2008 Chicago Cubs season

The 2008 Chicago Cubs season was the 137th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 133rd in the National League and the 93rd at Wrigley Field. The season began at home on March 31 against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs were champions of the National League Central Division for the second year in a row, accumulating 97 regular season wins—the most since 1945. It was the first time since 1908 that the Cubs made postseason appearances in consecutive seasons.[1]

2008 Chicago Cubs
National League Central Champions
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record97–64 (.595)
Divisional place1st
Other information
Owner(s)Tribune Company
General manager(s)Jim Hendry
Manager(s)Lou Piniella
Local televisionCSN Chicago
WGN America
WGN-TV
CSN Chicago Plus (CLTV)
WCIU-TV
(Len Kasper, Bob Brenly, Cory Provus)
Local radioWGN (AM) 720
(Pat Hughes, Ron Santo, Cory Provus)
StatsESPN.com
BB-reference
< Previous season     Next season >

At the All-Star break in July, the Cubs led the NL Central and were tied with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for the best record in the major leagues.[2] They tied a National League record with eight players selected to the All-Star team.[3]

On September 20, the Cubs clinched the NL Central championship with a 5–4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.[4] Despite their regular season success, the team did not advance past the first round of the playoffs; they were swept 3–0 by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series.

Lou Piniella, in his second year as the Cubs' manager, won the National League's Manager of the Year Award in 2008. In addition, catcher Geovany Soto won the 2008 National League Rookie of the Year Award.[1]

Regular season

Game log
2008 Game Log (97–64)
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement/Cancellation
Bold = Cubs team member

Season standings
With the magic number at 1, fans had their "Cubs Win" flags flying in Chicago.
The Cubs and fans celebrate the 2008 National League Central Division championship. A few Cubs Win flags are visible.

National League Central
NL Central W L Pct. GB Home Road
Chicago Cubs 9764 0.602 — 55–26 42–38
Milwaukee Brewers 9072 0.556 7½ 49–32 41–40
Houston Astros 8675 0.534 11 47–33 39–42
St. Louis Cardinals 8676 0.531 11½ 46–35 40–41
Cincinnati Reds 7488 0.457 23½ 43–38 31–50
Pittsburgh Pirates 6795 0.414 30½ 39–42 28–53

Record vs. opponents
2008 National League Records

Source:
Team ARI ATL CHC CIN COL FLA HOU LAD MIL NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL WSH AL
Arizona–3–52–42–415–32–74–28–102–53–33–44–310–811–73–44–26–9
Atlanta5–3–0–63–34–310–83–34–23–611–74–142–55–12–52–56–128–7
Chicago4–26–0–8–75–14–38–95–29–74–23–414–45–24–39–63–36–9
Cincinnati4–23–37–8–1–56–23–121–710–83–43–56–94–35–15–104–39–6
Colorado3–153–41–55–1–5–33–38–104–33–60–55–29–911–73–44–37–8
Florida7–28–103–42–63–5–4–23–45–18–1010–83–24–23–32–514–35–10
Houston2–43–39–812–33–32–4–4–37–85–23–48–83–37–17–84–27–11
Los Angeles10–82–42–57–110–84–33–4–4–23–44–45–211–79–92–43–35–10
Milwaukee5–26–37–98–103–41–58–72–4–2–41–514–14–36–010–56–27–8
New York3–37–112–44–36–310–82–54–34–2–11–74–32–55–14–312–69–6
Philadelphia4–314–44–35–35–08–104–34–45–17–11–4–24–23–35–412–64–11
Pittsburgh3–45–24–149–62–52–38–82–51–143–42–4–3–44–210–73–46–9
San Diego8–101–52–53–49–92–43–37–113–45–22–44–3–5–131–65–13–15
San Francisco7–115–23–41–57–113–31–79–90–61–53–32–413–5–4–37–06–12
St. Louis4–35–26–910–54–35–28–74–25–103–44–57–106–13–4–5–17–8
Washington2–412–63–33–43–43–142–43–32–66–126–124–31–50–71–5–8–10

Rally songs

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.[5] During the season, a new version of "Go, Cubs, Go" was recorded and released by the Manic Sewing Circle,[6] although the original 1984 Steve Goodman version became the official Cubs victory song.[7]

Playoffs

NLDS vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Main article: 2008 National League Division Series

The Chicago Cubs were eliminated from the playoffs after Los Angeles won the series, 3-0.

Game 1, October 1

Wrigley Field in Chicago

Team123456789RHE
Los Angeles000040111781
Chicago020000000291
WP: Derek Lowe (1–0)   LP: Ryan Dempster (0–1)
Home runs:
LAD: James Loney (1), Manny Ramírez (1), Russell Martin (1)
CHC: Mark DeRosa (1)
Attendance: 42,099

Game 2, October 2

Wrigley Field in Chicago

Team123456789RHE
Los Angeles05001012110120
Chicago000000102384
WP: Chad Billingsley (1–0)   LP: Carlos Zambrano (0–1)
Home runs:
LAD: Manny Ramírez (2)
CHC: None
Attendance: 42,136

Game 3, October 4

Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles

Team123456789RHE
Chicago000000010181
Los Angeles20001000X360
WP: Hiroki Kuroda (1–0)   LP: Rich Harden (0–1)   Sv: Jonathan Broxton (1)
Home runs:
CHC: None
LAD: None
Attendance: 56,000

The Cubs' Game 3 loss to the Dodgers marked the franchise's ninth consecutive post-season defeat, dating back to the 2003 NLCS.

