The season finale didn't go to the Cubs' advantage. They lost the series to the Padres on the road. Only producing 2 runs in the last game wasn't a good strength to end it for the franchise. Their offense lacks too much execution without enough run support. The team will have to find a solution to the runners stranded dilemna they face almost every year. In good news Carlos Pena finished the year strong with 28 homeruns and over 80 RBIs. He's eligible for free agency again this off-season. A smart move would be to sign him again to a new contract.
The young arms didn't stick around long in 2011. Andrew Cashner, Casey Coleman, Chris Carpenter, Jeff Samardzja, and other pitching prospects didn't get much time in due to injuries. The starting pitching didn't have a terrible time on the mound yet couldn't keep the ERA to around 4.00 or lower as a rotation. In the lineup Starlin Castro produced over 200 total hits with 10 homeruns, having his best season as a Cub. He became the real bright spot for the young blood as did Darwin Barney who served well in the no. 2 spot in the lineup.
The Cubs finished 2011 with a 71-91 record. They fell well below .500 after July and wasn't able to rebound to get within 10 games if not better of the Cardinals and Brewers. They end up 5th in the NL Central. Another big year for Aramis Ramirez who took leadership for the offense as he totaled 26 homeruns with 93 RBIs on 173 hits. Ramirez also notched a .306 batting average. Not much else went to high favor in Wrigleyville. The Cubs let the Pirates get in front of them. They need to desperately sign key off-season acquistions and possibly make a few trades with their bullpen extras. Most of all they need to work on their offensive strategies and find a way to juice up the power connection in the linuep. That's all for 2011, better luck next year.
Saturday, October 1
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