USATSI_10149323_168382903_lowres

Game 86 Recap: Cubs 6, Pirates 1

What You Need to Know: A sluggish, interminable, sloppy game somehow culminated in a Cubs victory. Eddie Butler escaped three separate jams in four full innings before departing in the fifth, and the Cubs failed to score on several good chances early on, but a Kris Bryant triple and Anthony Rizzo home run sealed the […]

USATSI_10141047_168382903_lowres

A Meditiation on the Futility of Trade Speculation, Redux: Speculating Futilely

Ian Happ is good, and the Cubs are… kind of bad. The Cubs’ status quo as of the beginning of July is frustrating, and the rest-of-season prognosis is troubling, and possibly bleak. Between injuries to Kyle Hendricks, Jason Heyward, and Ben Zobrist; poor pitching from John Lackey and uneven pitching from the rest of the […]

USATSI_10130742_168382903_lowres

Game 75 Recap: Marlins 4, Cubs 2

What You Need to Know: Several times, the Cubs threatened to hang a crooked number on Edinson Volquez and the Marlins, but each time they came up short. The Fish jumped on Mike Montgomery for three runs in the first, hammering line drives all over the field, before Montgomery settled in and delivered five more […]

19243686_10155285004301542_768854472_o

Zack’s Sack: A Wrigleyville Mailbag, Vol. 5

Welcome to this week’s edition of Zack’s Sack! We’ve got some fun questions this week, so let’s get right to it. And, as always, please submit your questions to me at @beersntrumpets on Twitter. As you’ll see, I’ll answer most anything. “Which Cubs would have the most interesting conversation with Socrates, were he alive today?” […]

USATSI_10115143_168382903_lowres

The Legacy of the Leland Giants

During the first decade of the 20th century, Chicago boasted a robust city baseball league. Chicago had harbored an intra-city league in the waning years of the 19th century, but the league had disbanded by 1895. Re-forming a few years after some of the best teams absconded for the greener financial pastures of independent barnstorming, […]

USATSI_10119566_168382903_lowres

Game 68 Recap: Cubs 7, Pirates 1

What You Need to Know: The Cubs steal away from Pittsburgh with a series victory, thanks to a rare strong outing from John Lackey and timely hits from Willson Contreras and Anthony Rizzo. Contreras doubled twice to drive in three runs, and Rizzo continued his tear at the plate, adding a two-run homer. Next Level: […]

19243686_10155285004301542_768854472_o

Zack’s Sack: A Wrigleyville Mailbag, Vol. 4

Hello, and welcome to the fourth installment of Zack’s Sack, a BP Wrigleyville mailbag! It’s an extra hefty edition this week. Find me at @beersntrumpets on Twitter to ask me questions. I’ll answer just about anything. Questions posed by Twitter followers have been unedited for the sake of embarrassing them utterly. Any similarities to other […]