Top Play (WPA): It’s fun for me to get to recap a Cubs victory, because it doesn’t happen for me all that often. The Cubs 11th win in their last 12 games takes my recap record to 4-9 on the season (you care, I know). Of course, that’s extremely trivial, but I still find it […]
Author: Ryan Davis
Game 102 Recap: Cubs 4 Brewers 1
Top Play (WPA): This was a sharply played game by the Cubs, and there were several candidates that could have made it for the top play. But statistically, it was an insurance run in the sixth inning that made the biggest difference. Jorge Soler led off the inning by reaching on a throwing error by […]
Game 97 Recap: Phillies 11 Cubs 5
Top Play (WPA): It’s beginning to get hard to not have a negative outlook when things don’t go well for the Cubs early in games. A few runs in the first inning shouldn’t be a lead that any team in professional baseball can’t come back from, but it certainly feels like it’s a death sentence […]
Game 84 Recap: Cardinals 6 Cubs 5
Top Play (WPA): It really hurts to delete everything I had written for the top play and write all of this down, but by law (or mandate, really) I must tell you the truth. This was an up and down game, with the Cardinals taking the early 4-0 lead, the Cubs tacking two runs on […]
Game 80 Recap: Cubs 2 Marlins 0
Top Play (WPA): The starting pitching dominated on both sides in the rubber game of this three-game series. Mat Latos allowed just a first-inning run on a wild pitch, and Kyle Hendricks was at his best. Hendricks had guys off balance all afternoon, inducing weak ground balls and even striking out six batters. But crafty righty ran […]
Why the Cubs Should Target a Struggling Samardzija
Last season, the Cubs reportedly offered Jeff Samardzija a contract extension worth 5 years, $85 million to lock him up long term. It was thought then, by many, that Samardzija was on the verge of becoming an ace and that the Cubs couldn’t let go of the opportunity to get their homegrown guy locked up. […]
Game 74 Recap: Cardinals 4 Cubs 1
Top Play (WPA): Coming into the bottom of the fourth inning, the game was tied at one and Jason Hammel was getting by with erratic stuff. He hadn’t looked quite the same since returning from a lengthy rain delay (one hour and 49 minutes, to be precise) just before the bottom of the second inning. […]
Game 70 Recap: Dodgers 5 Cubs 2
Top Play (WPA): The Cubs came into this game having won four games in a row, beating the Dodgers in the two games that Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke started. So naturally, with a guy that the Dodgers purchased with cash from the Arizona Diamondbacks on the mound, the Cubs would struggle to get runs […]
Game 64 Recap: Cleveland 4 Cubs 3
Top Play (WPA): The Cubs and Indians went into a rain delay with two outs in the top of the fifth inning and the score tied at three apiece. The Cubs had the bases loaded, and looked as though they might be ready to break through on starting pitcher Danny Salazar. When play resumed, however, […]
Game 62 Recap: Cleveland 6 Cubs 0
Top Play (WPA): If we were just talking about the Cubs, I’d say the top play falls either on Kyle Schwarber catching in the top of the ninth or the Blackhawks bringing the Stanley Cup to Wrigley Field. But for a little positivity, we’ll stick with Schwarber and his major-league debut. He first appeared in […]