When the Chicago Cubs hosted the San Francisco Giants for a four-game set earlier this month, I had occasion to speak with a security guard whose tenure at Wrigley extended back many years, including the Cubs’ most recent peak in 2007 and 2008. He assured me that the energy and buzz was even more profound […]
Author: Brett Taylor
Will Miguel Montero Benefit from a Three-Catcher Rotation?
When discussing correlations in the baseball world, I’ve found that you’re pretty much never going to be able to convince everyone up front that you’re not pointing out a causal relationship. If you mention a correlation—no matter the sample size or your caveats—folks will invariably laud you as having discovered the explanation for something, or (on the other hand) […]
Cubs’ Triple-A 40-Man’ers Could Contribute One Way or Another
As teams around baseball scramble this time of year to self-identify as buyers, sellers, or something more nuanced, every organization is looking ahead to August and September, and, in many cases, beyond. Will we get enough production from our 25-man roster to stay in contention? Will we need to go outside the organization to make […]
It’s Been a Long Time Since Chicago Cubs Fans Had a Rooting Interest in the Home Run Derby
The 2004 Chicago Cubs season was a peculiar thing. The surprise and excitement of 2003 gave way to the … things that happened in the playoffs, but the formerly woeful and downtrodden Cubs came into 2004 a sudden favorite. And why not? Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, and Carlos Zambrano were on the rise. The Derrek Lee, […]
The Realistic Cubs Playoff Focus is Now a Wild Card Spot – And Things Are Looking Good
The youthful Chicago Cubs ran into a buzz saw this weekend, as the grizzled and experienced St. Louis Cardinals overpowered them with their know-how and grit and whatever other things you need to say to yourself to move on. In reality, what happened this past weekend was a probably pretty good team faced a definitely […]
With the Full Bleachers Open, Wrigley Field Seating Availability is Back to Capacity
“Then on a diet of the blood of snakes, toads, and all the putrid life of the Mississippi, slowly, Lestat became something like himself again. Claudia … You’ve been a very, very, naughty little girl.” Aside from being a pretty-close-to-iconic line at a pretty-much-fantastic moment in a pretty-darn-good movie, that line is what comes into […]
Christian Villanueva Remains a Guy to Watch, Even If You’re Not
Since his arrival into the Chicago Cubs’ organization at the trade deadline in 2012, it’s as if every turn in the script was designed to overshadow Christian Villanueva. When the Cubs picked up the then 21-year-old third baseman in a trade from the Rangers, it was something of a consolation prize for the infamous Ryan […]
The Cubs Have Been Brutally Bad with Runners in Scoring Position So Far This Season
Photo courtesy of Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports Did you notice that the Chicago Cubs went a week without notching a hit with runners in scoring position last week? It’s true. From Friday—the Matt Szczur “single” on which Gregory Polanco did the chicken dance—until the following Friday, the Cubs went through an 0-for-31 stretch with runners […]
Positive Trends in Chicago Cubs Attendance Continue
Last month, I took a look at one of the least glamorous, least sexy topics a baseball writer can tackle this side of rosin bag supply chain studies*: attendance. Outside of an in-stadium guessing game in the later innings, you don’t really think too much about attendance, especially as a Chicago Cubs fan, where the […]
Turning the Spotlight on Chicago Cubs Shortstop Prospect Gleyber Torres
The bright spotlight rigged up to shine on the Chicago Cubs’ farm system in recent years has made it virtually impossible to miss any of the big names or big performances. When an exciting front office comes into a major market with a plan to revamp the minor leagues in a very visible way, attention […]