The Cubs won 103* games this season. Top Play: The Cubs’ ninth inning made your humble author laugh out loud with a variety of emotions, the least of which being pity for the lowly Reds, who never figured out the 2016 Cubs (but who can blame them). Rafael Iglesias got two quick outs to begin […]
Tag: Game Recap
Game 159 Recap: Cubs 1 Pirates 1…A Tie?!?
A day after Jake Arrieta and Miguel Montero expressed some displeasure for the Spring Training type vibe in Pittsburgh, Joe Maddon decided to trot out the Spring Training split squad B team lineup anyway. Not only did the Cubs go with a bullpen day on the mound, starting with Rob Zastryzny, they also emptied the bench […]
Game 158 Recap: Pirates 8 Cubs 4
Women who have experienced the final month of a full-term pregnancy will tell you those last few weeks are the longest of their lives. So close to the realization of nearly a year’s worth of expectations, time grinds to a halt as the conscious waiting, and worrying, takes over. The Cubs have been eying a […]
Game 157 Recap: Cubs 6 Pirates 4
Meaningless September games don’t exactly feel that way when it’s the bottom of the ninth, the bases are loaded, card-carrying Designated Cubs Agitator Sean Rodriguez is at the plate, and you’re Félix Peña, looking for your first major-league save with a shaky two-run lead and a deserted bullpen. What this contest lacked earlier in substantive drama, […]
Game 156 Recap: Cubs 12 Pirates 2
At the beginning of the season, it seemed the Pittsburgh Pirates would be one of the three thoroughbreds competing with the Cubs and Cardinals in the NL Central horse race. It only made sense: this team posted 98 wins in 2015, and they still had studs like MVP Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte, and Gerrit Cole. […]
Game 155 Recap: Cubs 3 Cardinals 1
The Cubs defeated the Cardinals for (possibly) the final time in 2016, and it was a memorable night at Wrigley, for the Cubs, for Major League Baseball, and for one particular backup catcher. The joy on the North Side on Sunday night helped salve the acute melancholy of the day, as news of José Fernández’s […]
Game 154 Recap: Cardinals 10 Cubs 4
This game is what Cubs fans fear in a potential Divisional Series rematch this year. The Cardinals cardinaled Jason Hammel in the first inning to take a four-run lead in the first inning with (maybe) two hard hit balls. That was a lead they never relinquished. The Cards added on against Hammel in the second […]
Game 152 Recap: Cubs 9 Reds 2
The Cubs run differential has been an oft-discussed topic, and rightfully so with it sitting at a whooping +239. It feels like half of those runs have come against the Reds. It was going to be a tough year for the Reds, and the Cubs have certainly done their part to make sure that was […]
Game 151 Recap: Cubs 6 Reds 1
It was Social Media Night at Wrigley Field, and the Cubs came away with a clean victory against the Reds behind another gem from Jon Lester. The lefty shined, the Cubs came through with timely hits against what amounted to the lion’s share of the Reds bullpen, and one of BP Wrigleyville’s own made known […]
Game 150 Recap: Cubs 5 Reds 2
There’s a scene in the 1990 movie Awakenings when Robert De Niro’s character stands outside for the first time after decades in a catatonic state. He looks around with a sort of bewildered smile and remarks, “What a beautiful place the Bronx has turned out to be.” He says it almost like it’s caught him off […]