Chicago Cubs: Was 2019 or 2004 the more painful collapse?
The collapse of this year’s Chicago Cubs team was undoubtedly painful. It also brought up memories of the 2004 meltdown. Which one was worse?
As the Chicago Cubs fell apart late this year, I couldn’t help but think back to the 2004 season, when the team also choked down the stretch and lost out on a playoff spot.
Back then, I was a 19-year-old kid in college, still relatively naive about Cubs history (though I had watched the NLCS slip away against the Florida Marlins the previous year). I took it pretty hard, maybe even as I hard as I did the end of 2003.
Now, at 34 years old, I’ve watched Chicago again squander away a playoff spot in stunning fashion. I’d like to think I’m more mature now and am able to take the 2019 collapse with more perspective. Still, given that the Cubs were in control of a playoff spot not that long ago, it was difficult to watch it all unfold.
For those of us old enough to remember 2004, which season was worse? Let’s look back at both.
Chicago Cubs: Hell didn’t freeze over in 2004
In their 2004 baseball preview, Sports Illustrated famously declared, “Hell Freezes Over” in predicting that the Cubs would win the World Series. Indeed, there was plenty of reason to be optimistic.
In spite of the disappointing ending to 2003, falling one game short of the World Series, the Cubs were an up-and-coming team thanks largely to their still young and talented pitching staff that included Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, and Carlos Zambrano. They also made several additions prior to the 2004 season, including a veteran Greg Maddux for the pitching staff and slugging first baseman Derrek Lee.
It didn’t work out quite as well as we expected; in fact, a two-game sweep at the hands of the Cardinals in July saw the Cubs drop to just 49-44 and fall ten games out of first place to St. Louis. Still, spurred in part by a trade for Nomar Garciaparra, the team was able to get to 87-66 after beating the Mets on September 24 and held the National League Wild Card spot.
Then came one of the most devastating regular season losses perhaps in Cubs history. One strike away from victory against the lowly Mets in New York on September 25, LaTroy Hawkins gave up a game-tying three-run home run to Victor Diaz, sending the game into extras. Craig Brazell then hit a walk-off homer off Kent Mercker in the 11th; it would be the only home run of Brazell’s career.
That started a downward spiral in which the Cubs lost seven of eight while the Houston Astros passed them for the National League Wild Card spot. Of those seven losses, five were by one run and three were in extra innings, including another ninth inning blown save by Hawkins at home to the Cincinnati Reds.
Adding to the drama was the feud between the announcers and the players. Chip Caray and Steve Stone, both of whom would leave after the 2004 season, were the target of the players’ ire for their criticism of the team down the stretch; in fact, Mercker actually called the booth during one of the games. The seeming lack of focus by the players made this a pretty unlikable team.
Chicago Cubs: The Cubs did suck in 2019
The similarities between 2004 and 2019 are striking. Like in 2004, the Cubs weren’t living up to high expectations by September but were still in the middle of the playoff chase.
After their fifth straight win on September 16, it looked like the Cubs might get hot at the right time as they held a National League Wild Card spot and still were in contention for an NL Central title. However, after winning the first game of a home series with the Reds, Cincinnati took the next two.
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Then came that infamous Cardinals series at Wrigley Field in which the Cubs lost all four games by one run, including blowing two ninth inning leads. That ended any hope of winning the division, while the Christian Yelich-less Brewers also just kept winning.
A sweep at the hands of the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates extended the Cubs’ losing streak to nine games and ended any faint hope of making the playoffs. Overall, during that losing streak, the Cubs lost five games by one run and two games in extra innings.
As difficult as that stretch was, what perhaps made it a little easier to swallow was the fact that we knew the Cubs weren’t playing at full strength. Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, and Craig Kimbrel all missed at least part of that stretch due to injuries. Rizzo and Baez both made appearances, trying to play through the pain, but were shut down once the Cubs were out of contention. Also making it a little easier to deal with than 2004 was the fact that there wasn’t as much off-the-field drama, with the announcers or otherwise.
In 2004, the Cubs still had not won a World Series in 96 years. At least in 2019, we still have the 2016 World Series Championship fresh in our memories, perhaps making it a little easier to deal with the collapse. At the same time, it’s sad knowing that a potential Cubs dynasty, with all the talent they have, is slipping away. What’s also sad is that there’s a good chance that this late-season collapse will cost Joe Maddon, the man who brought us our long-awaited championship, his place in the Cubs’ dugout.
As we can see, both 2004 and 2019 featured frustrating late-season collapses. I’m not sure which one was “worse,” and maybe we don’t have to decide. What we do know is that both seasons are now part of the (mostly) painful history of the Chicago Cubs. And what we can hope for in 2020, unlike in 2005, is that the Cubs can bounce back and return to the playoffs.