|
 Sure, the Cubs ran out of gas in the NLCS. Reliable pitching and
hitting that carried them through the year vanished against a
superior Mets team.
But the bigger picture matters more.
Under first-year manager Joe Maddon, Chicago executed a turnaround
that included 97 regular-season wins -- the major league's
third-best total -- plus postseason victories over the Pittsburgh
Pirates (the team with the second-best record) in the NL wild-card
game and the St. Louis Cardinals (the team with the best record) in
the NL Division Series.
The Cubs will learn from the experience of falling four wins short
of the World Series and fully expect to be in future championship
hunts as long-term contenders.
"It stings right now getting swept," said ace right-hander Jake
Arrieta, who went 22-6 and is a Cy Young Award contender. "But to be
one of four standing at the end of the year and still playing
meaningful games in the middle of October is pretty special."
Arrieta tossed the 14th no-hitter in franchise history on Aug. 30 at
Dodger Stadium. His 1.77 season ERA was the lowest for a Cubs
qualifying starting pitcher in 96 years.
He was among breakout Cubs -- including young third baseman Kris
Bryant, shortstop Addison Russell, left fielder Kyle Schwarber and
right fielder Jorge Soler -- who exceeded expectations and now
represent the team's future.
"We're really building with a foundation of young position players,
and we're going to trust ourselves to add pitching along the way,"
Cubs president Theo Epstein said.
-----------------------------------------------
MLB Team Report - Chicago Cubs - NOTES, QUOTES
2015: 97-65, third place in National League Central; won NL
wild-card game over Pittsburgh Pirates; won NL Division Series 3-1
over St. Louis Cardinals; lost National League Championship Series
4-0 to New York Mets
TEAM MVP: RHP Jake Arrieta (22-6) may be the NL Cy Young Award
favorite after a superlative second half in which he led the Cubs to
their first postseason appearance since 2008. The 29-year-old
veteran, acquired from the Orioles in a 2013 trade, closed the
regular season with 20 consecutive quality starts. In that span, he
went 16-1 with a 0.86 ERA, 27 walks and 147 strikeouts. He had a
0.75 ERA in 15 starts after the All-Star break, the lowest post
All-Star break ERA in major league history. Included was an Aug. 30
no-hitter at Dodger Stadium.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: LHP Jon Lester, signed to a six-year, $155
million free agent contract in the offseason, wasn't necessarily
poor on a team that posted 97 wins. However, he didn't quite live up
to expectations after missing part of spring training and
experiencing struggles that included six losses in the season's
early stages en route to an 11-12 record. Still, Lester still closed
with 21 quality starts and 207 strikeouts to set a franchise record
for a left-hander. He walked 47 batters and had a 3.34 ERA.
TOP PROSPECT: RHP Ryan Williams, 23, was selected the organization's
minor league pitcher of the year after posting a combined 14-3
record and 2.16 ERA between low Class A South Bend and Double-A
Tennessee. He struck out 98, walked just 18 and gave up just two
home runs which facing 537 batters. Williams was selected by the
Cubs in the 10th round of the 2014 draft out of East Carolina
University. An invitation to spring training seems likely.
PLAYER NOTES:
--OF Dexter Fowler received a $15.8 million, one-year qualifying
offer from the Cubs on Nov. 6. Fowler, who is expected to decline
the offer, hit .250 with a career-high 17 home runs and 20 stolen
bases in 2015. Fowler has until Nov. 13 to accept the qualifying
offer. If he leaves and signs elsewhere, the Cubs would get an extra
selection in next June's draft.
--3B Kris Bryant, an NL Rookie of the Year candidate, led all
first-year major-leaguers in homers (26, tied), RBIs (99), doubles
(31) and runs (87) while finishing second in walks (77). The only
player to match or exceed those numbers in his rookie season was
Boston's Ted Williams in 1939.
--LF/C Kyle Schwarber was a midseason call up, arriving a year after
he was the team's first selection (fourth overall) in the 2014
draft. Schwarber batted .246 (57-for-232) with 52 runs, six doubles,
a triple, 16 homers and 43 RBIs in 69 games. He hit a memorable
homer that landed atop the new right field video board during the NL
Division Series against the Cardinals, and he wound up hitting .333
(9-for-27) with five homers and eight RBIs in nine postseason games.