Roster
2008 Chicago Cubs
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

 Manager

Coaching Staff

Player stats

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 109 453 127 .280 29 75
Ryan Theriot 149 580 178 .307 1 38
Derrek Lee 155 623 181 .291 20 90
Aramis Ramírez 149 554 160 .289 27 111
Geovany Soto 141 494 141 .285 23 86
Kosuke Fukudome 150 501 129 .257 10 58
Mark DeRosa 149 505 144 .285 21 87
Reed Johnson 109 333 101 .303 6 50
Jim Edmonds 85 250 64 .256 19 49
Daryle Ward 89 102 22 .216 4 17
Mike Fontenot 119 243 74 .305 9 40
Ronny Cedeño 99 216 58 .269 2 28
Henry Blanco 58 120 35 .292 3 12
Félix Pie 43 83 20 .241 1 10
Matt Murton 19 40 10 .250 0 6
Eric Patterson 13 38 9 .237 1 7
Micah Hoffpauir 33 73 25 .342 2 8
Koyie Hill 10 21 2 .095 0 1
Casey McGehee 9 24 4 .167 0 5

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
José Ascanio
0
0
7.94
6
0
0
5.2
5
5
4
3
Neal Cotts
0
2
4.29
50
0
0
35.2
17
17
13
43
Ryan Dempster
17
6
2.96
33
33
0
206.2
75
68
76
187
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
4
2
6.26
24
0
0
27.1
20
19
10
27
Ángel Guzmán
0
0
5.59
6
1
0
9.2
6
6
4
10
Rich Harden
5
1
1.77
12
12
0
71.0
15
14
30
89
Kevin Hart
2
2
6.51
21
0
0
27.2
24
20
18
23
Rich Hill
1
0
4.12
5
5
0
19.2
9
9
18
15
Bob Howry
7
5
5.35
72
0
1
70.2
44
42
13
59
Jon Lieber
2
3
4.05
26
1
0
46.2
24
21
6
27
Ted Lilly
17
9
4.09
34
34
0
204.2
97
93
64
184
Carlos Mármol
2
4
2.68
82
0
7
87.1
30
26
41
114
Jason Marquis
11
9
4.53
29
28
0
167.0
88
84
70
91
Sean Marshall
3
5
3.86
34
7
1
65.1
29
28
23
58
Carmen Pignatiello
0
0
13.50
2
0
0
0.2
1
1
2
0
Jeff Samardzija
1
0
2.28
26
0
1
27.2
7
7
15
25
Randy Wells
0
0
0.00
3
0
0
4.1
0
0
2
1
Kerry Wood
5
4
3.26
65
0
34
66.1
25
24
18
84
Michael Wuertz
1
1
3.63
45
0
0
44.2
23
18
20
30
Carlos Zambrano
14
6
3.91
30
30
0
188.2
88
82
72
130
Totals
97
64
3.87
161
161
44
1450.2
669
624
548
1264

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
Ángel 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
PlayerFormer teamContract Terms
Kosuke FukudomeChunichi Dragons4 years, $48 million
Jon LieberPhiladelphia Phillies1 year, $3.5 million
Reed JohnsonToronto Blue Jays1 year, $1.3 million
Jim EdmondsSan Diego Padres1 year, $280,000

Players lost to free agency
PlayerNew team
Jason KendallMilwaukee Brewers
Cliff FloydTampa Bay Rays
Mark PriorSan Diego Padres
Steve TrachselBaltimore Orioles
Wade MillerToronto Blue Jays

Other news
  • On November 20, 2007, John McDonough stepped down as team president to join the Chicago Blackhawks.[8]
  • 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.

Farm system
See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Iowa Cubs Pacific Coast League Pat Listach
AA Tennessee Smokies Southern League Buddy Bailey
A Daytona Cubs Florida State League Jody Davis
A Peoria Chiefs Midwest League Ryne Sandberg
A-Short Season Boise Hawks Northwest League Tom Beyers
Rookie AZL Cubs Arizona League Franklin Font

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Daytona

References
  • Chicago Cubs season at Baseball Reference
  • Kaduk, Kevin (October 6, 2008). "The Nail in the Coffin: Your 2008 Chicago Cubs". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved October 6, 2008.
  1. Finnell, Neil (December 29, 2008). "A Look Back at Chicago Cubs 2008: Getting Off to a Strong Start". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 11, 2014.
  2. "Regular Season Standings". Major League Baseball. Associated Press. July 14, 2008. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
  3. "Cubs tie record for most NL All-Stars". Yahoo! Sports. Associated Press. July 13, 2008. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
  4. Gano, Rick (September 20, 2008). "Chicago Cubs win Central again". Yahoo! Sports. Yahoo! Inc. Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 27, 2008. Retrieved September 21, 2008.
  5. "Cubbie jam". RedEye. Metromix. September 19, 2008. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
  6. "Manic Sewing Circle perform "Go Cubs Go"". WGNTV.com. Tribune Interactive. September 12, 2008. Retrieved September 21, 2008.
  7. "WGN Radio and Vibes Media team up to bring iconic Cubs anthem "Go Cubs Go" to mobile phones". WGN Radio. August 1, 2008. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
  8. The Official Site of The Chicago Cubs: News: McDonough steps down as president
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