While the magic that was the Chicago Cubs 2016 World Series run is still a vivid memory in the minds of fans, one thing that isn’t looked back on as fondly is the strain put on the Cubs relievers down the stretch. The same strain that nearly cost the Cubs a victory in Game Seven against […]
Tag: Bullpen
Transaction Analysis: Brian Duensing
This piece, previewed here, is part of Baseball Prospectus’ “Transaction Analysis” series, which covers all trades and signings around the league. It originally ran on December 5. The Cubs reached into the archives and grabbed a left-handed reliever in Duensing. He gave fans in Minnesota plenty to be happy about earlier in his career, and […]
The Bullpen’s New 1-2 Punch
And just like that, the Cubs have three of the last four pitchers to record the final out in a World Series. Even with the departure of Aroldis Chapman, Chicago possessed a cadre of formidable bullpen holdovers. Pedro Strop and Hector Rondon had, after all, handled the duties of closing out games for much of […]
Cubs Don’t Wade in Free Agent Waters, Trade for Davis
Late Tuesday night, at the Winter Meetings in Maryland, the Cubs addressed their most pressing issue for 2017 by acquiring top reliever Wade Davis from Kansas City in exchange for Jorge Soler. With physical exams to be conducted and medical records reviewed—Davis suffered a forearm injury this season and Soler has been off the field […]
Second City October: Pitchers Who Rake and Bullpens That Rock
This piece, written by BP Wrigleyville’s Nate Greabe, forms part of our in-house coverage of the Cubs in the playoffs, “Second City October.” Additional Game Two and NLDS coverage can be found here and here. Early on, this game felt familiar. All the same things that made the Cubs good all year worked in first few innings. The […]
Second City October: Keeping an Eye on the Cubs ‘Pen
This piece, written by BP Wrigleyville’s Cat Garcia, forms part of our in-house coverage of the Cubs in the playoffs, “Second City October”. The outcome has been decided. The Cubs won’t enjoy vengeful rematch with the Mets this weekend at Wrigley Field. Instead, they’ll be facing the San Francisco Giants. The wave of apprehension that blanketed the Cubs fanbase […]
Game 115 Recap: Cardinals 8 Cubs 4
Winning streaks are fun trivia, but not worth getting upset about when they come to an end. Had the Cubs pushed their streak to twelve games today, they would have been no more well positioned to win the division and succeed in the playoffs than they are right now after dropping this afternoon’s game to […]
A New Bullpen Was A Need, Not A Luxury
“You kinda know going into the season that not everyone is going to perform as well as you hoped. It’s a lot of guys to expect them to perform at the level they were previously at; you can have injuries or poor performance, and so you kinda know that it might be an area you have to […]
Grace in the Mess: Hector Rondon
It shouldn’t be lost in the moral quagmire of the Aroldis Chapman trade that now-ousted closer Hector Rondon has shown admirable grace in light of his changed role in the Cubs bullpen. The questions raised about what bringing Chapman to Chicago means beyond just on the field performance have been addressed across the internet, by […]
Organizational Depth: Bullpen Edition
Much has been made over the past couple of weeks of the struggles of certain members of the Cubs bullpen (I won’t name names, but one may or may not rhyme with Dayton Snitchard). Now, even though Jared Wyllys has told us that maybe the problem isn’t as bad as some make it out to be, […]