The Drought Continues For The Cubs

The Chicago Cubs were absolutely superb all season long and were picked to represent the National League in the World Series according to how they played throughout the year. So what happened? Well it's clear to see that the league's best offense didn't score in the playoffs. Chicago led the National League in scoring in 2008, piling up 855 runs in 161 games. The Cubs drew a league-high 636 walks and they were the circuit's best team with runners in scoring position, batting .278 and slugging .452. But over these games against the Dodgers, it all vanished. They just didn't hit. They batted .240 as a team. They scored six runs in three games. They drew six walks while striking out 24 times. Most of all when they did have chances, they didn't convert. The Cubs were a grim 5-for-28 with runners in scoring position in the series.

It was a season of incredible highs and highlights, and it ended with a complete thud. The Cubs repeated as National League Central champs and posted the best record in the league. They headed to the playoffs in back-to-back years for the first time since the 1906-08 seasons. But the 2008 Cubs fell short, and their campaign to end the 100-year drought came to an abrupt finish in a disheartening three-and-out National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"It was a good season but, at the same time, disappointing, "Chicago's Alfonso Soriano said. "At the end, it's very disappointing because we wanted to get to the World Series." "It's not the best team that wins in the playoffs, "Soriano said. "It's the team that plays better."

Many people wondered how the Cubs could play so well during the regular season and then get whipped so badly during the series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Soriano offered a reason why. "I think we had too much time to relax after clinching the division with eight games left, and we got a little surprised at how the Dodgers played."

One thing was clear, the Los Angeles Dodgers came out to play and they were 100% ready for the series right from the start. It didn't matter to the Dodgers that the Cubs had home field advantage, they were ready to bring it and they did.

One of the best pitchers in the National League and one of the top starting pitchers for the Chicago Cubs is Ryan Dempster. His record this season was outstanding at 17-6. He also had 187 strikeouts which is totally awesome. He has been with the Cubs now for five seasons and when when asked recently if he would like to return for a sixth season? "Absolutely. I love it here and I love the city. I enjoy playing here and hopefully everything works out." During the press conference Dempster was asked what happened during the series against the Dodgers. "We didn't play like we played this year." "We played some pretty bad baseball, but we also ran into a team that played some pretty good baseball. Those guys over there deserve a lot of credit because they came in ready to go and played really well and executed...They did a better job than us, and we didn't deserve to win any of the games and they deserved to win all three."

This face says it all. Many Cubs Fans were absolutely devastated at the end of their terrific season. My husband and I are avid Cubs fans and we too were rooting them on and hoping that they could make it to the World Series and bring a Championship home after waiting a century already. It just wasn't meant to be but we too will be watching for them next season and hope that they can in fact end this very long drought. If you are a true Chicago Cubs fan then please don't turn your back on them just because they didn't win.........true fans stick with their team no matter what!