Kyle Hendricks was never supposed to be this good. But, after making a few adjustments and in a few years, Hendricks went from a back of the rotation starter to a legitimate Cy Young candidate. Mike Petriello even included him on his Top 10 starting pitchers for 2017—omitting Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta. In some […]
Category: Articles
Key To Cubs’ 2017 Lies With Infield Depth
With an infield set to feature the reigning NL MVP, Kris Bryant, a Gold Glover and perennial All-Star, Anthony Rizzo, the World Series MVP, Ben Zobrist, and an up-and-coming young player who seems prime for a true breakout season, Addison Russell, the Chicago Cubs look extremely prepared to take on any other team in the […]
Suffrage: A Tale of Women’s Rights and Ladies’ Day
“I saw a wounded baseball fan tottering down the street Encased in bandages and tape, and bruised from head to feet And as I called the ambulance, I heard the poor guy say: ‘I bought a seat in Wrigley Field, but it was Ladies’ Day’” -Chicago Newspaper, 1929 I’m going to let you in on […]
Jon Jay’s Significance to the 2017 Cubs
It probably says something about what the Chicago Cubs think of Jon Jay that they jumped to sign him before the month of November even came to a close. A signing that was likely the official signal toward the departure of Dexter Fowler, Jay could prove to be a significant contributor in a situation that figures […]
Transaction Analysis: Brett Anderson
The Cubs turned to Anderson after their pursuit of Tyson Ross came up empty. Anderson is a savvy addition for Chicago because he will fit the team’s needs neatly. His job won’t be to carry the back of the rotation, but rather to extend it when needed. The glaring question is his health, but Anderson […]
Maintaining Financial Flexibility: 2017 Vintage – Part One
The Chicago Cubs spent a tremendous amount of money last offseason, as they correctly identified the beginning of an open window of contention their young, cost-controlled players gave them. I argued that even the larger contracts that the Cubs signed (namely Jason Heyward, John Lackey and Ben Zobrist) all angled towards keeping the Cubs’ longterm […]
BP Annual Retrospective: A Decade with Rich Hill and Jeff Samardzija
“There’s no limit to how .480 this team could be.” This might sound like a sneak preview of the Marlins or Diamondbacks chapter in the upcoming Baseball Prospectus 2017 annual, but in fact was the first line of the team comment on the 2007 Cubs. Yes, the team outlook was just a little different a […]
Is a Cubs “D-Peat” Imperative?
“If we catch the ball and pitch the ball like we did last spring and this year, we shall ‘D-Peat.” — Joe Maddon While talking about his team’s historically great defense in 2016 at the Cubs Convention earlier this month, we were blessed with the latest Maddon-ism: “D-Peat”. It is clever not only because of its double […]
Predicting Albert Almora’s 2017
The Cubs don’t have many roster questions as they enter the 2017 season, but a key one is how Joe Maddon will handle the center field spot. With the departure of Dexter Fowler to the rival Cardinals, the Cubs have far less of a sure thing in center. The current in-house options include free agent […]
Just how elite is Anthony Rizzo?
It’s been widely observed that the trade with the San Diego Padres that netted the Cubs Anthony Rizzo back in January of 2012 was the move that really set the organization on course towards becoming the perennial contender that they have since become. While there are, of course, other elements of the rebuild that could stake […]