The fascinating thing about the rumors this week that Aroldis Chapman or Craig Kimbrel might be traded was the fact that that just never happens. Relievers change hands in big volume every year at the deadline, but they tend to be interchangeable arms, many of them with eerily similar profiles: the left specialist, the ancient […]
Day: July 31, 2015
Cubs Acquire Dan Haren From Marlins
With thoughts of Tyson Ross or Carlos Carrasco dancing in their heads, Cubs fans may not be as excited to see Dan Haren being added to Chicago’s rotation. But the fact is for the remaining two months of the season, Haren is exactly what the team needs when it comes to the starting staff. After […]
Young Cubs
Hi, as you’ve probably noticed my name is not David Blumberg. I’ll be taking care of today’s Young Cubs features as David has graciously allowed me to pilot this ship for today. I cover prospects for Baseball Prospectus, but I cut my chops covering the Cubs minor leaguers for quite a few outlets. With that […]
Game 101 Recap: Cubs 5, Brewers 2
Top Play (WPA): This game looked out of reach early, with Jake Arrieta’s lack of sharpness (and lack of real stirrups) and the Cubs’ general offensive impotence on full display. Luckily, down two runs with two outs in the eighth, hero-of-the-night Anthony Rizzo decided that he would continue to lurch out of his long slump. […]
The 2015 Ballad of Jon Lester: Start No. 21
Date: July 29, 2015 Opponent: Colorado Rockies Location: Wrigley Field Introduction Perhaps the Cubs should lobby the Gregorian calendar folks to change the date of Jon Lester’s next start to July 34. Why would he ever want this month to end? I mean, just at look Lester’s July numbers after Wednesday’s start against the Colorado […]
Thinking About a Jake Arrieta Extension
There are two things you should know about Jake Arrieta before we begin, and they are: since joining the Chicago Cubs in July of 2013, he has been (1) very good, and (2) very inexpensive. Let’s start with very good: in the 343 innings he’s pitched since the midseason trade that brought him over from […]