Top Play (WPA): Addison Russell led off the third inning by hitting a majestic drive down the left-field line that missed leaving the yard by just a few inches. Two batters later, Tommy La Stella turned on a fastball, smacking it into the corner in right to score Russell (+.119). Bottom Play (WPA): After a wild pitch moved La […]
Author: Isaac Bennett
The Great Rebuild(s)
In the pantheon of sports history, there has perhaps never been a more daunting reclamation project. This storied franchise touted a rabid but increasingly disenchanted fan base. A franchise with pride and historical consequence, but fraught with bloated contracts, cheap owners and draft-day disasters. What was the summation of the discord? A championship drought that […]
Game 155 Recap: Cubs 4 Pirates 0
Top Play (WPA): A small side-effect of using WPA to determine top play, a dominant starting pitching performance almost never allows the starter to collect the hardware. Tonight is the exception, as Jake Arrieta took matters into his own hands. In the fourth inning with the Cubs leading 1-0, Pirate starter A.J. Burnett left a 91-mph sinker up and […]
GAME 149 RECAP: CARDINALS 4 CUBS 3
Top Play (WPA): With the Cardinals leading 4-2 in the bottom of the eighth, Chris Coghlan rapped a leadoff single. After Anthony Rizzo walked on a full count, Mike Matheny opted for Jonathan Broxton to replace Kevin Siegrist. Broxton proceeded to walk Kris Bryant to load the bases for Tommy La Stella. La Stella—known for his patient approach—worked […]
Game 145 Recap: Cubs 3 Pirates 2
Top Play (WPA): With the Cubs leading 2-1 in the eighth, the Pirates had their leadoff batter reach for the first time all night on a Neil Walker infield single. Francisco Cervelli followed, hitting a knuckling liner at Javier Baez playing shortstop. Pinch-runner Pedro Florimon was going on the pitch, thus making a catch an easy […]
Game 142 Recap: Phillies 7 Cubs 4
Top Play (WPA): With one out in the seventh inning, Aaron Altherr laced what looked to be an eventual double into center field. Dexter Fowler appeared to chase the ball with middling effort and took a poor route in attempting to cut the ball off, eventually dropping the ball and allowing Altherr to cruise into third […]
Game 139 Recap: Cubs 5 Phillies 1
Top Play (WPA): Through four innings, Phillies starting pitcher Adam Morgan confounded Cubs hitters, allowing just two singles and no real threats. The fifth inning appeared to be more of the same, as he retired Jake Arrieta and Addison Russell to start the inning. Dexter Fowler then singled, bringing up Austin Jackson with two outs. Morgan quickly […]
GAME 129 RECAP: CUBS 2 DODGERS 0 (hits)
Top Play (WPA): Part of the beauty of baseball is that the determining play can come at any moment in the game, even the very first inning. Few other sports hold such criticality during the opening moments of the contest. Kris Bryant was not the story tonight, of that there is no doubt. What he did […]
GAME 127 RECAP: DODGERS 4 CUBS 1
Top Play (WPA): Part of the beauty of having the best pitcher in baseball on the mound is that an RBI knock in the third inning feels like a game-winner. That is not quite what happened tonight (more on that in a bit), but Chase Utley’s triple to drive in Jimmy Rollins felt like the end long before the […]
Game 116 Recap: White Sox 3 Cubs 1
Top Play (WPA): Each of the top three plays today were solo home runs by the South Side squad, with Jose Abreu taking the WPA cake by virtue of hitting his first. The Cuban slugger drove a 1-2 fastball from Dan Haren into the bullpen in right to give the Sox a 1-0 lead (+.120). Alexei Ramirez […]