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2008 Chicago Cubs season

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Cubs Win flag flies above Wrigley Field scoreboard immediately after clinching the 2008 National League Central Division.


2008 Chicago Cubs
NL Central Champions
File:Chicago Cubs Logo.png
DivisionCentral Division
BallparkWrigley Field
CityChicago, Illinois
OwnersTribune Company
ManagersLou Piniella
TelevisionCSN Chicago
WGN America
WGN-TV
CSN Chicago Plus (CLTV)
WCIU-TV
RadioWGN (AM) 720
StatsESPN.com
Baseball Reference
← 2007 Seasons 2009 →
With the magic number at 1, fans had their "Cubs Win" flags flying in Chicago.

The Chicago Cubs' 2008 season was the 136th season for the Chicago Cubs. It is considered[citation needed] one of their most impressive regular seasons in the entire history of the franchise. Despite 97 regular season wins—the most since 1945—they failed to make it past the first round of the playoffs, losing 3-0 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS. The Cubs repeated as champions of the National League Central Division. It was the first time since 1908 that the Cubs made postseason appearances in consecutive seasons. This is their second season with Lou Piniella as their manager.

At the All-Star break, the Cubs led the Central Division and were tied with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for the best record in the major leagues.[1] They tied a National League record with eight players selected to the All-Star team.[2]

In 2007, Ernie Banks had requested that Evanston, Illinois native Eddie Vedder write the Cubs a song, and in August 2008 Vedder recorded "All the Way", which was released on September 18, 2008.[3] During the season, a new version of "Go, Cubs, Go" was recorded and released by the Manic Sewing Circle,[4] although the original 1984 Steve Goodman version became the official Cubs victory song.[5]

On September 20, the Cubs officially clinched the Central Division with a 5-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.[6] The Cubs lost in the 2008 National League Division Series.

Regular season

Season standings

The Chicago Cubs and fans celebrate the 2008 National League Central Division championship. A few Cubs Win flags are visible.
NL Central
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Chicago Cubs 97 64 .602 55‍–‍26 42‍–‍38
Milwaukee Brewers 90 72 .556 49‍–‍32 41‍–‍40
Houston Astros 86 75 .534 11 47‍–‍33 39‍–‍42
St. Louis Cardinals 86 76 .531 11½ 46‍–‍35 40‍–‍41
Cincinnati Reds 74 88 .457 23½ 43‍–‍38 31‍–‍50
Pittsburgh Pirates 67 95 .414 30½ 39‍–‍42 28‍–‍53


Record vs. opponents


Source: [1]
Team AZ ATL CHC CIN COL FLA HOU LAD MIL NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL WSH AL
Arizona 3–5 2–4 2–4 15–3 2–7 4–2 8–10 2–5 3–3 3–4 4–3 10–8 11–7 3–4 4–2 6–9
Atlanta 5–3 0–6 3–3 4–3 10–8 3–3 4–2 3–6 11–7 4–14 2–5 5–1 2–5 2–5 6–12 8–7
Chicago 4–2 6–0 8–7 5–1 4–3 8–9 5–2 9–7 4–2 3–4 14–4 5–2 4–3 9–6 3–3 6–9
Cincinnati 4–2 3–3 7–8 1–5 6–2 3–12 1–7 10–8 3–4 3–5 6–9 4–3 5–1 5–10 4–3 9–6
Colorado 3–15 3–4 1–5 5–1 5–3 3–3 8–10 4–3 3–6 0–5 5–2 9–9 11–7 3–4 4–3 7–8
Florida 7–2 8–10 3–4 2–6 3–5 4–2 3–4 5–1 8–10 10–8 3–2 4–2 3–3 2–5 14–3 5–10
Houston 2–4 3–3 9–8 12–3 3–3 2–4 4–3 7–8 5–2 3–4 8–8 3–3 7–1 7–8 4–2 7–11
Los Angeles 10–8 2–4 2–5 7–1 10–8 4–3 3–4 4–2 3–4 4–4 5–2 11–7 9–9 2–4 3–3 5–10
Milwaukee 5–2 6–3 7–9 8–10 3–4 1–5 8–7 2–4 2–4 1–5 14–1 4–3 6–0 10–5 6–2 7–8
New York 3–3 7–11 2–4 4–3 6–3 10–8 2–5 4–3 4–2 11–7 4–3 2–5 5–1 4–3 12–6 9–6
Philadelphia 4–3 14–4 4–3 5–3 5–0 8–10 4–3 4–4 5–1 7–11 4–2 4–2 3–3 5–4 12–6 4–11
Pittsburgh 3–4 5–2 4–14 9–6 2–5 2–3 8–8 2–5 1–14 3–4 2–4 3–4 4–2 10–7 3–4 6–9
San Diego 8–10 1–5 2–5 3–4 9–9 2–4 3–3 7–11 3–4 5–2 2–4 4–3 5–13 1–6 5–1 3–15
San Francisco 7–11 5–2 3–4 1–5 7–11 3–3 1–7 9–9 0–6 1–5 3–3 2–4 13–5 4–3 7–0 6–12
St. Louis 4–3 5–2 6–9 10–5 4–3 5–2 8–7 4–2 5–10 3–4 4–5 7–10 6–1 3–4 5–1 7–8
Washington 2–4 12–6 3–3 3–4 3–4 3–14 2–4 3–3 2–6 6–12 6–12 4–3 1–5 0–7 1–5 8–10


