To fully appreciate the Javier Báez experience, one must love drama. For those who buy in, thrilling highs, confounding lows, and rare delights await. They know his body of work features more than a few empty at bats. But redemption comes in impeccably well-timed hitting, no-look tags, swimming slides, pilfered home plates, and so much […]
Author: Leigh Coridan
Cubs’ “Different Dynamic” on Display: A Follow-Up
In my limited experience trying to write about the Cubs, I have quickly come to appreciate baseball’s ability to annihilate even the best-defended take. Last year I highlighted Ben Zobrist’s red-hot start as a potential return to All Star form, only to watch his batting average freefall for the next forty games. In March, I […]
Cubs’ “Different Dynamic” Makes Uneven Path: Still Time to Find Themselves
The pattern has grown beyond tedious. Flashes of brilliance tantalize, the curious cloud begins to lift, and then…it doesn’t. When Joe Maddon promised a new path for 2017, full of potential hazards, the inevitability rang true. Yet the actual difference a championship could make has caught everyone off guard. Through nearly half a season, the […]
GAME 14 RECAP: CUBS 9, BREWERS 7
What you need to know: A rough night from Brett Anderson had the Cubs playing catchup, but the bullpen locked in as the bats warmed up, and a bit of “We Never Quit” magic raised the W. Next Level: Tonight’s game presented itself as a rematch affair between hurlers Brett Anderson and Jimmy Nelson. Their […]
Face of the Philosophy: Schwarber’s (Not So) Hidden Strength
Kyle Schwarber led off the final inning of 2016 with an outlandish degree of confidence. He reportedly strode to the batter’s box, nonchalantly reassuring Mike Borzello, “Borzy, I’ve got this. Don’t worry. I’m locked in.” Naturally, he was right. It’s a special twenty-three-year-old who can bring that kind of self-assurance – and deliver – in […]
More C.U.B. Than Ever: Recipe for a Repeat
“I hope this is the beginning…if we do our jobs right and we stay humble and hungry, it’s going to be a beginning.” – Theo Epstein Humility has not traditionally been a concern on the north side. So when the leadership is casually throwing it around in the offseason, the stubbornly buoyant truth can finally […]
Player Profile: Kris Bryant
Position: Third base…or wherever 2016 Stats: .292/.385/.554, .350 TAv, 9.1 WARP Year in Review: Kris Bryant has made a habit of landing on short lists. So short, in fact, they only include his name. He did it on June 27 in Cincinnati, becoming the first player in history to hit three home runs and two […]
Second City October: The Beauty of Belief, And Those Who’d Take It Away
Javier Baez, Most Valuable Player of the 2016 NLCS, has fourteen postseason hits for seven RBIs through Game One of the World Series. That’s better than Kris Bryant. It’s better than every other Cub. And it says nothing of his dazzling defense. Willson Contreras has knocked a cool .409 in his October attempts, which is […]
Game 158 Recap: Pirates 8 Cubs 4
Women who have experienced the final month of a full-term pregnancy will tell you those last few weeks are the longest of their lives. So close to the realization of nearly a year’s worth of expectations, time grinds to a halt as the conscious waiting, and worrying, takes over. The Cubs have been eying a […]
Game 142 Recap: CUBS 9 ASTROS 5
Even during Maddon’s September rest rotation for everyday position players, after a three game stretch with the offense held at bay, something had to give. Tonight, the floodgates opened once again. Though irksome command issues surfaced toward the end of Arrieta’s outing, he took care of business with a four-hit, three-run performance and (backed by […]