Amid the struggles of the starting rotation and an overtaxed bullpen following 13 straight days of games—which included 13- and 18-inning games as well as a doubleheader—the Cubs have called upon latest reclamation project Eddie Butler to save the day. Okay, maybe that’s a little unfair; in 159 ⅓ innings since his debut in 2014, […]
Category: Articles
Is Eddie Butler MLB-starter material?
Since we learned that Eddie Butler would get a spot start in tonight’s game in St. Louis, we’ve heard a lot about Butler being a full-time member of the Cubs’ starting rotation. A former top-100 prospect sporting a 94 mph fastball along with a changeup of social media fame, a curve, and a slider, he fits the mold. The […]
How the Outfield Is to Blame for the Cubs’ Slow Start, or: The Outfield Is Slowly Killing Us All
Sunday night’s marathon game at Wrigley Field offered fans a bevy of interesting, weird, and quirky things to see. The single-game strikeout record fell. The Cubs tied the game in the ninth against Aroldis Chapman. Aaron Hicks lost a Javier Baez home run in the twilit Chicago sky, throwing up his arms in surrender. Oh, […]
Carl Edwards Jr. – The Closer Before the Closer
The early portion of the 2017 Chicago Cubs season has been frustrating to most fans. I think that deep down most people are able to realize that what we are seeing is simply a good team that is facing some struggles. It happens, we all know that too, but in the moment it’s hard to realize […]
Game 34 Recap: Rockies 3, Cubs 0
What You Need To You Know: Coors Field is a hellmouth and you should be glad this series is over. That is all you need to know. The Rockies had German Márquez face off against Kyle Hendricks. With the exception of rough fourth and seventh innings, Hendricks was effective against Colorado. In 6.1 innings pitched, Hendricks threw 92 […]
Searching For The Rock In “Ad-Rock”
There’s this narrative that follows Addison Russell around. It’s one of the few things I hear Len Kasper continually echo throughout a season, and it’s that Russell will one day win an MVP. All things are possible I suppose, but I’ve found it curious to say the least. Curious because I would think it would be […]
With Cubs, LeMahieu Showed All-Star Potential
In 2016, Colorado Rockies second baseman D.J. LeMahieu produced a .348 batting average by season’s end. LeMahieu played in 146 games for the Rockies and sustained his average across 552 at bats, qualifying him for the National League batting title. It was a pretty remarkable season for the 27-year-old infielder, who logged an impressive .911 […]
Game 33 Recap: Cubs 8, Rockies 1
What You Need To Know: My baseball playing days ended many years ago. But when I was a kid, I loved doubleheaders. I’m sure if I were a professional athlete playing a double header on the road—which, for the Cubs, followed an eighteen inning marathon against the Yankees—my opinion would be different. The Cubs dropped the […]
Game 32 Recap: Rockies 10, Cubs 4
What You Need To Know: George Burns was right. Coors Field is a hideous beast goddess. At least he would have been if he were talking about it and not Hollywood. The Rockies clubbed the Cubs in the opener of a split doubleheader, getting the Coors Special of a ton of bloops and flares that land […]
Szczur’s Reign Ends on the North Side
With Saturday night’s sudden DFA and the subsequent Monday trade of outfielder Matt Szczur, the Cubs bid farewell to one of the longest tenured members of the organization and a valuable piece of the 2016 World Series championship team. With multiple prior pinch hit successes and a reputation as a great teammate and all-around good […]