I know people are still feeling the hate from the Cubs' unceremonious first round exit from the 2008 playoffs. Certainly not the preferred outcome. However, I maintain some good vibes from this team. I enjoyed them all season and I'm not going to let those three ugly games ruin it all.
As I mentioned in a previous post, there is some work to do over the season. I am happy to see that Hendry will be the man doing much of that work. The team agreed to a four-year extension with GM Jim Hendry on Monday. We all know that the Cubs failed miserably in the playoffs these past two seasons. However, it must be pointed out that they actually won the NL Central two years in a row. That was nearly unthinkable before Hendry built the current team. Hendry is the only Cub GM to take the team to three post-seasons and the team managed to post a 537-513 record under his regime. Hendry has put the Cubs solidly in the mix of teams that must be considered contenders. Having done so, he must now get together the pieces to make a post-season splash as well.
One of those pieces is definitely Geovany Soto, who has been named the 2008 NL Rookie of the Year (Longoria of the Rays grabbed the hardware in the AL). Soto hit .285 with 23 HRs and 86 RBIs while managing on MLBs top pitching staffs (NL's 3rd best team ERA) . Not to mention that Soto's 131 starts (7th in the ML, 5th in the NL) during the regular season is no small feat for a Cub catcher dealing with day games. Congrats to the Cubs' 2001 11-round pick.
The Cubs have also been mentioned as possibles to play an exhibition game or two at the new Yankee Stadium. Word is that the two clubs are in negotiations to have the Cubs play the Yanks to open the stadium.
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