65-97, Come On Cubs!

[TheBigBomber]

First off, if this goes on until mogul 2010, I'm going to continue it and play it into mogul 2010. My one and only goal, is to break the curse. If I complete that quickly, I'm going to try and get a 100 win season. But we'll see. The rules are simple, so no need for posting them. I'm going to try and keep this going as long as I can, month by month.

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STOP THE CURSE!

In the year 2000, the Chicago Cubs were dealt with loss after loss after loss. They couldn't manufacture wins, tying the Philadelphia Philles for the worst record in baseball which was 65-97. Andy MacPhail was fired as the Chicago Cubs GM and this led to the hiring of Jim Hendry. Don Taylor's job was in jeopardy but hopefully Hendry could lead the Cubs!

In the off-season the Cubs managed to make these moves:

#1 November 18, 2000: Bill Mueller was traded by the San Francisco Giants to the Chicago Cubs for Tim Worrell.
#2 December 18, 2000: Jason Bere was signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago Cubs.
#3 December 19, 2000: Todd Hundley signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago Cubs.

Hopefully these signings could help the Cubs to victory. Hendry held a press conference and said he was ready to end the Cubbie curse and lead Chicago to a championship.


__________________________________________________________
FILES FOR EACH SEASON (Click)

2001 Season

[TheBigBomber]

Taylor Hospitalized, Interim Manager Named

A few days after Jim Hendry was announced the new general manager or the Chicago Cubs, Don Taylor got into an accident. He was leaning onto a rail admiring the Chicago River in a walking area but unfortunately, he was at the wrong time at the wrong place. The railing he was leaning on was poorly constructed but the workers had missed putting up the sign so Don had no idea. His weight was too heavy for the railing and it began crumbling. Taylor was not ready for the fall and his leg hit the side of the bridge. Nobody was next to him so he tumbled into the river but it wasn't way too far down so they fished him out quickly.

Taylor had some bad frostbite and broke his leg badly so there was no way he was getting out anytime soon. Jim Hendry and Sam Zell talked it over and decided to assign a new interim manager. Ron Santo was pulled into consideration but Zell shut him down. They almost even thought of Don Zimmer but there we no way he was going to be manager again. Zell brought up Buckner then thought of what would happen if they did that so both denied it. It was getting close to being Ferguson Jenkins but Ken Holtzman's name was brought up and it was a close fight. In the end Fergie Jenkins won the job. Jenkins was a former Cubs' player and was inducted into the hall of fame in 1991. This was his first managing gig. At age 57, he's one of the older managers in the MLB and he's going strong still. Fergie said there were some big changes that he would be making, real real soon. Hopefully there good ones though.



Jenkins visiting a ball game against the Astros back in 2000.

[TheBigBomber]

SUPERSTAR WOOD GOES CANADIAN, EH!

Fergie Jenkins promised something big and he delivered along with some help from Jim Hendry. Kerry Wood knew he was the all-star of the ball club as did Jenkins so this meant they could get some big stuff for him. Hendry informed everyone that Wood was going to be traded. Trade offers were blooming but the right price wasn't matched until the Expos gave an offer. They really liked Wood and were offering 26-year old infielders, Orlando Cabrera & Jose Vidro but needed some extra pieces. Hendry was skilled at dealing and threw in Kyle Farnsworth along with Ricky Gutierrez.

Both sides agreed on it after some hard thinking and the Cubs knew what they were getting themselves into. The final offer was looking like this:

The Chicago Cubs Trade Away:

SP Kerry Wood
RP Kyle Farnsworth
SS Ricky Gutierrez

The Montreal Expos Trade Away:

2B Jose Vidro
SS Orlando Cabrera

This fills in the gaps at second and short but leaves them without a capable ace. Thankfully, a 19-year old named Carlos Zambrano is major league ready and can help fill the pitching gap. He's the projected ace of the future but for now, Kevin Tapani can handle that duty. Veteran, Donovan Osborne will be brought in to take Kerry Wood's slot in the rotation. Comments straight from Jim Hendry, "Wood can be replaced. We have a minors system that is blooming and we think we needed some big bats in our lineup."

