Position: LHP 2016 Stats: 16.0 IP, 1,12 ERA, 3.75 DRA, 89 cFIP, .270 oppTAv, 25.8 K% and 7.6 BB% Year in Review: After playing on seven different minor-league and fall-league clubs and starting the 2016 season in Double-A Tennessee, Zastryzny made his major-league debut late this season. He was the first pitcher drafted by the Theo Epstein-era […]
Author: Caitlin Swieca
Travis Wood: Potential Offseason Target
Position: Left-Handed Reliever 2016 Stats: 61 IP, 18.7 K%, 9.5 BB%, 2.95 ERA, 5.75 DRA, -0.5 WARP How He Fits: Travis Wood was the longest-tenured Cub on the 2016 championship team, and he was arguably one of the leaders in establishing the team-first culture of flexibility that Joe Maddon instilled in Chicago upon arriving in […]
Aroldis Chapman, morality in sports, and the final out of the World Series
In its immediate aftermath, Rajai Davis’ eighth-inning game-tying home run in Game 7 of the World Series felt like the biggest gut-punch in Cubs history. For me and many other Cubs fans, the fact that Aroldis Chapman was the one who surrendered that home run made an unbearable moment even more painful. I had been […]
Game 130 Recap: Cubs 8 Pirates 7 (13)
Given all the feel-good stories the 2016 Cubs have provided and the up-and-coming studs that populate most of the roster, it’s been easy to gloss over the guy whose baseball career is trending the wrong way. Last year, Miguel Montero was one of the veterans who helped elevate a young Cubs’ clubhouse, providing value behind the plate […]
Game 124 Recap: Cubs 5, Padres 1
Monday’s game against the Padres pitted the Cubs against old friend Edwin Jackson, and his outing felt familiar to Cubs fans who watched those dreadful 2013 and 2014 seasons. Predictably, the red-hot Addison Russell hit a home run, University of San Diego product Kris Bryant hit a home run, and Jason Heyward hit a home […]
Game 30 Recap: Cubs 4 Nationals 3 (13)
Man, these Cubs truly are never out of a game, are they? Through the first six innings of Sunday’s game, they looked like a team that had no business beating the Nationals. All-World pitcher Jake Arrieta wasn’t at his sharpest, the infield defense was sloppy and the offense seemed lethargic, thrown off early in the […]
Game 8 Recap: Cubs 9 Reds 2
Heading into Wednesday night’s game at Wrigley Field, Alfredo Simon held a 4-0 record and 1.66 ERA in 15 career appearances against the Cubs, including five starts against Chicago during his previous Reds stint in 2014. Not that we needed more evidence of this, but Wednesday’s results suggested this Cubs team has very little in common […]
It’s Time to Make Peace With Sammy Sosa
From where I sit, as a 24-year-old lifelong fan of the Cubs, there is relatively little to complain about regarding the Ricketts family’s ownership of the team. After arriving in 2009, they hired one of the best minds in baseball (Theo Epstein), then stood back as he masterfully executed a plan to stockpile young talent and build a […]
Kyle Schwarber vs. LHPs: A Path to Improvement?
In hindsight, it’s hard to believe Kyle Schwarber was on the bench for any portion of the 2015 postseason. As it is, all he did once in the lineup was bash his way to a 1.308 OPS, and casually become the Cubs’ all-time postseason home run leader by blasting five over the nine playoff games the Cubs […]