Once Joe Maddon takes his perch at the edge of the dugout on Opening Day 2019, he will become the first Cubs skipper to manage five consecutive years with the team since Jim Riggleman (1995-99). That fact is at once astonishing for what it reveals about the franchise’s ineptitude and yet not surprising at all […]
Category: Articles
2019 Player Profile: David Bote
Positions(s): Second base, third base, and pinch hitter extraordinaire 2018 Stats: 210 PAs, .239/.319/.408, 17 XBH, 6 HR, .269 TAv, 1.8 FRAA, 0.9 WARP Year in Review: When Cubs position players reported to Mesa for 2018 Spring Training, David Bote was a nobody. No one outside his family and friends knew how to correctly pronounce his last […]
Player Profile 2019: José Quintana
When the Cubs acquired José Quintana from the White Sox in July of 2017, the narrative Quintana carried was his consistency. Overshadowed by Chris Sale and saddled with a going-nowhere franchise, Quintana was undervalued, underappreciated, and (maybe most importantly for his trade value) underpaid. He was the guy about whom articles with titles like, “Is […]
2019 Player Profile: Duane Underwood
Duane Underwood finally brought his considerable talents to the big league club in 2018. It was only one game and four innings pitched, but personally, it felt good to finally see Underwood in a Chicago Cubs jersey during the regular season. Position: Starting/Relief Pitcher 2018 Stats: For the Iowa Cubs the right-hander posted an ERA […]
Player Profile 2019: Jesse Chavez
Position: Relief Pitcher 2018 Stats: 1.15 ERA, 2.35 FIP, 2.95 DRA, 0.79 WHIP, .172 TAv, 0.9 WARP Year in Review: When the Cubs acquired Jesse Chavez, I was excited. Initially, probably more excited than I should have been. For whatever reason, I’ve followed his career. But I have a thing for versatile players (I’ve always […]
Cubs Protect Justin Steele from the Rule V Draft on a Crazy Day
The Cubs had until 8 PM today to finalize the 40-man roster ahead of next month’s Rule V Draft. Surprisingly, the Cubs only protected left-handed pitcher Justin Steele. To make room, the Cubs had one crazy day. In the late afternoon, it all began when the Cubs traded away prospect 3B Jason Vosler to San Diego […]
Player Profile 2019: Steve Cishek
Position: Relief pitcher. Joe Maddon’s security blanket. 2018 Stats: 2.18 ERA, 3.40 FIP, 4.68 DRA, 1.04 WHIP, .218 TAv, 0.2 WARP Year in Review: Someday, billions of years into the future, the sun will burn out and threaten life as we know it across the galaxy. And as its helium core begins to collapse on […]
Cubs’ AFL Prospects Give the Brass Plenty to Think Over
Nine Cubs prospects wrapped up their Arizona Fall League season on Thursday the 15th. It was a quick six weeks that Cubs management will probably use to make some decisions in the next week about the 40-man roster, certain players’ place in the system, and those players’ value going forward into 2019. Here are some things […]
Cubs 2018 Rule 5 Draft Preview
Thursday, December 13th is not a day that many Chicago Cubs fans have marked on their calendars. It’s the end of the annual Winter Meetings, and if there are any blockbuster trades or big free agent signings during the 2018 Meetings they will have taken place before the 13th, most likely. For some, the 13th […]
2019 Offseason Target: Patrick Corbin
Position: Starting Pitcher 2018: 11-7, 3.15 ERA, 30.8 K%, 6.0 BB%, 1.05 WHIP, 2.43 FIP, 2.74 DRA, 5.9 WARP How He Fits: Any team in baseball would be lucky to add a starter like Patrick Corbin to their rotation. Now a few years removed from Tommy John, Corbin turned in what was easily the best […]