For the past six or seven years I've had a big Cubs calendar. Right now it hangs on a shelf in the WW World Headquarters. It's convenient for me to check and its terribly outdated, thanks to the rebuilding process the Cubs are going through (again!!).
One player is featured with a large picture for each of the twelve months. And how many of the twelve are with the Cubs today?
Only four! Two thirds of them are gone. That, my friends, is rebuilding. For comparison, I grabbed the 2008 calendar. How many of those twelve finished the season with the team? Eleven of the twelve. The 2008 team had the best regular season record in the National League. The 2012 team does not.
The calendar must have a pretty early press date, because some of these guys were gone in the fall. I'll show each of the twelve players, starting with the one that left first and finishing with the four that are still on the team.
Aramis Ramirez...March...Opted for free agency on October 31, 2011
Tyler Colvin...July...Traded to the Rockies on December 8, 2011
Carlos Zambrano...December...Traded to the Marlins on January 5, 2012
Andrew Cashner...April...Traded to the Padres on January 6, 2012
Marlon Byrd...November...Traded to the Red Sox on April 21, 2012
Blake DeWitt....January...DFA on May 6, 2012
Ryan Dempster...June...Traded to the Rangers on July 31, 2012
Geovany Soto...August...Traded to the Rangers on July 31, 2012
And the four that remain with the team...for now...
Matt Garza....February
Starlin Castro....May
Alfonso Soriano....September
Carlos Marmol....October
Wow, and with all the trade talks around Soriano, Garza and Marmol, who would have thought they would still be with the team?
ReplyDeleteNo respect for the team WAR leader, Barney either?
In Theo we trust! Right?
ReplyDeleteI always found this amusing in past years Pirates' calendars. It was the reason why I never bought one.
ReplyDeleteAt least a couple of them were still with the team when their months came up.
ReplyDelete