If there were a euphemism or tired cliché that has described the Cubs’ season so far, it’s Isaac Newton’s “what goes up must come down.” He was talking about gravity, but had he said it about the 2016 Cubs, the 17th century British mathematician and astronomer would be right about the way the season has […]
Author: Ryan Davis
Even While Losing, Only One Thing Matters
The Cubs have been losing baseball games. It’s the sad truth, they’re no longer good at baseball. That’s how this works, right? The Cubs were the best team ever when they started the season 25-6, on pace to win 130 games in the regular season. But since then, they’re 27-26—an 84 win pace—and barely hanging […]
Game 79 Recap: Mets 10 Cubs 2
This one was a five hour barrel of laughs, let me tell you. Top Play (WPA): Here’s the cool news: Kris Bryant homered again (+.054). It was a solo shot off Mets starter Jacob deGrom in the fourth inning, and it broke up the no-hitter that the talented right-hander was spinning at the time. The […]
Game 71 Recap: Marlins 4 Cubs 2
Top Play (WPA): The Cubs got a very strong start from Jon Lester, who pitched seven innings with just two earned runs and seven strikeouts. The bad news? The Cubs were absolutely shut down by Wei-Yin Chen, who had been really bad in his last few starts—a 9.88 ERA in 13.2 innings in his previous […]
Adam Warren: The Minors Now, the Rotation Later
I was going to use this space to simply lay out a detailed explanation of what’s been off about Adam Warren lately. I had numbers and everything. And then the Cubs announced that he was being sent to Triple-A to stretch out and get ready for a spot start coming up, and suddenly it seemed […]
Game 70 Recap: Cardinals 7 Cubs 2
The Cubs are bad and you should feel bad. Top Play (WPA): Are you ready for this? Chris Coghlan walked leading off the fourth inning (.043). The end. This game was miserable cacophony, a metaphorical gnashing of teeth. While the first two games in the series were close, and in fact one swing at the […]
Game 65 Recap: Cubs 6, Pirates 0
To use a tired cliché, that escalated quickly. Top Play (WPA): Jake Arrieta dispatched the Pittsburgh Pirates quickly in the bottom of the first inning, bringing the Cubs to bat against Pittsburgh left-hander Francisco Liriano in the bottom half. They wasted no time. Dexter Fowler singled on a ball that ricocheted off the third base […]
Cubs’ Catching Situation Provides More Questions Than Answers
Very few people would confuse Tim Federowicz for Jonathan Herrera, at least up close. But if you look from a distance and squint a bit, you might just see the resemblance. Herrera, you’ll recall, spent the entire 2015 season on the Cubs’ big league roster despite making it into just 73 total games and starting […]
Jorge Soler Might Have Worked Something Out
Jorge Soler ended his 2015 season, which was a mixed bag overall, on a pretty high note with an amazing October that helped carry the Cubs through the NLDS. But since? Things haven’t been so good. First, he became the odd man out in the four-man outfield. Then, when Kyle Schwarber went down with his […]
Backups to the Backups: The Cubs’ Angels in the (Iowa) Outfield
When Jason Heyward crashed into the wall in San Francisco, the mid-section of his body contorting like a cartoon accordion, baseball fans everywhere held their breath. It didn’t look good for the Cubs’ slick-fielding right fielder, but after a long wait the next afternoon the results finally came in—no breaks, no tears, no strains, nothing […]