2007 Chicago Cubs season

2007 Chicago Cubs
National League Central Champions
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1876)
Central Division (since 1994)
Location
Wrigley Field (since 1916)
Chicago (since 1870)
Results
Record	85–77 (.525)
Divisional place	1st
Other information
Owner(s)	Tribune Company
General manager(s)	Jim Hendry
Manager(s)	Lou Piniella
Local television	CSN Chicago Superstation WGN WCIU-TV (Len Kasper, Bob Brenly, Cory Provus)
Local radio	WGN (AM) 720 (Pat Hughes, Ron Santo, Cory Provus)
Stats	ESPN.com BB-reference
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The 2007 Chicago Cubs season was the 136th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 132nd in the National League and the 92nd at Wrigley Field. The Cubs, trying to rebound after a season in which they finished last in their division for the first time since 2000, finished first in the National League Central with a record of 85–77. They were swept three games to none by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2007 National League Division Series.

Offseason

In an attempt to rebuild the team, the Cubs were very aggressive in the free-agent market, signing a number of players with the goal of overtaking the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals in a competitive NL Central to win the World Series for the first time since 1908.

The first change was the signing of a new manager. On October 17, 2006, Lou Piniella signed a three-year deal with an option for a fourth season to manage the Cubs — the 50th manager in team history after Dusty Baker was not offered an extension of his contract following the 2006 season.^[1]

On November 14, 2006, the Cubs improved their depth by signing Mark DeRosa to a three-year, $13 million contract.^[2] DeRosa had played several positions for the Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves earlier in his career. Two days later on November 16, Neal Cotts was traded by the Chicago White Sox to the Chicago Cubs for David Aardsma and Carlos Vásquez (minors).^[3]

The Cubs made the largest acquisition in their teams history on November 20, 2006, as Alfonso Soriano agreed to an eight-year contract worth $136 million, an average of $17 million per year.^[4]

On December 7, Josh Hamilton was drafted by the Chicago Cubs from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 2006 rule 5 draft. Several hours later, Hamilton was purchased by the Cincinnati Reds from the Chicago Cubs.^[5]

The Cubs added two starting pitchers to the rotation, starting with the signing of Ted Lilly^[6] on December 15, 2006, to a four-year, $40 million deal.^[7] This was followed on December 19, 2006, with the signing of Jason Marquis to a three-year contract worth $21 million.^[8]

Fan John Murray, who famously was beaten up by closer Randy Myers in 1995, brought his "It's Gonna Happen" campaign to Wrigley, which lasted throughout 2008, when famous heckler "Derek the Five Dollar Kid" publicly opposed Murray and exposed his campaign as being originally pitched to Ben Affleck, a fan of the Boston Red Sox and brought to light the Randy Myers incident.^[9]

Regular season

Cubs and fans celebrate the 2007 National League Central Championship. Cubs Win flags abound.

Season summary

The Cubs got off to a poor start after the first two months of the season, posting a 22–29 record going into a home series against the Atlanta Braves during the first weekend after Memorial Day. Derrek Lee led a players only meeting on May 30 attempting to turn around the team's poor performance.^[10] On the Friday start at Wrigley, Carlos Zambrano took the mound and the Cubs fell behind 7–1, including allowing five runs (four earned) in the fifth inning.^[11] Included in the inning was a passed ball and throwing error by catcher Michael Barrett.^[11] An altercation ensued between the pitcher and catcher in the dugout, in full view of the television camera crews.^[11] Zambrano was pulled from the game after the scuffle in which he gave up thirteen hits and had zero strikeouts, and Barrett was replaced by backup Koyie Hill.^[11]

On Saturday, the weekend series continued to be interesting, albeit outside of the boxscore. The Braves took an early 3–0 lead in the fourth inning against starting pitcher Rich Hill, but the Cubs clawed back with single runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, tying the game 3–3.^[12] The Braves regained the lead in the eighth against reliever Will Ohman, but in the bottom of the frame, rookie Ángel Pagán led off by lining a ball into the right-field corner, and stopped at second with a double.^[12] Two pitches later, Pagán attempted to advance to third on a wild pitch, but was thrown out on a close play.^[12] Both Piniella and third-base coach Mike Quade argued the call with umpire Mark Wegner, and Piniella began kicking dirt, throwing and kicking his cap until being thrown out of the game.^[12] Allegedly, Piniella kicked umpire Wegner, and was reported to the MLB offices by crew chief Bruce Froemming.^[12] Play was delayed for seven minutes while the grounds crew cleaned up debris in the outfield.^[12] The Cubs lost the game 5–3, worsening their record to a season-low nine games below .500 at 22–31.^[12] Piniella was suspended for four games for the incident, and later recognized that Wegner made the right call.^[10]

Two weeks later, Barrett was recorded having a heated discussion with starter Rich Hill.^[13] Questions quickly surfaced to the level of friction between the two players due to the recent incident with Zambrano, but both players indicated that there was no issue, rather frustration due to the opposing pitcher Jarrod Washburn hitting a hanging slider that put the Mariners up 3–2.^[13] The Cubs ultimately lost the game 5–3 in extra innings on another contentious play where Barrett dropped the ball on a throw to the plate.^[13] After the altercations with Zambrano and Hill, Barrett lost his role as the everyday catcher for the team.^[14] Just one week later, Barrett was traded to the San Diego Padres for catcher Rob Bowen^[15]

