The Cubs are now 10 games over .500 a third of the way through, meaning they only have the seventh-best record in the league. Even considering that the Cubs have played the least amount of games of anyone, there has been a lot of monkey-in-a-zoo activity out here in the fandom wilderness—especially before their recent surge. […]
Tag: 2016
Cubs 2016 Playoff Retrospective – Luck and Skill: NLDS and NLCS Edition
Every World Series Champion owes some portion of its victory to chance and/or good fortune. I hesitate to use the word luck, not only because of the negative connotation that word has in sports, but also because each World Series contender has to have some sort of baseline skill that would allow them to be […]
Dexter Fowler Keeps Rolling Along
When this era of success at Wrigley Field comes to an end, and sportswriters are writing their farewell pieces and reminiscing about the memorable moments, there’s a good chance that player development and the pipeline of young talent that Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer, Jason McLeod have built will be central to the overall storyline. And […]
That’s So Cub: April’s Top Contributors and Moments
April was a hell of a month for the Chicago Cubs. They lost Kyle Schwarber for the season, called Munenori Kawasaki up to the big leagues, lost him to Triple-A Iowa shortly thereafter, and tied a 109-year-old record for wins in the month (17). Let’s take a look back at the month’s top performers, and […]
Opening Day 2016: Roster Transforms in Just A Year
A lot has happened in the 364 days that have passed since Opening Day 2015 at Wrigley Field, and for this Cubs organization, the changes that have come have been fairly profound. A team’s Opening Day roster almost always varies from year to year. But more often than not, it isn’t vastly different from one Opening Day […]
Know Your (2016) Enemy: St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals have been the model of consistency for as long as can be remembered by most fans. They went through a lull in the 1990s, making just one playoff appearance on the back of an 88-win season in 1996 and posting a winning percentage of just .488 for the decade. But Walt Jocketty took […]
Know Your (2016) Enemy: Pittsburgh Pirates
If marriage has taught me anything, it is the importance of expectations. If on a weeknight, I surprise my wife by breaking out of the mold of my boring old self and recommend we go to our favorite gastropub for burgers and drinks—rather than staying home and working as I am inclined to do—it is guaranteed that […]
Know Your (2016) Enemy: Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers, after years of rough draft classes and tough breaks, are finally in rebuilding mode, and it’s pretty obvious they’ve got a long way to go. But thanks to new management, a good draft last year and a few decent trades, there’s at least a little light at the end of this dairy-infused tunnel. […]
Know Your (2016) Enemy: Cincinnati Reds
At any given point, there are a number of teams going through rebuilding periods; in fact, it happens quite often. That’s simply how the game works: sometimes you’re rebuilding, sometimes you’re contending. But with their rebuilding phase currently in full effect, no team currently presents as stark a contrast to the rest of their division as the Cincinnati […]
The Cubs Won’t Have a Traditional Rotation in 2016 (And That’s a Good Thing)
In June of 2012, the struggling Colorado Rockies tried something new: a four-man rotation. This experiment was exciting and interesting at the time, but it is now largely forgotten outside of Colorado and the small circle of baseball aficionados who care about things like rotation optimization. The Rockies planned to pitch their starters every four games and […]