Game log

2008 Game Log

Roster

2008 Chicago Cubs
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Manager

Coaching Staff

Playoffs

NLDS vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Cubs eliminated from playoffs after Los Angeles wins series 3-0.

Game Score Date Location Attendance
1 Los Angeles Dodgers - 7, Chicago Cubs - 2 October 1 Wrigley Field 42,099[7]
2 Los Angeles Dodgers - 10, Chicago Cubs - 3 October 2 Wrigley Field 42,136[8]
3 Los Angeles Dodgers - 3, Chicago Cubs - 1 October 4 (10:00 p.m.) Dodger Stadium

After losing Game 3 to the Dodgers, the Cubs have lost nine consecutive post-season games, dating back to the 2003 NLCS.

Player stats

Stats updated as of August 6, 2008

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
Alfonso Soriano 65 273 81 .297 20 52
Ryan Theriot 105 416 131 .315 1 31
Derrek Lee 112 458 135 .295 17 69
Aramis Ramírez 107 400 110 .275 19 75
Geovany Soto 105 374 104 .278 17 62
Kosuke Fukudome 108 387 106 .274 8 41
Mark DeRosa 107 364 100 .275
21
58
Reed Johnson 75 240 71 .296 6 41
Jim Edmonds 80 252 61 .242 13 42
Daryle Ward 59 65 15 .231 2 9
Mike Fontenot 85 173 50 .289 8 30
Ronny Cedeño 69 153 43 .281 2 22
Henry Blanco 38 79 23 .291 2 6
Félix Pie 30 63 14 .222 1 7
Matt Murton 19 40 10 .250 0 6
Eric Patterson 13 38 9 .237 1 7

Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player W L ERA G GS SV IP R ER BB K
Jose Ascanio
0
0
7.94
6
0
0
5.2
5
5
4
3
Neal Cotts
0
1
3.32
32
0
0
21.2
8
8
10
27
Ryan Dempster
12
5
2.93
24
24
0
150.2
56
49
59
133
Scott Eyre
2
0
7.15
19
0
0
11.1
9
9
4
14
Chad Fox
0
1
5.40
3
0
0
3.1
2
2
3
1
Sean Gallagher
3
4
4.45
12
10
0
58.2
31
29
22
49
Chad Gaudin
3
1
1.84
13
0
0
14.2
4
3
3
18
Rich Harden
1
1
2.10
5
5
0
30.0
8
7
9
47
Kevin Hart
2
1
7.91
14
0
0
19.1
21
17
16
14
Rich Hill
1
0
4.12
5
5
0
19.2
9
9
18
15
Bob Howry
4
4
5.30
54
0
1
54.1
34
32
8
43
Jon Lieber
2
3
3.43
25
1
0
44.2
20
17
5
26
Ted Lilly
11
6
4.35
24
24
0
140.2
71
68
50
129
Carlos Marmol
2
3
3.03
58
0
6
62.1
25
21
32
86
Jason Marquis
7
7
4.73
21
21
0
123.2
68
65
47
67
Sean Marshall
2
2
3.93
21
3
1
34.1
15
15
10
30
Carmen Pignatiello
0
0
13.50
2
0
0
0.2
1
1
2
0
Jeff Samardzija
0
0
1.93
6
0
1
9.1
2
2
3
10
Kerry Wood
4
2
2.96
45
0
24
45.2
15
15
13
55
Michael Wuertz
1
1
3.55
37
0
0
38.0
20
15
15
25
Carlos Zambrano
12
4
2.76
22
22
0
146.2
48
45
47
98
Totals
69
46
3.77
115
115
33
1035.1
472
434
380
890

