North: A great season, but Cubs have more work ahead
The Chicago Cubs storybook season is over after being swept by the New York Mets in the National League championship series, but it's not too early to think about next year and what adjustments need to be made.
First, they need to look for another starting pitcher. If Jake Arrieta can match what he did this year next season that's great, but the odds of him going 22-6 again with a stellar second half of the regular season are remote.
Jon Lester will need a better sophomore year with the Cubs after an average year in 2015 (11-12).
Next up is the need for a veteran bat with strong leadership skills. Anthony Rizzo is the man on this team, but it's always good to have a good second lieutenant.
It was evident that the loss of shortstop Addison Russell to a hamstring injury hurt the Cubs in the Mets series, and even though Javier Baez did the best he could there is a reason he wasn't the starter.
It was a great year for these young Cubs, and they will continue to get better, but they are in the toughest division in baseball, and the element of surprise will be gone.
As all Chicago fans are aware, there are no guarantees they will return to postseason play.
I worked at Wrigley Field in 1969 and thought those guys were going to win that year and the year after. It never happened. Then 1984 fell short once again and we thought 1985 would be the year.
Well, I don't need to go on.
Yes, the future looks bright, and let's remember these Cubs finished better than any of us initially expected.
Joe Maddon did an unbelievable job in the regular season, and with a year under his belt he learned a few things, such as Kyle Schwarber can hit, but he is a butcher in the outfield. Third baseman Kris Bryant will only get better, and the same holds true for first baseman Anthony Rizzo.
Next year Russell will be at short and Starlin Castro will be at second base to start the season, which secures the infield, but the bullpen still needs another arm.
It's easy to find fault with the way the Cubs played in this last series, but we need to give credit to the Mets. Their starting pitching was impressive, and second baseman Daniel Murphy hit a home run in every game against the Cubs. The Cubs seemed outclassed against the Mets; they simply didn't look like they belonged there yet.
The two games in New York seemed to stagger this team and they never rebounded.
All that aside, it was a heck of a season and Wrigleyville was hopping with excitement while the nation saw a great city with an up-and-coming team.
So congrats to the Chicago Cubs - it was a great year!
Program notes:
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