No further comments and Fergie Jenkins could not be reached for comment. With the new acquiring, Miguel Cairo will be on the block. For now though, no one is willing to take Cairo. Let's improve it from 65-97 to a World Series win!



Cabrera flexing his fielding skills

[Jeffy25]

I'm a Cards fan who is enjoying this so far, keep it up

[TheBigBomber]

Money, Money, CLIFF FLOYD!

Heck yeah, Cliff Floyd. A Cubbie, just the boost the Cubs needed. Played in the majors when he 20 years old, a 9-year veteran and only 28 years old. This way, they get rid of some trash. Miguel Cairo was really going to be blocked by Orlando Cabrera so no need to keep him. We also gave up 33-year old Matt Stairs who was just like Floyd except he's older and can barely hit the ball.

This way the Cubs get to fill their gap at the outfield and get rid of some unneeded players. Fergie Jenkins didn't know anything until the papers were signed. Jenkins was outraged but Hendry could care less. It was a done deal and Jenkins would have to figure out a way to deal with it.

The Chicago Cubs Trade Away:

RF Matt Stairs
SS Miguel Cairo

The Florida Marlins Trade Away:

LF Cliff Floyd

Only big deal is that Floyd costs a little but we can afford him. With the acquiring of Cliff Floyd, left field for the Cubs is secure. The rest of their outfield will be patrolled by Sammy Sosa & Rondell White! The Chicago natives are having high hopes for this team. Jim Hendry was not reached for comment but told his adviser this should be the last trade before the season starts.



Floyd giving teammate Derrek Lee some good luck

[TheBigBomber]

The Big Bats Of CUBS!

Line-up

#1 SS Orlando Cabrera
#2 LF Cliff Floyd
#3 2B Jose Vidro
#4 RF Sammy Sosa
#5 CF Rondell White
#6 C Todd Hundley
#7 1B Ron Coomer
#8 3B Bill Mueller
#9 Pitcher Slot

Bench

Bench C Joe Girardi
Bench LF Gary Matthews
Bench C Robert Machado
Bench SS Augie Ojeda
Bench 2B Eric Young
Bench 1B Julio Zuleta

Prospect Chase

SS Ryan Theriot
CF Corey Patterson
RF Sam Fuld
RF Angel Pagan
RF Buck Coats

FLAWS: Need a better center fielder that's younger than White
No future in catching
Need a third basemen

THE GOODS: Overloaded supply of out fielding prospects
Great infield for the future
Good young outfielders sitting on the bench

[TheBigBomber]

STRIKE THREE & YOUR OUTTA HERE!

Rotation

#1 Kevin Tapani
#2 Carlos Zambrano
#3 Jason Bere
#4 Jon Lieber
#5 Donovan Osbourne
Spot Starter Rich Hill

The 'Pen

CL Felix Heredia
SU Will Ohman
SR Joe Borowski
SR Tom Gordon
MR Julian Tavarez
LR Ron Mahay

Prospect Chase

RP Juan Cruz
RP Scott Chiasson
SP Mark Prior
RP Carlos Marmol
SP Sergio Mitre
RP Rocky Cherry
RP Felix Sanchez
RP Carmen Pignatiello
SP Jon Leicester
SP Steve Smyth

FLAWS: Our rotation has nothing, so we might have extremely high ERAs
Very low on good relief pitching except for Heredia
Our 3-5 starters are ranked among the worst starters in the league

GOODS: Loaded with prospects so our future is set
A great, young closer that can close the deal
Very young starting pitching to help me out in the future

[TheBigBomber]

LIT 'EM & HIT 'EM

Thats exactly what the Cubs did tonight. On April 1st, 2001, the Chicago Cubs defeated the St. Louis Cardinals by a score of 10-0. Thats right, 10-0. Kevin Tapani allowed a mere 4 hits and Tom Gordon pitching a hit less ninth. It was beauty on the pitching side. One single man touched second base for the opposing team.

