Looking back at the 2008 MLB season

2008 brought us a lot of surprises from the baseball diamond. First of all, the Tampa Bay Rays played in the World Series. Less surprising were the eventual World Series Champions, the Philadelphia Phillies. As for my teams, there were differing levels of disappointment.

Seattle Mariners
They were all about disappointment in 2008. From Opening Day, Erik Bedard disappointed. Carlos Silva, Richie Sexson and even Ichiro disappointed fans, teammates and management. First John McLaren was fired, then Bill Bavasi, and then late in the season the clubhouse was rife with discontent. Seattle was not a good place for baseball in 2008.

Chicago Cubs
In typical Cubs fashion, hopes were raised and excitement generated only to be deflated come October. The Cubs ended up winning 97 games and taking the NL Central by 7 1/2 games. All systems go heading into October. But then they laid another egg in the NLDS, causing me to wonder if Lou still has it.

One thing is for sure, both clubs have a lot of work to do in the off-season to get set up for 2009. Make no mistake, expectations for both clubs will be high next year. The Mariners, as an organization, need to rebound and get on track towards winning, and the Cubs need to figure out how to win in October.