The Cubs roller coaster season officially ends with a Cardinals win

ST. The LOUIS Cubs 2021 season has been unlike anything else in franchise history, and the ups and downs have been a wild swing. But with the Cubs 3-2 winning the Cardinals in Sunday’s final, the teams ’boring season is officially over.

The Cubs ranked 71-91, their first loss since 2014.

When you think about what happened after the team announced spring training in Mesa, Arizona, nearly eight months ago and the events that followed, it’s almost like the puppies have played two different seasons.

The first half of the season was on the rise and the team seemed prepared to make the playoffs, and it wasn’t tied for first place in National League Central until June 24th. But this was the beginning of the end in many respects the team would go into an 11-match losing streak, meaning the time for change had come.

I would say every year is different no matter what, beginner Kyle Hendricks said. You learn a lot about yourself, the team. But this year for sure [felt different]. There were certain different circumstances, especially in a time frame that you know you never thought you would see happening, and just something you can’t prepare for

The seismic changes in the organizations occurred on July 30, when the team exchanged their three biggest superstars and eventually disbanded their World Series cores, sending Kris Bryant to the Giants, Javy Baez to the Forests and Anthony Rizzo to the Yankees.

The next two months were a dramatic difference from the previous seven years with new faces, and for the first time since, the 2014 team didn’t play a seat in the post-season.

The Cubs season also closed with book manager David Ross at the helm of his second year and his first 162 game season. It didn’t end with a post-season look like his first year, but it offered the Cubs skipper a lot to consider.

It has been a nice learning process. Lots of ups and downs. Lots of emotions. Lots of growth on many fronts, Ross said. Then there is something proud in the sense of getting to that point. All the change and changes we have had. Definitely grew a lot.

I can continue to implement the ways I want to do [put] my stamp on this organization. But I never want to lose the winning habits, the culture, the ability to know what victory looks like and the guys who have been able to compete on this stage and succeed.

The Cubs now have offseason and high expectations, as President Jed Hoyer has a long list of things to achieve to get his team back to the playoff level expectations the franchise has created over the past seven years.

The first step in the process is to further renew the team list. The Cubs set a main league record on Sunday when they used 69 players this season and broke the 2019 Mariners record.

Only seven players from the Cubs Opening Day list were on the active team on Sundays, with the exception of Willson Contreras, David Botea and Austin Romine, who all ended the season on the injured list.

If fans can look forward to this offseason, it will change. But as the Puppies try to turn the page from one of the most significant periods in team history, Ross wants to maintain the winning mentality of teams that have developed in recent years and take it to 2022.

As much as changes come, you want to stick to some traditional wins and what’s expected here, Ross said. I know the fans, the media, this organization still expects to play at a high level and compete for championships. The guys who were here were created [those] expectations, and I don’t want it to disappear when I’m here, that’s for sure.