Top Play (WPA): 2015 has not been an easy year for Javier Baez. After struggling through a cup of coffee in the already-sacrificed 2014 season, adversity found him time-and-again this year. That much is well-documented. Through it all, there was never a doubt that the stoic young man from Bayamon—the man with the MLB logo tattooed on his […]
Day: October 13, 2015
Cubs Embracing New Expectations Even as October Thrills
Look to your left. Now look to your right. One of you failed to predict that the Chicago Cubs would win 97 games in 2015. Reasonable expectations had the club right around .500, with 90 wins a possibility if the kids held up down the stretch. Nobody predicted this—the Cubs on the doorstep of the […]
Inside the At-Bat: Kris Bryant’s Go-Ahead, Fifth-Inning Home Run
Call out the instigator Because there’s something in the air As Kris Bryant’s go-ahead home run sailed into the North Side evening air, one could not help but wonder what Michael Wacha and Yadier Molina had been thinking in throwing him a sixth straight four-seam fastball. This season, Bryant slugged .490 and hit seven home […]
Jason Hammel and Why Sometimes There Isn’t a Definitive Answer
In baseball, there are a lot of things that go beyond the numbers. Mechanics. Injury history. State of mind. And a general good old-fashioned feel for the game. While the numbers paint a large portion of the picture, they aren’t the only thing contributing to it. There are exceptions to the sabermetric rule, and I would […]
Playoff Prospectus: Homers, Homers, Homers, Homers — NLDS Game 3 ($)
This piece, by BP’s Mike Gianella, first appeared at the Baseball Prospectus main site and is exclusively available to BP subscribers. We’ve posted a sneak preview here. Game Three of the NLDS between the Cardinals and the Cubs shifted to Wrigley Field on Monday night, with the advantage tilting to the Cubs not only because […]