Much has been made over the past couple of weeks of the struggles of certain members of the Cubs bullpen (I won’t name names, but one may or may not rhyme with Dayton Snitchard). Now, even though Jared Wyllys has told us that maybe the problem isn’t as bad as some make it out to be, […]
Category: Articles
Young Cubs: Promotion Season Is Upon Us
The last few weeks have been rife with promotions. The most notable, of course, have come at the big-league level, with Albert Almora Jr., Willson Contreras, and Carl Edwards Jr. getting called up to the somewhat short-handed Cubs. But players have been bouncing up levels all across the minors, too, so let’s get caught up […]
Game 74 Recap: Marlins 6 Cubs 1
This series was a reminder that nothing good has ever come out of the existence of the Miami Marlins. Marlins Park is a giant boondoggle that has cost Miami-Dade County over $500 million. It’s a shame because they clearly could have saved a lot of money by not building an upper deck. Jose Fernandez is […]
Game 73 Recap: Marlins 9 Cubs 6
This infuriating game started ominously, with walking periodontal testimonial John Lackey throwing 26 pitches in the first inning and allowing a run to the ageless Ichiro Suzuki on the classic walk/stolen base/single/sac fly combination. The Cubs made us think everyone would be OK as they pulled ahead 4-1 on homers by Miguel Montero and Addison Russell, but they couldn’t […]
Game 72 Recap: Cubs 5 Marlins 4
Ding dong, the Streak is dead. Top Play (WPA): When Willson Contreras stepped to the plate in the top of the seventh inning, the outcome of this game was very much in doubt. Even when the ball left his bat, it wasn’t exactly a sure thing. Heck, even as Giancarlo Stanton charged and gloved the ball, […]
Emerging From the Shadows, Concepcion Shines
The struggles that the Cubs’ Opening Day bullpen have recently endured are still somewhat beneath the surface, as no truly crippling detrimental issues or real red flags have popped yet, but the Cubs organization is still taking no chances. “We’re aware of it,” Cubs GM Jed Hoyer told the media on Monday, and with the […]
Calling For Help From Our Old Friend, Chris Coghlan
When Dexter Fowler shocked the baseball world and returned to the Cubs during Spring Training in late February, it created a glut in the Cubs’ outfield. Jason Heyward was the premier offseason free agent signing, he would start in right field. Jorge Soler and Kyle Schwarber—the hotshot kids—needed regular playing time. Fowler would of course start […]
Game 71 Recap: Marlins 4 Cubs 2
Top Play (WPA): The Cubs got a very strong start from Jon Lester, who pitched seven innings with just two earned runs and seven strikeouts. The bad news? The Cubs were absolutely shut down by Wei-Yin Chen, who had been really bad in his last few starts—a 9.88 ERA in 13.2 innings in his previous […]
Series Preview: Cubs vs. Marlins, June 23-26
If one were to write a book about the first 72 games of Miami’s 2016 season it would likely be titled Slightly Above Average: The Story of the First 72 Games of Miami’s 2016 Season*. Their record is 38-34. Their third-order winning percentage is .509. Their run differential is even. Luckily for the Marlins, though, slightly above average […]
Adam Warren: The Minors Now, the Rotation Later
I was going to use this space to simply lay out a detailed explanation of what’s been off about Adam Warren lately. I had numbers and everything. And then the Cubs announced that he was being sent to Triple-A to stretch out and get ready for a spot start coming up, and suddenly it seemed […]