It’s trite to say that cliches exist for a reason, but the Cubs being shut out the night after they scored 16 runs justifies the “save some for tomorrow” adage that runs through our heads as we celebrate the torrential scoring. Tonight, Jake Arrieta pitched a fine game, probably his best in a long time. […]
Author: Jared Wyllys
A Different Kind of Angst: What Needs to Go Right on Offense
In January, during the Cubs Convention at the Sheraton Grand in Chicago, Joe Maddon titillated the crowd with his confident proclamation that the Cubs would repeat their World Series title, and no one in the crowd doubted it. In the months since, “That’s Cub” has become, again, both a pejorative and mocking refrain, depending on […]
Game 55 Recap: Cubs 7, Cardinals 6
What You Need To Know: That Jason Heyward had a hand in the game-winning run, and Dexter Fowler struck out to end the game, and that the Cubs swept the series all feels a little too on the nose. Write this in a screenplay and it probably gets chopped, but the Cubs and Cardinals always […]
Kyle Schwarber is Actually a Pretty Good Baserunner
Surgically reconstructed knee and all, Kyle Schwarber can still do a lot of things really well. His hitting in 2017 is not yet cause for celebration, and while at times his defense in left field can dazzle us, at others we might be forgiven for wanting to look away. There is one aspect of Schwarber’s […]
Starlin Castro Symbolized the In-Between
Starlin Castro makes his return to Wrigley Field this afternoon, last playing in the Confines in the lamentable fourth game of the 2015 NLCS, when the wind had just about entirely been let out of the surprise 97-win season. I have written elsewhere that to be traded away from a team so on the cusp of such […]
Jake Arrieta is Adjusting his Pitch Selection, and It’s Working
In the height of his dominance that came two seasons ago, Jake Arrieta used his sinker and his famed slider/cutter hybrid to leave opposing hitters helpless. And after the slightly-awry season that followed his Cy Young brilliance, Arrieta seems in the early going this year to have found a couple of ways to right his […]
What’s Eating Kyle Hendricks?
Something is definitely off with last year’s Cy Young candidate. Through his first three starts of the 2017 season, Kyle Hendricks has struggled with the very things that made him excellent just last year. Whether or not this is a harbinger of what the forthcoming months will look like from him is too early to […]
The Year After
Hold your head high, Chicago. This city has long been punching up, almost apologizing for itself as it jabs, but get your chin up; the Chicago Cubs are World Series champions. That means every major sport has now claimed at least one title in most of our lifetimes—a Super Bowl, six NBA championships, three Stanley […]
Looking Back on Tomorrow: Chicago Cubs
This piece originally appeared on the main site as a part of a series that previews each team with the question “How will this team be remembered?” PECOTA Cubs Projections Record: 93-69 Runs Scored: 765 Runs Allowed: 651 AVG/OBP/SLG (TAv): .249/.326/.418 (.267) Total WARP: 42.4 (17.1 pitching, 25.3 non-pitching) No Cubs team will operate under […]
Division Preview: The St. Louis Cardinals
“Do not go gentle into that good night…rage, rage against the dying of the light.” – Dylan Thomas The triple digit win total of just two seasons ago must feel very, very far away right now. Ousted from the postseason by their arch-nemesis in one season, and then missing October baseball altogether the next must […]