Chicago Cubs All-Decade Team

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Written by Michael Green

Tuesday, 29 December 2009 00:07

While this decade will best be remembered by Chicago Cubs' fans for the Steve Bartman incident, the Cubs were all over the place during the first decade of the new millenium. They started the ten year span with a terrible 2000 season that saw them finish with the worst record in baseball. They finally made it back to the playoffs in 2003 but were derailed by the Florida Marlins and Steve Bartman in the NLCS.

Chicago again went into the dumps progressively getting worse for the next three seasons culminating with a 66-96 record (worst in the NL) in 2006. A change in managers and a midseason tirade by the new guy, Lou Pinella, sparked the Cubs to back-to-back division titles. However, both trips to the postseason resulted in first round sweeps.

C - Michael Barrett

Michael Barrett played an underrated role for the Cubs during his tenure with the team from 2004-2007. Barrett had a career year for Chicago in 2004 when he hit .316 with 16 home runs and 65 RBI. He also won a Silver Slugger award in 2005. Geovany Soto is worth mentioning, but he still has to build on an exceptional 2008 campaign. Besides, Cubs fans have to love the fact that Barrett was the main instigator in a bench-clearing brawl against the White Sox in 2006…Your move Soto.

1B - Derek Lee

When Mark Grace left the Cubs in 2000, the only people who got excited about first base in Chicago were adolescent middle school students. That all changed with the arrival of Derrek Lee in 2004. Since joining the team, Lee has been elected to two All-Star games, won a pair of Gold Gloves, and a Silver Slugger award. The 6’5” mountain of a man also led the National League in hits, batting average, doubles, and overall studliness in 2005.

2B - Mark DeRosa

DeRosa enjoyed two solid, if unspectacular, seasons with the Chicago Cubs in 2007 and 2008. The fact that he makes this roster says something about the team’s second base situation over the last decade. In 2007, DeRosa hit .293 with 10 home runs and 74 RBI. He followed that up with career highs of 21 home runs and 87 RBI in 2008. He also contributed to the Cubs finishing with the best record in the National League that season.

SS - Ryan Theriot

The Cajun sensation from Baton Rouge, Louisiana has been the Cubs’ everyday shortstop since 2005. Theriot has a respectable .288 career batting average and .977 fielding percentage during that time. The diminutive 5’11” shortstop is David Eckstein-esque in his gritty approach to the game; something that does not go unnoticed by fans in Chicago.

3B - Aramis Ramirez

Since being traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2003, Aramis Ramirez has hit over 100 RBI for the Cubs in all but two seasons. Ramirez will not be fashioning a Gold Glove anytime soon, but he is consistently one of the best hitting third basemen in the league each year. Ramirez was selected to the All-Star team in 2005 and 2008. He also won the 2008 NL Hank Aaron Award.

RF - Sammy Sosa

Corked bats and illegal supplements aside, Sammy Sosa was the Chicago Cubs franchise during his tenure. Sosa hit 64 home runs in 2001 for the Cubs, becoming the first player to hit 60 or more home runs in three separate seasons. During his prolific career with the Cubs, Sosa was a seven-time All-Star and six-time Silver Slugger winner. He also destroyed all competition in the 2000 Home Run Derby. Say what you want about Sosa, but the bottom line is that the man was passionate about the game and put up stats that rank him amongst the best outfielders in baseball history.

CF - Corey Patterson

Corey Patterson broke through in 2000 as the Cubs' number one prospect. Although he never fully lived up to expectations, the speedy centerfield consistently showed flashes of his potential while manning the middle of Wrigley Field. In 2003, Patterson hit .298 with 55 RBI in only 83 games for Chicago. When given additional playing time in 2004, Patterson knocked 24 homers and 72 RBI. Still, Cubs fans may always remember Patterson more for his untapped potential than anything else.

LF - Alfonso Soriano

Honorable mention here to Moises Alou, who played a solid left field for the Cubs during their ill-fated 2003 playoff run. Much like Steve Bartman, Alfonso Soriano just beats Alou to the ball in this race. During his time with the Cubs, Soriano has been more erratic than the winds in Chicago. However, he has topped 20 home runs in each of his three seasons with the team and remains a constant 20/20 threat each year. He was also an All-Star selection in 2007 and 2008.

SP (LH) - Ted Lilly

Ted Lilly has been a solid veteran lefty for the Cubs since crossing the border from Toronto in 2007. In his first two seasons with Chicago, Lilly was a workhorse pitching just over 411 innings with 32 wins and 358 strikeouts. In 2009, he made his second All-Star team, his first as a member of the Cubs. Lilly finished 2009 with a career best 3.10 ERA and 1.06 WHIP.

SP (RH) - Carlos Zambrano

With all due respect to oft-injured flame-throwers Kerry Wood and Mark Prior, Carlos Zambrano has been the most consistent ace in Chicago this decade. “Big Z” has made a living off intimidating opposing hitters with his trademark upper 90s fastball and fiery temperament since breaking into the league in 2001. Zambrano is a three-time All-Star and led the NL in wins in 2006. Zambrano has a 3.51 ERA and 1,324 strikeouts in his nine-year career with the Cubs. The man is also no slouch in the batter’s box with 58 career RBI on his resume.

RP - Carlos Marmol

LaTroy Hawkins and Bobby Howry also deserve mention here, but neither possesses the dominant stuff that Carlos Marmol brings to the mound. In just three seasons of relief, Marmol has thrown 362 strikeouts. Prior to a “down year” in 2009, Marmol owned a stunning 2.05 ERA through his first two seasons. He has already been tabbed as the Cubs’ closer of the future.

CL - Ryan Dempster

Over the years, Cubs fans have gradually learned to accept Ryan Dempster as a solid pitcher and let go of the fact that he is Canadian. Dempster has tallied more saves than any other Cubs’ closer this decade at 87. Currently a starter, Dempster earned 24 or more saves during his three seasons as Chicago’s ninth inning specialist. His career year came in 2005 when he chalked up 33 saves with a 3.13 ERA.

Michael Green