Baseball ends for Chicago
Jon Oakley
Issue date: 10/8/08 Section: Sports
This postseason has been cruel to the city of Chicago. Fans came into the playoffs dreaming of an all-Chicago World Series and instead they watched the Cubs get swept in three games and the Sox fall in four. The early exits left fans from both sides in a state of shock.
On the North Side, the Cubs' big bats didn't produce for the second straight postseason. Where were Aramis Ramirez, Derrick Lee and Alfonso Soriano? They were being shut down by Dodgers' pitching, combining for a total of 0 RBIs in the series.
In Game 1, Ryan Dempster flopped, giving up seven walks, clearly pitching without his usual control, and a typically dangerous Cubs lineup was limited to only two runs after outhitting LA nine to eight.
Game 2 was an embarrassment not only to the Cubs infield but to all postseason baseball. In a critical must-win home game, the Cubs did their best to convince the world that the curse of the goat still exists.
The Dodgers made the nation respect their starting pitching and showed how dangerous they could be on the road.
The future does look bright for the Cubs in 2009. They will return in the spring with arguably the deepest starting pitching staff in the majors and if Jeff Samardzija wins the fifth starting spot, there will be little hope for the rest of NL central.
The North Siders return the core of their lineup and have a little wiggle room to acquire some new talent. The Cubs had a great team this year, but they simply need to find a way to win in the postseason.
The White Sox, on the other hand, didn't look cursed as much as they looked worn out. The Rays deserve a lot of credit for jumping on the Sox early in every game and never giving in to Sox rallies.
The battle to get into the postseason left the Sox starting pitchers gassed out and Tampa didn't give them any breaks. In Game 1, Javier Vasquez had a chance to be a hero and instead gave up two home runs and the momentum to rookie sensation Evan Longoria and the Rays.
The South Siders' "veteran experience" did little in the series, leaving 51 runners on base and showing no killer instinct. With no clutch hitting it is hard to beat anyone, let alone a fired-up young club like Tampa Bay.
Would the season and series have been different with Carlos Quentin in the lineup? We will never know. The good news is that the Sox bring some unexpected young talent back in 2009. Quentin will return in left, Alexei Ramirez will move over to shortstop and the combo of Gavin Floyd and John Danks will return at the top of the starting rotation.
There are a lot of questions that must be dealt with. What should be done at first, second, third and center? Where do Joe Crede, Juan Uribe and Paul Konerko, Chicago's 2005 heroes, fit in next season? All that is clear is that Kenny Williams has a lot of work to do.
On the North Side, the Cubs' big bats didn't produce for the second straight postseason. Where were Aramis Ramirez, Derrick Lee and Alfonso Soriano? They were being shut down by Dodgers' pitching, combining for a total of 0 RBIs in the series.
In Game 1, Ryan Dempster flopped, giving up seven walks, clearly pitching without his usual control, and a typically dangerous Cubs lineup was limited to only two runs after outhitting LA nine to eight.
Game 2 was an embarrassment not only to the Cubs infield but to all postseason baseball. In a critical must-win home game, the Cubs did their best to convince the world that the curse of the goat still exists.
The Dodgers made the nation respect their starting pitching and showed how dangerous they could be on the road.
The future does look bright for the Cubs in 2009. They will return in the spring with arguably the deepest starting pitching staff in the majors and if Jeff Samardzija wins the fifth starting spot, there will be little hope for the rest of NL central.
The North Siders return the core of their lineup and have a little wiggle room to acquire some new talent. The Cubs had a great team this year, but they simply need to find a way to win in the postseason.
The White Sox, on the other hand, didn't look cursed as much as they looked worn out. The Rays deserve a lot of credit for jumping on the Sox early in every game and never giving in to Sox rallies.
The battle to get into the postseason left the Sox starting pitchers gassed out and Tampa didn't give them any breaks. In Game 1, Javier Vasquez had a chance to be a hero and instead gave up two home runs and the momentum to rookie sensation Evan Longoria and the Rays.
The South Siders' "veteran experience" did little in the series, leaving 51 runners on base and showing no killer instinct. With no clutch hitting it is hard to beat anyone, let alone a fired-up young club like Tampa Bay.
Would the season and series have been different with Carlos Quentin in the lineup? We will never know. The good news is that the Sox bring some unexpected young talent back in 2009. Quentin will return in left, Alexei Ramirez will move over to shortstop and the combo of Gavin Floyd and John Danks will return at the top of the starting rotation.
There are a lot of questions that must be dealt with. What should be done at first, second, third and center? Where do Joe Crede, Juan Uribe and Paul Konerko, Chicago's 2005 heroes, fit in next season? All that is clear is that Kenny Williams has a lot of work to do.
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