The 2016 Cubs draft class has to be the hardest class of the Theo Epstein era to evaluate. First, they didn’t have a first round pick. Second, it’s only been a year. And third, there are several prospects who have yet to even to play above Rookie Ball in Mesa. I think to get a good […]
Category: Articles
Zack’s Sack: A Wrigleyville Mailbag – Vol. 1
Hello, and welcome to the inaugural installment of Zack’s Sack, a BP Wrigleyville mailbag! This will be a weekly feature, and I encourage you to ask me questions about the Cubs, baseball history, Sammy Sosa, and Jake Arrieta’s pitching mechanics. Or anything else that piques your curiosity—I’ll try to answer just about anything. Find me […]
Javier Baez Has to Be More Than a Defensive Stud
The 2016 postseason ended pretty well for the Chicago Cubs, but the amazing World Series run might not have been bigger for any player than second baseman Javier Baez. Throughout much of the NLDS, NLCS, and World Series, Baez’ elite baseball talent and athleticism was on full display. Whether it was the beautiful bare-handed plays, […]
Game 41 Recap: Brewers 6, Cubs 3
What You Need To Know: Whoever the Cubs put on the bump, their sense of direction was wayward. Butler walked five, including three in the first inning. Montgomery walked three in one inning. And when they could find the plate, their fielders couldn’t quite catch it. Pierce Johnson was let down by his defense, though to […]
The Inevitable Progression of Anthony Rizzo
Anyone who has watched the Cubs in recent weeks has been likely found themselves fueled by a certain degree of frustration. In some cases, it’s underperforming expectations. In others, it’s not even a performance issue necessarily, but more of a general baseball issue, in that it’s not always the fairest of games. Sometimes, even for […]
Game 40 Recap: Cubs 9, Reds 5
Happy #TBT! Let’s throwback to 2016! After the past two weeks, it was really nice to see the Cubs play an awfully familiar game against the Reds. The Cubs jumped all over Amir Garrett for five runs in the first inning and eventually opened up a 9-0 lead by the fifth. I’ll need our BP […]
Willson Contreras’ Improved Framing
It is a dubious task to console the fans of a team that is sitting just a game above .500. Granted, being at 20-19 in the NL Central is not the worst position for the Cubs, as they are only 2.5 games behind the first place St. Louis Cardinals. Also, it is the middle of May […]
The Cubs Bullpen Depth
There was once a school of thought that theorized if the Cubs ever won a World Series, we as a fanbase would be fundamentally changed and we wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves if we couldn’t find reasons to panic about our favorite team. It sounded like a plausible idea. Except for the fact […]
Game 39 Recap: Cubs 7, Reds 5
What You Need To Know: For the second night in a row, the Cubs treated a Reds starter like a…. well, Reds starter. This time it was Scott Feldman (or if you prefer the Professor Frink pronunciation: Scott FELDMANHOOOYEGLEYBANWITHTHEBADBREAKINGSTUFFTHATGOESHOYVEN!) whom the Cubs treated like a whoopee cushion and put a touchdown on in just eight outs. […]
Checking in on Preseason PECOTA Projections
We’ve all heard it repeatedly over the past couple weeks. The Cubs offense is struggling. They have multiple guys hitting well below their expected numbers, most notably Kyle Schwarber and Anthony Rizzo. But how bad is it? How far off are these guys based on their projections? It’s an interesting way to look at things. Projection […]