It seems like every year, at least every year the Cubs are good, and certainly every year that they’ve been better than the Cardinals (sadly not nearly enough), the Cards come to Wrigley and win a series in the middle of the summer that unnecessarily gets the meatball air-raid sirens going. You’ll recall last year […]
Author: Sam Fels
Game 91 Recap: Cubs 8, Orioles 0
Remember when you felt this way all the time? Remember when your baseball team always made you feel that anything was possible and everything was good? You hadn’t forgotten. It wasn’t that long ago. But it certainly got a layer of dust on it this season, waiting to be brought out into the light again. […]
After the Slow Start, Is Quintana Recovering?
This might already be a silly question because Jose Quintana may already have recovered from what was a really wonky start to the season. To wit, Quintana had a 1.09 WHIP and 3.21 FIP in his June starts.. You’ll take that for the rest of the season and feel pretty good about it. Still, that […]
Juiced Baseballs Clouding the Joy in Elevated Home Run Rate
At this point, it’s accepted that there’s something up with the baseballs that are being used by Major League Baseball this season. We see home run totals on record paces, seemingly every pitcher’s HR/FB rate is up, and pitchers are basically telling us they’re throwing Slazengers and can’t get quite the feel they used to. And […]
Game 88 Recap: Pirates 14, Cubs 3
What You Need To Know: Mike Montgomery, stepping up when his team needed him for an emergency start with only two days rest, gave the Cubs all he could in three innings of work before the pen only gave up two runs over the final six innings as the Cubs’ rally just fell short in a […]
Game 85 Recap: Brewers 11, Cubs 2
What You Need To Know: Well, “need” would be a funny word choice for this one. The Cubs got stomped. Mike Montgomery didn’t have anything. Couldn’t locate his curve, hitters sat on the fastball and pretty much streaked it so hard the spray chart would have looked something like a Jackson Pollock painting. Jack Leathersich…or Seatherlich, […]
Could Colonel Happ Be Superior To The Judge?
If you’re having flashbacks to the climactic scene in A Few Good Men, I get you. (And full disclosure, you won’t understand calling Ian Happ “The Colonel” if you’re not an insane Simpsons fan, and even then you might struggle. Anyway, Colonel Leslie “Happ” Hapablap, from the Air Show episode). Usually, I think comparing two players […]
Game 71 Recap: Padres 3, Cubs 2
What You Need To Know: Once again, the Cubs offense went Copperfield against a pitcher you were sure was straight out of the EA Sports Name Generator. This time it was a collection of whosits and whatnots, with Miguel Diaz exiting in the 3rd with an arm injury, followed by Craig Stammen (yes, still in the league), […]
Game 65 Recap: Mets 9, Cubs 4
What You Need To Know: The Cubs offense looked good… for three innings. Matt Harvey had absolutely nothing, and Rizzo on the game’s first pitch, Happ on the next AB, and then The War Bear with a bomb that landed somewhere near Arthur Ashe Stadium gave the Cubs four runs in the first three innings. You […]
Game 60 Recap: Rockies 5, Cubs 3
What You Need To Know: The Cubs offense once again sputtered, wheezed, coughed, stumbled, gagged, choked its way into high-leverage situations. But much like a high school boy trying to ask his dream girl to the prom, when the moment of truth came they emitted barely a squeak, got a silly look on their face, and […]