Jake Arrieta just threw his second no-hitter in his last 11 starts. There are tons of implications and storylines here, and we’ll have them covered very soon, but for now, let’s recap what was an amazing night in Cincinnati. Top Play (WPA): In a stark contrast to the last time Brandon Finnegan started against the […]
Category: Articles
Series Preview: Cincinnati Reds, April 21-24
The Cincinnati Reds began their 2016 season with a bit of a bang. They swept their first series (though it was against the ill-fated Phillies) of the season, before coming to Wrigley Field to face the Chicago Cubs just a week and a half ago, with an unexpected 5-1 record still in hand. However, the […]
Game 15 Recap: Cardinals 5 Cubs 3
A long rain delay and a teaser of an eighth-inning rally couldn’t undo the damage of a rocky start for Kyle Hendricks and an offense that had their getaway day shoes on. Top Play: In the Cardinals’ half of the first inning, after a Stephen Piscotty grounder that eluded Tommy La Stella at third base and […]
You Go, We Go: How Dexter Fowler Is Helping Set the Tone For The Cubs’ Brilliant Start
It’s not news to say that this Cubs’ lineup is extremely disciplined. In fact, some even believe that this could be the most disciplined lineup ever. Even if you don’t agree with that bold of a statement, it’s hard to deny the facts. Though the season is still in its infancy, the new-look Cubs are seeing an average of 3.97 […]
How Good Could Kyle Hendricks Be?
About a year ago, my wife became pregnant with our second child, and decided she wanted to start drinking only decaf coffee. So we bought one of those fancy Keurig machines to replace our plain old coffee pot. By this point I had fine tuned that cheap, plasticky pot to brew the perfect cup of […]
Game 14 Recap: Cubs 2 Cardinals 1
Top Play (WPA): The Cubs just couldn’t crack Jaime Garcia tonight. He had his changeup working and when he kept it down in the zone (or in the dirt), Cubs hitters just couldn’t do anything with it. But in the 4th inning after a Jorge Soler walk, Ben Zobrist and Miguel Montero strung together a couple […]
Why Aren’t the Cubs Following Their Preseason Plan for Pitchers?
The Chicago Cubs’ starting pitching has been phenomenal over the first two weeks of the 2016 season. There’s really nothing but good news. Entering Monday, no team had matched the Cubs’ 11 Quality Starts, and only the Nationals rotation had a higher average Game Score. By a narrow margin, the club led the league in […]
Pitching Progress: An Effort in Finding Incremental Gains, Vol. II
Last week, I noted that my favorite thing about baseball was that it reminded me of a living, breathing and dependable dog. This week, my favorite truism regarding the game is that even though the results are the same—as in, the Cubs went 4-1 during the second turn through the rotation, equaling the success of the first—the […]
Game 13 Recap: Cubs 5 Cardinals 0
Before tonight’s game, MLB.com’s Cardinals reporter Jenifer Langosch tweeted out: “#STLCards shut off music as #Cubs take BP and have their rolling NL Central title banners from 2013, 2014 and 2015 on the jumbotron. #subtle“ So to recap: the Cardinals responded to their reputation as baseball’s Fun Police by literally turning their stadium into the […]
Series Preview: St. Louis Cardinals, April 18-20
It was a disappointing weekend on the North Side, as the Cubs dropped two of three to the lowly Rockies, replete with a shutout Sunday and a lonely run scored on Friday. The good news: the starting pitching has been sterling. The Cardinals are on the docket this week, with as much tension and excitement […]