The world is a very different place than it used to be. That is, except on the baseball diamond. Sure, the rules have changed slightly and legends have come and gone, but inevitably baseball has remained exactly what it has always been since its inception. It’s a distraction. It’s a national pastime. It’s a game […]
Author: Ryan Davis
Second City October: About Jason Heyward
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Jason Heyward isn’t having a very good season. He started slow, and most of us thought—based on his extensive track record—that he’d simply figure it out at some point. Well, here we are having just finished Game 5 of the NLCS, and Heyward hasn’t figured it out. After […]
Second City October: Late Into Game 4, the Giants Were Winning the NLDS
History tends to forget what almost happened. With baseball, people remember which team wins a postseason series, and even which team may have blown a big lead in a game. But take, for example, the three runs allowed after Clayton Kershaw left Game 4 of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ series with the Washington Nationals, bringing […]
Second City October: The Importance of Game One
We do what we have to do. Pray to a deity, kiss your loved ones, pace back and forth until you wear a divot in the carpet. So let’s just get it out of the way: teams that win Game One of any postseason series in Major League Baseball history have won the series 64.1 percent […]
Dexter Fowler, Near Close of Second Chicago Season, Remains Irreplaceable
You go, we go. That’s the phrase Cubs manager Joe Maddon famously applies to his leadoff hitter, center fielder Dexter Fowler. It means that when Fowler is going well, the Cubs are usually going well too. Of course, it’s very simplistic to whittle something as complex as a 25-man baseball team down to the success of one […]
Cubs Win!: A History of Cubs Playoff Clinchers
It’s undeniable that some of the fun—nay, a big part of the fun of watching a good baseball team is counting down toward that special day when they clinch their playoff spot. The Cubs have now done it! So pop the champagne bottles and cover your favorite media member from head to toe in plastic. […]
Better Pitch Selection Might Help Jason Heyward
It’s been the kind of season for Jason Heyward that scholars will study for years to come. He’s had a miserable time at the plate, beginning with an April slump that seemingly would never end. Still, even through the poor hitting, there was always one thing that people knew they could count on with Heyward as […]
Game 138 Recap: Brewers 12 Cubs 5
Top Play (WPA): With two outs in the top of the first inning, Anthony Rizzo stepped to the plate against Wily Peralta, who has served as his punching bag throughout Rizzo’s time in Chicago. Anthony was 14-for-28 with five home runs against Peralta coming into the game, and he launched one the opposite way off […]
Zastryzny, Already Defying Expectations, Looking for More
Rob Zastryzny, or ‘Rob Z’ as he’s called by Joe Maddon, made some Cubs history when he was called up to the big league club in mid-August. He’s the first of the pitchers drafted under the Theo Epstein regime to make it to the major leagues, and second only to left-hander Gerardo Concepcion when you […]
Game 126 Recap: Cubs 6 Padres 3
It’s the finale between the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres. Something, something, Anchorman quote. Top Play (WPA): In the top of the first inning against Padres right-handed starter Paul Clemens—apparently no relation to Roger Clemens—the Cubs got themselves on the board quickly. Dexter Fowler led off the game with a double to the right […]