Do You Believe In Magic? - Part Five

By Tom Edgar on September 2, 2008 12 Vote 0 Votes

In my last article on the magic of the Cubs this year I focus on one of the biggest surprises to come along all year. This player wasn't on the radar at the beginning of the year but he fell in the Cubs' lap during the season and since there was a need, Jim Hendry picked him up and he has been a huge part of the Cubs success. The player I refer to is obviously Jim Edmonds.

Back in early May, Jim Edmonds was a member of the San Diego Padres. He made his last appearance with them on May 8th going 0-for-1 to finish his short stint in San Diego and lower his batting average to an awful .178. The Padres gave up on Edmonds and he was officially released.

The Cubs were in need of a center fielder and took a chance on a former enemy, when he was a member of the rival St. Louis Cardinals. Cubs fans were a little leery when Edmonds first arrived in Chicago. We all knew of the defense Edmonds could provide but his stats in San Diego didn't offer us much hope. For his first eight games in a Cubs uniform it wasn't looking like it was going to work out. Edmonds started off just as slow with the Cubs as he finished with San Diego. On May 27 in a game versus the Dodgers he went 0-for-4, taking his average with the Cubs down to .125. He was being booed like he was still in a Cardinals uniform. Rumors began to swirl that he could soon be released again and it was only a matter of time.

What a difference a few days make. May 30th rolled around and Edmonds had another chance to save his job. This would be the day the turnaround began. In one of the best games all season the Cubs completed a huge comeback after entering their half of the 6th inning down 9-1. In that game, Jim Edmonds hit his first homer as a Cub. When the game was over the Cubs had won in amazing fashion and Jim Edmonds finished 3-for-4 with three RBI's and two runs scored. It had taken a few days but the magic had reached Edmonds.

June arrived a couple days later and the magic continued. Over the month of June, Jim Edmonds continued to hit like he used to. He also won over the Chicago fans and the chorus of boos that were common after his arrival were gone and replaced with cheers. For the month of June, Edmonds had six home runs, 19 RBI's along with a .319 batting average and a .419 on-base percentage. The Jim Edmonds of old was in Chicago and boy were we happy to have him.

July came along and Edmonds continued where he left off in June. This wasn't a fluke, he was truly playing good ball, hitting the ball well and the gold glove outfielder was roaming center field for the Cubs. For the month of July he hit five more home runs, drove in another 14 runs while hitting .255 with a .369 OBP. It wasn't a great average but lost in that were some great games that he helped the Cubs win. He drove in four against the Giants on July 12th and he hit two home runs and drove in five against the Brewers on July 31st.

August has seen an even further dip as he has struggled but he is still helping the Cubs win in other ways. For the month he has three home runs and seven RBI's but he has scored 14 runs which is the most he has had in one month for the Cubs. While his average was low, .200, his OBP was a very good .371. Edmonds is 38, so he could be wearing down a bit but he has adjusted well to help in other ways.

If you had told me before the season started that Jim Edmonds would be a part of the Cubs I am not sure I would have believed it. After his first eight games I didn't think he was going to last but he turned things around and he has been part of the magic of this year. Edmonds won a World Series in 2006 with the Cardinals and my hope is that he will add his second World Series title this year.

As I conclude this series on the players that have enjoyed the Cubs magic this year I want to ask for comments from you the readers. Who are your magic players this year? I told you about mine but I want you to agree or disagree with me. As a reminder I selected Reed Johnson, Carlos Zambrano the hitter, Ryan Dempster, Micah Hoffpauir, Jeff Samardzija and finally Jim Edmonds. Did I miss anyone? Did I include someone that you don't agree with? Please share your thoughts on the Cubs magic.

Do You Believe In Magic? - Part One - Reed Johnson
Do You Believe In Magic? - Part Two - Carlos Zambrano
Do You Believe In Magic? - Part Three - Ryan Dempster
Do You Believe In Magic? - Part Four - Micah Hoffpauir/Jeff Samardzija

agustin rexach

Great read Tom!

My take; if Derosa was a pleasant surprise last year, I can't even begin to put into words what he has meant this year on a much better rounded team. And to be honest I allways thought we would be better off with B.Roberts...not any more. A+grades to Soto[mvp],Aramis and Marmol.

Lastly special recognition to the two guys who describe in every aspect what this year Cubs are all about...Loyalty,Excellence and Perseverance.

Mr.Ryan Dempster and Mr.Kerry Wood....no further questions your honor!

Dorasaga

*I forgot to write in above that Edmonds, as soundly performing as he is now with the Cubs, he has also shown wear with his age since 2005. GM Hendry really got lucky this time. Will that luck keep on?

