The Chicago Cubs tried to become the first team in 17 years to repeat as World Series Champions.  They failed, bowing out in 5 games to the Los Angeles Dodgers. So before we look ahead to the long offseason that awaits the 2016 Champs, let’s take a look at what went wrong this year.

The Defense

When the Cubs won the World Series in 2016, they did so behind air tight defense. In this year’s ten playoff games, the Cubs were charged with nine errors. Last year, Kyle Schwarber didn’t play one single inning of defense in the post season for the Cubs. This year he played 45 full innings and was charged with two errors. Jose Quintana, Brian Duensing, and Ian Happ each committed an error, none of whom played for the Cubs last season. Kris Bryant, last year’s Most Valuable Player (MVP), had two errors this year’s post season as well.  Defense was far from the Cubs’ only problem this year, but it extends innings and opportunities for opponents.

The Management

Joe Maddon has won three “Manager of the Year” awards, but is being second guessed after some of his decisions this year. While most critics are focusing on Maddon’s use of the pitching staff, there are more pressing concerns. While Schwarber was struggled during the regular season, Maddon began avoiding Schwarber matching up with left handed pitching. In the postseason, Schwarber started both games against the game’s most devastating southpaw, Clayton Kershaw. Meanwhile, impressive switch hitting rookie and superior defender, Ian Happ, was stapled to the bench. Albert Almora Jr. was one of the more impressive hitters for the Cubs, but only got plate appearances against left handed pitching.

The Bullpen

There was only one relief pitcher who deserved any trust this postseason: Wade Davis. Brian Duensing and Pedro Strop had respectable numbers as well, but the drop off was steep after that trio. In terms of Earned Run Average (ERA), the next closest pitcher was Hector Rondon, who gave up the crippling Grand Slam in the critical game five of the National League Championship Series (NLCS). Mike Montgomery, who was previously famed for his World Series game seven save, could make most balloons envious with his inflated 16.62 ERA. Wade Davis had to come in to get the final seven outs of game five of the National League Division Series because no one else could be trusted.

The Offense

As bad as the other aspects of the Cubs were, by far the worst was the offense.  The Cubs strayed from their offensive approach to try the newest trend in the Major Leagues, trying to crush home runs with every swing. When the Cub’s offense is at its best the hitters are grinding out at bats, working the pitcher’s pitch count, and capitalizing on mistakes after long frustrating at bats. Instead, the Cubs were swinging for the fences with every swing. This led to a pile of strikeouts, no baserunners and easy innings for the opponents. In the NLCS the Cubs had a total of 24 hits through five games, seven of which were home runs.  In the 2016 playoffs, when the Cubs were their most successful, the Cubs had 137 hits. They didn’t put in the same hard work they did the season before.

(All statistics courtesy of ESPN.com)