When Kris Bryant won the 2016 NL MVP, he was quickly welcomed to the club by Ryne Sandberg in an Instagram photo that could only be captioned “Two Cub legends pose for a Wes Anderson film.” And after Bryant completed his follow-up season, it turned out that the two of them had a lot more […]
To almost every Cub fan, Ryne Sandberg is most indelibly associated with the 1984 season–and for good reason. He won the MVP in a year where the Cubs advanced to the postseason for the first time since 1945. Statistically, it was his magnum opus as he accumulated a career-high 7.6 WARP. And there was that […]
At some point during every day of his life, Ryne Sandberg is asked by fans or the media about June 23, 1984. And invariably, the conversation goes something like this: RADIO GUY: Hey Ryno, remember that game where you hit the two homers off Bruce Sutter? SANDBERG: Yes. (Uncomfortably long awkward pause) RADIO GUY: That […]
Back in late July, I had the distinct pleasure of attending the finale of the Cubs/Diamondbacks series in person. After David Bote sent Wrigley Field up for grabs with a two-run, bottom-of-the-ninth-inning homer to complete a furious five-run Cubs comeback, tying the score at six, Anthony Rizzo strode to the plate as the potential game […]
It shouldn’t be too much to ask of a baseball front office to ask, “Hey, when the team has the best record in the league, can you avoid doing something that makes me feel awful about rooting for them?” And yet two years later, here we are again. After bringing aboard the execrable Aroldis Chapman […]
Hey look, the Cubs can beat the Padres! That feels like leading the sports page with a 72 point headline screaming “WASHINGTON GENERALS LOSE.” Normally, it should not be this exhilarating to beat the Padres. And yet it certainly is tonight. Hell, the only reason you should be exhilarated in a game with the Padres […]
“Anthony loves batting leadoff!” –Anthony Rizzo, upon homering for the second day in a row There are a lot of skills that go into becoming the greatest leadoff hitter of all time. And it’s comforting to know Rizzo has already mastered referring to himself in the third person. Until the big first baseman took over […]
This past month, the Cubs have discovered that one of the nice things about returning most of the core from a 103 win World Series champion is that there isn’t a lot of Spring Training drama. With most of the roster decisions already decided by mid-February, it’s up to the beat writers to create their […]
On Monday, June 27, Kris Bryant had a day for the ages against the Cincinnati Reds, going 5-for-5 with three home runs and two doubles. As this had never happened before in baseball history, tributes to his achievement poured in from all over the baseball landscape. (Except for one Boston hack who sniffed that Bryant […]