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.
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. They tied a National League record with eight players selected to the All-Star team.
On September 20, the Cubs clinched the NL Central championship with a 5–4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. 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.

Regular season

Game log

Season standings

National League Central

Record vs. opponents

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

Playoffs

NLDS vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

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

Game 1, October 1

in Chicago

Game 2, October 2

in Chicago

Game 3, October 4

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

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In
PlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
Alfonso Soriano109453127.2802975
Ryan Theriot149580178.307138
Derrek Lee155623181.2912090
Aramis Ramírez149554160.28927111
Geovany Soto141494141.2852386
Kosuke Fukudome150501129.2571058
Mark DeRosa149505144.2852187
Reed Johnson109333101.303650
Jim Edmonds8525064.2561949
Daryle Ward8910222.216417
Mike Fontenot11924374.305940
Ronny Cedeño9921658.269228
Henry Blanco5812035.292312
Félix Pie438320.241110
Matt Murton194010.25006
Eric Patterson13389.23717
Micah Hoffpauir337325.34228
Koyie Hill10212.09501
Casey McGehee9244.16705

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
PlayerWLERAGGSSVIPRERBBK
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

Free agent acquisitions

Players lost to free agency

Other news

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Daytona