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

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 04: Manager Lou Piniella of the Chicago Cubs cheers on his team before taking on the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Three of the NLDS during the 2008 MLB playoffs on October 4, 2008 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 04: Manager Lou Piniella of the Chicago Cubs cheers on his team before taking on the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Three of the NLDS during the 2008 MLB playoffs on October 4, 2008 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
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CHICAGO, IL – JULY 12: Jake Arrieta of the Chicago Cubs pitches against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning on July 12, 2015 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. Players on the Chicago Cubs are wearing the number 14 to honor Ernie Banks. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL – JULY 12: Jake Arrieta of the Chicago Cubs pitches against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning on July 12, 2015 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. Players on the Chicago Cubs are wearing the number 14 to honor Ernie Banks. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images)

Cubs’ three-headed monster has dominated

When the Chicago Cubs signed Jon Lester to his record-setting contract ahead of the 2015 season, he was said to be the piece this team needed. Little did we know, that very season the Cubs would make a deep postseason run before falling in the NLCS to the New York Mets.

Lester has been everything advertised – and then some, despite a ‘down’ year in 2017. During the team’s World Series run, he finished second in National League Cy Young voting, tying a career-high with 19 wins. The man who finished third? Soft-tossing right-hander Kyle Hendricks, who brought home baseball’s ERA title with a sterling 2.13 clip.

Historic performances, big game dominance

But the man who garnered the lion’s share of headlines? Jake Arrieta. A former reclamation project from the Baltimore Orioles, the bearded right-hander headlines this year’s free agent pitching class with Yu Darvish.

Arrieta turned in arguably the best second half ever in the history of baseball in 2015, going 12-1 with an unthinkably low 0.75 ERA in 15 starts. On the year, he won 22 games with four complete games and three shutouts. It was a historic performance for the Cubs’ stud – who also stepped up time and time again in big games come October.

Now, with Arrieta likely to don a new uniform come 2018, it’s up to Lester and Hendricks (along with Jose Quintana) to lead this Cubs’ rotation into the new season.

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