This piece, by BP Wrigleyville’s Editor-in-Chief Sahadev Sharma, first appeared at the Baseball Prospectus main site and is exclusively available to BP subscribers. We’ve posted a sneak preview here. Let’s be clear: I don’t believe in second-guessing managers. I spend a lot of time around clubhouses during the season, and one of the many things I’ve […]
Author: Sahadev Sharma
Playoff Prospectus: NLDS Preview—Cubs vs. Cardinals ($)
This piece, by BP Wrigleyville’s Editor-in-Chief Sahadev Sharma, first appeared at the Baseball Prospectus main site and is exclusively available to BP subscribers. We’ve posted a sneak preview here. The Cubs knocked Pirates ace Gerrit Cole out of the Wild Card game after just five innings, while their own dominating ace did what he’s done for […]
Game Recap, NL Wild Card: Cubs 4 Pirates 0
Top Play (WPA): Kyle Schwarber had the top two plays of the game, with his two-run bomb into the river (.178) in the third inning taking the top spot. “It felt good coming off the bat, once I hit it I knew I had it,” Schwarber said. Yup, anyone who was watching knew that one was […]
Playoff Prospectus: Cubs vs. Pirates ($)
This piece, by BP Wrigleyville’s Editor-in-Chief Sahadev Sharma, first appeared at the Baseball Prospectus main site and is exclusively available to BP subscribers. We’ve posted a sneak preview here. By winning their final eight games, the Cubs put some pressure on the Pirates in the final week of the season. But Pittsburgh did what they […]
Maddon Reaches into the Unknown as Arrieta Reaches New Heights
If you are even on the periphery of Cubs fandom at the moment, there’s a good chance you’re aware that Jake Arrieta is having an absolutely brilliant season on the mound. I don’t really need to go over the numbers yet another time, but here’s the deal: he’s good. But I don’t want to talk […]
Even in Dark Times, the Cubs See Light
Oftentimes, it’s hard to really pinpoint when a team became great, that moment when the players, the fans, basically anyone following the team accepted the team isn’t just pretending, they legitimately are good. But for the 2015, it’s hard to deny when that stretch came. Kris Bryant certainly didn’t hesitate. “I think in early August […]
Game 150 Recap: Cubs 9 Brewers 5
Top Play (WPA): Back on August 12th, Jason Hammel and the Cubs were clinging to a one-run lead against the Brewers. With two down and a man on base in the sixth, Adam Lind stepped to the plate getting ready to face Hammel, but Maddon came out and removed his veteran righty in favor of southpaw […]
Schwarber and the High Heat
Sometimes you just need to take a moment and admire your own work. It’s something Kyle Schwarber has been known to do early in his career, and he did so on Tuesday night when he watched his two-run shot in the seventh inning leave the yard as he gave his team a 5-4 lead. “It’s […]
Jake Arrieta Arrives on National Scene With Higher Mountains on Horizon
There was a time when Jake Arrieta was our little secret. People like you who watch the Cubs even when they’re heading for another lost season, and people like myself who cover this team for a living—many of us saw that something special was brewing with Arrieta last season. We were Arrieta hipsters. But on […]
Surging Kris Bryant Making the Most of His Opportunities
When I last wrote about Kris Bryant, he was coming off the worst month of his short career (a July in which he posted an OPS of .639) and was adjusting to many things about his new environment, including the low strike (which he told me about for that most-recent piece). However, things have shifted quickly, […]