On to the second season

Last season, before the team had clinched the NL Central title, I ranked the 30 most valuable Cubs of 2007. (Here is that post if you’re interested) The list consisted of guys who had been on the team all year, guys who had played barley a week, and all lengths in between. Mark DeRosa, thanks to his versatility and solid bat, barley edged out young reliever Carlos Marmol for the number one spot.

This season’s list was more difficult, for a couple of reasons. One, because the Cubs were more consistent and healthier (knock on wood, but not Kerry), fewer players were traded or called up from Triple-A, making it harder to find 30 players. And two, a lot of the guys who had big year’s in ’07 repeated their performances this year, making the list somewhat similar at the front. Still, it was another great regular season on the North Side, and these players deserve the recognition they’re about to get. One of the great things about this team is there is no go-to guy. All the other teams in the NL race have an MVP or Cy Young candidate (Manny, C.C., Ryan Howard, Webb, etc.), but the Cubs don’t. Yet look at the standings, and you’ll see the Cubs on top. Shows the importance of a complete team.

So without further ado, the 30 most valuable Cubs of 2007, with descriptions for about half of them on why they were chosen.


30- Jon Lieber---The hefty right-hander only appeared in only 24 games this season, finishing with a record of 2-3. His biggest contribution came during the season’s first three weeks, when starters Rich Hill (who is nowhere to be found these days) and Ted Lilly couldn’t get out of the third inning, and Lieber had to eat up some innings. His performance saved the Cubs bullpen in April, and we really haven’t heard from him since.

29- Scott Eyre

28- Felix Pie

27- Sean Gallagher

26- Bob Howry---I can’t claim this as an original nickname, because a vendor buddy told it to me. But Bob Howry is now officially the white Latroy Hawkins. Think about it. Both throw only one pitch, and those pitches often ended up getting crushed. Howry was up and down all year, but the down’s lasted longer than the up’s, which is how he ended up with an ERA over 5. I say leave him off the playoff roster, but I doubt Lou and pitching coach Larry Rothschild will actually do that.

25- Micah Hoffpauir

24- Daryle Ward

23- Chad Gaudin

22- Ronny Cedeno---Number five had a pretty good year off the bench, hitting .276 in 96 games (As of September 23). But his spot here represents his progression as a player. Two seasons ago, when Dusty Baker was the Cubs manager, Cedeno was forced into the starting shortstop role. And he struggled. But since then, Ronny C has become a completely different player, becoming more patient at the plate and more versatile on the field. It’s unlikely he will start any playoff games, but don’t be shocked if his pinch hitting, pinch running or defense makes an impact in October.

21- Sean Marshall

20- Henry Blanco

19- Jason Marquis

18- Mike Fontonoet

17- Jeff Samardzija---The biggest accomplishment in regards to the rookie reliever is not the SI feature about him a few weeks ago, or his 96 MPH heater he’s been known to blow by opponents. It’s the fact that I can now spell his last name without having to look it up. The former Notre Dame receiver will play a big role in how this season turns out for the Cubs, because in a big spot during the fifth or sixth innings, he’s the reliever Piniella will turn to.

16- Jim Edmonds---There’s still some un-comfort on my part in rooting for Edmonds, who for the longest time was my least favorite player in all of baseball. But I’ve come to the conclusion that if he helps the Cubs win, I can put my personal bias to the side. Edmonds is an extra-base hit machine- 19 home runs, another 19 are doubles, plus two triples means more than half of his 78 hits result in multiple bases. My spine still gets shivers though when he makes one of those stupid basket catches or when he plays too shallow in center field and then has to dive for a ball

15- Neal Cotts

14- Rich Harden---Man, if this guy could stay healthy, he’d win a Cy Young. Then again, if he could stay healthy, the A’s never would have traded him to the Cubs. Harden sits next to Aramis Ramirez and Derek Lee as Jim Hendry’s best trade pickups. His fastball is un-hittable, and if you think that’s tough, try going after the changeup. Yeah, he walks a lot of guys, and because of his high K-count, his pitches accumulate quickly. But having Harden this year makes this team a lot more dangerous than last season’s was.

13- Kouske Fukudome

12- Reed Johnson

11- Ted Lilly

10- Derek Lee---His inning-ending double plays are annoying, but D-Lee is still a very important part of the Cubs’ success. He’s played in more games than anyone else on the roster, and leads the team in hits and doubles. His fielding, as always, was spectacular. And as one of the longest-tenured Cubs, he’s one of the guys that all the Wrigley fateful are pulling for. Lets just hope he performs better this October than he did last.

