The 2009 Cubs By The Letters

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

The 2009 Cubs were a colossal disappointment.  I used the same term when I wrote about Chicago not getting the Olympics, and I think the level of disappointment is about the same.

The Cubs won 97 games and the division a year ago, and much of the same was expected from them this year.  Let's take a look at the Cubs' season by the letters.

A is for Aramis Ramirez

Aramis Ramirez has been the Cubs' best RBI guy since 2003, and he's played a pretty good third base, as well.  On May 8th, he dove for a ball and dislocated his left shoulder. He had to miss the next two months, and the Cubs really missed his bat in the middle of the lineup.  He did hit .317 with 15 homers and 65 driven in on the year, but only played in 82 games.  If we project his numbers out for the full year, that gives him 30 HR and 130 RBI, which the Cubs will take every year.

B is for Bullpen

The Cubs bullpen took a hit when they let Kerry Wood walk away (more on that later). Carlos Marmol was lights out in 2008 as the setup guy, and the logical progression would have been to promote him to closer.  But they went out and signed Kevin Gregg instead, who led the league in blown saves in 2008.  He wasn't much better in 2009, as he gave up 13 HR and blew 7 saves.  They eventually relieved Gregg of his relief duties, and made Marmol the closer.  Bright spots were Sean Marshall, who split time between the rotation and the 'pen, and Angel Guzman pitched well late in games.

C is for Cubby Occurrences

Lou Piniella coined this term sometime during his time with the Cubs.  It refers to anything that happens that's seemingly inexplicable.  One example is when Ryan Dempster broke a toe jumping over the dugout rail to celebrate a win.  Another was when Derek Lee's neck spasms flared up after Angel Guzman slapped him in the head celebrating a home run.

D is for Derrek Lee

D Lee got back to being the player everyone knows he can be after a disappointing 2008. Lee regained his power stroke, hitting 35 bombs and driving in 111 (career high).  Lee would go on streaks where it seemed like everything he hit was either a double or a home run.  He was, without a doubt, the Cubs' MVP for 2009.

E is for Errors

The Cubs were one of four NL teams with more that 100 errors, with 105.  There were some really mind-boggling errors during the course of the season, and most of them centered around Alfonso Soriano in left field.  Can't win if you don't catch the baseball!

F is for Fans

The Cubs, yet again, passed the three million mark in attendance.  You could look at this in one of two ways: On one hand, you could say that Cubs fans will support their team regardless of where they are in the standings.  On the other hand, you could make a strong case for Wrigley Field keeping its reputation as the biggest beer garden in the world.  The Wrigley Faithful came into play a couple of times during the year, whether it was the supposed racial insults thrown at Milton Bradley, or some guy in the bleachers throwing a beer at Shane Victorino.

G is for Geovany Soto

The 2008 NL Rookie of the Year had a terrible year, as he fell victim to the proverbial sophomore slump.  Soto played in the World Baseball Classic, and came into Cubs camp out of shape.  He never did get it going, and finished the year with a .218 batting average.  He also missed nearly a month with a strained oblique, causing backup Koyie Hill to catch 26 games in a row.  One of the funnier moments of the year did come at the expense of Soto, however, as it was reported that he tested positive for marijuana during the WBC.  

That led to Piniella admitting he tried the stuff once, but in his own words, "It didn't do a damn thing for me".

H is for Hitting

The Cubs' offense was the best in the NL last year.  This year, not so much.  The Cubs went from first to tenth in runs scored, and hit just .255 as a team, good for 12th. What they were great at was making no-name pitchers look like Cy Young.

I is for Injuries

Now every team faces injuries during a baseball season.  It's just not feasible to imagine a season where every key player on a team plays 162 games.  Then there's what happened to the Cubs.  

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