Third time is the charm after all. The Cubs are no longer stuck on 89 wins. They have now won 90 or more games in back to back seasons for the first times since the 1930 season. Milestones like this have been a frequent occurrence, and that is to be expected when watching the best […]
Day: September 9, 2016
Life at the Margins: Kris Bryant’s Changing Changes
This piece originally ran on the main site. We hope you enjoy a preview here. Kris Bryant never made much secret of the fact that he liked to hit the ball in the air. “I liked hitting home runs when I was little,” he told the Chicago Tribune last year. “To do that, you have […]
Series Preview: Cubs vs. Astros, September 9-11
Tangentially Related Introduction for the Series Preview Among the most prized possessions of my childhood was a Mickey & Minnie autograph book filled with the signatures of a dozen or so Houston Astros players. In the winter of 1993, my family rented a house just outside of Orlando, about a five minute drive from the Astros spring training […]
Kris Bryant: Most Improved (!) Player?
We’ve all been captivated by Kris Bryant in a number of different ways this season. His baserunning has been oustanding; he’s collected 4.3 BRR this year, good for 17th best in all of baseball. His athleticism and defensive versatility fit perfectly with Joe Maddon’s mad-scientist tendencies on defense. His defensive ability at third base has […]
Rizzo vs. Bryant for MVP and Comparing Apples to Oranges
They’re best friends. They’re baseball superstars. They have a satirical souvenir company named after them. They are one of baseball’s best and favorite tandems. And they are currently up against each other in the NL MVP race. They are Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant. Though it was just over a year ago, it’s hard to remember […]