Chicago Cubs History 2000-Present Chicago Cub Tickets

History of the Chicago Cubs in the 2000's

2000: The Cubs face the Mets at the start of the season with a 2 game series in Tokyo, Japan. The Cubs would win the first game of the series, which the two teams split. Sammy Sosa would go on to lead the NL in HRs with 50, as the Cubs finished in last place again with a 65-97 record.

2001: Sammy Sosa tags 425 total bases for his second 400-plus campaign, setting club marks for extra-base hits (103) and slugging percentage (737), topping the records set by Hack Wilson. In addition, Sosa recorded just the seventh 50-homer/150 RBI season in Major League history. Sosa is the only player since World War II to accomplish this feat twice, having previously reached it in 1998 as well. The Cubs also get strong pitching in the early part of the season highlighted by back-to-back 1-hitters from John Lieber who goes on to win 20 games, and Kerry Wood on May 24th and 25th. Thanks to the pitching staff and Sosa the Cubs are in 1st Place until late August. However the Cubs would end up fading in September finishing in 3rd place behind the playoff bound Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals with a solid 88-74 record.

2002: After contending for the NL Central in 2001, hopes were high for the Cubs entering the season. However, early on it was clear the Cubs were going to be a disappointment as they found themselves well below .500 all season, while struggling to score runs. Making matters worse the Cubs started to take controversial measures, including putting up dark netting over the fence in back of the bleachers, to prevent fans from watching the game at the apartment buildings surrounding Wrigley Field. As midseason approached Manager Don Baylor was singled out as the scapegoat. However, under his replacement Bruce Kimm the Cubs would not do any better finishing in 5th place with an awful 67-95 record. The only thing Cubs had to look forward to was the debut of rookie pitcher Mark Prior, who goes 6-6 in 19 starts. Following the season the Cubs would change managers again, hiring Dusty Baker who had just led the San Francisco Giants to the World Series.

2003: The Cubs began the season on a milestone watch, as Sammy Sosa needed just 1 long ball to achieve his 500th career Homer. Sosa would achieve the feat on the 4th day of the season going deep on the road in the Cincinnati Reds new ballpark. However Sosa struggled early and in May was placed on the disabled list. Despite the loss of Sosa the Cubs played solid baseball behind the terrific 1-2 punch of Kerry Wood and Mark Prior who were quickly establishing themselves as the best pitching combo in the NL. When Sosa returned from the DL he was still struggling so he tried to use a corked bat to get himself out of his slump. Instead in brought embarrassment as his bat broke in a June 3rd interlegaue game against the Tamp Bay Devil Rays spreading cork all over the field, and earning the star an 8-game suspension. After the suspension Sosa caught fire and overcame his early power struggles to end the season with 40 homers, and 103 RBI. The Cubs however would spend much of the next 2 months hovering around .500. Hoping to get back in the race the Cubs made several deals with the Pittsburgh Pirates acquiring Armais Ramirez, Kenny Lofton, and Randall Simon, which helped kick start the Cubs offense. Despite a mediocre 69-66 record entering September the Cubs were in thick of a 3-team race for the NL Central Division title. The Cubs would establish themselves as a serious contender by taking 4 out of 5 from the St. Louis Cardinals to begin the season's last month. It would kick start a 19-8 month as the Cubs pitching and improved offense were just enough to catapult them into first place where they won the first division title in 14 years with an 88-74 record. Facing the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS the Cubs got off to a good start as Kerry Wood stared on the mound and at the plate pitching a solid 7 plus while delivering a 2-run double as the Cubs won Game 1 in Atlanta 4-2. After the Braves took Game 2 the series shifted to Wrigley Field where Mark Prior out dueled Greg Maddux to give the Cubs a 3-1 win. However with a chance to close the series out in Game 4 Matt Clement struggled as the Braves evened the series with a 6-4 win setting up a decisive 5th game in Atlanta. Game 5 in Atlanta would see the return of Kerry Wood who dominated the Braves again as the Cubs won their first postseason series in 95 years with a 5-1 win. Facing the Florida Marlins in the NLCS the Cubs experienced a roller coaster of emotions in Game 1, as they jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead. However the Marlins rallied and took a lead into the 9th where Sammy Sosa delivered a 2-out 2-run homer to even the game at 8-8. However the Marlins would recover and win in the 11th inning. The loss would not deter the Cubs who came back the next night and won going away 12-3, as they took the next 3 games for a 3-1 series lead. After losing Game 5 in Florida the Cubs returned to Wrigley Field needing just 1 win to reach their first World Series since 1945. A party atmosphere was hovering over Wrigleyville as the Cubs had Mark Prior on the mound and a 3-0 lead going into the 8th Inning. The cheers got louder as Mike Mordecai flied out to start the inning. After a Juan Pierre double the Cubs appeared to have the innings 2nd out as Moises Alou drifted to the stands, but a fan named Steve Bartman knocked the ball away, opening the flood gates. The batter Luis Castillo would walk, which was followed by an Ivan Rodriguez single that put the Marlins on the board. Things would only get worse as SS Alex Gonzalez booted a double play ball as the Marlins went on to score 8 runs to force a 7th game with an 8-3 win. Not even Kerry Wood could save the Cubs in Game 7 as the Cubs ace was shaky as the Marlins took the game by a score of 9-6 to go on to the World Series leaving Cubs fans with heartbreak like they had never suffered before.

