Aroldis Chapman made his first appearance for the Cubs on Wednesday, as I’m sure you were aware. Chapman has dominated the discourse for the last week, for obvious reasons; he is an electric and talented baseball player, who also fired eight shots from a handgun during an argument with his girlfriend in October, and allegedly […]
Tag: Adam Warren
Evaluating Adam Warren, The Starter
Until Wednesday’s contest with the Cincinnati Reds, Cubs pitcher Adam Warren had not been used as a starter in a game since September 26th of 2015, back when he was a member of the New York Yankees. Warren is a natural starter, so the Cubs giving him a role as a sixth man in the rotation […]
Adam Warren: The Minors Now, the Rotation Later
I was going to use this space to simply lay out a detailed explanation of what’s been off about Adam Warren lately. I had numbers and everything. And then the Cubs announced that he was being sent to Triple-A to stretch out and get ready for a spot start coming up, and suddenly it seemed […]
In Relief, Warren Soars
Tuesday evening in Chicago, Warren blanked the Brew Crew for two innings, allowing nary a baserunner and striking out three. Normally, this wouldn’t be remarkable. But, for the 2016 Cubs, it was a minor milestone: Warren was the first Cubs reliever to throw two innings in an appearance. As the starters have gone deep into […]
Competition in the Cubs’ Rotation? Maybe Not.
Now that we’re four games into spring training, it’s time for the worst and least-fruitful discussions to begin: the early looks at “position battles.” The Cubs’ main position battle is for the final two starter spots, which features incumbents Kyle Hendricks and Jason Hammel—who have the inside edge, to be honest—along with new Cub Adam Warren, […]
Embrace the Target: The Cubs’ Bullpen Options Are Good in 2016, Pt. II
Early last week, I reviewed the Cubs’ late inning bullpen options, or at least those options as they appear during the trial period that is known as Spring Training. With the amount of depth and flexibility the Cubs have on their bullpen roster, this is a neverending discussion with a large range of possible outcomes. And […]
Boom or Bust? Evaluating Individual Upside and Downside, Pt. II
Earlier this week, my colleague Isaac Bennett dug deep into the rabbit-hole of the widely ranging PECOTA projection numbers for Cubs hitters. Fortunately, I was able to partner with Isaac on this PECOTA rabbit-hole adventure, so today, and without further ado, I bring to you the “what ifs” and the “maybes” of the Cubs’ starting pitching staff. […]
The Four Swingmen of the Cub-pocalypse
Yesterday, my fellow contributor Stan Croussett sketched a picture of the 2016 season in which the Cubs give a decent amount of starts to three of their swingmen: Trevor Cahill, Clayton Richard, and Adam Warren. A combination of contract incentives, comments from the front office about their prospective usage, a need to rest the workhorse […]
Your Best Against My, Uh: The Back End of the Cubs’ 2016 Rotation
Over the past month we have learned that Trevor Cahill and Adam Warren have been told–Warren explicitly and Cahill via contractual incentives–that they will be used as starting pitchers during the 2016 season. But how can this be, when the Cubs made it a priority to acquire a clear the rotation arm in John Lackey as well, […]
Warren Whiffs on Fastball, Sizzles on Secondaries
During the offseason, Jason Heyward, John Lackey, and Ben Zobrist have dominated the discussion among fans and writers about the Cubs’ best moves. There isn’t much to dislike about any of the deals, really. Heyward and Lackey were the best position player and pitcher, respectively, on the St. Louis Cardinals. Getting both of them to […]