What the Cubs Lack is Character
Off-season additions counted stats, not heart
By EDDIE RYBARSKI
Updated 1:00 PM CST, Tue, Jun 30, 2009
With the offense batting .245 (second last in the N.L.) and a tumultuous pitching staff, the Cubs lag in fourth place in the N.L. Central. Many fans are calling for the addition of another power hitter; still others want an arm for the bullpen. The reality is they will probably get neither. They shouldn't. The Cubs have a payroll of nearly $140 million this season, and these players are expected to win.
You may have heard by now. It’s a numbers game. Teams rely on formulas to produce results. They can statistically determine how much value a given player adds to the team. But herein lies the problem. These formulas don't account for qualitative aspects such as emotion. Previous seasons are subjective.
I mean, it's fair enough to expect a player with a .280 lifetime batting average to hit within 10 points of .280 this season. But add the pressures of a new $30 million contract, playing in the third largest media market in the country, and fans that have impatiently waited -- again -- for next year (after repeatedly being told it was “Gonna Happen” last season). Teams won't always get the player they bargained for.
Now I'm not out to hate on Milton Bradley. Bradley is his own biggest critic. His snafus and tantrums probably stem from caring too much; booing fans do not help the situation. What I am saying is while the Cubs made sure to check off everything on their off-season to-do list, they failed to account for the amount of team character they would lose in the process.
After obtaining reliever Kevin Gregg in November, the Cubs parted ways with Kerry Wood; their longest-tenured player and 1998 the NL Rookie of the Year. Although injuries prevented Wood from ever becoming the elite starter he was expected to be, he worked his way back from surgeries to earn the role of closer in 2008.
Having Wood (a man who bleeds Cubbie-Blue) on the mound at the end of games energized the crowd with confidence. Remember? "That’s Kerry … With a 'K!'" Gregg, on the other hand, has generated uncertainty in the role. There are fans worrying like Mrs. McCallister on a flight to Paris -- pitch, crack! "KEVIN!"
Additionally, the team traded Mark DeRosa; a multi-purpose veteran who gave teammates the confidence that they, too, could do it all. Although DeRosa spent only two seasons on the North Side, his leadership and camaraderie was an integral part of the Cubs' clubhouse.
In his place, they signed utility man Aaron Miles. And though Miles' 2008 statistics earned him attention, his impact with the Cubs has been quiet. Miles is currently on the DL. DeRosa has since been traded to the division-rival Cardinals. Ouch.
Another missing piece from last season is Jim Edmonds; yet this loss can not be blamed on management. Edmonds is 39 and his potential to produce has passed. Regardless, the Cubs lost a future Hall of Famer who took pride in wearing the uniform and laid it out on the line every day.
So who is running the show now? They have a staff of tantrum-throwing pitchers, a drug-implicated catcher, a soft-spoken shortstop, a right fielder that can't control his emotions and a center fielder whose native tongue inhibits communication with teammates.
All the while, "Sweet Lou" struggles to manage order in this madhouse. Some fans worry about him losing the fire in his belly (he has conceded he's "not a dragon"), though he did call Bradley a P.O.S. the other day. He's since apologized, but regardless -- it's the players who look sorry.
Last year, the Cubs' team leaders were out on the field and in the clubhouse. Guys like Wood, DeRosa and Edmonds set a high standard and the team played up to it. The atmosphere was lighter. They picked each other up. They were macho. They had swagger. They acted like professionals.
That team won 97 games and first place in the N.L. Central. Let's hope the team's off-season additions, along with some subtraction of character, won't end up costing the Cubs the division.
First Published: Jun 30, 2009 12:43 PM CST
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