Lineup construction certainly stands as one of the more heavily analyzed elements of Major League managers, and there’s probably an argument to be made somewhere that it’s also a largely overrated element. (Aside: I’m not saying that’s a sentiment that I share, as I put quite a bit of stock into that aspect, but it […]
Tag: Jason Heyward
Mind over matter: How Jason Heyward got back to his old self
Going 0 for 4 in a single game can be frustrating for a baseball player, but going 0 for 4 in almost every game is almost unimaginable. Especially when you’re trying to live up to a $184 million contract. It’s not often you can say a season has been bad when it ends in a […]
Jason Heyward Is Who We Thought He Was
It’s easy to understand why people with North Side loyalties are conflicted when broaching the subject of Jason Heyward. On one hand, it’s easy to get excited about everything he does well offensively because there was such limited success on that side in 2016. On the other, there’s the snakebitten element of him, as seemingly every […]
How’s That Centerfield Platoon Working Out?
Coming into the season, one of the only positions to be solidified on a largely firm roster was that of centerfield. The Cubs brought in Jon Jay to serve as a left-handed option to compliment Albert Almora as he eased into the role of starting centerfielder. It was assumed that Jason Heyward would slot in […]
J-Hey Hey What Can He Do?
Jason Heyward has been a nice story so far this season. At least it’s more fun than talking about the velocity of the Cubs’ rotation. However, I’m suspicious of anything that has the potential to make me happy. I want nothing more than Heyward to be everything he was before he got to Chicago. But I’ve […]
Jason Heyward’s Swing Changes Already Evident
You knew that Jason Heyward was going to be under a microscope in 2017. After the Cubs handed him the contract that they did, only for him to morph into a helpless presence at the plate in 2016, he was going to be under intense scrutiny for every soft groundball to second base in the […]
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 […]
Signs Point to Defensive Growth in Cubs’ Outfield
The Chicago Cubs have received a great deal of praise over the past calendar year for their defense, and it’s with good reason that they’re constantly lauded for what they achieve with the leather. This is especially true of the infield. When you’re talking about a group that includes Gold Glover Anthony Rizzo, a player […]
Cactus Catchup: The Walk Before the Squat
This post-World Series offseason was the shortest in Cubs history, but in many (many) ways it felt very long. On Tuesday, though, at least a light semblance of baseball returned, and to the relief of fans everywhere. The Cubs are back in Mesa, and that means the return of our Cactus Catchup series, in which we’ll […]