What you need to know: Today, the Cubs called up a prospect from Double-A Tennessee, and the move paid off. His name is Kris Bryant, and you may have heard of him, though it’s been a while. In his first game back since June 22, Bryant went 1-for-5, with two walks and a two-run shot […]
Author: J.L. Wall
Game 82 Recap: Cubs 11, Twins 10
What You Need to Know: I hope you brought your dancing shoes to this one, because the Cubs Hit Parade continued today, knocking Lance Lynn out of the game in a second inning that included a Jon Lester three-run shot to center and three consecutive RBI doubles by Anthony Rizzo, Javy Báez, and Kyle Schwarber. Ian […]
A Tale of Two Happs
It’s time to check back in on one of last season’s breakout rookies, a slugger who won fans over with his pop and his ability to play both the infield and the outfield, but has struggled enough early this year to prompt talk of a Triple-A assignment. No, I’m not talking about Cody Bellinger. I’m […]
Game 51 Recap: Pirates 2, Cubs 1
What you need to know: Joe Musgrove threw seven strong innings, while Kyle Hendricks put together a five competitive innings despite not having his best stuff. Even though the Pirates led off each inning against Hendricks with a hit, beyond Josh Harrison’s solo home run in the first and Gregory Polanco’s sacrifice fly in the second, […]
Kris Bryant Calls His Spot
I’ve seen two Cubs stars hit in the head with fastballs. The first was Salomon Torres heater that shattered Sammy Sosa’s helmet on April 20, 2003 as I stared at my TV in mute horror was. In some respects, this the beginning of the end: he’d scuffle for the next several weeks and be suspended […]
Game 26 Recap: Cubs 3, Rockies 2
With a Pirates loss at Washington tonight, the Cubs ended April in sole possession of first place in the Central. What you need to know: Winter turned to summer this evening at Wrigley Field, but the offenses didn’t seem to notice the 80-degree weather or the wind blowing out at 16 miles an hour. With […]
Pedro Strop’s Success So Far
I’ll go ahead and apologize for Pedro Strop’s outing against St. Louis last week. I proposed an article on his early season success a week ago; we put it on the schedule for today. Only then did I remember the Cardinals were coming to town—and that I’d just dared them to bring their Voodoo with […]
Trouble With His Curve: A Yu Darvish Deep Dive
Shortly after the Cubs signed Yu Darvish, Chris Gimenez, their newly-acquired backup catcher who had worked with Darvish as a Ranger in 2014, offered his thoughts on what might have gone wrong in Darvish’s two disastrous World Series outings against the Astros. By now, we’ve all heard the pitch-tipping theory. Gimenez, however, turned his attention […]