What You Need to Know: It was two days shy of the fourth anniversary of this once-famed trade. The Orioles have acquired RHP Scott Feldman & CA Steve Clevenger from the Cubs in exchange for RHPs Jake Arrieta & Pedro Strop. — Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) July 2, 2013 The erstwhile Cub tossed seven stellar innings against his […]
Category: Articles
It’s Time to Talk About the Milwaukee Brewers
The Chicago Cubs have been a big pile of mediocre this season and in large part have looked like only a shell of their 2016 World Series team. While the Cubs continue to try to find themselves—80 games into the season—it’s time to start being realistic about what the Cubs actually are. They are one […]
Game 79 Recap: Cubs 5, Nationals 4
What You Need To Know Prior to the Top of the Ninth: This is a backbreaking loss for the Cubs, as a win today would’ve have given them a split in their four-game series against the NL East-leading Nationals. The split potentially could’ve overshadowed the preceding 48 hours that saw Miguel Montero DFAd, John Lackey taking […]
Cubs’ “Different Dynamic” on Display: A Follow-Up
In my limited experience trying to write about the Cubs, I have quickly come to appreciate baseball’s ability to annihilate even the best-defended take. Last year I highlighted Ben Zobrist’s red-hot start as a potential return to All Star form, only to watch his batting average freefall for the next forty games. In March, I […]
Charles Weeghman and Why Fans Get to Keep Foul Balls
In a game overflowing with wonder, one of baseball’s greatest allures is the prospect of attending a game as a child and leaving with a foul ball. Although the probability of this occurring is miniscule, the prospect remains no less thrilling from game to game, lasting long into adulthood, the joy shifting from obtaining a […]
Game 78 Recap: Nationals 8, Cubs 4
I apologize for the unfortunate timing in my signing up for the recap tonight. Clearly this one should’ve gone to BP Wrigleyville’s newest staffmembers: Franz Kafka and Sylvia Plath. Forget Daniel Murphy, Matt Holliday, and Hunter Strickland. My least favorite person in baseball is whoever installed third base at Nationals Park. So…who wants to talk […]
Cubs’ “Different Dynamic” Makes Uneven Path: Still Time to Find Themselves
The pattern has grown beyond tedious. Flashes of brilliance tantalize, the curious cloud begins to lift, and then…it doesn’t. When Joe Maddon promised a new path for 2017, full of potential hazards, the inevitability rang true. Yet the actual difference a championship could make has caught everyone off guard. Through nearly half a season, the […]
Game 77 Recap: Nationals 6, Cubs 1
What you need to know: It was a battle of the last two Cy Young winners in the nation’s capital and, you guessed it, the Cubs gave up another first-inning run, their 65th of the year. That was just the start, as things got sloppier from there. To be precise: two errors, another couple defensive […]
The BABIP-Defying Bullpen
If there was one aspect of the Cubs’ 2016 performance that was almost certain to regress, it was the historic .255 BABIP allowed by the pitching staff. That mark was the lowest since the last round of expansion in 1998 by a clear margin, beating the 116-win Mariners of 2001 by 5 points, and the […]
Willson Contreras’ Offense Is On The Rise
As frustrating as this season has been on the North Side of Chicago, many continue to hold out hope that at any given moment, this Cubs team is going to break out in a big way. We’ve seen some signs of it, though it has yet to materialize into anything resembling consistency, especially on the […]