan Dempster

Dempster hasn't had a season up to the standards he set last year, but anyone that believed last year was the norm and not a fluke is kidding themselves (Hendry).

He's been good when not hopping the dugout fence, and many people don't realize that he's been pitching with heavy personal issues on his heart all year; his infant daughter was seriously ill but is progressing well.

Dempster gets a C+ this year. He's been a professional, but just needs to take the stairs more often.

SP Ted Lilly

Lilly gets the unique bragging rights that come with being the only played to hear boos when announced at the All Star Game this year.

He deserved better.

At 11-8 with a 3.17 ERA, he has truly been the Cubs only All Star this year. If he had avoided his turn on the disabled list, he might have been in position to challenge the 17-18 win range again this year.

Lilly gets an A for this year, and is one of the very, very few reasons Hendry has a job.

SP Randy Wells

If the Cubs gave him any run support, and the bullpen had done their job, Wells might have challenged Philadelphia's J.A. Happ for the National League Rookie of the Year Award.

It's a shame the injury bug had to start taking turns through the starting rotation to get this kid a shot.

He stands at 10-8 with a 2.84 ERA, but those aren't the most impressive stats he's put together this year. He's the first Cub rookie to win 10 games since Kerry Wood in 1998, and he's qualified for a quality start in 16 of his 22 starts.

Like Lilly, Wells, gets an A followed by a standing ovation.

SP Rich Harden

Almost moved at the waiver deadline, Harden leads the Cubs staff in strikeouts this year. He's actually been, surprisingly, one of the Cubs most healthy starters this year and had turned in a nice season.

In a contract year.

When, not if, Hendry offers him too much money, it will be interesting to see how Harden responds. He's been good since he was acquired last year at the end of July, but his health is always a concern.

Harden gets a B this year. When everything else on the pitching staff has gone wrong, he's quietly been effective more times than not.

1B Derrek Lee

There hasn't been a single player in Chicago that's earned his salary this year more than Derrek Lee has for the Cubs.

He's rebounded from being nicknamed "D-P Lee" last year to carry the team through the absence of Aramis Ramirez and keep the team in contention until, ironically, the lineup was healthy.

Lee's put up a nearly .300 average, a robust .376 OBP, 30 home runs and will eclipse 100 runs batted in this year, all while playing with a herniated disc in his neck and nothing around him for support.

Lee gets an overwhelming A+

2B Aaron Miles

F

Not worth words.

SS Ryan Theriot

He's actually, by many accounts, played a lot of left field better than Alfonso Soriano has this year.

The Riot has quietly, again, put up decent numbers for a National League shortstop. He's hit around .300 all year, and has stolen 17 bases.

Theriot is going to get a C+ this year because his defensive range isn't the best and his OBP in the .330s isn't high enough for him to be where he should be, near the top of the order.

3B Aramis Ramirez

Ramirez really gets an incomplete for this season because of his shoulder injury. He missed 50 games, but his numbers have been solid across the board when healthy.

For his good, and the future of the team, the Cubs should seriously consider shutting him down for the rest of September to heal his shoulder.

OF(?) Alfonso Soriano

You'll notice a question mark next to Soriano's position in this slide's title. If you've watched Soriano "play defense" this year, you don't wonder why it's there.

Soriano has been a failure this year. While it has come out now that he has been suffering from knee discomfort for most of the season, his well-below mediocre defense isn't a 2009 revelation.

In a normal year, Soriano will offensively carry his team for a few weeks on a couple occasions during the season. He didn't show up this year, though. His .303 OBP and 20 home runs aren't worth the king's ransom the Cubs are paying him.

Soriano gets an F.

OF Kosuke Fukudome

Given how poorly his season ended in 2008, Fukudome is really one of the nice surprises for the Cubs this year.

Even though he came to the Cubs because he didn't want to play center field, that's where he's found himself for a lot of 2009 and he's been pretty good.

He leads the team in doubles (31) and has his OBP near .380, ideal for a guy hitting in the top two slots in the order.

Fukudome is going to get a B from me for rebounding so well from such a muserable first year in Chicago.

OF/DH Milton Bradley

Where do I begin?

He didn't produce until the Cubs fell apart, claimed Wrigley was racist, boycotted the media and was sent home from a game against the crosstown Sox after mouthing off at Piniella.

And yet here we are in September, and Bradley has raised his average to .266 (not worth his salary) and his on-base percentage to a more-than-respectable .388.

He's a head case who is the opposite of clutch, but in a month when the season ends his baseball card will look decent enough for someone in the Wrigley spin machine to sell fans on the idea that he's worth keeping around.

Bradley gets a C-, as much for him being a clown as his weak production and poor defense.

