A Down Note
Cubs End Season with Blah 4-0 Loss in Houston

Soobum Im/US PRESSWIRE

Well, we suppose it's better than the way the season began — remember that 16-5 debacle? But the Cubs went out on a sour note, getting blanked as Ryan Dempster pitched a quality start but still gave up three earned runs and nine hits in six innings. There was really no offense to speak of — the Cubs scratched out six hits (five of them singles), and Darwin Barney, Xavier Nady, and Alfonso Soriano each had two. Talk about going out with a whimper.

ESPN Chicago: Brandon Lyon pitches perfect ninth to complete... [+ video]
Chicago Breaking Sports: Cubs finish in 5th after 4-0 loss to Astros
MLB: Cubs drop finale to Astros, look to next year

Meet the New Boss?
Quade Has Earned the Gig, Players Say
The biggest question facing the Cubs this offseason is, obviously, who will lead this team to the World Series into next season. If you ask the players, the answer is clear: Mike Quade is the man. Quade backers include Alfonso Soriano (lord knows he's going to be around), Ryan Dempster, Aramis Ramirez, Geovany Soto, Marlon Byrd, and Koyie Hill. "I don't think it's a secret that everybody in the clubhouse, speaking on behalf of the rest of the team, would like to see Quade get the job,'' Hill said.

Chicago Tribune: Cubs players back Quade
Chicago Sun-Times: Players back Mike Quade for Cubs manager
Muskat Ramblings: Players applaud 'Q'

It's All Good (?)
Hendry Praises Quade, Zambrano... Fukudome (?!?!)
GM Jim Hendry gave a season postmortem yesterday, and he said everything we expected: Mike Quade has done an "outstanding job," Carlos Zambrano has "obviously righted the ship," etc. But one thing stuck with us. Hendry defended the Cubs' pre-signing scouting of Kosuke Fukudome, saying, "In '07 and '08 he just didn't close like he was capable... he's certainly shown signs of being a real good performer and he's been a very, very good teammate." A good teammate? So the Cubs are on the hook for $13.5 for the baseball Jack Haley? Come on.

Chicago Breaking Sports: GM Hendry addresses the state of the Cubs
ESPN Chicago: Hendry has holes to fill in 2011
Daily Herald: Reading the Cubs tea leaves

An Imperfect 10
The Top 10 Cubs Stories of the Season
Before we read Paul Sullivan's detailed list of the Cubs' top stories, we hadn't known this juicy tidbit: In spring training, Ryan Theriot said that if Starlin Castro wanted his job, "he's going to have to come and get it." Well, it's safe to say he went and got it. Other notable moments were Ted Lilly's near no-hitter against the White Sox (curse you, Juan Pierre!), Mike Quade's 9-1 debut win against the Nationals, and, of course, the broken bat going stabby-stabby on Tyler Colvin. Now that was one for the ages.

Chicago Tribune: Cubs' top 10 moments of 2010 season

One Crazy Summer
A Disappointing Season Full of The Crazies
The last few weeks have been actually pretty good, so it might be easy to forget the lunacy that came before. But Cubby-Blue provides a run-down of the season's crazier moments: Zambrano going ballistic in the dugout, then going out to dinner with Ozzie Guillen; Soriano saying how proud he is of staying injury-free (congrats!); and then all the trades that happened. But the blog notes the team has turned around under Mike Quade, to the point where "he's the reason I have one tiny little dinky iota of hope for next year," the blog says.

Cubby-Blue: Goodbye 2010 Cubs. Here's a painting I made for you.

What Off Season?
Cubs Fan Report Keeps on Rockin'
The season's almost over, but we're not calling it a day. Cubs Fan Report will keep sending updates this offseason — expect one or two emails per week of Cub-related goodness. It's our first offseason, so we're a little nervous, a little excited. Kind of like the first time... never mind. We'll definitely publish when there are big events — the announcement of the new manager, Cubs Convention, Carlos Zambrano winning Humanitarian of the Year. So stick around and cross your fingers for some big offseason moves. Go Cubs!

Anyone a basketball fan...? (more info later this week)

Ryan Dempster tied a career high with 34 starts, and fell one short of his career-high in strikeouts (he had 208)... Cubs relievers didn't give up a run in their last 28 innings... Starlin Castro finished his rookie season with a .300 batting average... Team owner Tom Ricketts flew to Houston to flew to Houston to thank the team for their effort.

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