Are these Cubs the worst in franchise history? That is a loaded question, as in loaded with possibilities.
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The Cubs have assembled some really bad teams since they debuted in 1876 as the White Stockings and performed what now would seem like an unnatural act. They finished first.
The 1997 Cubs, of course, will finish last and, with Philadelphia closing fast, there’s a decent chance they can wind up with the poorest record in the National League. But these Cubs will have to put it altogether during September to lose more games than any previous edition of the Cubs.
To hear manager Jim Riggleman talk, he’s not about to sell his players short.
“No matter what the final numbers are,” he said, “it’s been a terrible year with a lot of excruciating defeats.”
The Cubs had two of those within the week. Last Saturday, they pitched batting practice for Montreal and yielded six home runs. Then on Wednesday, Manny Alexander fielded the ball like a grenade and Florida rallied for a victory.
Problem is, the Cubs survived Kevin Brown the next day to split the series, and that’s where this bunch strays from its date with destiny. With 54 wins, it’s improbable these Cubs will be remembered as truly distinctive.
That’s a shame. If you’re going to waste an entire summer, you might as well have something to show for it by being certifiably awful for the ages.
Then again, if you really examine the sordid past, these Cubs have proven they do belong. The 1962 Cubs had a brutal record of 59-103, and just to show that was no fluke, the 1966 Cubs tied that mark.
Amazingly, those two are the only Cub teams to crack the fabled 100-loss barrier, though we submit 1981 for dishonorable mention. Those Cubs were 38-65 and had what it took to get worse, but there was a strike season, so they were cheated out of potential immortality.
Here’s where it becomes complicated. All three of the aforementioned lousy teams had better players than this lousy team. The 1962 Cubs featured rookies Lou Brock and Ken Hubbs, plus Billy Williams, Ernie Banks, George Altman and Ron Santo.
Brock showed too much ability, so he was traded, but the 1966 Cubs were still loaded with Glenn Beckert, Randy Hundley and Don Kessinger, plus Banks, Altman, Santo and Williams.
“That was the team Leo Durocher took over,” recalled Williams, a Cub coach. “He said we weren’t an eighth-place team, and he was right. We finished 10th. In 1962, we didn’t have a manager. We had the College of Coaches.”
That was owner Phil Wrigley’s brainstorm. One of the rotating zookeepers, Charlie Metro, accused players of being party animals. So he prohibited shaving in the clubhouse. If his Cubs went out on the town, they went ugly.
“We had more hitting on those teams,” Williams concluded. “But this year’s team has better pitching.”
Not by much. According to the Steve Stone theory, Chicago’s cool summer, with the wind often blowing in, has made the Cubs pitchers look better at Wrigley Field than they really are. Even the dreadful 1981 team had Lee Smith and Willie Hernandez in the bullpen. One’s going to the Hall of Fame, the other won a Cy Young Award. In Detroit, naturally.
I don’t envision any such citations for this staff. And the only Hall of Famer on the roster, Ryne Sandberg, is retiring. So you could say these Cubs have more bad players than any previous Cubs team, but the product everywhere is so diluted that this team will be denied its place in history.
“We definitely overevaluated our talent,” said Riggleman, who might want to try that ban on razor blades. With Manny Alexander’s hands, this could mean saving a life.