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Player Profile 2019: Jason Heyward

Position: Right fielder par excellence 2018 Stats: .270/.335/.395, 97 DRC+, 8.8 FRAA, 3.0 BRR, 2.6 WARP Year in Review: On June 6 of this past season with the Cubs trailing the Phillies 5-3 and with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Jason Heyward stepped to the plate with the bases loaded. In the previous […]

MLB: Chicago Cubs-Workouts

Drill Instructors, Whammy Men, and Senseis: A Brief History of Cubs Gimmick Fails

Once Joe Maddon takes his perch at the edge of the dugout on Opening Day 2019, he will become the first Cubs skipper to manage five consecutive years with the team since Jim Riggleman (1995-99). That fact is at once astonishing for what it reveals about the franchise’s ineptitude and yet not surprising at all […]

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Player Profile 2019: Jon Lester

Position: Starting Pitcher. Supplier of perfect metaphors for the 2018 season. 2018 Stats: 3.32 ERA, 4.35 FIP, 4.44 DRA, 1.31 WHIP, 7.4 K/9, 18-6, 1.8 WARP Year in Review: “Sometimes you need to get your dick knocked in the dirt to appreciate it. Maybe we needed that.” — Jon Lester following the Cubs’ elimination from the […]

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Offseason target: Manny Machado

Position: Shortstop (if you ask him). Third base (if you ask Buck Showalter). Unprintable expletive (if you ask anyone from Milwaukee). 2018 Stats: .297/.367/.538, 37 HR, 146 OPS+, 140 wRC+, 5.8 WARP How He Fits In: It seems like we’ve been preparing for the 2018-19 free agent class for three or four years now. And […]