It shouldn’t be lost in the moral quagmire of the Aroldis Chapman trade that now-ousted closer Hector Rondon has shown admirable grace in light of his changed role in the Cubs bullpen. The questions raised about what bringing Chapman to Chicago means beyond just on the field performance have been addressed across the internet, by […]
Category: Articles
Game 99 Recap: White Sox 3 Cubs 0
In the course of a 162-game season, there are nights remembered for dynamic individual performance (three home runs, a no-hitter, etc.) and remarkable team efforts (a miraculous a late-inning comeback). These are the nights that we reflect upon for years, reminiscing about the feats that played out before us, and hanging to these brilliant moments that […]
Transaction Analysis: What Should We Make of Aroldis Chapman?
The following transaction analysis, written in part by BP Wrigleyville’s Editor-in-Chief Rian Watt, first appeared, in whole, over at the main site. We trust you’ll enjoy reading a portion of it here. “How can one evaluate such an idiosyncratic president, so brilliant and so morally lacking?” — Historian James MacGregor Burns, on Richard Nixon Aroldis […]
Hammer Time’s Not So Bad
Watching major sporting events with my wife is great fun. Whether it’s the Super Bowl or the World Series, it always ends the same way. When the cameras inevitably pan to the losers, she gets visibly upset and says something like, “Awww, poor guys. That’s so sad that they had to lose.” And then I […]
Game 98 Recap: White Sox 5 Cubs 4
The White Sox walked it off in this heartbreaker, but it wasn’t all bad news for the North Siders. Top Play (WPA): As close as this game was until the very end, the Cubs never once held a lead. Their most valuable play, naturally, was that which afforded them a tantalizing tie in the ninth. And where […]
Series Preview: Cubs and White Sox, July 25-28
This is the weird new version of the interleague rivalry series that unfolds whenever teams are playing some division other than their direct counterpart in interleague play that year. As such, the Cubs and White Sox will play four consecutive games this week, but split them between their two home parks. Accordingly, each side will […]
Grounded: A Close Look at Jason Heyward’s Disappointing 2016 at the Plate
My first exposure to Jason Heyward came, as it did for many Cubs fans, in the first at-bat of his career—a home run off of then-Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano. At the time, I remember being rather disappointed with the event itself (Zambrano’s final line for that game: 1 1/3 innings pitched, six hits, and eight earned […]
Game 97 Recap: Cubs 6 Brewers 5
I had high expectations for today’s game. Before this season, Jon Lester versus Junior Guerra wouldn’t have sounded like anything to look forward to; I’m not really sure what it would have sounded like, since Junior Guerra was not a name I knew. But in 2016, however, the two pitchers have been remarkably similar, and both quite […]
Game 96 Recap: Brewer 6 Cubs 1
Let’s face it. This is the B Story in Windy City sports right now. Because both Chicago baseball teams were scheduled to start pitchers from Texas tonight. And John Lackey turned out to be the rational one. Chris Sale is what happens when Edna Mode from The Incredibles crosses over to the Dark Side. But […]
Game 95 Recap: Cubs 5 Brewers 2
Let’s talk about Dex, baby. Top play (WPA): Dexter Fowler stepped in for his second at-bat of the game with the bases loaded and nobody out. He took four consecutive pitches, three of them for balls, before striking on pitch number five—lining a double the opposite way into the left-field corner (+0.110). The Cubs would […]