 After the season, GM Ed Lynch and manager Jim Riggleman unfortunately opted to keep many of the same players who had career years in '98 for the '99 season.Perhaps the most notable error was the club's failure to tender a contract offer to third baseman Robin Ventura, whose contract with the White Sox had expired and had expressed a desire to remain in Chicago.The Cubs, however, decided to give the position to Gaetti and Ventura signed with the Mets.