--OF Jorge Soler batted .262 (96-for-366) with 18 doubles, 10
homers, 47 RBIs and 39 runs in 101 games in his first big league
season. He missed nearly two months with a left ankle sprain and a
left oblique strain, but he was healthy and effective in October. In
seven postseason games, Soler batted .474 (9-for-19) with three
doubles, three homers, five RBIs and six walks.
[to top of second column] |
--SS Addison Russell, 21, missed the NL Championship Series due to a
strained left hamstring after an impressive debut year. He was
called up from Triple-A Iowa in late April and became the club's
everyday shortstop on Aug. 7. Russell played in 142 games while
batting .242 with 13 homers and 54 RBIs. He likely would have been
healthy enough to play in the World Series had the Cubs made it.
--1B Anthony Rizzo was a National League All-Star, and he topped the
league with 160 games played while compiling a .278 average, 94
runs, 38 doubles, 31 homers, 101 RBIs, 78 walks and 17 stolen bases.
He became only the sixth left-handed batter to reach those batters
in a single season. Rizzo was also hit by a pitch 30 times. He
slumped in the postseason, however, hitting .188 (6-for-32) with two
homers and two RBIs in nine games.
--RHP Dan Haren announced his retirement Oct. 22 after playing parts
of 13 seasons with eight clubs. Haren, 35, had a career mark of
153-131 with a 3.75 ERA. He went 11-9 with a 3.60 ERA this season
while splitting time between the Marlins and Cubs. Haren was a
three-time All-Star and twice won 16 games in a season, with the
Diamondbacks in 2008 and the Angels in 2011.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "These guys play well beyond their age and well
beyond their years in this game, and that's only going to help us in
this organization for years to come." -- LHP Jon Lester, on the
Cubs' young stars.
-----------------------------------------------
MLB Team Report - Chicago Cubs - ROSTER REPORT
The Cubs' four-year rebuilding project under president Theo Epstein
and general manager Jed Hoyer started with three consecutive
fifth-place finishes and then had an unexpected payoff this season.
Chicago finished with baseball's third-best record and made a run
into the postseason. Expectations will be higher next season, but
the Cubs have the budget to fill some pressing needs and prospects
in the minors who can keep the team in championship conversations
for seasons to come.
BIGGEST NEEDS: The Cubs could use another ace plus a mid-level
starter to complement RHP Jake Arrieta and LHP Jon Lester. RHP Jason
Hammel appeared to be a reliable third starter after a strong first
half but faded in the season's final months.
FREE AGENTS: RHP Trevor Cahill, OF Chris Denorfia, OF Dexter Fowler,
RHP Tommy Hunter, OF Austin Jackson, RHP Jason Motte, RHP Fernando
Rodney, RHP Dan Haren
Fowler, the Cubs' leadoff batter, is probably the must-sign of this
group unless the Cubs believe minor league prospect Albert Almora is
ready. Fowler appeared in a career-high 156 games and batted .250
with 84 walks, a .346 on-base percentage and 20 stolen bases. Haren
announced his retirement.
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE: RHP Jake Arrieta, OF/INF Chris Coghlan, RHP
Justin Grimm, RHP Jonathan Herrera, LHP Clayton Richard, RHP Hector
Rondon, RHP Pedro Strop, LHP Travis Wood
Look for a big payday for Arrieta, who produced a career year with a
22-6 record and a 1.77 ERA. Rondon also expects a reward after
recording a career-high 30 saves and a 1.67 ERA in 70 innings. Wood,
a former starter, was a reliable middle reliever this season.
IN LIMBO: What to do with INF Starlin Castro? The six-year veteran
struggled at shortstop and at the plate. Then came a switch to
second base and a late-season revival. Castro batted .353 with 12
doubles, six home runs and 23 RBIs in his final 47 games after
switching to second. He had a .369 average in September/October,
tops in the league for players with a minimum of 80 at-bats, before
hitting just .176 in nine postseason games. At age 25, he could be a
mainstay at second or attractive trade bait.
MEDICAL WATCH:
--SS Addison Russell (strained left hamstring) missed the NL
Championship Series after getting hurt on a slide. He was expected
to be back in the lineup had the Cubs reached the World Series.
-----------------------------------------------
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
