It seems like just yesterday. Cactus League games started and Cubs Nation rejoiced with the return of baseball. Fans watched practice games and fielding drills like idiots on their first trip to the zoo. Now the batters have their timing, starters have stretched out their arms, the front office has dispatched most of the minor […]
Tag: Cactus Catchup
CACTUS CATCHUP: ALMORA, CUTS, AND HAPP TO IOWA
Putting in Work: The Cubs played a two-game set against the Reds this past weekend in Las Vegas with the Cubs playing the part of Danny Ocean and his crew, and the Reds being some combination of a fading Al Pacino/lazy Julia Roberts plot arc in Oceans Twelve (trust me this makes sense if you watched […]
Cactus Catchup: Schwarber, Cuts, and a Starting Rotation
Putting in Work Kyle Schwarber flashed some versatility at the plate on Wednesday. He led off the game with a bunt single and hit a two-run shot later in the game. While it remains to be seen how often we should expect to see the former from Schwarber throughout the season, it just goes to […]
Cactus Catchup: Rotation Work and Roster Cuts
Leaving the snow and cold behind, I have spent the past four days in Arizona, soaking up all things Cubs. In between hiking up mountains and celebrating Irish heritage with green beer, I was able to actually squeeze in some baseball. After multiple trips to the minor league backfields and visits to both Camelback Ranch […]
Cactus Catchup: Getting Itchy
We’ve got that itch. We’re ready to go for the season. – Kyle Hendricks It’s so weird. It’s a weird time down here. -Jon Lester I believe it was Williams Shakespeare, or perhaps a baseball blogger who struggled to pay attention in ninth grade English, who once wrote, “Beware the Ides of March, because that is […]
Cactus Catchup: What’s Happ-ening?!
As we move into the midst of Spring Training, Joe Maddon is beginning to lead the Cubs to a little more normalcy. Starting pitchers are beginning to get into a more typical rotation, and lineups are beginning to solidify. The Cubs split their four games from Friday to Monday, winning two tighter games against Colorado […]
Cactus Catchup: The Rotation Returns and Baez Departs
The World Baseball Classic began on Monday, which means that a few players will be absent from Cubs camp going forwards, most notably Javier Baez. The versatile infielder will suit up for Puerto Rico in the tournament as part of perhaps the most exciting double-play partnership of the competition with Cleveland’s star shortstop Francisco Lindor. […]
Cactus Catchup: Spring Training Games Are Still Fun
We’re a week into actual spring training games, which means we have about another week until spring training starts getting annoying. A week from now, the carefree exhibition games will only remind us that this isn’t the real thing. We’ll still have another three weeks of watching three innings of the players we want to […]
Cactus Catchup: All Smiles in Mesa as the Game Begins Again
Sixteen weeks have passed since the Cubs won the World Series, and for many Cubs fans, it felt like sixteen years. Baseball, in its tepid early-spring training form, is back. Even if the weather is not spring-like in most of the U.S., Spring Training games always remind me of A. Bartlett Giamatti’s The Green Fields […]
Cactus Catchup: All Quiet on the Mesa Front
In to every life a little rain must fall, even in the valley of the sun. The Cubs finished their first weekend of full squad workouts with a few days of rain, moving hitters indoors and limiting outdoor activities to playing catch. Here at BP Wrigleyville’s Worcester (MA) Bureau, where we are staring out the windows at […]