To make matter worse, we started the season 24-10. That was a perfect storm of EVERYONE playing great at the same time. We were never that good.
So lets take off the glasses and get back to reality.
Bill Hall struggled for months to learn his position. Last year he played out of his mind. He is a good player - he is by no means an elite player.
Corey Hart was hurt for a significant portion of the year. It was great to watch his resurrgence around the midpoint of the season - but he was pretty bad early in the season.
J.J. Hardy is a slick fielding SS with limited pop in his bat. He was always a weak link in our offense. That fact that he went on a HR/Batting craze never changed him. He was incredibly lucky for 2 months - and pitchers were giving him high and inside pitches to hit.
Ignore Capuano and Hardy as all stars. It was a fluke. They both had had incredible short term success (1/2 season) that warranted a spot on the squad. That doesn't mean they were one of the best players in MLB. Plenty of bad players have made the all star team - Ask the Royals.
We have plenty of pitching depth - but little pitching talent. We have up to 8 starters we can trot out to the mound when everyone is healthy. But the fact that we couldn't ever figure out which 5 were best gives a pretty good indication that none of them were that good.
Ben Sheets is hurt again. Early in the season EVERYONE said we needed him healthy to win. He is hurt.
YoGo is a rookie. VERY rarely does a rookie pitcher experience huge success in his first year. This kid is very young. When it comes to being a rookie pitcher - you can pretty much call the first year a trial run.
Suppan was a ton of money at an average (but healthy) pitcher. Paying him more money didn't make him a better player. He is little more than a guy to take the ball every 5 days - and to be fair, he does have the most IP.
Weeks is potential. At some point, potential has to be realized. He has been battling injuries this year and last. But we need to accept that given his "special" trait of bat speed - his wrist injuy might keep him from ever realizing his talent. At this point, he is one of the worst 2nd basemen in the league.
Coco is a flawed closer. He was traded from Texas for a reason. He is good at home and horrible on the road. He also seems to tire pretty easy. He isn't going to have a .56 ERA all year.
Maddux isn't God. Everyone here seems to say so. He has had some success with certain pitchers. But LOTS of pitchers have come through that haven't had good years under him. He has had pitchers leaking talent that he was unable to harness (De La Rosa) I am not saying anything is his fault - but he can't turn water into wine.
Ned has never done anything to show he is a big time manager. He carried a clipboard for a number of years on championship caliber teams. But being #2 and the head guy are two very different roles.
I don't mean this to be a vent. It actually isn't a vent at all. I am just trying to point out that we shouldnt' be winning every game. We have some serious flaws on our team. In fact, the only reason going into the season people thought we had a chance was because our division was soooo bad.
They were right. We are an average team. We have been hurt by injuries. We are in a really bad division.
So I am going to try to enjoy that fact that we are in first. I know it doesn't mean we are that good. But it's still pretty funny to watch the Cubs continue 100 years of crapulence!







