MLB Ticket Broker > Chicago Cubs Tickets

The Chicago Cubs came into the 2009 MLB season as the favorites in the NL Central. The fans and pundits questioned the signing of Milton Bradley, respecting his skill as a baseball player but questioning his effect on the locker room. Still, the Chicago Cubs were supposed to be destined to another first round exit from the National League playoffs.

Instead, the Chicago Cubs struggled to play consistently good ball, finishing in second place in the division with a 83-78 record. At first the hitting was not there, but by midseason the pitching began showing signs of wear. The team finished among the worst hitting teams in the NL and among the bottom tier of run production in the league. The stellar starting rotation that ended posting an incredible 94 quality starts (nearly enough winnable starts for two-thirds of a season) found that their efforts were wasted. The implosions in the bullpen and the lack of run support trampled the performance of these players.

Randy Wells and Ted Lilly both had 27 starts and posted an ERA near 3.00 yet both managed just 12 wins. Ryan Dempster and Carlos Zambrano had an ERA around 3.70 and Dempster managed just 11 wins in 31 starts while Zambrano won just nine games in 28 starts. Even the fifth starter, Rich Harden had a very decent ERA at 4.09 but only won nine games.

The Cubs changed closers in the middle of the season, from Kevin Gregg to Carlos Marmol. Both had an incredibly high ERA for a closer. Gregg had an ERA of 4.72 and Marmol had an ERA of 3.41. Apart from Angel Guzman, there was not a setup man to be found.

The Chicago Cubs bats proved overpriced. Derrek Lee had an incredible season with a .306 average, 35 homeruns, and 111 RBI. The glue player from the 2008 season, Aramis Ramirez missed half the season, leaving the locker room to Milton Bradley. Bradley lashed out at fans and the media, but did little to prove he was worth the money the Cubs spent. He hit just .257 and just 12 homeruns. Fans with Chicago Cubs tickets to Wrigley Field had every right to heckle the player that would be suspended by his own manager. The next biggest disappointment was Alfonso Soriano. Soriano hit 20 homeruns in 117 games, but fell to injury and still managed to strikeout 118 times.

Manager Lou Piniella can be blamed as well, blowing up on a weekly basis without any inspirational result and eventually simply giving up on the team. His times are most likely numbered with the organization, whose new ownership must decide whether to continue with this expensive group of players or gut the roster and start over.