Addison Russell Position: Shortstop/Second Base 2015 Stats: .242/.307/.389, .252 TAv, 1.57 WARP Year in Review: As he laced a flyball off the base of the left-field wall, made his way around second, found that extra gear, and sprung himself airborne as he dove into third base, Addison Russell could have hardly imagined it would be […]
Tag: Addison Russell
Baez in for Russell: Is He Ready?
Is Javier Baez ready? This was supposed to be the year that Baez “finally” answered that question. After getting a taste of the big leagues in 2014 and struggling mightily, 2015 would be the year he showed the world how his awesome tools would translate into major-league success. Then tragedy struck. His beloved sister passed away and […]
Russell Rests as Cubs Consider Arms Race
It wasn’t quite on the order of the sword of Damocles—the Cubs are too happy right now to feel anything approaching anxiety—but it was certainly an open question heading into the workout day on Thursday: What was Addison Russell’s status? The last anyone had heard of his health was on Tuesday night, manager Joe Maddon was […]
That’s So Cub: A Look at the Top September Contributors and Moments
It’s the beginning of October, which not only means that Halloween is around the corner and you might even hear the first ominous tinkle of mall Christmas music, but also that I, as I have since the beginning of time the beginning of the season, will sit down and write about the top Cubs’ contributors and moments from the previous […]
An Exercise in Hopeful Caution: The Young Cubs and PECOTA 10-Year Projections
There are lots of exciting things about the Chicago Cubs this season, and in my opinion the most exciting among them is this: Despite their sizable and ever-increasing odds of making the playoffs (86.3 percent, as of this writing), fans have every reason to believe that the 2015 major-league baseball season will be the Cubs’ worst in […]
When a Young Man Walks By
As of Monday, the Cubs had given 2,345 plate appearances to players in their age-25 season or younger. In those trips to the plate, that subset of the team drew 207 walks. Both figures are the highest in the league for that age group, which should surprise no one at this point. The Cubs are […]
Day and Night: The Cubs’ Odd Home and Away Splits
Through Monday, the Cubs are 27-24 at home and 30-23 on the road. I try not to get too carried away over split data, but while this portrays a positive development, there are intriguing undertones. This table shows the difference in OPS for the Cubs since 2000 for home and away games (hOPS and aOPS), […]
That’s So Cub: A Look at the Top July Contributors and Moments
It’s the beginning of August, which means not only that the dog days of summer are officially here, but also that I, as I have since the beginning of time the beginning of the season, will sit down and write about the top Cubs’ contributors and moments from the previous month. If you want a brief technical summary of […]
What History Says When You Start Four Rookies
I was listening to 670 The Score on Monday afternoon when Dan Bernstein asked whether a team that started four rookies had ever made the playoffs. I enjoy researching these types of questions, and Dan did leave quite a bit to the imagination. I chose to define “rookie” using the filter in the Baseball-Reference Play […]
Whiffmas in July: Addison Russell’s Midseason Improvements
Of the Cubs’ hitters, young and old, Addison Russell is the most enigmatic. Kris Bryant has lived up to the on-base portion of his pedigree, if not quite the light-tower power. Jorge Soler’s power has shown up in bursts as well, and he hits the ball harder than almost anyone. Kyle Schwarber—we know what he’s […]