With the NL Central race having gone the opposite way we’d hoped (and thought, really), there are rising blood pressures and clenching… well, you know what’s clenching, around the Northside and Greater Cubdom. And it goes beyond just gaining a third-straight division crown. The concerns extend into October, because after all, it’s that upon which the Cubs’ success […]
Tag: Bullpen
The Bullpen Danger On The Horizon
While some would tell you it’s been a topsy-turvy season for the Cubs—and it’s certainly had more adventure than it has needed—sitting a game and a half out halfway through and on your way to 92-94 wins is hardly the seventh level of hell. The offense seems to have clicked into gear, and the Cubs might […]
Bullpen Flexibility and A Missed Opportunity
While Joe Maddon may never have to pay for a meal in this city again after 2016 (does Maddon even eat meals? Or does he have some new-age health bars he uses? These are the questions, people!), there has been something of a let-down in that the creativity in deploying his lineups hasn’t quite been […]
Diagnosing the Bullpen’s Walk Problem
Chris Bosio will be plying his pitcher whispering craft in a city other than Chicago next year, and it’s sort of the bullpen’s fault. Before walking the entirety of the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers’ rosters, the Cubs bullpen was solid. They were one of the better relief units in the league, actually, ranking […]
What the Heck Is Going On: A Quick Look Ahead at the NLCS
Whew. If you’re reading this, the Cubs (somehow, barely, and very questionably) did what they needed to do against a great, great Nationals team after a great, great series. And now it’s Friday, and we’re all guzzling coffee, rubbing our eyes, and wondering what’s next. For the Los Angeles Dodgers, once again the Cubs’ NLCS […]
The Unexpected Return of Dillon Maples
Coming into the 2017 season, if I had mentioned the name Dillon Maples, the reactions probably would have ranged from “Oh what could have been” to “That guy is still in the Cubs system?” After being drafted in the 14th round by the Cubs in the 2011 draft, the Cubs signed him for a steep […]
Appreciation for Brian Duensing
Halfway through the season, it’s become apparent that we’re living in one of those alternate PECOTA-projected simulations where the Cubs are a .500 team, the Brewers are just good enough to hold on to first, the Diamondbacks and Rockies are legitimately good, and the Giants are having one of the worst seasons in their history. There […]
The BABIP-Defying Bullpen
If there was one aspect of the Cubs’ 2016 performance that was almost certain to regress, it was the historic .255 BABIP allowed by the pitching staff. That mark was the lowest since the last round of expansion in 1998 by a clear margin, beating the 116-win Mariners of 2001 by 5 points, and the […]
The Cubs Bullpen Depth
There was once a school of thought that theorized if the Cubs ever won a World Series, we as a fanbase would be fundamentally changed and we wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves if we couldn’t find reasons to panic about our favorite team. It sounded like a plausible idea. Except for the fact […]
Gerardo Concepcion: A miss…for now?
When Theo Epstein took over operations for the Chicago Cubs in 2011, one of his goals was to add young talent. Whether through the draft, free agency, or trades, the Cubs needed to get younger, get better, and add needed depth. The Cubs ended up using all avenues to make their team better. Though it […]