The Cubs improved their play during the month of June, upping their record to 38–39 after a stretch of 16–8 after the Piniella ejection.^[16] They finished June with a key series at home against the first-place Milwaukee Brewers starting on June 29. Rich Hill once again took the mound, but gave up five runs in the first inning and lasted just three innings.^[16] The Cubs relievers kept the game close, but they still trailed 5–3 going into the bottom of the ninth against Francisco Cordero. Going into the game, Cordero led the league with 27 saves, and had blown only two.^[16] After retiring the first player in the inning, Cordero gave up back-to-back singles, and with runners at first and third allowing the potential winning run to come to the plate in the player of Derrek Lee. Lee hit a deep fly ball, but the wind knocked it down and was caught for a sacrifice fly.^[16] That made it two outs bringing third baseman Aramis Ramírez to the plate. Ramirez hit the first pitch into the left-center bleachers, winning the game 6–5.^[16] The victory pulled the Cubs back to .500, and trimmed the Brewers lead down to 6½ games. The Cubs ended the first half of the season 4.5 games out of first place, behind the Milwaukee Brewers, with a record of 44 wins and 43 losses.

The Chicago Cubs got off to a good start in the second half by sweeping the Houston Astros at home and taking three of four from the San Francisco Giants. In those series Ted Lilly won his third and fourth starts in a row, helping pitch the Cubs to 9–3 and 9–8 victories. On July 22, the Cubs passed the two-million attendance mark at Wrigley Field averaging over 40,000 fans per game at home through the first 49 games of the season and on pace to set a new home attendance record for the club.^[17] The Cubs spent a majority of July in hopes of claiming first place. After finishing the month with seventeen wins and nine loses, the team was merely half a game behind the Brewers by July 31.^[18] The Cubs won their final game in July and first game in August. The latter win, coupled with an earlier Brewers’ loss, allowed the two teams to be tied for first place in the NL Central.^[19] However, the Cubs began to struggle in their next outings. They failed to win three consecutive series, and later temporarily lost Alfonso Soriano, Ángel Pagán, and Will Ohman to injuries.^[20] Despite the slump, the Cubs only managed to remain half a game behind the Brewers, who managed to lose thirteen of eighteen games.^[21][22] They closed out the final weeks of the season by having a successful home stand, where they won five of six games and took a three and a half game lead over the Brewers.

At their final home game, the Cubs' organization reported that they had set a franchise attendance record of 3,252,462 fans over the season.^[23]

During the month of June, the Cubs ended up winning seventeen games, making that their best month of the season: taking two of three from Milwaukee, two of three from the Seattle, sweeping the White Sox as well as the Rockies, and then taking another two of three games from Milwaukee. The Cubs won another seventeen games during that month; taking three of four from the Nationals, sweeping the Giants, two of three from the Cardinals, and two of three from the Phillies. During this three-month-long hot streak, the Cubs managed to sign Carlos Zambrano to a five-year, ninety million dollar contract. Also, the Cubs left fielder, Alfonso Soriano, was named the June National League player of the Month; followed by the Cubs ace, Carlos Zambrano, being named the National League Pitcher of the month. The team struggled throughout August, but managed to surpass the Milwaukee Brewers and win the division.

Going into the last week of the season, the Cubs won ten of twelve games and had a three-game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers. However, the Cubs dropped three in a row to the Florida Marlins, a team that the Cubs did not win a single game against during the whole season. Meanwhile, the Brewers lost two out of three, hurting their chance at taking over the top of the division. On September 28, thanks to a Cubs 6–0 win over the Cincinnati Reds and a Brewers 6–3 loss to the San Diego Padres, the Cubs clinched the NL Central division.

Post-Season

The Cubs played the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Division Series. After falling 3–1 to Arizona on October 3 and an 8–4 loss on October 4, the Cubs returned on October 6 to Wrigley Field to lose the third game of the series by score of 5–1. The loss eliminated the Cubs from postseason play.

In-Season trades

• On June 20, the Cubs traded catcher Michael Barrett to the San Diego Padres for catcher Rob Bowen and a minor league outfielder Kyler Burke.^[24]

• On July 16, the Cubs acquired Jason Kendall from the Oakland Athletics for fellow catcher Rob Bowen and minor league pitcher Jerry Blevins.^[25]

• On July 19, the Cubs traded César Izturis, along with a cash settlement, to the Pittsburgh Pirates.^[26]

• On August 23, the Cubs acquired Craig Monroe from the Detroit Tigers for Clay Rapada.^[27]
• On August 31, the Cubs acquired pitcher Steve Trachsel from the Baltimore Orioles for pitcher Rocky Cherry and third baseman Scott Moore.^[28]

First-year player draft

The Cubs selected high school third baseman Josh Vitters with the third overall pick of the 2007 MLB Draft.