9- Alfonso Soriano---I don’t know what Lou and Hendry expected out of Soriano when they signed him in December of 2006, but it looks like he’s going to play between around 120 games, hit between .280 and .300, crush nearly 30 home runs and drive in about 70 runs. His defense will be both bad (routes to the ball), good (throwing out runners at the plate), and confusing (hopping for every fly ball). Plus on any given day, Sori could hit three home runs or go 0-4 with four K’s. I have said it before and I’ll say it again: No player impacts the Cubs chances of winning or losing more than Soriano. If he’s on fire, the Cubs have a good chance of going far in October.

8- Ryan Theriot

7- Carlos Zambrano---Who can figure this guy out? One day he’s throwing a no-hitter, the next he’s allowing six runs in two innings. For the longest time, I have believed that Big Z was the ace of the team, the obvious number one guy, the player who sets the tone for the entire franchise. But now I am not so sure. In the first half of the year, Z went 10-3 with a 2.84 ERA and was a favorite for the Cy Young. Since the All-Star break though, he’s 4-3 with a 5.80 ERA. An elite Z will make the Cubs that much more dangerous over the next month, and it helps that he’s the best hitting pitcher in the Majors.

6- Kerry Wood---Here’s a guy who everybody is rooting for, even during his struggles. The longest tenured Cub (I can’t believe it has been ten years since the 20K game) has been great out of the bullpen this year, notching 34 saves and five wins. His fastball may have lost a little zip to it, and he allows more hits than I would prefer, but he’s still been one of the biggest keys to the Cubs success this year.

5- Aramis Ramirez---Move over Reggie Jackson, watch out Derek Jeter, and see you later David Ortiz. Meet the new Baseball Mr. Clutch. Here is, according to the great site baseball-reference.com, Ramirez’s 2008 numbers in the category “Late and close”, which means plate apearences in the seventh inning or later with the batting team tied, ahead by one, or the tying run at least on deck: 70 at bats, 29 hits, nine home runs, 29 RBI, 19 walks, .548 on base percentage, .414 batting average and only 13 strike outs. Yeah, I want Rammy up with the game on the line.

4- Mark DeRosa---Last season’s winner came close to taking home the title again, but came up just short, though to no fault of his own. Another career year for the Cubs Mr. Versatility, DeRosa led the team in runs scored, was one of five Cubs with 20 or more home runs (Edmonds needs a couple more to make it six), and played an astounding 20 or more games at four different positions. Without #7, the Cubs wouldn’t have won the division and the females at Wrigley Field wouldn’t have gotten so into the teams success this year.

3- Carlos Marmol---No pitcher in baseball is more fun to watch on a regular basis than Marmol. The combination of a mid-90 MPH fastball and a filthy slide that he isn’t afraid to throw in any count make the skinny right-hander the best set-up guy in baseball and one of the Cubs’ most important payers. In 2008, he pitched in 86 games, allowed only 40 hits and struck out 114 hitters. Just like he did a year ago, Marmol got the Cubs out a lot of tight situations at the end of the game, though lets hope he doesn’t repeat his October performance of last season.

2- Ryan Dempster---I’ll be honest; when I heard the Cubs were going to move Dempster from closer to starting pitcher, I wasn’t expecting much. He never was too good out of the bullpen, and he gave me more heart problems than a Portillo’s big beef. If he was that bad for one inning, how would he be pitching seven? But much to my shock, Demp has been fantastic this year. He added a little twitch to his delivery, worked on his off-speed pitches, and has been the Cubs stopper all year. In 32 games, #46 has a record of 17-6 with an ERA just under 3 while pitching over 200 innings, one of the big reasons why the Cubs are in the position they’re in.

1- Geovany Soto---A rookie for MVP? You bet. Soto has been the glue that has held this team together all season long, both on the offensive and defensive side. His bat has been consistatn and powerful, smacking 23 home runs, 35 doubles and driving in 86 runs during the year. His catching has been fabulous, controlling the pitching staff and not getting taken advantage of too much on the base paths. And most importantly, he’s been a team leader, which is rare for a rookie. Soto’s play has been the biggest difference between last season’s Cubs team (a total of six starting catchers throughout the year) to this one (never a doubt who was number one on the depth chart), and the best part is, there’s many years to come of this great play.