2004: Coming off their heartbreaking loss in the NLCS the Cubs were the popular pick to win the NL at the start of the season as their dynamic young pitching duo of Kerry Wood and Mark Prior was joined by future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux who was returning to the Cubs after 11 years with Atlanta Braves. The Cubs would get off to a solid start winning 12 of their first 18 games. However, as the season wore on the Cubs had issues with injuries as both Wood and Prior missed significant time due to injury making only a total of 43 starts, with neither winning 10 games. Picking up the slack for Wood and Prior was Maddux and Carlos Zambrano who each won a team high 16 games, included was Maddux's 300th career win against the San Francisco Giants on August 7th. While the Cubs were well out of the picture for the Division Title they remained in the Wild Card race until the end of the season. However with a week left in the season the Cubs bullpen failed them as protecting a 3-0 lead against the New York Mets with 2 outs in the 9th Inning Closer LaTroy Hawkins allowed a 3-run homer to September call up Victor Diaz. The Mets would go on to win in 11 innings as another minor league call up Craig Brazell won the game with a homer. The Cubs would not recover as they lost 7 of their final 9 games missing the Wild Card spot by just 3 games as they finished in 3rd place with an 89-73 record. On the final game of the season a simmering feud between Sammy Sosa and Manager Dusty Baker exploded as Sosa left early and was criticized heavily by Baker. Immediately trade rumors began to emerge as Sosa who despite hitting 35 Home Runs only managed 80 RBI while hitting .253, with a poor average in clutch situations. Eventually Sosa would be dealt to the Baltimore Orioles for Jerry Hairston Jr. and at least 2 minor-leaguers.

2005: From the start of the season Mark Prior and Kerry Wood dealt with nagging arm injuries that would limit them to just 37 total starts, as the Cubs play mediocre baseball all year, on the way to a disappointing 79-83 record that saw them land in 4th place. Despite not being in the playoff picture all year there still were several bright spots as 1B Derek Lee had a breakout year leading all 3 triple crown categories for much of the first half. Lee would manage to win the batting crown with a .335 average while his 46 homers ranked second in NL. However with few people on base in the second half he fell out of the top 10 and ended with 107 RBI. Also having a solid offensive season was 3B Aramis Ramirez who hit .302 with 31 homers and 93 RBI. However, Nomar Garicaparra continued to struggle with injuries as a torn groan limited him to just 62 games, as the Cubs decided to let him walk away as a Free Agent at the end of the season.

