PECOTA currently projects the Cubs for 93 wins, 12 more than the 81-win Pirates, who are projected for second place in the NL Central. Rarely is a team so heavily favored in a division, but for a team in the Cubs’ position, it makes sense. Centerfield is the only position that projects below 2.5 WARP, and, […]
Tag: 2017
Maintaining Financial Flexibility: 2017 Vintage – Part Two
Following the same path as last year, part one of this series looked at each of the Cubs’ offseason transactions to gauge whether they allowed the Cubs more or less financial flexibility in the years moving forward. This offseason was clearly different than last, as winning the World Series definitively changed the trajectory and unbridled […]
How Likely are the Cubs to Flop in 2017?
As we get closer to the start of the baseball season, I’ve found myself wondering why I am hopeful, and yet I worry about, the 2017 Cubs season. I am old enough to remember most Cubs seasons of the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. Each preseason, I felt the excitement of the unknown, like a blackjack player […]
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 […]
How the Cubs Will Find Places for Javier Baez to Play in 2017
When Javy Baez exploded into the national consciousness in the 2016 MLB playoffs, many Cubs fans chuckled. We had blissfully marinated in Baez’s sensational defensive play for the better parts of 2014, 2015, and 2016. My favorite play? When Baez deked the Dodgers’ baserunners by letting the soft liner drop in front of him for […]
The Cubs and the Next Few Offseasons
Cubs fans are rightly excited about the upcoming season. It’s all that most want to think about, and, really, after years of thinking about the future, it absolutely makes sense to enjoy the present. Front offices don’t have that luxury, though. And if there’s one thing we’ve learned about the Cubs’ brain trust over the past several years, it […]