It’s been an interesting two days around camp for the Cubs. I guess that is to say, as interesting as Spring Training can be for a club just coming off a World Series win that still has most of that same curse-breaking core intact. Cubs camp got its first novelty matchup of the spring this […]
Author: Cat Garcia
A Brilliant Tandem: Why Anderson and Montgomery Make a Perfect Fifth Starter
The wonders of Cubs Manager Joe Maddon never cease, and before the first pitch has been thrown in the 2017 season, Cubs fans are seeing his strong baseball acumen at work again. In February, after a somewhat under-the-radar and late offseason move the Cubs made in signing left-hander Brett Anderson to a one-year deal, it […]
Jon Lester: Projecting Baseball’s $155 Million Man
“You try to balance different factors. You wake up one day like ‘We’ve got to sign Lester,’ you wake up another day, ‘We’re never signing a pitcher in his thirties,’ and it’s an internal struggle. Jed and I had the back-and-forth with each other. We changed each other’s minds. It’s the process of getting the […]
Player Profile: Kyle Hendricks
Position: Starting pitcher 2016 Stats: 190 IP, 22.8 K%, 5.9 BB%, 2.13 ERA, 3.34 DRA, 4.4 WARP To say that Kyle Hendricks’ 2016 season piqued the interest of baseball in the same way that Jake Arrieta’s 2015 season did feels irrational at first blush. But it truly isn’t. Just two years ago, Hendricks looked to be every bit […]
The Cubs Outfield Is Going To Be Fine
In a perfect world, every Cubs player who contributed to the historic 2016 World Series Champion team would take the field on Opening Day, World Series ring in hand and a smile upon their face. Sometimes, that isn’t how baseball works though. The heartwarming tale of Dexter Fowler’s return to the North Side last February marked the […]
Player Profile: Jake Arrieta
Position: Starting pitcher 2016 Stats: 197.1 IP, 23.9 K%, 9.6 BB%, 3.10 ERA, 4.02 DRA, 3.0 WARP Year in Review: 2016 was a banner year for the Cubs. Of course, I don’t simply mean that metaphorically — there will be a literal banner raised come April 2017 to celebrate the team’s first World Series championship […]
The Offseason Closer Market and Wade Davis
The Hot Stove is beginning to heat up during the first day of the 2016 MLB Winter Meetings, and before most of us were done digesting our breakfast the market for closers this offseason had been set. Mark Melancon was the first domino to go in the trinity of sharp closing talent that is on […]
Player Profile: John Lackey
Position: Starting Pitcher 2016 Stats: 188 IP, 24.1 K%, 7.1 BB%, 3.35 ERA, 3.99 DRA, 3.0 WARP Year in Review: One year ago this upcoming weekend, in a shocking move before a pitching heavy market took its annual roadshow to Nashville for the Winter Meetings, Epstein and Co. silenced the whispers about one of the […]
Player Profile: Ben Zobrist
Ben Zobrist Position: Second base, occasional corner outfield 2016 Stats: .272/.386/.446, .306 TAv, 18 HR, 96 BB, 82 K, 631 PA, -9.4 FRAA, 4.1 WARP Year in Review: The Cubs front office had made it vehemently clear that in 2016 they desired a lineup with a strong, patient plate approach. It was almost hidden between the lines in […]
Second City October: World Series Game One Preview, Cubs (0-0) vs. Cleveland (0-0)
This piece, by BP Wrigleyville’s Cat Garcia, forms part of our in-house coverage of the playoffs, “Second City October”. More Game One coverage can be found here. Well, this is it. It’s the moment that almost everyone, and I do mean everyone in the city of Chicago, around the country, and even around the world […]