For the second consecutive spring, one of the biggest stories, and one of the more watched aspects in Mesa, is the changes (and resulting effects) of Jason Heyward’s swing. The study of hand-placement, starting points, stride, has gone so far beyond Zapruder-like that even the most closeted conspiracy theorist is saying, “Man, those guys are weird!” […]
Category: Articles
The 2016 World Series Did Not Take Place: or, Simulacra, Simulation, and Spring Training
Just off Clark Street, there’s an iconic red sign, brightly colored and illuminated to catch the fan’s eye from a distance. You’re near, the sign promises, you’re approaching a sacred point where a history intersects with a promising future. The Chicago Cubs play here. Come this way. Yes, this is Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona, […]
Trouble With His Curve: A Yu Darvish Deep Dive
Shortly after the Cubs signed Yu Darvish, Chris Gimenez, their newly-acquired backup catcher who had worked with Darvish as a Ranger in 2014, offered his thoughts on what might have gone wrong in Darvish’s two disastrous World Series outings against the Astros. By now, we’ve all heard the pitch-tipping theory. Gimenez, however, turned his attention […]
Should We Be Questioning Addison Russell’s Defense?
While it’s not a majority opinion in any sense, there are definitely those who believe that the long-term future of the Chicago Cubs at shortstop lies in the hands of Javier Baez, rather than Addison Russell. There is, frankly, a legitimate element of this that stems from Russell’s reported issues away from the field, but […]
Yu Darvish: Big Game Pitcher
In the wake of the Yu Darvish signing, it feels as though the baseball pundit community has established two requirements for any report on the Cubs’ new ace… — At least one obvious pun on his first name such as “Yu the man now, dawg.” (If it wasn’t already abundantly obvious, this makes it clear […]
How Will Darvish’s Contract Impact the Cubs’ MiLB Starting Pitching?
When the Cubs signed Yu Darvish to a six-year contract, it filled a void in the starting rotation for 2018 and 2019. In addition, Darvish was given a two-year opt-out clause after 2019. Taking those two things into consideration, I began to think about how the signing and contract could impact several of the Cubs’ […]
Yu, The Cubs, The Luxury Tax, And You
As this winter interminably dragged on with not much happening other than more and more people complaining–and you’ll never convince me a lot the noise this winter was generated simply by writers having nothing to write about and angry about it, as hell hath no fury like a sportswriter scorned–one drum that kept getting beat […]
Cubs looking to Spring Training with offseason in the rearview
It’s crazy how one move can change the perspective of an entire offseason, yet here we are. If you were to write the Cubs’ needs on paper and listed them when the offseason began, how many holes needed to be addressed? They needed a frontline starter, rotation depth, bullpen help, a closer, a lead-off man […]
Will the Cubs’ real closer please step forward?
The signing of ex-Cardinals closer Seung Hwan Oh crossed another possible addition to the Cubs bullpen off the market. The Cubs seem to be content with going into the season with Brandon Morrow penciled in as the team’s closer… for now. While there are many reasons to believe Morrow can have success in the ninth for […]
Minor League Spring Training Preview: Several Great Storylines Ahead
Not all of the Cubs’ top prospects will be in spring training with their peers. Instead, Adbert Alzolay, Ian Rice, and others will be playing with the big boys in the MLB camp. Despite that difference, the Cubs MiLB camp will still contain several storylines of interest. With close to 300 players in camp, it’s hard […]