When looking at the big picture for the Chicago Cubs moving forward, it’s pretty obvious that they will need to supplement their pitching staff relatively soon. While they have a lot of talented options on the team right now—top-tier starters and quality depth in the bullpen and down on the farm—losing three-fifths of their rotation […]
Tag: Depth
I Don’t Believe in the Cubs’ Starting Pitching Depth
There weren’t many things that the Cubs needed to address this offseason: figure out how to replace Dexter Fowler in center field and at leadoff, sort out the back end of the bullpen, pick a fifth starter, find playing time for a surfeit of position players, and shore up pitching depth. A relatively short list, […]
Internal and External Options for Cubs’ Sixth-Man
As the Chicago Cubs look to repeat as World Series champs, they are currently seeking a little extra help in the starting rotation. With Kyle Hendricks, Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, John Lackey and Mike Montgomery as the expected starting five, the need isn’t urgent, but adding quality depth now could be the difference between another […]
Second City October: Finding Confidence In The Cubs’ Depth
I loved Aramis Ramirez. For nearly a decade he solved the Cubs’ riddle known at the hot corner, a vacuous wasteland for much of three decades after being vacated in the early ’70’s by the incomparable Ron Santo. Ramirez could hit anyone’s best heat, while still punishing breaking stuff that had even the slightest hint of loose spin. […]
Almora, Contreras Helping Save Cubs as Depth Gains in Importance
Dexter Fowler CF Ben Zobrist 2B Anthony Rizzo 1B Kyle Schwarber LF Jorge Soler RF Miguel Montero C Tommy La Stella 3B If you didn’t know any better, you might think that that was a lineup run out by Joe Maddon on a getaway day in 2016. Of course, you do know better (and probably […]
Fatigue, Platoons, and a Prospect: Cubs Catching Sans Schwarber
Kyle Schwarber was never going to catch more than a couple dozen games this season. Even as the end of Spring Training revealed the Cubs’ plan to hitch Schwarber’s catching starts to Jason Hammel’s starts on the mound, the former Hoosier’s catching development—which some began to view with cautious optimism last season, a testament to […]
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, […]
The 25th Man: Assessing the Race for the Roster
It’s January, a month that lacks any modicum of decency in Illinois. It’s currently -2 degrees as I write. Our football team is eliminated, and our basketball teams are stuck in the same purgatorial existence they’ve been mired in for the past decade. Free agency is generally wrapping up, with the most exciting names already collected by new teams. The […]