2007 post-season changes

Trades

November 12, 2007
To Detroit Tigers
Jacque Jones
To Chicago Cubs
Omar Infante
November 13, 2007
To Minnesota Twins
Craig Monroe
To Chicago Cubs
Clay Rapada
December 4, 2007
To Atlanta Braves
Will Ohman
Omar Infante
To Chicago Cubs
José Ascanio
December 6, 2007
To Tampa Bay Rays
Cash considerations
To Chicago Cubs
Tim Lahey
January 5, 2008
To New York Mets
Angel Pagán
To Chicago Cubs
Ryan Meyers
Corey Coles
July 8, 2008
To Oakland Athletics
Sean Gallagher
Matt Murton
Eric Patterson
Josh Donaldson
To Chicago Cubs
Rich Harden
Chad Gaudin

Free agent acquisitions

Player Former team Contract Terms
Kosuke Fukudome Chunichi Dragons 4 years, $48 million
Jon Lieber Philadelphia Phillies 1 year, $3.5 million
Reed Johnson Toronto Blue Jays 1 year, $1.3 million
Jim Edmonds San Diego Padres 1 year, $280,000

Players lost to free agency

Player New team
Jason Kendall Milwaukee Brewers
Cliff Floyd Tampa Bay Rays
Mark Prior San Diego Padres
Steve Trachsel Baltimore Orioles
Wade Miller Toronto Blue Jays

Other news

  • On November 20, 2007, John McDonough stepped down as team president to join the Chicago Blackhawks.[9]
  • On April 23, 2008, the Chicago Cubs recorded their 10,000th victory in franchise history with a 7-6 victory in 10 innings over the Colorado Rockies. They were just the second team to complete this feat behind the San Francisco Giants.
  • On September 14, 2008 Carlos Zambrano threw the first no-hitter for the Cubs since Milt Pappas threw his on September 2, 1972. Zambrano threw the no-hitter against the Houston Astros in a game played at Miller Park in Milwaukee. It was the first no-hitter recorded at a neutral site in baseball history. The game was moved due to the damage Hurricane Ike caused.

References

  • Chicago Cubs season at Baseball Reference
  • Kaduk, Kevin (2008-10-06). "The Nail in the Coffin: Your 2008 Chicago Cubs". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2008-10-06. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  1. ^ "Regular Season Standings". Associated Press. Major League Baseball. 2008-07-14. Retrieved 2008-07-14. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  2. ^ "Cubs tie record for most NL All-Stars". Associated Press. Yahoo! Sports. 2008-07-13. Retrieved 2008-07-14. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ "Cubbie jam". RedEye. Metromix. 2008-09-19. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
  4. ^ "Manic Sewing Circle perform "Go Cubs Go"". WGNTV.com. Tribune Interactive. 2008-09-12. Retrieved 2008-09-21. [dead link]
  5. ^ "WGN Radio and Vibes Media team up to bring iconic Cubs anthem "Go Cubs Go" to mobile phones". WGN Radio. 2008-08-01. Retrieved 2008-09-20. [dead link]
  6. ^ Gano, Rick (2008-09-20). "Chicago Cubs win Central again". Yahoo! Sports. Yahoo! Inc./The Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
  7. ^ "ESPN - Dodgers vs. Cubs - Recap - October 01, 2008". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
  8. ^ "ESPN - Dodgers vs. Cubs - Recap - October 02, 2008". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2008-10-03.
  9. ^ The Official Site of The Chicago Cubs: News: McDonough steps down as president
Preceded by NL Central Championship Season
2008
Succeeded by