Chicago Cubs: 2008 team built drastically different than this year’s club

The 2008 Chicago Cubs won 97 games and reached the postseason. Still, they were constructed very differently than the roster heading into the 2018 season.

When Lou Piniella took over as manager of the Chicago Cubs, I just knew things were going to be different. After an 85-win 2007 campaign, Sweet Lou led the North Siders back to the postseason again in 2008. Of course, the team enjoyed absolutely no October success, getting swept in the first round in both years.

How so, you might ask, were these teams different? In virtually every way imaginable. Let’s start with Piniella himself. An old-school, no-nonsense baseball guy, his first season managing the Cubs marked his 20th year at the helm of a Major League club. What do people remember most about Piniella? His ejection antics.

But, hey. It worked. He won Manager of the Year three times during his career, including during the Cubs’ 2008 campaign and led the Cincinnati Reds to the 1990 World Series title. Now, the quirky Joe Maddon leads the Cubs – and he couldn’t be more different than Piniella.

Old school v. new school

Don’t get me wrong. Both men have tremendous baseball IQ. But they come from distinctly different lines of thinking. Maddon epitomizes the new school approach to the game while Piniella is about as old school as it gets.

In his three-plus years with Chicago, Piniella posted a .519 winning percentage and two postseason appearances. Maddon, heading into his fourth season as the Cubs’ manager, owns a .602 winning percentage, three-straight LCS appearances and a World Series title.

But enough about the men who led these respective teams. Let’s look more closely at the rosters and their make-up.

Older roster led ’08 Cubs to October baseball

Of the Cubs’ primary position players in the 2008 season, just two were under the age of 30. Those two players? Shortstop Ryan Theriot and catcher Geovany Soto, who won the National League Rookie of the Year in 2008.

More from Cubbies Crib

• Cubs should keep close eye on non-tender candidate Cody Bellinger
• Cubs starting pitching has been thriving on the North Side
• Make no mistake: the Cubs are very much about power hitters
• Cubs are giving pitcher Javier Assad a deserved shot
• Cubs: It’s time to start thinking about potential September call-ups

By contrast, if Javier Baez takes over the starting duties at second base (which I expect), there will not be a Cubs starting position player over the age of 28. This is a team built to win (or at the very least, compete) year after year for the foreseeable future.

Headlining the 2008 Cubs’ offense – a first and third base combination of Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez. The two combined for 47 home runs and 211 runs batted in for Chicago and were supplemented by the likes of Mark DeRosa, Alfonso Soriano and, of course, Soto.

Six of the eight regular starters for Chicago posted an OPS north of .800 – led by Jim Edmonds‘ .937 clip in 85 games in his age-38 season. The club led the National League in runs scored (855), doubles (329), walks (636), OBP, slugging percentage and OPS.

Youth, balance, depth secret to Cubs’ recent run

Similar to the 2008 team, the Cubs are headlined by a first and third base two-headed monster. Of course, this duo features 2016 NL MVP Kris Bryant and first baseman Anthony Rizzo. This duo forms one of the most lethal combinations in the game today.

Last year, for example, the duo teamed up to blast 61 long-balls and drive in 182 runs. Of course, much was made of Bryant’s “low” RBI total – but given his career-high OPS, that seems to be a very small issue in KB’s offensive game.

As a team, Chicago took a step back from a dominant 2016 campaign, and led the National League in just one offensive category – on-base percentage. In their World Series title season the year prior, the Cubs led the NL in just two categories – OBP and walks.

This team, though, is about balance – and pitching has played a big part in this run of success.

A solid rotation: through and through

The 2008 Chicago Cubs featured a pair of 17-game winners atop the rotation. Of course, those came in the form of Ryan Dempster and Ted Lilly. In the last decade, the way we evaluate pitchers has drastically changed. Wins now mean much less than they once did – at least in certain circles.

That being said, both men turned in over 200 innings, were above-average in terms of ERA+ and notched just under 190 strikeouts apiece. Carlos Zambrano followed them in the rotation, turning in a 3.91 ERA out of the three-spot. Jason Marquis and Rich Harden, picked up at the deadline, rounded things out.

Harden was absolutely lights-out down the stretch for Chicago, but fell off in a big way in 2009 – similar to the Cubs team, as a whole. Marquis served in a role similar to John Lackey last year. He ate innings and tried to keep the team in the ballgame. He did just that.

With Tyler Chatwood in the mix for 2018, the Cubs boast three solid starters with a potential fourth in their new right-hander. A rotation headlined by Lester, Hendricks and Quintana is very strong. If they bring in an Alex Cobb or Yu Darvish, this year’s club will blow the ’08 team staff out of the water.

Next: Who were the best free agent bargains in history?

If they don’t the two could be eerily similar with a noted drop-off at the back end. Time will tell with a little over a month till Spring Training workouts begin.