Chicago needed a baseball game to focus on this evening, as the collective breath-holding waiting on news to break regarding Kyle Schwarber’s left knee ended with the most painful of exhalations. Take heart, friends, as my colleague Zack Moser said last night before we even understood the severity of the injury, this team is specifically built […]
Author: Isaac Bennett
Know Your (2016) Enemy: Pittsburgh Pirates
If marriage has taught me anything, it is the importance of expectations. If on a weeknight, I surprise my wife by breaking out of the mold of my boring old self and recommend we go to our favorite gastropub for burgers and drinks—rather than staying home and working as I am inclined to do—it is guaranteed that […]
Prospect Day: The “Next Five”
It’s prospect day for Cubs fans here at BP, as our friends over at the main site dropped their final top 10 list for the defending top farm system of 2015. You should definitely check out Craig Goldstein and Chris Crawford’s outstanding write-up before reading this piece. In addition to individual assessments of the best prospects […]
Cactus Catchup: Marching On
The march through March continues, as we draw ever closer to baseball games that count. That does not mean, however, that the games being played now are meaningless; quite the opposite, actually. Veterans and young players alike are playing for a chance to make the Opening Day roster, and the professional and financial implications of that […]
Dexter Fowler’s Impact on the Race for the Roster
One short month ago, I wrote about the Cubs’ cramped roster situation, and laid out the various scenarios that might unfold before we get to a final Opening Day roster. The front office had already had an incredible offseason, bringing in top-level talent at three different positions via free agency, and adding an intriguing arm in […]
Boom or Bust? Evaluating Individual Upside and Downside, Pt. I
There is something about a 65 degree day in February that I don’t think people who live in warm climates can possibly fully appreciate. It’s the signal of so many things: spring, blooms, warmth and of course what I yearn for most: baseball. It’s impossible to be angry on a day like today. There is simply so […]
Kyle Schwarber: Baserunner Extraordinaire
Do you ever have those surreal moments when you find yourself somewhere strange, and the series of events it took to get you to that place seem unfathomable? My day job involves extensive international travel that takes me to some of the farthest regions of the earth, so this happens to me regularly: Where am I? How […]
Ranking Russell over Bryant: A Year Later, Does It Hold Up?
It isn’t always easy to remember that just 10 short months ago Kris Bryant and Addison Russell had yet to debut in the major leagues. The joy and surreal nature of the 2015 season left indelible memories that we won’t soon forget, but it also served to firmly establish each of these young men as fixtures on […]
Jason, Get A Popup!
For a player who finished last season with relatively modest results, we here at Wrigleyville have spilled a fair bit of ink over Jason Hammel. It can be difficult to pinpoint exactly how to feel about his stint with the Cubs, and I believe it is this curiosity which leads to our continued efforts to dive into the tumultuous nature […]
The 25th Man: Assessing the Race for the Roster
It’s January, a month that lacks any modicum of decency in Illinois. It’s currently -2 degrees as I write. Our football team is eliminated, and our basketball teams are stuck in the same purgatorial existence they’ve been mired in for the past decade. Free agency is generally wrapping up, with the most exciting names already collected by new teams. The […]