“You kinda know going into the season that not everyone is going to perform as well as you hoped. It’s a lot of guys to expect them to perform at the level they were previously at; you can have injuries or poor performance, and so you kinda know that it might be an area you have to […]
Category: Articles
Game 110 Recap: Cubs 3 Athletics 1
Like a wasted youth that is recaptured later in life and made up for, the Cubs let several chances go by them in the first half of today’s game, only to ultimately push across three runs and complete their tenth sweep of the season. They won almost with a yawn and a dismissive flip of […]
Game 109 Recap: Cubs 4 Athletics 0
If the second half of Jake Arrieta’s 2015 season was a prolonged look at what the near-perfect pitcher might look like, this afternoon’s game was a throwback in more than just the uniforms. Today, Arrieta gave an eight inning glimpse at the kind of work he did on the mound at about this time a […]
Game 108 Recap: Cubs 7 Athletics 2
In the beginning of his career, a practically teenage Mike Tyson made a practice of dispensing with his opponents so quickly that the ringside luminaries could barely settle into their seats before the fight was already over. Tonight, it was a first inning lead-off home run, pair of singles, and a Jorge Soler three-run shot that ended […]
Not Your Average Fans: The Curse of Caring
In the preseason optimism of early spring, I wrote an homage to Cubs fans and their legendary loyalty. I explored how psychologists define and explain such unwavering affiliation and how Cubs’ PR efforts have been carefully crafting this relationship for decades. It was lighthearted and positive (what else on the cusp of a new year […]
Ranking Russell Over Bryant: Midseason Update
We’ve now all seen enough of Kris Bryant and Addison Russell to understand just how special they are individually. To have them playing at the same time, on the same team, on the same side of one infield is a tremendous blessing; one we shouldn’t take for granted, as we may never see a left-side combination […]
Series Preview: Cubs at Athletics, August 5–7
The Cubs travel to Oakland for a three-game series against the A’s this weekend, a match-up that’s more than tempting to frame as a battle of high-profile front office execs. Or, if not a battle—given the disparate states of these two franchises—at least a meditation on the paths of two of the game’s biggest movers. For […]
Javier Baez, Refined
The prospect of some positional comfort going into his mid-30s, after years of being moved all over the diamond, helped lure Ben Zobrist to the Cubs this past offseason. He had been promised the starting second base job and a reunion with his old skipper, a situation in which he was poised to succeed, but […]
Playing the Long Game: Joe Maddon and Jason Heyward
Baseball’s 162-game season can sometimes make individual games feel weightier than they actually are, and the struggles of a single player look greater and feel more frustrating than they probably should. Baseball should be as much about stepping back and seeing the forest as a whole as it is picking through the minutiae of splits […]
Game 107 Recap: Cubs 5 Marlins 4
Well, that’s one way to end a homestand… #ComebackCubshttps://t.co/nktAVYDUlv — Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 3, 2016 Trailing by two runs entering the final frame, the Cubs mounted a furious three-run ninth inning rally, propelling them past the Marlins, 5-4. The win finished off the three-game sweep of the Fish, and send the Cubs to the Bay […]