Chicago Cubs Nationals

Chicago Cubs Nationals

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One of two Major League franchises in the Windy City, the Chicago Cubs are the reigning back-to-back champions of the National League Central Division. Along with the Atlanta Braves, ?The Cubbies,? as the team is popularly known, are the only remaining charter members of the NL.

The team last won a title in 1908, making its 100-year championship drought one of the longest of any major North American pro sports franchises. The team plays its home games at Wrigley Field, the Cubs? home since 1916, located at Chicago?s north side Lakeview community. The club is currently handled by manager Lou Piniella, with Jim Hendry as general manager and Sam Zell the owner following his purchase of the club?s parent organization, the Tribune Company. Zell, however, has put the club on the auction block.

Important moments and accomplishments
In its long history in the Majors, the Cubs? golden years could be considered the period from 1902 to 1920 when the club established a dynasty. In 1906, the Cubs won a staggering 116 games out of 154, for a .753 winning percentage. It then moved on to win back-to-back World Series titles in 1907 and 1908.

The succeeding decades saw the Cubs remaining strong contenders, posting winning records and notching NL pennants in 1929, 1932, 1935, 1938 and 1945. The second half of the century had the Cubs being competitive still while at the same time producing legends of the game like Ernie Banks, Ryne Sandberg and Sammy Sosa.

The new millennium proved more tough for the Cubs as they struggled producing winning seasons. But come 2007, the Cubs were infused new life following a ?disastrous?? 2006 that saw them win just 66 games. The club regrouped and signed left-fielder Alfonso Soriano to a lucrative contract and Piniella came on board to replace Dusty Baker as manager.

The Cubs completed a turnaround in 2007, topping the NL Central with a record of 85-77, and faced the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Division Series, eventually losing to the D-Backs via a three-game sweep.
In 2008, the Cubs took off from where they left in 2007 as they successfully defended their National League Central title with a record of 97-65. This marked the first time that The Cubbies made the postseason in consecutive years since 1906-1908. The year also proved momentous as it saw the team win its 10,000th game and laid witness to the first no-hitter by a Cubs player in 36 years when Carlos Zembrano achieved the feat in September against the Houston Astros. The Cubs dominated the 2008 All-Star Game as well, with a franchise-record seven representatives in the midseason classic at Yankee Stadium, including three starters -- Soriano, rookie catcher Geovany Soto, and Japanese Kosuke Fukudome. The Cubs then faced the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS where they bowed to the latter in three games.

Pitchers in the current roster
Jose Ascanio
Neal Cotts
Ryan Dempster
Chad Gaudin
Angel Guzman
Rich Harden
Kevin Hart
Rich Hill Bob
Howry Ted
Lilly Carlos
Marmol
Jason Marquis
Sean Marshall
Billy Petrick
Jeff Samardzija
Randy Wells
Kerry Wood
Michael Wuertz
Carlos Zembrano

Chicago Cubs recent news

Despite all the negotiations over finding a new owner for the storied club, the team is dead set on improving. To sustain the momentum the Cubs have built in the last two seasons, the club extended the contract of GM Hendry to another four years. Since taking the GM post in 2002, Hendry has gotten his team to three postseason appearances. He has vowed to continue working to help the Cubs get back to the World Series and eventually winning it all again.
The Cubs also picked up the $7-million option on righthander hurler Rich Harden as well as preparing for talks with Ryan Dempster and Kerry Wood, both free agents, to further shore up their pitching roster.

While the 100-year-old title drought has yet to be broken by the Cubs, their back-to-back NL Central titles in the last two years bode well for the organization and its fans. With the progress they have made, it could only be a matter of time before the championship returns to the North side of Chicago.

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