What You Need To Know: This one stings not because of what was lost but also because of would could have been gained. In a game where Craig Counsell and his Brewers were clearly going all in to win, the Cubs had reached into their chest and grabbed their heart with Rizzo’s homer off Josh Hader. […]
Category: Articles
How Not To Boycott A Commissioner: Kenesaw Landis and the 1922 Labor Movement
Following the revitalization of its economy from increased manufacturing due to World War I, America entered an era defined by labor crises. Big business sought to push back on the labor unions that had grown in strength in the 1910s, prompting a nationwide labor strike of over four million workers in 1919. Unfortunately, the magnitude […]
Game 136 Recap: Cubs 8, Phillies 1
What You Need To Know: The Cubs were mostly helpless against Aaron Nola, who is one of the league’s best. They struck out 11 times in five innings plus two outs. But when they weren’t flailing away, they made it count, with three solo homers and a triple from Kyle Schwarber to scratch across four runs. […]
Game 134 Recap: Phillies 2, Cubs 1
What You Need To Know: Jose Quintana had his best start in some time, but it went for naught as the Pennsylvania fog continued to linger over the Cubs, who yet again had just a solo homer to show for the offensive efforts. But I guess if you’ve been to Pennsylvania, you understand. Justin Wilson and […]
When Lester’s Arm Goes Up, Your Bat Goes Shut
Since the arrival of Cole Hamels, the consternation levels about Jon Lester have gone down. Maybe it’s out of pure shock/ecstasy over what Hamels has done. Maybe it’s the hope, still not the expectation yet, that the Cubs might have the one ace in their playoff rotation it’s generally thought you need. Of course, it’s […]
Game 133 Recap: Cubs 5, Braves 4
Let the record show that Mike Montgomery began tonight’s game by not hitting Ronald Acuña, Jr. in the elbow with his first pitch. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t nominate such a thing for Top Play of the game. But if we normalize Win Probability Added for “Absence of Douchebaggery” (measured by sabermetricians in “Anti-Ureñas”), we find that […]
Hamels Is Waiting For Vizzini
I should put a disclaimer at the top of this, because if you’ve followed me either here or at my hockey wing for any length of time you know the “Fels M*therf*ck” is a real thing. It’s already sort of worked, as I wasn’t a fan of Hamels trade when it happened, and he’s been […]
Games 131 and 132 Recap: Cubs 2, Mets 1 & Mets 10, Cubs 3
What You Need To Know: They were able to finish last night’s game after it was halted due God’s revenge on Noah, and after everyone got a little stretched out, scratched various places, and a good yawn, the Cubs scratched across the winning run on a Ben Zobrist single after the Mets definitely went METS. The […]
Javy Báez’s Plate Discipline Doesn’t Matter Anymore
Because of the way he plays the game, Javier Báez is always going to be polarizing. Whether or not that’s justified is a story for another day. Even those who love and praise him, though, have always managed to find their own divisive issue surrounding the Cubs’ star: his plate discipline. Javy’s discipline, or extreme […]
Ronald Reagan’s Losing Role in “The Winning Team”
Ronald Reagan’s career in entertainment began, in part, due to his love of baseball. In the 1930s, he worked for WHO Des Moines, “re-creating” Chicago Cubs games: a wire operator sent him code from Wrigley which he then narrated to his audience, often filling in fictional details when the code was sparse. In the spring […]