We destroyed their pitching scoring 10 runs. Led by first basemen, Ron Coomer who drilled a home run with 2 hits and 3 ribbies. Rondell White also added in a home run, 2 hits, and 2 RBIs. Todd Hundley & Bill Mueller, the two off season additions to the lineup started off big contributing to the defeat with 2 RBIs a piece. Vidro chipped in with 2 hits and Sosa with an RBI. Sosa & Floyd were kept hitless though. A great start to the Cubs rally to a championship with Hendry & Fergie Jenkins cheering them on all of the way.

Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals
April 2, 2001

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
          Cubs (CHC) 0 0 3 1 0 0 3 0 3   10 10  0
     Cardinals (STL) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0    0  4  1

CHICAGO              ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
O. Cabrera (SS)       4  1  1  1  0  0  0  0    .250
C. Floyd (LF)         3  0  1  0  0  0  1  0    .000
J. Vidro (2B)         5  2  0  2  0  0  2  0    .400
S. Sosa (RF)          3  0  2  0  0  1  2  0    .000
R. White (CF)         5  2  0  2  1  2  0  0    .400
T. Hundley (C)        3  2  2  2  0  2  0  0    .667
R. Coomer (1B)        5  2  0  2  1  3  2  0    .400
B. Mueller (3B)       5  1  0  0  0  2  0  0    .200
K. Tapani (P)         3  0  1  1  0  0  0  0    .000
 E. Young (P)         1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 T. Gordon (P)        0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
TOTALS               37 10  7 10  2 10  7  0

   2B:  T. Hundley 2 (2), J. Vidro (1), O. Cabrera (1)
   3B:  B. Mueller (1)
   HR:  R. Coomer (1), R. White (1)
   HBP:  C. Floyd
   GIDP:  R. White

         CHICAGO   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
       K. Tapani  8.0  4  2  0  0  0  6 109   0.00
       T. Gordon  1.0  0  1  0  0  0  2  22   0.00
          TOTALS  9.0  4  3  0  0  0  8 131

ST. LOUIS            ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
J. Drew (RF)          4  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .000
P. Polanco (2B)       4  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .000
J. Edmonds (CF)       4  1  0  0  0  0  0  0    .250
M. McGwire (1B)       3  0  1  0  0  0  1  0    .000
R. Lankford (LF)      3  1  1  0  0  0  1  0    .333
C. Paquette (3B)      4  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .000
E. Renteria (SS)      3  0  1  0  0  0  1  0    .000
M. Matheny (C)        3  1  0  0  0  0  1  0    .333
D. Kile (P)           1  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .000
 S. Kline (P)         0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 A. Pujols (P)        1  1  0  0  0  0  0  0   1.000
 D. Hermanson (P)     0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 F. Vina (P)          1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 M. James (P)         0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 M. Timlin (P)        0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
TOTALS               31  4  3  0  0  0  8  0

   2B:  R. Lankford (1)

       ST. LOUIS   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
         D. Kile  4.0  4  5  0  4  4  4  97   9.00
        S. Kline  1.0  0  0  0  0  0  1  14   0.00
    D. Hermanson  2.0  3  0  2  3  3  1  33  13.50
        M. James  1.2  2  2  0  3  3  1  33  16.20
       M. Timlin  0.1  1  0  0  0  0  0   9   0.00
          TOTALS  9.0 10  7  2 10 10  7 186

     WP: K. Tapani (1-0)
     LP: D. Kile (0-1)

     Temperature: 50F
     Wind: 6 MPH (left to right)
     Attendance: 52,644
     Time: 3:30

Kevin Tapani exhausted after striking out the "Big Mac"

[Red Sox Fan 734]

Good job so far

[TheBigBomber]

BACK! I'm really an on and off guy. Lost all records of my old dynasties (**** you rapidshare). Except for this bad boy. I've been getting bored watching Grey's Anatomy (yep) and other **** so I'm back to this bad boy. I've been inspired by Gehrig's dynasty. I actually have a part of what I was going to post still on Word so I really want to get back in this. Plus, I'll be using Mizerak's Free Agency device. But anyways, we'll be back and running soon enough and no quitting (or try not too lol).