Season standings

National League Central

NL Central	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Chicago Cubs	85	77	0.525	—	44–37	41–40
Milwaukee Brewers	83	79	0.512	2	51–30	32–49
St. Louis Cardinals	78	84	0.481	7	43–38	35–46
Houston Astros	73	89	0.451	12	42–39	31–50
Cincinnati Reds	72	90	0.444	13	39–42	33–48
Pittsburgh Pirates	68	94	0.420	17	37–44	31–50

Record vs. opponents

2007 National League Records Source:
Team	ARI	ATL	CHC	CIN	COL	FLA	HOU	LAD	MIL	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL	WSH	AL
Arizona	—	4–2	4–2	2–4	8–10	6–1	5–2	8–10	2–5	3–4	5–1	5–4	10–8	10–8	4–3	6–1	8–7
Atlanta	2–4	—	5–4	1–6	4–2	10–8	3–3	4–3	5–2	9–9	9–9	5–1	5–2	4–3	3–4	11–7	4–11
Chicago	2–4	4–5	—	9–9	5–2	0–6	8–7	2–5	9–6	2–5	3–4	8–7	3–5	5–2	11–5	6–1	8–4
Cincinnati	4–2	6–1	9–9	—	2–4	4–3	4–11	2–4	8–7	2–5	2–4	9–7	2–4	4–3	6–9	1–6	7-11
Colorado	10–8	2–4	2–5	4–2	—	3–3	3–4	12–6	4–2	4–2	4–3	4–3	11–8	10–8	3–4	4–3	10–8
Florida	1–6	8–10	6–0	3–4	3–3	—	2–3	4–3	2–5	7–11	9–9	3–4	3–4	1–6	2–4	8–10	9–9
Houston	2–5	3–3	7–8	11–4	4–3	3-2	—	4–3	5–13	2–5	3–3	5–10	4–3	2–4	7–9	2–5	9–9
Los Angeles	10–8	3–4	5–2	4–2	6–12	3–4	3–4	—	3–3	5–5	4–2	5–2	8–10	10–8	3–3	5–1	5–10
Milwaukee	5–2	2–5	6–9	7–8	2–4	5–2	13–5	3–3	—	2–4	3–4	10–6	2–5	4–5	7–8	4–2	8–7
New York	4–3	9–9	5–2	5–2	2–4	11–7	5–2	5–5	4–2	—	6–12	4–2	2–4	4–2	5–2	9–9	8–7
Philadelphia	1-5	9–9	4–3	4–2	3–4	9–9	3–3	2–4	4–3	12–6	—	4–2	4–3	4–4	6–3	12–6	8–7
Pittsburgh	4–5	1–5	7–8	7–9	3–4	4–3	10–5	2–5	6–10	2–4	2–4	—	1–6	4–2	6–12	4–2	5–10
San Diego	8–10	2–5	5–3	4–2	8–11	4–3	3–4	10–8	5–2	4–2	3–4	6–1	—	14–4	3–4	4–2	6–9
San Francisco	8–10	3–4	2–5	3–4	8–10	6–1	4–2	8–10	5–4	2–4	4–4	2–4	4–14	—	4–1	3–4	5–10
St. Louis	3–4	4–3	5–11	9–6	4–3	4-2	9–7	3–3	8–7	2–5	3–6	12–6	4–3	1–4	—	1–5	6–9
Washington	1–6	7–11	1–6	6–1	3–4	10-8	5–2	1–5	2–4	9–9	6–12	2–4	2–4	4–3	5–1	—	9–9

Roster

2007 Chicago Cubs
Roster
Pitchers 58 Rocky Cherry 48,46 Neal Cotts 46 Ryan Dempster 47 Scott Eyre 36 Sean Gallagher 37 Ángel Guzmán 55 Kevin Hart 53 Rich Hill 62 Bob Howry 30,31 Ted Lilly 21 Jason Marquis 49 Carlos Mármol 45 Sean Marshall 52 Wade Miller 13 Will Ohman 56 Billy Petrick 63 Carmen Pignatiello 50 Clay Rapada 52 Steve Trachsel 34 Kerry Wood 43 Michael Wuertz 38 Carlos Zambrano		Catchers  8 Michael Barrett 24 Henry Blanco  4 Rob Bowen 55 Koyie Hill 18 Jason Kendall 58 Geovany Soto Infielders  5 Ronny Cedeño  7 Mark DeRosa 29,17 Mike Fontenot  3 César Izturis 25 Derrek Lee  4 Scott Moore 16 Aramis Ramírez  2 Ryan Theriot 32,12 Daryle Ward Outfielders 15,30 Cliff Floyd  9 Jake Fox 57 Sam Fuld 11 Jacque Jones 27 Craig Monroe 19 Matt Murton 29 Ángel Pagán  3 Eric Patterson 17,68 Félix Pie 12 Alfonso Soriano		Manager 41 Lou Piniella Coaches 59 Iván DeJesús (special asst) 28 Gerald Perry (hitting)  8 Mike Quade (third base) 40 Larry Rothschild (pitching) 39 Matt Sinatro (first base) 35 Lester Strode (bullpen)  6 Alan Trammell (bench)

