Morning Box Score: Cubs, Sox Wrap Up '09 Season
By Marcus Gilmer in News on Oct 5, 2009 3:40PM
No matter which team you prefer, you're either sad to see baseball go or glad the long, torturous 2009 season is done. Benjy will wrap up the season for both teams (and look ahead to 2010) later in the week, but for now, here's what went down yesterday.
Sox Rally Falls Short
Down 5-0, the Sox put on a small rally late in their season finale but couldn't quite catch up as they fell to Detroit 5-3. John Danks struggled a bit, giving up four runs over five innings of work. Ramon Castro doubled home a run and Brent Lillibridge singled in two more as the Sox tried to mount a rally in the eighth, but Detroit's pitching held on for the win. If there's any silver lining to the final weekend series, it's that the Sox previous defeats of Detroit helped push the Tigers to a one-game playoff with the Twins for the division title on Tuesday. Still, we're sure the Sox would rather be playing the game than watching it. Ozzie didn't mince words after the game, saying, "Our season? Our season was very bad." The Sox finished the season four games below .500 at 79-83, finishing third in the division.
Cubs End Season Meekly
For all the hype and the expensive payroll, the 2009 Cubs were quiet offensively all season long and that carried through until the end. Starting pitcher Ryan Dempster struggled and the Cubs offense could only put up a pair of runs as the Diamondbacks closed out the season with a 5-2 victory over the North Siders at Wrigley Sunday afternoon. Both Cub runs came from Sam Fuld, one courtesy of a solo homer. As for Dempster, he gave up five runs over five innings en route to his ninth loss of the season. Derek Lee, one of the few offensive bright spots for the Cubs this season, said, in something of an understatement, "We didn't play anywhere near how we expected to [in 2009]." Here's hoping 2010 looks a bit brighter both on the field and in the clubhouse (Milton who?) Overall, the Cubs managed to finish above .500 at 83-78 (last week's rain-out with Pittsburgh was never made up) but finished well back of first place St. Louis for second place in the division.