Dorasaga

Thinking long run, I'm actually not happy with the pickup of Edmonds. The reason why we needed a LHB serving centerfield is cuz the management couldn't straighten up the young kids from our farm. Yeah, I'm think'n Felix Pie and Sam Fuld and the already gone Patterson.

0 out of 3 athletes in our system more than 5 years and NOT ready for the big leagues. That's not a good sign.

There's always a difference b/w good execution and DARN LUCK.

JimK

Tom....Nice series on the magical Cubs. I'm probably blending magic and performance--above and beyond any reasonable expectations--when I go up the middle with Soto, Marmol, and my man Edmonds Johnson. So many rookie-type phenoms comparable to Soto and Marmol don't have staying power--but Soto and Marmol have been exceptional all season.

Since Edmonds and Johnson are usually taking turns in CF, we have to marvel at their combined 20 + HR's and 90 + RBI's and stellar defense. Their contribution has been better than having an all star like Carlos Beltran in CF.

Keith Moreland

Chris, I agree with you. DeRosa has been "magical", or just plain good, or whatever you want to call it. He has had a career year at the right time for us. Of all our current roster, he and Fontenot are the vets that have exceeded expectations the most.

Gramps

JimK,

I laughed! Keep up the comments! GO CUBS!

JimK

David, et. al., My piece was an attempt to throw in some humor in a time of gloom. In a comedic vein, I was taking the hit for the CCO team as a result of an unexcused absence (mine). We all know that our views are meaningful parts of whether the Cubs win or lose.

The post was a tease to the young who seem to be the more frequent posters here. It also poked a little fun at the infirmities of old guys like me. It was not serious or accusatory or demeaning in either case.

The piece was a reminder to stay the course, and not let fear dominate our thinking. I got the (bad) idea after catching up on the game and site opinions by reading all of the posted views. I referenced the oft used analogy because sports and war are perceived similarly by many. (Patton and Lombardi have both been pictured wearing helmets.) Too subtly, it contrasted idea that kids are better off not going to war with the silly notion that old guys are better suited. You and I are both totally aware that baseball is a kids game that adults play. At least most of the time we remember that.

In the end, the post was intended to make a couple of baseball points, to be entertaining and to be a diversion from a gloomy baseball weekend. I may have exceeded my pay grade in thinking I could do all of that (in any case), but especially when readers couldn't see the twinkle in my eyes. Using the White Castle analogy, mine may have been a case of "good morning, good afternoon and good night". But I am hoping that a couple people laughed out loud once or twice. And I do expect Z and the Blue to win tonight.

Chris

The magic lies in DeRosa. He filled in anywhere asked and, along with Soto, has provided many, many RBI's from the bottom of the order. He's the one who kept the team together throughout every injury. To me, he's the MVP.

daverj

JimK,

Just so you know ... the David posting above is not me. I'm the guy who debates back and forth with you on your trade proposals and discussions regarding other teams prospects! The guy who is still positive on the Cubs when they have gone through the inevitable bumps in the road this season. And one of the few that both defended Dempster at the start of this year (though I was thinking more like 10-12 wins and a 4.00-4.50 ERA than what he has done) and now thinks it would be huge mistake to bring him back after this season.

I liked your post from last night. Keep 'em coming.

I will go by David F now since we seem to have more than one David.

David

Hey Jim K, I normally really like your posts, but I don't get your analogy from late last night. Yes, I know you're comparing youth to experience, but the military theme just didn't work for me. This is merely a sport we're watching and rooting for.

Mark

Today is a key start for Zambrano. If he can't get his fastball to the low/mid 90's today there is likely something quite wrong. The Cubs organization has always had a tendency to either deliberately deceive or mask injuries to its fan base. I certainly hope Z doesn't fall into that list.

Here's hoping for a spiriting turn around and "W" today.

Mike

I was reading online this morning that Derrick Lee has just 5 extra base hits since July 28th...July 28th!!!

Over a whole month of ballgames, and our #3 hitter has only 5 extra base hits. All I can say is thank goodness for guys like Ramirez, DeRosa, Soto and our CF tandem for carrying the load.

Soriano is in his swing-for-the-fences mentality, and Fukodome is still toast at the plate.

While I'm not waving any white flags, I don't think we can go all the way with your #3 hitter "producing" as he is, and starters that already look spent and are requiring 8-10 days off between starts now. Perhaps Lou knows best in resting the staff a bit for the final stretch, but I couldn't imagine a time when a Jenkins, Gibson or Ryan wouldn't take the ball every 4th or 5th day. I sense there is more behind the Z "dead arm" issue than the organization is stating, but time will tell.

I hope we turn back to winning ways today, but I think we've all seen this before...overmatched by good pitching. And if Derrick Lee has truly become a singles hitter at this stage of his career, then it is time to trade him during the off-season. Gold glove or not, we need more production from the #3 hole.