Last weekend I watched from afar as Noah Syndegaard was finally placed on the disabled list, and the New York Mets organization left their fans to talk themselves off the ledge one blog post at a time. Part of me felt some sort of perverse pleasure in this; after all, the Mets are the team that caught the Cubs […]
I remember it like it was yesterday. The quiet stoicism obvious to anyone watching the game. No pumping fists or screams into a glove after each inning. No argument with the manager when was pulled. Just a slow walk off the mound as Kyle Hendricks was done for the night. He had only pitched seven […]
Hi, it’s me. The man on the mountain who’s here to instill panic in you about the top of the Cubs rotation. And you were so excited for the new season, weren’t you? Hadn’t even noticed the wind was biting, did you? I kill what you love. Actually, it’s not that bad. But it’s worth […]
The wonders of Cubs Manager Joe Maddon never cease, and before the first pitch has been thrown in the 2017 season, Cubs fans are seeing his strong baseball acumen at work again. In February, after a somewhat under-the-radar and late offseason move the Cubs made in signing left-hander Brett Anderson to a one-year deal, it […]
This post-World Series offseason was the shortest in Cubs history, but in many (many) ways it felt very long. On Tuesday, though, at least a light semblance of baseball returned, and to the relief of fans everywhere. The Cubs are back in Mesa, and that means the return of our Cactus Catchup series, in which we’ll […]
“There’s no limit to how .480 this team could be.” This might sound like a sneak preview of the Marlins or Diamondbacks chapter in the upcoming Baseball Prospectus 2017 annual, but in fact was the first line of the team comment on the 2007 Cubs. Yes, the team outlook was just a little different a […]
“If we catch the ball and pitch the ball like we did last spring and this year, we shall ‘D-Peat.” — Joe Maddon While talking about his team’s historically great defense in 2016 at the Cubs Convention earlier this month, we were blessed with the latest Maddon-ism: “D-Peat”. It is clever not only because of its double […]
If you’re like me, you don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the exact reasons why the Cubs won the World Series. It’s strange, because if they hadn’t we would have spent all winter tearing apart every little mythological sinew and fiber looking for what went wrong, all the way down to what they ate […]
As the Chicago Cubs look to repeat as World Series champs, they are currently seeking a little extra help in the starting rotation. With Kyle Hendricks, Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, John Lackey and Mike Montgomery as the expected starting five, the need isn’t urgent, but adding quality depth now could be the difference between another […]
We’re now solidly in the falling action stage of the 2016 offseason. Almost all of the biggest moves have already been made (we imagine), and now teams are left to fill in any remaining holes as best they can. The holiday time is a quiet time for baseball. This lull gives Cubs fans time to catch our […]