It’s the finale between the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres. Something, something, Anchorman quote. Top Play (WPA): In the top of the first inning against Padres right-handed starter Paul Clemens—apparently no relation to Roger Clemens—the Cubs got themselves on the board quickly. Dexter Fowler led off the game with a double to the right […]
Category: Articles
Game 125 Recap: Cubs 5 Padres 3
Jake Arrieta pitched eight scoreless innings Tuesday night, as the Cubs defeated the Padres 5-3. I lead with this because it’s impressive, of course, but also as a simple reminder that it happened, because for much of this second game in San Diego, Arrieta’s gem was overshadowed by his teammates’ other feats on the diamond. […]
With Bryant, the Proof Is in the Swing Plane
Here we are, August 23: the Dog Days, the Stretch Run, the days of Magic Numbers and Playing out the String. If you squint, you can see the final strains of the regular season, shrouded in fall freshness and early darkness. The end is nigh; we’ll begin to look upon who did what, and how, […]
Dexter Fowler Keeps Rolling Along
When this era of success at Wrigley Field comes to an end, and sportswriters are writing their farewell pieces and reminiscing about the memorable moments, there’s a good chance that player development and the pipeline of young talent that Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer, Jason McLeod have built will be central to the overall storyline. And […]
Addison Russell Leaving ‘Em Fuzzy
Addison Russell has really come on lately, which has to leave Cubs fans with an extra fuzzy feeling. The 22-year-old shortstop is most prominently known for his excellent defense in the field, so the fact that he has 18 home runs and an above league average OPS at .767 is all just bonus points. With […]
Game 124 Recap: Cubs 5, Padres 1
Monday’s game against the Padres pitted the Cubs against old friend Edwin Jackson, and his outing felt familiar to Cubs fans who watched those dreadful 2013 and 2014 seasons. Predictably, the red-hot Addison Russell hit a home run, University of San Diego product Kris Bryant hit a home run, and Jason Heyward hit a home […]
In Moment of Need, Montgomery Shines
Things look a little different now than they might have earlier, with John Lackey out. There’s no more Adam Warren to fall back on, Trevor Cahill has been used for extended outings quite a lot of late, and Travis Wood has been beat up a bit after shouldering an extensive workload. If you don’t think too […]
Series Preview: Cubs at Padres, August 22-24
This is the second leg of a three part road trip out west, and the hardest part of the trip is probably the series that comes after this one. The Cubs and Padres last faced each other in the second week of May at Wrigley, and it proved to be a surprisingly challenging series for the […]
Game 123 Recap: Rockies 11 Cubs 4
Whoof. Let’s keep this quick, shall we? If there’s any mercy in the Cubs’ ugly loss today, it’s that it didn’t drag out. This wasn’t Friday night’s/Saturday morning’s grueling, rain delayed, 11-inning loss, where if you stayed up for six and a half hours after the scheduled start, you were rewarded with a heartbreaking, last-minute […]
Game 122 Recap: Cubs 9 Rockies 2
After last night’s travesty of a game ending, tonight’s Coors Field matchup served as a good palate cleanser. Mike Montgomery shined in his first Cubs start, Trevor Cahill followed with stellar relief work, and the Cubs hitting machine was on display versus a pitcher making his major-league debut. Oh, and since WPA wasn’t available upon game’s […]