Top Play (WPA): This section is less than exciting tonight. The Cubs’ top play of the night was Denard Span’s short fly out to right with one out and a man on third in the fifth (+.060). More on that inning in a second. Tonight’s top offensive play for the Cubs was equally uninspiring: a two-out, eighth inning […]
Category: Articles
Game 41 Recap: Giants 5 Cubs 3
Almost, but just not enough tonight. Top Play (WPA): No surprise, but the third inning that featured both Kris Bryant’s deep shot to center and the Ben Zobrist single the preceded a Jorge Soler walk increased the Cubs’ win expectancy the most. After Soler walked, the Cubs win expectancy sat at 36.5%, which was the highest […]
Quick Hits: Jason Heyward is OK
About ten minutes to six, I felt a slight breeze in the whiskers that grace my upper lip: the collective sigh of Cubs fans, the response to the news that Jason Heyward would miss only three to five days from his Friday night collision with the AT&T Park wall. His Saturday MRI showed a bruise […]
Game 40 Recap: Cubs 8 Giants 1
So much news. If only it was all good… Top Play (WPA): The Cubs’ big inning came early when they shelled Jake Peavy for a five spot in the second. Consecutive singles from Soler and Montero had the Cubs in business with no outs. Baez nearly legged out a bunt hit, but had to settle for […]
Baby, It’s Cold Outside: Cubs Struggle in Wintry Weather
Until a bit of a lull the last few games, the Cubs haven’t had a problem scoring runs this season. They’ve scored them every way you can imagine—patient at-bats, getting on base, hitting home runs, stealing the occasional bag, and so on. The Cubs work starting pitchers so hard, with only a handful of pitchers […]
Series Preview: Cubs at Giants, May 20-22
If the City of San Francisco can survive the waking nightmare that was Fuller House, the Cubs should feel confident they can survive losing two out of three to the Milwaukee Brewers. Perhaps they can take solace in this fact as they touch down in the City by the Bay for the only time in 2016. While […]
Game 39 Recap: Brewers 5 Cubs 3
Top Play (WPA): In the culmination of a frustrating series for the Cubs (frustrating for both teams, really), the Cubs’ top play came on the second pitch of the game. Before the sizable crowd of Cubs fans settled into their Miller Park seats, Dexter Fowler sent a rocket into the right-field bleachers off of Junior […]
World Series Shuffle? Not Yet, But Comparisons to Chicago Legends Begin to Appear
Editor’s note: Sometimes people just appear in your inbox. Such was the case with Martin Johnson, who’s best known as a jazz critic for the Wall Street Journal and a general feature writer at The Root. He’s also written about sports here and there, most notably at The Root and at Slate. Anyway, when he asked if we’d like to run […]
What Does The Cubs’ Hot April Mean for October?
“I think the 100 thing, at some point in my career, would be cool to be part of, but it doesn’t mean you’re going to win the World Series. I’d rather us just play good baseball, and at the end of the year if we win 100, we win 100. Great. But if we don’t […]
Game 38 Recap: Cubs 2 Brewers 1 (13 Innings)
The Cubs’ offense is mired in their worst slump since the NLCS, allowing themselves to be lured out of their approach at some points, executing poorly on hitter’s pitches in hitter’s counts at others, and making hard contact that goes tragically unrewarded at still others. That’s why it took them until the top of the […]