Feels good, huh? Extra-inning games—like the one the Cubs won last night—are fun to return to, in heady delight, the morning after, and certainly a thrill in the moment of their denouements, but they can be a bit of an emotional drain as they’re experienced. At a certain point, you just want to get to bed. Which […]
Category: Articles
Jon Lester and the Evolution of DIPS
It’s been thirteen years since Moneyball was published and the term “sabermetrics” was added to the public vernacular. While Moneyball itself was not the cause of the modern baseball analytical revolution that began in the late 1990’s and continues today, it’s undeniable that it’s popularity and platform allowed for the ideas of the sabermetric community […]
Game 130 Recap: Cubs 8 Pirates 7 (13)
Given all the feel-good stories the 2016 Cubs have provided and the up-and-coming studs that populate most of the roster, it’s been easy to gloss over the guy whose baseball career is trending the wrong way. Last year, Miguel Montero was one of the veterans who helped elevate a young Cubs’ clubhouse, providing value behind the plate […]
Greatness in August: The Banality of Brilliance
Before this season began, I wrote a piece about what a weird sensation it was to go into a new year with optimism that was based upon legitimate evidence. The Cubs have since supported that positivity in an unfamiliar way by repeatedly demonstrating that this preseason optimism may have actually undersold how good they were. […]
Series Preview: Cubs vs. Pirates, Aug. 29-31
Earlier in the season, writing the Pirates out of the playoff picture probably would have been a safe bet. Not a sure thing, but especially when they sold off their closer at the deadline, things did not appear as if Pittsburgh would be getting even their usual one-and-done playoff appearance. But that’s part of the […]
GAME 129 RECAP: DODGERS 1 CUBS 0
There’s a last time for everything, so they say. On Sunday afternoon, the legendary Vin Scully called his final Cubs game in his 67-year career, even taking over the Cubs broadcast for the entire third inning. There’s a first time for everything, so they say. Dodgers starter Brock Stewart recorded his first big league hit […]
Game 127 Recap: Cubs 6 Dodgers 4 (10)
Kris Bryant did it again Friday night, homering in the tenth inning to lift the Cubs over the Dodgers 6-4 in Los Angeles. Most of the natural spotlight here falls upon the high-action late frames leading up to and including the deciding blast: Bryant’s first homer of the night in the eighth pulled the Cubs […]
Jake Arrieta in 2016 Is Just Being Human
Everyone admits it. 2015 on the North side of Chicago was special, in a way 2016 won’t ever be able to match. After a first half in which the Cubs saw their future suddenly become their reality on the field each night, they simultaneously experienced the emergence of their new ace, Jake Arrieta. In 2015, […]
Series Preview: Cubs vs. Dodgers, August 26-28
The last time the Cubs found themselves in Chavez Ravine, this transpired… Which, of course, is the second greatest moment Cubs moment in Dodgers Stadium after this… When the Cubs hit the West Coast starting Friday night, it will be light on the Arrieta and Rowengartner, but it will feature two of the best teams […]
Cubs’ Unlikely Duo Dishing Up the Fun
“Don’t ever permit the pressure to exceed the pleasure.” It’s a famous Maddon-ism designed to keep players loose. With their 17-4 record this month and a cushy division lead, the boys in blue don’t seem to need the reminder. But some fans out there (you know who you are), definitely do. The dog days aren’t […]