Being something resembling a serious analyst essentially requires an immediate surrendering of your “fan card.” It is for good reason, as fans tend to see things through their own biased lenses, failing to care about rational analysis during emotional moments. At BP Wrigleyville, the majority—but not the entirety—of the staff are Cubs fans. We aren’t […]
Category: Articles
Chicken or the Egg: Why It’s Hard to Separate the Cubs’ Pitching from Its Defense
Growing up in the Chicagoland area in the mid 1990’s, it was impossible to escape the shadow of the Chicago Bulls. Each summer seemingly brought a new championship to the city complete with a parade that usually culminated with someone like Steve Kerr making wise cracks at Grant Park. Since Space Jam holds a special place in […]
Series Preview: Cubs vs Cardinals, September 23-25
The search for meaning in the meaningless. It is the human condition and the fate that observers of this Cubs team have found themselves in for weeks. Now the Cubs playing a meaningless final series against the Cardinals in September is hardly unfamiliar, but the only drama for the Cubs being the chance to win […]
It’s Past Time To Talk About Jason Heyward
In the beginning, the defense goes “It’s just April. It’s chilly. He’ll pick up when the weather warms up.” In June, it becomes “It’s still early in the season. He’s adjusting.” But when the season approaches the 152 games played mark, as it did on the North Side this past Wednesday evening, the sentiment becomes […]
Game 152 Recap: Cubs 9 Reds 2
The Cubs run differential has been an oft-discussed topic, and rightfully so with it sitting at a whooping +239. It feels like half of those runs have come against the Reds. It was going to be a tough year for the Reds, and the Cubs have certainly done their part to make sure that was […]
Rattle Rattle Thunder Clatter: Jake Arrieta’s Mechanics Need a Tune-up
It’s easy to get rosy-eyed when talking about Jake Arrieta. His devotion to his craft, his classically sculpted body, his majestically hirsute chin, his adorable kid, and his damn good numbers: all are qualities that inspire writers to snag the purplest of pens and analogize Arrieta to, say, an obscure poet or a 19th-century frontiersman. Arrieta’s […]
Jake Arrieta, Number Three Starter?
Cubs fans should be well-versed in the idea of cognitive reframing, even if they don’t know to call it that. It’s the need to find positive alternatives to negative experiences, and for Cubs fans, that’s a need that creeps up with regularity. This idea gets its name from a psychological practice developed in the 1960s […]
Game 151 Recap: Cubs 6 Reds 1
It was Social Media Night at Wrigley Field, and the Cubs came away with a clean victory against the Reds behind another gem from Jon Lester. The lefty shined, the Cubs came through with timely hits against what amounted to the lion’s share of the Reds bullpen, and one of BP Wrigleyville’s own made known […]
Game 150 Recap: Cubs 5 Reds 2
There’s a scene in the 1990 movie Awakenings when Robert De Niro’s character stands outside for the first time after decades in a catatonic state. He looks around with a sort of bewildered smile and remarks, “What a beautiful place the Bronx has turned out to be.” He says it almost like it’s caught him off […]
Series Preview: Cubs vs. Reds, September 19-21
With the strange weekend series against the Brewers behind them, the Cubs stay at Wrigley to face the other team holding up the bottom of the NL Central standings. The past series was one of tempered celebration — both because winning the division has felt like an expected inevitability and step in the process toward […]