[Gehrig493]

Glad I inspire you . Look forward to reading it in the future.

[TheBigBomber]

Injury Plagued April

The Cubs barely limp into second place ending April on a bad note with 2 big injuries to 2 top players.

Hot hitting Bill Mueller dropped on his knees sliding for small pop in the infield and sprained his lower back (MAKING THE PLAY). He sat for a bit over 2 weeks but he'll be back in less than a week. Secondly came starting first basemen, Ron Coomer who sprained his index finger playing pick-up basketball with his good friend Michael Jordan and the ball plopped right on his finger. He out for just about 3 weeks but its now down to 12 days.

Other than that, the Cubs had some trouble pitching especially with Felix Heredia their closer who more saves then games he saved. Hopefully a good trip our minors will straighten him out. Coming in from the minor leagues will be Todd Van Poppel, a guy who has been dominating the minors. Borowski will be uped to closer and everyone else will move up a slot. Starting pitching has been fairly good though, especially Kevin Tapani who has an ERA at 3.23. Big Z has been fantastic in his rookie year with a 4.03 ERA. Jason Bere's ERA is past 5 but he does have more strikeouts than innings played. No one will get demoted though since they are doing great.



Our bats were sweet except for a few. Sammy Sosa has been acting like a leadoff man leading the team in stolen bases and in homers as well. Cliff Floyd will become our new leadoff since Cabby isn't doing the job. Julio Zelata has a .400 average in only 25 ABs though so he will bat third with Vidro at second. We're going to bench Todd Hundley with his torrid average and give Girardi starts. We're just awaiting the return of Ron Coomer & Bill Mueller.



And our standings ...



KEY GAMES:

Cubs 0, Cardinals 4
- We got shut out after shutting them out a day earlier. We were limited to 5 hits and this taught us a good lesson.
4.2.01

Cubs 3, Cardinals 2
- Last minute scoring. We were tied until the 9th where we got to hit first. Mueller singled, Zuleta followed with a single that sent him to third, and to put the icing on the cake Matthews grounded to score Mueller. We had some trouble in the ninth but Borowski finished them off.
4.3.01

Pirates 1, Cubs 7
- Tapani pitched us a complete game 7 hitter allowing a single run. This was a good game for us batting wise too. Hundley homered, had 3 hits, and 4 RBIs.
4.7.01

Cubs 3, Pirates 1
- BIG Z! Lasted 8 innings allowing 4 hits and walking 3. He left them scoreless and then there's Felix Heredia who gave up the only run. Our guys from the big trade, Vidro & Cabrera gave us the only RBIs.
4.20.01

Cubs 13, Reds 5
- WHAT A GAME! Cliff Floyd did the unthinkable, he went 6-6. 3 runs and 2 RBIs, this guy was amazing. We scored 13 runs and Floyd did half the work. I'm so astonished I can't even begin to explain. The only problem was that Zambrano only lasted 3 innings giving up all 5 runs.
4.25.01

UPS

SP Kevin Tapani
SP Carlos Zambrano
RP Joe Borowski
RP Tom Gordon
1B Julio Zuleta
2B Jose Vidro
LF Cliff Floyd
RF Sammy Sosa

DOWNS

SP Jason Bere
RP Felix Heredia
C Todd Hundley
SS Orlando Cabrera
CF Rondell White

(Yes, I take my good time to make this thing good. If you except updates between 15 mins, leave please. It'll take at LEAST an hour most likely more. Sorry but quality > quantity. And this format is good for me since I can explain everything I need to explain.)

[Gehrig493]

Quality always over quantity. It usually takes me about an hour to do mine too, but I do a whole month in one post, so it isn't expected to be short.
You did a hell of a lot better in your first month than I did mine. I didn't have any injuries, and just barely made it over .500. You had two injuries to some good performers, and you still managed a .600 winning %.
Keep the winning up, and the curse will be broken.

[TheBigBomber]

Yeah, I want the curse to be broken. Thanks for reading, and good luck to you.

[Coach Owens]

*Gasp* HOW COULD YOU TRADE FOR JOSE VIDRO?!?!?!?