Life—regardless of your age, race, gender, or socioeconomic status—is full of uncertainties. It’s these unknowns awaiting you that make life both exciting and terrifying, often in equal measure. Other than serving as a long-winded intro for a writer in the throes of a bloc, it is my way of assuring you in the midst of […]
Category: Articles
The Benefits of Bryzzo: Kris’s Contact
For the better part of the past year, the Cubs have been playing up the friendship between Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant to the fullest extent possible. In the team’s eyes, the two of them are not just All Star-caliber teammates, but also the key players in MLB’s most compelling bromance. They have become “Bryzzo,” a name […]
Nothing Like a Cubs Fan: Acronym Soup and Fan Psychology
Is it April yet? For fans who spend the bulk of the Daylight Savings months consumed by baseball and the significant commitment its 162-game season demands, the offseason often brings with it a substantial sense of loss. To fill the void, some reflect on the accomplishments and what-might-have-beens of the season past, while others look ahead with eager […]
With Wrigley All-Star Game on Horizon, A Look Back
It’s been a lifetime since the Cubs have hosted an All-Star Game at Wrigley Field. No, literally—I’m a ripe old 24, and this season marks 26 since the light standards shone down on Sandberg, Dawson, and their All-Star peers in July of 1990. That drought will reach 28 years by the time the Cubs can […]
Travis Wood: Trustworthy Bullpen Linchpin, or Flash in the Bullpen Pan?
Last season, an emergent Travis Wood played a huge role in the Cubs’ mid-season bullpen revival. A unit that staggered out of the gate turned into one of the league’s best for (most of) the rest of the season, and one of the key turning points was Wood’s demotion into a relief role in mid-May. […]
Cactus Catchup: Smokeless(less) in Chicago
Some of the luster of spring training starts to wear off at this point, I think. The initial excitement of the first games is two weeks behind us, and the two weeks until Opening Day can seem long. Eno Sarris actually speculated recently that spring training might be too long, but for now we still have […]
What’s Left For Arismendy Alcantara?
We live in a great time to be a Cubs position prospect that doesn’t live up to expectations. Rare a beast as that is these days, there’s so much talent on the Major League team that no one much notices that you’ve failed to meet the lofty projections and envious comps from once-optimistic scouting reports. Your […]
Eddy Julio Martinez: International Man of Mystery
When Baseball America released their Top Ten Prospects list for the Cubs organization back in November, Eddy Julio Martinez didn’t feature anywhere. When Fangraphs followed up with their list in January, he didn’t show up in the top ten there, either. John Sickels over at Minor League Ball kept the shutout going when he released his top twenty list in January, and MLB.com put […]
A Quick Reminder: Kyle Hendricks is Good
After a tumultuous and exciting offseason, the Cubs are in many ways different than they were in October of last year. They have a new right fielder and a new second baseman, each of whom is a clear improvement over last year’s team. The Cubs also have newfound starting pitching depth that we here at […]
The Jake Arrieta Extension Talks, and Why Both Parties are Right
I’ll admit this: last Tuesday, upon seeing the cascade of tweets on my timeline regarding the Cubs and Jake Arrieta failing to reach an agreement on a contract extension, I scoffed a little bit. “How could the Cubs afford to be so cavalier about extending a talent like Arrieta?” Of course, this was an irrational, […]