Game log

2007 Game Log (85–77)
April: 10–14 (Home: 4–9 ; Away: 6–5) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Box 1 April 2 @ Reds 5 - 1 Harang (1-0) Zambrano (0-1) 42,720 0-1 2 April 4 @ Reds 4 - 1 Lilly (1-0) Arroyo (0-1) Dempster (1) 25,965 1-1 3 April 5 @ Reds 5 - 2 Santos (1-0) Howry (0-1) Weathers (1) 25,070 1-2 4 April 6 @ Brewers 9 - 3 Hill (1-0) Bush (0-1) 41,758 2-2 5 April 7 @ Brewers 6 - 3 Zambrano (1-1) Sheets (1-1) Dempster (2) 41,282 3-2 6 April 8 @ Brewers 9 - 4 Capuano (1-0) Miller (0-1) 28,019 3-3 7 April 9 Astros 5 - 3 Qualls (1-1) Howry (0-2) Wheeler (1) 41,388 3-4 8 April 10 Astros 4 - 2 Sampson (1-0) Marquis (0-1) 35,924 3-5 -- April 11 Astros Postponed (snow) Rescheduled for June 11 9 April 13 Reds 6 - 5 Coffey (1-0) Zambrano (1-2) Weathers (4) 37,267 3-6 10 April 14 Reds 7 - 0 Hill (2-0) Arroyo (0-2) 38,598 4-6 11 April 15 Reds 1 - 0 Lohse (1-0) Lilly (1-1) Weathers (5) 39,820 4-7 12 April 16 Padres 12 - 4 Marquis (1-1) Hensley (0-3) 32,126 5-7 13 April 17 Padres 4 - 3 (14) Brocail (1-0) Ohman (0-1) Hoffman (3) 36,021 5-8 14 April 18 @ Braves 8 - 6 Villarreal (1-0) Eyre (0-1) Wickman (5) 26,837 5-9 15 April 19 @ Braves 3 - 0 Hill (3-0) Redman (0-3) Dempster (3) 31,603 6-9 16 April 20 Cardinals 2 - 1 Looper (3-1) Lilly (1-2) Isringhausen (4) 38,955 6-10 17 April 21 Cardinals 6 - 0 Marquis (2-1) Reyes (0-3) 41,637 7-10 18 April 22 Cardinals 12 - 9 (10) Isringhausen (1-0) Dempster (0-1) 40,193 7-11 19 April 23 Brewers 5 - 4 (12) Villanueva (1-0) Cherry (0-1) Turnbow (1) 33,920 7-12 20 April 24 Brewers 4 - 1 Suppan (2-2) Hill (3-1) Cordero (8) 34,382 7-13 21 April 25 Brewers 9 - 3 Lilly (2-2) Dessens (1-1) 38,581 8-13 22 April 27 @ Cardinals 5 - 3 Marquis (3-1) Reyes (0-4) Dempster (4) 45,131 9-13 23 April 28 @ Cardinals 8 - 1 Zambrano (2-2) Wainwright (1-2) 45,015 10-13 -- April 29 @ Cardinals Postponed (death of Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock) Rescheduled for September 15 24 April 30 @ Pirates 3 - 2 Capps (2-0) Wuertz (0-1) Torres (8) 11,437 10-14
May: 12–15 (Home: 6–6 ; Away: 6–9) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Box 25 May 1 @ Pirates 8 - 6 Cherry (1-1) Bayliss (2-2) Dempster (5) 13,082 11-14 26 May 2 @ Pirates 7 - 1 Marquis (4-1) Snell (2-2) 21,765 12-14 27 May 4 Nationals 6 - 4 Zambrano (3-2) Bergmann (0-3) Dempster (6) 39,444 13-14 28 May 5 Nationals 5 - 3 Hill (4-1) Patterson (1-5) Dempster (7) 40,267 14-14 29 May 6 Nationals 4 - 3 (10) Dempster (1-1) Wagner (0-2) 40,481 15-14 30 May 8 Pirates 4 - 3 (15) Bayliss (3-2) Cotts (0-1) Torres (10) 39,708 15-15 31 May 9 Pirates 1 - 0 Marquis (5-1) Gorzelanny (4-2) 40,264 16-15 32 May 10 Pirates 6 - 4 Maholm (2-4) Zambrano (3-3) Torres (11) 41,101 16-16 33 May 11 @ Phillies 7 - 2 Hamels (5-1) Hill (4-2) 42,473 16-17 34 May 12 @ Phillies 11 - 7 Alfonseca (2-1) Howry (0-3) 45,026 16-18 35 May 13 @ Phillies 4 - 1 Lilly (3-2) Lieber (1-2) Dempster (8) 45,129 17-18 36 May 14 @ Mets 5 - 4 Heilman (4-2) Wuertz (0-2) 34,033 17-19 37 May 15 @ Mets 10 - 1 Zambrano (4-3) Maine (5-1) 37,487 18-19 38 May 16 @ Mets 8 - 1 Sosa (3-0) Hill (4-3) 37,483 18-20 39 May 17 @ Mets 6 - 5 Burgos (1-0) Dempster (1-2) 42,667 18-21 40 May 18 White Sox 6 - 3 Lilly (4-2) MacDougal (1-1) Dempster (9) 40,874 19-21 41 May 19 White Sox 11 - 6 Howry (1-3) Aardsma (2-1) 41,101 20-21 42 May 20 White Sox 10 - 6 Masset (2-1) Zambrano (4-4) 41,164 20-22 43 May 22 @ Padres 5 - 1 Peavy (6-1) Hill (4-4) Hoffman (12) 26,192 20-23 44 May 23 @ Padres 2 - 1 Wells (2-2) Marshall (0-1) Hoffman (11) 27,535 20-24 45 May 24 @ Padres 3 - 1 Howry (2-3) Meredith (1-2) Dempster (10) 32,258 21-24 46 May 25 @ Dodgers 9 - 8 Seánez (2-0) Ohman (0-2) Saito (15) 46,011 21-25 47 May 26 @ Dodgers 4 - 2 Zambrano (5-4) Hendrickson (2-2) Dempster (11) 48,243 22-25 48 May 27 @ Dodgers 2 - 1 (11) Billingsley (3-0) Guzmán (0-1) 51,198 22-26 49 May 28 Marlins 5 - 3 Kim (3-2) Marshall (0-2) Gregg (5) 41,630 22-27 50 May 29 Marlins 9 - 4 Willis (7-3) Marquis (5-2) Gregg (6) 39,788 22-28 51 May 30 Marlins 9 - 0 Messenger (1-1) Lilly (4-3) 36,699 22-29
June: 17–11 (Home: 9–6 ; Away: 8–5) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Box 52 June 1 Braves 8 - 5 Davies (1-1) Zambrano (5-5) 39,523 22-30 53 June 2 Braves 5 - 3 Yates (2-0) Ohman (0-3) Wickman (9) 40,290 22-31 54 June 3 Braves 10 - 1 Marshall (1-2) Cormier (0-1) 40,155 23-31 55 June 4 @ Brewers 7 - 2 Mármol (1-0) Bush (3-6) 35,760 24-31 56 June 5 @ Brewers 7 - 5 Vargas (4-1) Lilly (4-4) Cordero (22) 38,535 24-32 57 June 6 @ Brewers 6 - 2 Zambrano (6-5) Suppan (7-6) 40,186 25-32 58 June 7 @ Braves 2 - 1 Hill (5-4) James (5-5) Dempster (12) 32,902 26-32 59 June 8 @ Braves 9 - 1 Marshall (2-2) Cormier (0-2) 37,123 27-32 60 June 9 @ Braves 9 - 5 Moylan (2-1) Marquis (5-3) 51,816 27-33 61 June 10 @ Braves 5 - 4 Paronto (3-1) Dempster (1-3) Wickman (11) 32,752 27-34 62 June 11 Astros 2 - 1 Zambrano (7-5) Williams (2-9) Dempster (13) 37,947 28-34 63 June 12 Mariners 5 - 3 (13) O'Flaherty (3-0) Ohman (0-4) Putz (18) 40,071 28-35 64 June 13 Mariners 3 - 2 Marshall (3-2) Batista (7-5) Dempster (14) 40,163 29-35 65 June 14 Mariners 5 - 4 Howry (3-3) Morrow (3-1) 39,846 30-35 66 June 15 Padres 4 - 1 Lilly (5-4) Wells (3-4) Dempster (15) 40,479 31-35 67 June 16 Padres 1 - 0 Bell (1-2) Zambrano (7-6) Hoffman (19) 41,632 31-36 68 June 17 Padres 3 - 11 Maddux (6-3) Hill (5-5) 40,964 31-37 69 June 19 @ Rangers 5 - 4 Mármol (2-0) Benoit (2-2) Dempster (16) 38,290 32-37 70 June 20 @ Rangers 7 - 3 Loe (3-6) Marquis (5-4) 37,564 32-38 71 June 21 @ Rangers 6 - 5 Gagné (2-0) Howry (3-4) 38,406 32-39 72 June 22 @ White Sox 5 - 1 Zambrano (8-6) Buehrle (4-4) 39,046 33-39 73 June 23 @ White Sox 2 - 1 Wuertz (1-2) Jenks (2-3) Howry (1) 39,043 34-39 74 June 24 @ White Sox 3 - 0 Marshall (4-2) Contreras (5-8) Howry (2) 39,194 35-39 75 June 25 Rockies 10 - 9 Howry (4-4) Fuentes (0-2) 40,269 36-39 76 June 26 Rockies 8 - 5 Lilly (6-4) López (4-1) Ohman (1) 40,121 37-39 77 June 27 Rockies 6 - 4 Zambrano (9-6) Hirsh (3-7) Mármol (1) 39,972 38-39 78 June 29 Brewers 6 - 5 Howry (5-4) Cordero (0-2) 41,909 39-39 79 June 30 Brewers 13 - 4 Sheets (10-3) Marshall (4-3) 41,415 39-40
