More than conveyors of facts, baseball writers act as storytellers, uncovering fantastic tales where they exist and inventing them where they do not. But as anyone who has created a story knows, sometimes the characters don’t cooperate, instead wandering along paths no longer suited to the narrative and hiding away where the writer cannot reach […]
Category: Articles
‘Tis The Season To Embrace The Suck: The Chicago Cubs Christmas List
Prior to 2016, most Cubs fans would have asked for a World Series title for Christmas. Now that they have that, there are a few other shiny new toys out there to be had. They still have some things have some things they need and a few things they really want. What could those things be? […]
2017 Player Profile: Jon Lester
Position: Starting pitcher 2017 Stats: IP K% BB% GB% HR/FB% BABIP ERA DRA 180.2 23.6 7.9 46.2 15.8 .310 4.33 3.94 Year in Review: By most accounts, Jon Lester’s 2017 was a disappointment. Every one of the above stats represents a worse performance than 2016, and, sometimes, Lester looked more like a league-average starter than […]
2017 Player Profile: Kyle Schwarber
Position: LF 2017 Statistics: AVG OBP SLG HR TAv wRC+ FRAA WARP .211 .315 .467 30 .266 102 2.8 1.7 Year in Review: Well. Where do we begin? There may not have been a more talked-about player on the Chicago Cubs roster in 2017 than Kyle Schwarber, and much of it really wasn’t for the […]
BP Wrigleyville Wants You!
BP Wrigleyville is looking to add aspiring writers to our staff on an intern basis. For three years now, BP Wrigleyville has sought to provide unique, critical perspectives on the Chicago Cubs, and we are eyeing 2018 with the goal of both continuing the excellent work that our writers have produced, while striking out in […]
2017 Player Profile: Willson Contreras
Position: Catcher 2017 Statistics: AVG OBP SLG HR TAv wRC+ FRAA WARP .276 .356 .499 21 .302 121 -3.0 3.1 Year in Review: Few Cubs were able to stand out in 2017 in the way that Willson Contreras did. Not only did Contreras take his first full season at the big league level and run […]
2017 Player Profile: John Lackey
Position: Starting Pitcher 2017 Stats: 170 2/3 IP, 4.59 ERA/5.31 FIP/5.20 DRA, 7.9 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 110 cFIP, 0.7 WARP Year in Review: Following four years as a reliable, durable, slightly above-average starter, 2017 was a big disappointment for John Lackey. He still pitched the full season, arguably impressive in itself at the age of […]
With Cishek in Tow, Cubs Speed Toward a Complete Bullpen
If you blinked, you might have missed the Cubs completing most of their 2018 bullpen this week. Only days after inking Brandon Morrow to a two-year, $21 million deal with a vesting option, the club reeled in righty-killing, groundball-willing Steve Cishek, who spent parts of 2017 in Seattle and Tampa Bay. With Morrow slotting in […]
2017 Player Profile: Ian Happ
Position: 2B/OF 2017 Statistics: AVG OBP SLG HR TAv wRC+ FRAA WARP .253 .328 .514 24 .284 113 -4.0 2.1 Year in Review: After lighting up the spring, it took barely more than a month into the 2017 regular season before the Cubs’ latest positional prodigy made his appearance at Wrigley Field. Ian Happ (the […]
Cubs Happily Prep for 2019, too, Sign Drew Smyly
It’s mid-December, the Winter Meetings are underway, and the Cubs have already inked three pitchers to multi-year contracts. Two of those signings—Tyler Chatwood and Brandon Morrow—are primarily for 2018, as the Cubs found themselves with glaring holes in both the rotation and the bullpen, but the third positions them well for 2019. That’s because Drew […]