C Geovany Soto

He was gonna hit the ball, but then he got high...
He was gonna avoid a sophomore slump, but then he got high...
Now he's riding the bench, and we know why...
Hey, hey
Because he got high, because he got high, because he got high...

Soto gets an F.

OF/3B/1B/C Jake Fox

He can flat out rake, as evidenced by his 22 extra-base hits in only 178 at bats to date. How, and where, this kid gets on the field, and whether or not he does in Chicago, will be a big question to answer this winter.

Fox gets an A.

INF Jeff Baker

Baker's been a really pleasant addition. Since being acquired, he's batting over .330 with a near-.400 OBP.

Whether or not he can do this every day for an entire season is a huge question.

With players like Mark DeRosa and Orlando Hudson becoming free agents this winter, the Cubs will need to decide if Baker's their guy in 2010 (despite Miles getting $2.5 million to do nothing again).

Baker gets a huge A+

C Koyie Hill

He's been the better of the two catchers on the roster this year.

Many might have believed that, defensively, that would be true this year. But after Geovany Soto's rookie season, to imagine Hill would be a better bat would have been unthinkable in March.

Hill gets an A from me for calling a consistently good game and for vacuuming up Soto's cheetoes in the locker room...

The Kids

Micah Hoffpauir has put up nearly the same offensive production as Milton Bradley in home runs and runs batted in in nearly 200 fewer at bats. He gets a B.

Mike Fontenot failed this year. Miles was a joke, and Fontenot failed to take advantage of an opportunity. He gets an F.

Andres Blanco gets an A. He's a gold glove-caliber defender off the bench.

Sam Fuld gets a B-. He's bounced around, but he's been a good source of runs while in the lineup.

Bobby Scales gets a C+. He has done was he's been asked to do... which hasn't been much.

RP Angel Guzman

Short of maybe Randy Wells, there hasn't been a pitcher on the Cubs' roster this year more valuable than Guzman.

Once the top pitching prospect in the organization as a starter, injuries took away most of his 20's but left him with enough natural ability to be a solid option out of the bullpen.

Guzman gets a resounding A.

RP Sean Marshall

He's been the do-everything arm the Cubs have called upon in too many scenarios this year, and has done his best and been a professional about it the entire season.

As the only lefty in the pen for most of the year, he's been good enough.

Marshall gets a B- for putting up with Piniella and covering Hendry's tail too much.

RP Aaron Heilman

See 2B Aaron Miles' slide for details

The Newbies

John Grabow's been fantastic and gets an A. I would love to see him back in Chicago next year.

Tom Gorzelanny, if he can find his form from a few years ago, could challenge for the back end of the rotation next year (especially if Harden walks).

Thanks, again, Pittsburgh!

RP Carlos Marmol

As a setup man, he's a D. Too many walks.

As the closer, he gets an A so far. He's perfect in save situations since becoming the closer and has gone back to missing bats, not the strike zone.

Overall, I'll give him a B-. If you look at the batting average he allows, it looks more like Piniella's blood alcohol content after Gregg pitches than a real number.

If he improves the BB/K ratio next year, he could be an elite closer.

RP Kevin Gregg

Kevin Gregg was

Oh, I'm sorry, did I FAIL TO CLOSE that last sentence?

This diagram breaks down what is ailing Gregg most days when he's on the mound.

After all, if you whipped your head around to watch balls fly out of the park as often as he has, whiplash is almost guaranteed to occur.

Gregg fails.

He overwhelmingly fails.

Here's my action plan for Gregg on October 4: Find a train, board it, and don't tell us where it's going. Most importantly: don't come back.

Overall Team Grade

Hendry made changes to bolster the bullpen. Short of trading for Brad Lidge, he built a bullpen that failed more than it succeeded this year.

Hendry moved veteran leaders and brought in players he thought would spark the offense. The bats hibernated for a few months longer than the offseason allowed, and they failed to score enough runs to win.

What was one of the best offenses in baseball in 2008 dropped to the bottom of baseball this year.

Defensively, the team was miserable. Besides Lee and Fukudome, nobody on this team has average range, an average arm, or plays their position well. They've given away more runs than they've killed.

A disappointing F is the grade for the 2009 Chicago Cubs. Coming off consecutive playoff appearances, being nowhere close to making the postseason this year can't be viewed as anything better than failure.

The Future is...

bright.

Jay Cutler starts tossing the pigskin for the Bears on Sunday, taking our attention away from the slow, painful end of the 2009 season.

A Special All-Time A+

Michael Jeffrey Jordan.

Yes, he played for the Sox, but no athlete united the city of Chicago the way Jordan did. After Walter Payton retired, the city was Jordan's until he walked away in 1998.

Congrats on entering the Hall of Fame to the best ever!