Position: Relief pitcher 2017 Stats: IP K% BB% ERA DRA BABIP GB% HR/FB% 57.1 29.1 8.4 4.24 3.57 .292 48.3 19.6 Year in Review: For the second year in row, Rondón lost the favor of Joe Maddon and found himself as one of the last relievers sitting in the bullpen most nights. The merit of this […]
Tag: Hector Rondon
I’m Walkin’ Here: A Bullpen Story
The Cubs bullpen, by and large, has been good, as it was expected to be. Overall, the bullpen sports an impressive 4.01 DRA, good for fourth in the majors, whereas the starters rank 14th with a 4.86. On the more traditional side, the relievers have fared just as well, with a 3.45 ERA that ranks […]
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 […]
2017 is make or break for Hector Rondon
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 […]
Slighter Sliders: The Curious Case of Hector Rondon’s Missing Pitch
As Tom Petty once said, the waiting is the hardest part. As the Cubs have capped off their successful 2016 season with lineups that include Javier Baez at first base, Tim Federowicz catching, and the likes of Rob Zastryzny/Jake Buchanan starting, fans have cast about for reasons to continue to pay attention, all the while constantly glancing down at their […]
In Strop and Rondon, Cubs Have One Of Their Best Ever Duos
Other than maybe the Kansas City Royals of the last few years, every fan thinks that the bullpen of their favorite team is bad and could use improvements at the trade deadline. So with all the fanfare regarding the Cubs trading for Aroldis Chapman, their brand-new, shiny closer, you’d think they’ve had problems at the […]
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 […]
The Bullpen: Not the Achilles Heel You’re Looking For
The irony of the legend of Achilles is that his name, far from being a symbol of strength, is now largely associated with the notion of a single critical vulnerability. And, more to the point, whenever we’re confronted with something that strikes us as without weakness, our minds immediately flit to the young demigod, dipped by […]
What’s PECOTA’s Beef with the Cubs’ bullpen?
Soon, we won’t have to do this. Soon, there will be actual baseball, and actual results to look at instead of (or more likely, in addition to) the projections. It’s still March, though, so I’m still spending a lot of time over at the Depth Charts, trying to get a feel for how this season […]
Embrace the Target: The Cubs’ Bullpen Options Are Good in 2016, Pt. I
Last week, I wrote about the wealth of bench options the Cubs have available to them in 2016. Happily, the team finds itself in exactly the same circumstances with respect to its bullpen, which is loaded with dozens of pitchers competing for just a few spots. Sure, the final composition of the ‘pen isn’t locked in […]