Position: Relief Pitcher, Occasional Worm 2018 Stats: 2.60 ERA, 2.89 FIP, 4.39 DRA, 1.31 WHIP, .227 TAv, 0.3 WARP Year In Review: We know about the Cubs struggle to develop pitching, but if you consider the Spokane Indians part of the Cubs farm system, it’s much less of a problem: the Rangers affiliate rostered both […]
Author: Kevin McCaffrey
PLAYER PROFILE 2019: DILLON MAPLES
Position: Relief Pitcher 2018 Stats: MLB: 5 1/3 IP, 11.81 ERA, 2.25 WHIP, 4.86 DRA, 108 DRA- Triple-A Iowa: 38 2/3 IP, 2.79 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 75 K, 39 BB Year In Review: Dillon Maples is a weird pitcher, which is what makes him so fun. It’s weird to throw a fastball at an average of over […]
Game 147 Recap: Cubs 3, Reds 2
What You Need To Know: Cole Hamels + Dillon Maples + Jaime García + Jorge De La Rosa = a winning formula. After Pedro Strop went down, we wondered what the bullpen would look like in a close game, and tonight, we found out. It’s basically if you just hit “randomize rosters” on a three-year-old […]
Game 124 Recap: Tigers 2, Cubs 1
What You Need To Know: Huge news today for the Cubs: Kyle Hendricks gave up runs in the first, then was absolutely great. The Cubs hit a solo homer, and that’s it. The Cubs can’t hit with runners in scoring position. Like, at all. Ever. Zero for their last 20. I swear to God, I’m writing […]
GAME 87 RECAP: CUBS 6, REDS 5
What You Need To Know: Here’s how you know the Cubs are going to win: at some point early in the game, they’re losing. That’s it. In eight of the Cubs last nine games, they were losing, then come back to win. (Yes, there was one they were losing and then lost, but that’s clearly […]
Game 70 Recap: Cubs 2, Dodgers 1
What You Need To Know: The Cubs are now 41-12 when they score two friggin’ runs. Granted, it took 10 innings to get two, but it still counts. What else do you need to know? Mike Montgomery is good. For real. Jacob deGrom might sue him for identity theft — deGrom has been putting together […]
Game 44 Recap: Cubs 6, Reds 1
What You Need To Know: In the first inning, Yu Darvish threw 39 pitches all over the place, and it looked like it was going to be a long day in every sense except for his innings pitched. But then, he actually settled down! (*Extreme Al Michaels voice*) Do you believe in miracles?! YES! After escaping […]
Game 36 Recap: Cubs 8, White Sox 4
What You Need To Know: This game was weird. It felt like it was over early, then got tighter than it should have been late. The Cubs have decided they will now send nine hitters to the plate in every first inning, and they jumped on James Shields early. It’s a good thing they did, because after […]
Searching For The Next Contreras
There was a spring not too long ago where Cubs fans sincerely wondered, “Is Scott McClain for real?” Maybe you remember a March where you thought, “gee, I hope Joe Mather is a Jose Bautista-like late bloomer.” Thankfully, unless Hawk Harrelson finally learns dark magic and causes the Cubs to suffer a nine man, on-field collision […]
The Cubs Have an Ace, or Three
After days blitzing Japanese Rosetta Stone to try to decipher the non-emoji parts of Yu Darvish tweets, I allowed myself to read some English words on Twitter. This is rarely a good idea. Most Cubs fans are psyched about the possible signing of Darvish, and for great reason! Adding Darvish—or Jake Arrieta—makes this an incredible […]