Chicago Cubs: This year was forgettable – but will we move on from 2019?

Chicago Cubs: An unforgettable September for all the wrong reason

For me personally everything started that Sunday against the Pirates when the Cubs leader Anthony Rizzo went down with the ankle injury. It had seemed like the Cubs were starting to find a groove that weekend against the Pirates scoring runs at will and closing on those final seven games with the division-leading Cardinals. Losing Rizzo in that spot was a huge blow.

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Then minutes before the first game against the Cardinals that next weekend it was announced that Rizzo would play and leadoff for the Cubs. This was a miracle because he was expected to be in a walking boot for at least a week.

Three days after the injury he was back and leading off. This felt like it could have been the boost the Cubs needed at the right time. It wasn’t. We all know how the rest of the season went.

There were so many times this season where it felt like some moment would be the spark that this team needed. A few good things gave us hope and were quickly followed by punches to the gut. It was injuries of the offense struggling, or the bullpen, or the starting rotation. The team never felt like it ever fired on all cylinders.

The result of this was Joe Maddon and the Cubs parting ways. It’s the end of an era in the North Side. Make no mistake – this is the best manager in Cubs history for what he has done the last five seasons and it was a shame that it ended as it did.

In a season that many Cubs fans wish they could completely erase from their memory this one feels like it will be in Cubs fans’ minds for a long time.