“This pitcher who was so bad that he wanted to quit is now revenant and savior—the revenant who haunts Baltimore and the savior for Cubs fans, who yearn for their team’s first World Series title since 1908.” Serendipity. It’s a word I learned first as a small child, and grew to understand the definition of […]
Tag: Jake Arrieta
Catching History, Ross Continues Retirement Party With Style
David Ross had never caught a no hitter before last night, which is a bit of a surprise, given not just the length of his career, but also the pitchers he’s caught for across those years. Namely, Jon Lester for the better part of the recent years of his career. This year, he’s on a farewell tour […]
In Glory, Arrieta’s Four Moments of Imperfection
Your first thought or impression upon hearing about a no-hitter, either in-progress or completed, is probably something like “Wow!” That covers thoughts two through twelve, too–general feelings of astonishment and excitement at the possibility or completion of a historic feat. Around thought fifteen context starts to creep in, which cuts in every direction; e.g., “this is […]
Arrieta, Transcendent
Jake Arrieta, speaking immediately after he no-hit a major-league team for the second time in less than eight months, said that he “felt a little off” the whole night. And you know what? He was absolutely right. He was off. Arrieta walked four Cincinnati Reds, threw far more pitches than his manager probably intended for […]
Can Jake Arrieta Keep This Up? Data, Instead of History, Might Hold The Answer
This much we know for sure: Thursday night in Cincinnati was not Peak Jake Arrieta. The Cubs’ ace did complete his second no-hitter in less than eight months, shutting out the Reds in a 16-0 rout, but he walked four batters, fanned only six, and needed nearly 120 pitches to do it. Compared even to […]
Jake Arrieta: An Inhuman Monster’s Greatest Games
At some point, at an unknown time between October of 2013 and May of 2014, Jake Arrieta made the transition. I don’t mean simply transitioning from a starting pitcher just trying to stay in a major league rotation to one of the best pitchers in the game, but transitioning. We have all the evidence we […]
Mike Trout vs. the Chicago Cubs: How Four Men Conquered one Los Angeles Slugger
Mike Trout vs. the Chicago Cubs. It’s perhaps something that was only in the periphery of our minds amid the excitement of Opening Day. It didn’t quite dawn upon me, in fact, until just before first pitch: we were about to witness Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester wage their first battles of the season against Mike Trout, […]
The Arrieta Changeup: An Old Friend, Not Seen Since Milwaukee
Last night, Jake Arrieta did something disgusting. It was so disgusting, in fact, that the guy he did the disgusting thing to could barely even react—he just put his head down and wordlessly walked away. I’m speaking, of course, about the changeup Arrieta threw to strike out Mike Trout in the fourth inning of last night’s […]
Cactus Catchup: Blisters, Olmos Puns, and Mimes
Opening Day is suddenly less than two weeks away, and the Cubs seem to be slowly but surely honing in on regular season readiness. We’re seeing starters throw more and more pitches, lineups that look deeper and filled with more regulars, and a slightly increased focus on players settling into their roles. As always, you can […]
The Jake Arrieta Extension Talks, and Why Both Parties are Right
I’ll admit this: last Tuesday, upon seeing the cascade of tweets on my timeline regarding the Cubs and Jake Arrieta failing to reach an agreement on a contract extension, I scoffed a little bit. “How could the Cubs afford to be so cavalier about extending a talent like Arrieta?” Of course, this was an irrational, […]