Cubs end season still shortchanged

For most of their first season under manager Lou Piniella, the Cubs reveled in the home atmosphere of Wrigley Field, where fans came in record numbers to join the party.

The fun ended Saturday night. Instead, the old neighborhood ballpark was filled with loud boos, especially for Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano, as the Cubs were swept out of the first round of the NL playoffs by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Even though the Cubs went from worst to first by winning the Central, it still wasn't good enough. The drought without a World Series title stretches to 99 years and counting.

"Right now, you're going to view it as a disappointment. There's no other way to view it," said second baseman Mark DeRosa, one of the major acquisitions in a $300 million spending spree last offseason. "We're shocked. I don't think there's a guy in here who expected this to happen. I think when we have a couple weeks to let it sink in, obviously, the moves we made in the offseason - with the guys that were already here - to take a team that lost 90-some-odd games and turn it into a division title has got to be viewed as a success. But all in all, you don't get the overall goal accomplished, it's tough to look at it any other way."

Their bats simply went flat. The Cubs didn't get an RBI from Ramirez, Soriano, or Derrek Lee. Chicago scored six runs in the three games and was 2 for 23 with runners in scoring position. They hit into four double plays in Saturday night's 5-1 loss in Game 3.

Chicago hasn't made the World Series since 1945 and hasn't won it since 1908.

"This is just the start, fellas," Piniella said. "We're going to get better."

Phillies fall flat

The Phillies put so much into just making the playoffs, they couldn't do anything once they got there. The Rockies spoiled Philadelphia's postseason party with a three-game sweep, leaving players to ponder their failures over a long winter.

"Having this feeling we're having right now, hopefully that can be a little bit of a motivating factor for next year," slugger Ryan Howard said.

Few expected the Phillies to get this far, especially after another poor April put the team in an early hole and injuries started piling up.

But, the Fightin' Phils lived up to their moniker by rallying to capture their first NL East championship since 1993 on the final day of the season. It took a historic collapse by the Mets - they became the first team in major league history to blow a seven-game lead with 17 remaining - for the Phillies to finish one game ahead in the standings.

It was downhill from there, mainly because a potent lineup was awful (16 for 93, .172) against the Rockies' inexperienced but talented pitching staff.

"Whether we were trying too hard or not, I guess that's a question to think about in the offseason," All-Star Chase Utley said. "It's extremely disappointing. I wish we could have played a little better."