There are just under 100 games left in the Cubs’ season, and the differences between this year’s team and last year’s team have become more obvious as the remaining number of games dwindles. One evolving aspect that is more difficult to see, however, is the way in which the 2017 Cubs are “versatile” or not. […]
Author: Zack Moser
Breaking Balls Continue to Flummox Cubs
We were served a full plate of narrative heft last fall when the Cubs bested Cleveland in the World Series. As I have relayed elsewhere, there was an abundance of good stories for those who wanted them: the historical angle, of course, but also the return of Kyle Schwarber, the feats of Andrew Miller, the […]
Game 59 Recap: Rockies 4, Cubs 1
What You Need to Know: Jon Lester labored through five innings, giving up some weak contact before a big home run off the bat of former Cub DJ LeMahieu. A solo homer from Kris Bryant in the first and some minor scoring threats in the middle innings couldn’t overcome Rockies starter Tyler Chatwood’s solid performance. […]
Zack’s Sack: A Wrigleyville Mailbag, Vol. 3
“Why are baseball fights bad?” — Jake B. The most plainly bad thing about baseball fights is the outmoded masculine facade that they project. They’re almost always tipped off by someone who perceives a slight where there really isn’t one, or by some McCann-esque jerk who wants to keep professional baseball white and full of […]
Kyle Hendricks: Still Good, I Think
For the first month or so of the season, I felt like I had tabs open on Brooks Baseball for each of the Cubs’ starters just about every day. Deciphering the velocity dips, sifting through the useful data, searching for explanations for general ineffectiveness: it was the obsession of someone who desperately wants something to […]
Zack’s Sack: A Wrigleyville Mailbag, Vol. 2
Welcome to Zack’s Sack, Vol. 2! The best “Vol. 2” to be released in the past month or so, I assure you, and with Kris Bryant instead of Chris Pratt. Please submit your questions—Cubs questions, baseball history questions, or otherwise—to @beersntrumpets on Twitter. Questions posed by Twitter followers are unedited, in the interest of making […]
A Meditation on the Futility of Trade Speculation
One of the worst parts of being involved in baseball fandom and in a baseball writing community is slogging through trade season—both waves of it, in the doldrums of winter and in the dregs of midsummer. It’s joyless and unfeeling, utterly uninterested in analysis or meaningful dissection. Lustful tweets and posts and comments litter our […]
Game 42 Recap: Cubs 13, Brewers 6
What You Need to Know: Ben Zobrist led off the ballgame with a homer, and the Cubs never looked back. Jake Arrieta returned to form with a fine performance. Kris Bryant added two home runs—one pulled, one opposite field—and Anthony Rizzo iced the cake with one of his own on the way to a comfortable […]
Zack’s Sack: A Wrigleyville Mailbag – Vol. 1
Hello, and welcome to the inaugural installment of Zack’s Sack, a BP Wrigleyville mailbag! This will be a weekly feature, and I encourage you to ask me questions about the Cubs, baseball history, Sammy Sosa, and Jake Arrieta’s pitching mechanics. Or anything else that piques your curiosity—I’ll try to answer just about anything. Find me […]
How the Outfield Is to Blame for the Cubs’ Slow Start, or: The Outfield Is Slowly Killing Us All
Sunday night’s marathon game at Wrigley Field offered fans a bevy of interesting, weird, and quirky things to see. The single-game strikeout record fell. The Cubs tied the game in the ninth against Aroldis Chapman. Aaron Hicks lost a Javier Baez home run in the twilit Chicago sky, throwing up his arms in surrender. Oh, […]