One can argue that most days are sad for Cubs fans; however, the news that Derek Lee was traded to the Atlanta Braves (for prospects of all things) truly does hurt.
Lee was far from having a banner year, he was only hitting .251 with 16 home runs, but in my eyes he was a true Cub since joining the team. In the 924 games with the team he averaged a .298 batting average, had 1046 hits, of which were 179 were home runs. The man was a quiet leader, one that had the respect of the team, and the appreciation of the fans. No matter what he faced with this team, he did so with grace and class.
Since the failed 2007 and 2008 playoff pushes, the club has been slowly dismantled. Gone are the solid position players such as Mark DeRosa, Ryan Theriot, and Mike Fontenot. We no longer have an impressive pitching staff, and there appears to be no plan for the future. While the experiment with Milton Bradley turned out to be a disaster, it seems the team was unable to shake the “crazy” as Carlos Zambrano decided to pick up where Bradley left off at the end of last season, and now we are resorting to trading off our stars.
If the latest action is any indication of where the team is headed, next year will be a very – very – hard year for the Cubs. While I suspect management will do some mid-level free agent signing during the off season, which has been their style over the last few years, my guess is that the results will be the same.
I’ll tell you this, I would hate to be the new manager of the team. No matter who takes of the helm next season, they will be blamed for the failure… I hope they spare the legendary Ryne Sandberg this pain as he does not deserve to suffer due to the mismanagement of Cubs GM Jim Hendry.
So, so long Derek Lee.
Thank you for the years of service to the Cubs. Thank you for the memories. Whenever I think of the players that are true Cubs in my mind – Banks, Williams, Sandberg, Maddux, Jenkins, Grace, Dawson – I’ll remember you as well.
Tags: Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Cubs, Derek Lee