July: 17–9 (Home: 9–4 ; Away: 8–5) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Box 80 July 1 Brewers 5 - 1 Marquis (6-4) Bush (6-7) 41,486 40-40 81 July 2 @ Nationals 7 - 2 Lilly (7-4) Simontacchi (5-6) 24,015 41-40 82 July 3 @ Nationals 3 - 1 Zambrano (10-6) Redding (0-1) Howry (3) 30,106 42-40 83 July 4 @ Nationals 6 - 0 Chico (4-5) Hill (5-6) 39,207 42-41 84 July 5 @ Nationals 4 - 2 Ohman (1-4) Ayala (0-1) Howry (4) 22,594 43-41 85 July 6 @ Pirates 8 - 4 Maholm (5-11) Marquis (6-5) 27,868 43-42 86 July 7 @ Pirates 7 - 1 Lilly (8-4) Van Benschoten (0-3) 33,293 44-42 87 July 8 @ Pirates 6 - 2 Youman (2-0) Zambrano (10-7) 22,470 44-43 All–Star Break (July 9–12) 88 July 13 Astros 6 - 0 Zambrano (11-7) Jennings (1-5) 41,593 45-43 89 July 14 Astros 9 - 3 Lilly (9-4) Oswalt (8-6) 41,448 46-43 90 July 15 Astros 7 - 6 Wuertz (2-2) Rodríguez (6-8) Howry (5) 41,757 47-43 91 July 16 Giants 3 - 2 Hill (6-6) Correia (1-5) Howry (6) 40,282 48-43 92 July 17 Giants 4 - 2 Zito (7-9) Mármol (2-1) Hennessey (6) 41,102 48-44 93 July 18 Giants 12 - 1 Zambrano (12-7) Cain (3-11) Gallagher (1) 39,792 49-44 94 July 19 Giants 9 - 8 Lilly (10-4) Morris (7-6) Howry (7) 40,198 50-44 95 July 20 D-backs 6 - 2 Marquis (7-5) Webb (8-8) 41,071 51-44 96 July 21 D-backs 3 - 2 Cruz (4-1) Howry (5-5) Valverde (29) 41,632 51-45 97 July 22 D-backs 3 - 0 Petit (2-2) Marshall (4-4) Valverde (30) 41,705 51-46 98 July 24 @ Cardinals 4 - 3 Zambrano (13-7) Wells (4-13) Dempster (17) 45,436 52-46 99 July 25 @ Cardinals 7 - 1 Lilly (11-4) Wainwright (9-8) 45,316 53-46 100 July 26 @ Cardinals 11 - 1 Looper (8-8) Marquis (7-6) 45,308 53-47 101 July 27 @ Reds 5 - 4 Weathers (2-3) Howry (5-6) 36,635 53-48 102 July 28 @ Reds 8 - 1 Marshall (5-4) Harang (10-3) 42,365 54-48 103 July 29 @ Reds 6 - 0 Zambrano (14-7) Belisle (5-8) 33,061 55-48 104 July 30 Phillies 4 - 1 Hamels (12-5) Lilly (11-5) Myers (7) 41,686 55-49 105 July 31 Phillies 7 - 3 Marquis (8-6) Eaton (9-7) 40,495 56-49
August: 12–16 (Home: 7–8 ; Away: 5–8) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Box 106 August 1 Phillies 5 - 4 Dempster (2-3) Myers (1-3) 40,558 57-49 107 August 2 Phillies 10 - 6 Durbin (4-2) Marshall (5-5) 40,988 57-50 108 August 3 Mets 6 - 2 Mota (1-0) Dempster (2-4) 41,512 57-51 109 August 4 Mets 6 - 2 Lilly (12-5) Maine (12-6) 41,412 58-51 110 August 5 Mets 8 - 3 Glavine (10-6) Marquis (8-7) 41,599 58-52 111 August 6 @ Astros 2 - 1 (10) Lidge (3-1) Wuertz (2-3) 36,459 58-53 112 August 7 @ Astros 5 - 2 Williams (6-12) Marshall (5-6) Lidge (7) 37,561 58-54 113 August 8 @ Astros 8 - 2 Oswalt (12-6) Zambrano (14-8) 41,655 58-55 114 August 9 @ Rockies 10 - 2 Lilly (13-5) Jiménez (1-2) 40,738 59-55 115 August 10 @ Rockies 6 - 2 Marquis (9-7) Cook (8-7) 41,282 60-55 116 August 11 @ Rockies 15 - 2 Fogg (7-7) Hill (6-7) 48,095 60-56 117 August 12 @ Rockies 6 - 3 Herges (1-0) Wood (0-1) Corpas (9) 39,176 60-57 118 August 14 Reds 6 - 5 Harang (12-3) Zambrano (14-9) Weathers (23) 40,750 60-58 119 August 15 Reds 11 - 9 Bray (1-0) Howry (5-7) Weathers (24) 40,162 60-59 120 August 16 Reds 12 - 4 Marquis (10-7) Livingston (3-3) 40,372 61-59 121 August 17 Cardinals 2 - 1 Hill (7-7) Looper (10-10) Dempster (18) 41,634 62-59 122 August 18 Cardinals 5 - 3 Marshall (6-6) Reyes (2-12) Dempster (19) 41,369 63-59 -- August 19 Cardinals Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for September 10 123 August 20 Cardinals 6 - 4 Piñeiro (4-2) Lilly (13-6) Isringhausen (23) 40,141 63-60 124 August 21 @ Giants 5 - 1 Eyre (1-1) Lincecum (7-4) 41,242 64-60 125 August 22 @ Giants 4 - 2 Mármol (3-1) Misch (0-3) Dempster (20) 39,548 65-60 126 August 23 @ Giants 4 - 1 Cain (6-13) Zambrano (14-10) Hennessey (13) 41,558 65-61 127 August 24 @ D-backs 6 - 2 Marshall (7-6) Owings (6-7) Dempster (21) 36,700 66-61 128 August 25 @ D-backs 3 - 1 Davis (11-11) Lilly (13-7) Valverde (39) 46,173 66-62 129 August 26 @ D-backs 5 - 4 González (6-2) Marquis (10-8) Valverde (40) 38,902 66-63 130 August 28 Brewers 5 - 3 Hill (8-7) Linebrink (4-6) Dempster (22) 40,884 67-63 131 August 29 Brewers 6 - 1 Sheets (11-4) Zambrano (14-11) 40,512 67-64 132 August 30 Brewers 5 - 4 Mármol (4-1) Capuano (5-12) Dempster (23) 40,790 68-64 133 August 31 Astros 6 - 1 Rodríguez (8-12) Marshall (7-7) 41,297 68-65
September: 17–12 (Home: 8–4 ; Away: 9–8 ) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Box 134 September 1 Astros 4 - 3 Marquis (11-8) Patton (0-2) Dempster (24) 40,606 69-65 135 September 2 Astros 6 - 5 Mármol (5-1) Qualls (6-4) Dempster (25) 41,415 70-65 136 September 3 Dodgers 11 - 3 Loaiza (2-0) Zambrano (14-12) 41,070 70-66 137 September 4 Dodgers 6 - 2 Penny (15-4) Trachsel (6-9) 37,834 70-67 138 September 5 Dodgers 8 - 2 Lilly (14-7) Stults (1-3) 39,559 71-67 139 September 6 Dodgers 7 - 4 Beimel (4-1) Dempster (2-5) Saito (37) 39,397 71-68 140 September 7 @ Pirates 6 - 1 Gorzelanny (14-7) Hill (8-8) 24,489 71-69 141 September 8 @ Pirates 5 - 1 Zambrano (15-12) Snell (9-12) 33,373 72-69 142 September 9 @ Pirates 10 - 5 Morris (9-9) Trachsel (6-10) 21,861 72-70 143 September 10 Cardinals 12 - 3 Lilly (15-7) Piñeiro (5-4) 40,358 73-70 144 September 11 @ Astros 5 - 4 (11) Lidge (4-2) Dempster (2-6) 33,493 73-71 145 September 12 @ Astros 3 - 2 Hill (9-8) Albers (4-8) Dempster (26) 33,115 74-71 146 September 13 @ Astros 6 - 2 Trachsel (7-10) Williams (8-15) 34,234 75-71 147 September 14 @ Cardinals 5 - 3 Zambrano (16-12) Wainwright (13-11) Howry (8) 45,750 76-71 148 September 15 @ Cardinals 3 - 2 Wood (1-1) Franklin (4-4) Dempster (27) 45,918 77-71 149 September 15 @ Cardinals 4 - 3 Piñeiro (6-4) Marshall (7-8) Isringhausen (29) 45,894 77-72 150 September 16 @ Cardinals 4 - 2 Marquis (12-8) Mulder (0-3) Dempster (28) 45,735 78-72 151 September 17 Reds 7 - 6 Ohman (2-4) Weathers (2-6) 39,075 79-72 152 September 18 Reds 5 - 2 Harang (16-4) Zambrano (16-13) Weathers (31) 40,801 79-73 153 September 19 Reds 3 - 2 Howry (6-7) Majewski (0-3) 40,805 80-73 154 September 21 Pirates 13 - 8 Eyre (2-1) Osoria (0-2) 41,591 81-73 155 September 22 Pirates 9 - 5 Hill (10-8) Duke (3-8) 41,271 82-73 156 September 23 Pirates 8 - 0 Zambrano (17-13) Gorzelanny (14-9) 41,364 83-73 157 September 25 @ Marlins 4 - 2 Willis (10-15) Lilly (15-8) Tankersley (1) 16,044 83-74 158 September 26 @ Marlins 7 - 4 Kensing (2-0) Marquis (12-9) Gardner (2) 19,051 83-75 159 September 27 @ Marlins 6 - 4 Olsen (10-15) Trachsel (7-11) Gregg (31) 24,809 83-76 160 September 28 @ Reds 6 - 0 Zambrano (18-13) Arroyo (9-15) 32,193 84-76 161 September 29 @ Reds 4 - 0 Hill (11-8) Harang (16-6) 38,936 85-76 162 September 30 @ Reds 8 - 4 Bailey (4-2) Dempster (2-7) 32,620 85-77
Legend:         = Win         = Loss         = Postponement Bold = Cubs team member