2006: The Cubs started the season as injuries continued and Mark Prior, as the two one time aces would hardly pitch making just 13 appearances combines, with Prior posting a 1-6 record with a robust 7.21 ERA. Despite the problems of Wood and Prior the Cubs got often to a decent start, winning 12 of their first 19 games. However, when Derek Lee suffered a fractured wrist in a collision with Rafael Furcal of the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 20th the Cubs offense suddenly lost its punch. While Lee would be limited to just 50 games the Cubs plunged quickly winning just 5 of 28 games leading into Memorial Day, as the Cubs embarked on another season to forget. As the season wore on frustrations in Chicago mounted as the Cubs set records for no shows at Wrigley Field. One night Cubs fans rather forget is a Sunday Night National TV game against the New York Mets in July, in which the Cubs allowed two Grand Slams in an 11-run 6th leading to fans showering the field with debris. It was one of several incidents of fans throwing garbage during the season. By the time the season was over Manager Dusty Baker who entered 2003 as a hero, had become public enemy number one as fans booed him every time he changed pitchers. The Cubs would end the season in last place with a terrible record of 66-96, as Baker was fired and replaced by Lou Piniella, who immediately became the source of the new hope for Cubs fans. With the hiring of Piniella the Cubs would also go on a wild off-season spending spree signing Alfonso Soriano seen by many as the top Free Agent following a 40-40 season with the Washington Nationals. In addition the Cubs signed Free Agent Pitchers Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis with the hopes of building a rotation they could count on beyond Carlos Zambrano.

2007: No matter how bleak the situation has been in the past the Cubs always begin the season full of optimism. A good reason for that optimism despite coming off a last place season was new Manager Lou Piniella and their big free agent signings. However, early on it was more of the same as the Cubs got off to a slow start losing six of their first nine games, as they posted a 10-14 record in April. In May the Cubs played a light better as they climbed above .500 on May 9th. However a week later the Cubs showed they still had a way to go as they blew a 5-1 lead in the 9th Inning against the New York Mets who were playing several reserves. The Cubs would rebound quickly as they took two of three against the cross-town White Sox. However, the Cubs still struggled the rest of the month and started June with a record of 22-30. As June began the Cubs looked like they were about to come apart at the seems as ace pitcher Carlos Zambrano and Catcher Michael Barrett got in a dugout shoving match as the Cubs were beaten by the Atlanta Braves 8-5. A day later it was Piniella blowing his top as he began kicking dirt and threw his cap after a close play at third base sent him out to argue with Umpire Mark Wegner. Piniella was suspended four games for the incident, but it seemed to light a fire under his team as the Cubs won 8 of their next 12 games. While problems still existed as Michael Barrett, who would end up being dealt to the San Diego Padres, was involved in another altercation this time with pitcher Rich Hill, the Cubs seemed to be turning the corner. As June was coming to a close the Cubs were playing solid baseball winning seven straight to approach .500 again as they swept a three game series with the White Sox on the South Side. After ending the first half with a record of 44-43, the Cubs began to make their move in the Central Division as they ended the month of July just a half game behind the first place Milwaukee Brewers as they posted a 17-9 record, including wins in 9 of their first 12 games after the All-Star Game. Despite a rough stretch in August, after losing Alfonso Soriano for a few weeks to an injury the Cubs entered September in the thick of the pennant race. Down the stretch it would be the Cubs led by their pitching staff that would end up getting the edge as they won 10 of 12 games during a key stretch in mid-September to take over first place. The Cubs would end up completing a worst-to0first turnaround as they won the NL Central with a record of 85-77, as they set a new attendance record of 3,252,462. In the NLDS the Cubs were matched up against the Arizona Diamondbacks. In Game 1 pitching was the story as Brandon Webb and Carlos Zambrano both had solid starts as the game was tied 1-1 after six innings. However, the Cubs bullpen would falter as the D-Backs won 3-1. After losing 8-4 in Game 2 the series shifted to Wrigley Field with the Cubs needing a win to avoid a sweep. Things did not start well as Chris Young homered on Rich Hill's first pitch. The Cubs would not be able to fight back as the Diamondbacks completed the three game sweep with a 5-1 win.