Playoffs

NLDS vs. Arizona Diamondbacks

Game[29]	Score	Date	Starters	Time (ET)
1	Chicago Cubs 1 at Arizona Diamondbacks 3	October 3	Carlos Zambrano (ND) vs. Brandon Webb (1–0)	10:07 p.m.
2	Chicago Cubs 4 at Arizona Diamondbacks 8	October 4	Ted Lilly (0–1) vs. Doug Davis (1–0)	10:07 p.m.
3	Arizona Diamondbacks 5 at Chicago Cubs 1	October 6	Liván Hernández (1–0) vs. Rich Hill (0–1)	6:07 p.m.

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Iowa Cubs	Pacific Coast League	Buddy Bailey
AA	Tennessee Smokies	Southern League	Pat Listach
A	Daytona Cubs	Florida State League	Jody Davis
A	Peoria Chiefs	Midwest League	Ryne Sandberg
A-Short Season	Boise Hawks	Northwest League	Tom Beyers
Rookie	AZL Cubs	Arizona League	Ricardo Medina

References

• Team Roster: Chicago Cubs Roster on ESPN.com
• Batting Statistics: Chicago Cubs Stats on ESPN.com
• Pitching Statistics: Chicago Cubs Pitching Stats on ESPN.com
• Crosstown Classic: Cubs vs. Sox since 1997

Notes

1. Lou Piniella Bio, MLB.com, Retrieved on July 18, 2007
2. DeRosa cashes in on career year, to sign with Cubs, ESPN, Retrieved on July 18, 2007
3. http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/cottsne01.shtml
4. Muscat, Carrie, Cubs complete blockbuster with Soriano, MLB.com, Retrieved on July 18, 2007
5. Josh Hamilton Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
6. Ted Lilly Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
7. Cubs, Lilly make four-year, $40M deal official, ESPN.com, Retrieved on July 18, 2007
8. Cubs officially add Marquis to retooled rotation, ESPN.com, Retrieved on July 18, 2007
9. http://hirejimessian.com/2007/07/29/fall-down-a-well-john-murray/
10. Huang, Michael,"Anger Management",Chicago Cubs Vineline, Volume 22, Issue 7, page 14
11. Associated Press, Zambrano, Barrett brawl in dugout during Cubs' loss (June 1, 2007), espn.com, Retrieved on July 21, 2007.
12. Associated Press, Piniella ejected, game delayed as Cubs lose sixth straight (June 2, 2007), espn.com, Retrieved on July 21, 2007.
13. ESPN.com news services, Cubs catcher has another face-to-face with starter (June 13, 2007), espn.com, Retrieved on July 21, 2007.
14. Associated Press, Piniella still confident in Barrett, says he needs time off (June 14, 2007), espn.com. Retrieved on July 21, 2007.
15. Associated Press, Sources: Cubs dump Barrett via trade to Padres (June 20, 2007), espn.com, Retrieved on July 21, 2007.
16. Associated Press, Ramirez lifts Cubs with two-out, two-run homer in ninth (June 29, 2007), espn.com, Retrieved on July 21, 2007.
17. Associated Press (July 22, 2007). "Arizona 3, Chi Cubs 0". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved July 27, 2007.
18. Sulivan, Pat, Cubs still looking up after defeat (August 1, 2007), Chicago Tribune, Retrieved on August 2, 2007.
19. Gano, Rick, Cubs Beat Phillies to Move Into First (August 2, 2007), Star Tribune., Retrieved on August 2, 2007.
20. Sullivan, Paul Ohman OK to go to Iowa (August 8, 2007), Chicago Tribune, Retrieved on August 8, 2007.
21. Gano, Rick, Chi Cubs 12, Cincinnati 4 (August 16, 2007), Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved on August 16, 2007.
22. Jenkins, Chris, St. Louis 8, Milwaukee 0 (August 16, 2007), Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved on August 16, 2007.
23. News Service (September 24, 2007). "Cubs Hits". RedEye. p. 18.
24. Muskat, Carrie (June 20, 2007). "Cubs deal Barrett to Padres". MLB.com. Retrieved August 11, 2007.
25. Urban, Mychael (July 16, 2007). "A's deal catcher Kendall to Cubs". MLB.com. Archived from the original on August 9, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2007.
26. "Chicago Cubs trade Cesar Izturis to Pittsburgh for a player to be named later". MLB.com. July 19, 2007. Archived from the original on August 17, 2007. Retrieved August 11, 2007.
27. Associated Press, Cubs Acquire OF Monroe from Tigers (August 23, 2007), Comcast SportsNet, Retrieved on August 24, 2007.
28. "Trachsel returns to Cubs in deal with O's". MLB.com. August 31, 2007. Archived from the original on September 3, 2007. Retrieved August 31, 2007.
29. 2007 MLB Playoffs Schedule

External links

• The Official Website of the Chicago Cubs
• Club Statistics from Baseball-Reference.com