The Cubs had a very good 2015, and many experts are saying they’ve had an even better offseason so far (if that’s even possible). When people who know baseball agree that a 97-win team has “won” the offseason, you have to feel pretty good about the state of said team going forward. That is, until […]
Tag: Javier Baez
Cubs Player Profile: Javier Baez
Position: Shortstop, Third Base, Second Base 2015 Stats: 28 G (74 MiLB GP), .289/.325/.408, .268 TAv, 0.4 WARP, 1 HR, 4 R, 4 RBI (MLB stats only) Year in Review: This feels like the only reasonable place to start: For everything he endured in 2015—injury, heartache, and the assured internal struggle of watching his friends succeed at the highest level before he […]
Baez in for Russell: Is He Ready?
Is Javier Baez ready? This was supposed to be the year that Baez “finally” answered that question. After getting a taste of the big leagues in 2014 and struggling mightily, 2015 would be the year he showed the world how his awesome tools would translate into major-league success. Then tragedy struck. His beloved sister passed away and […]
Inside the At-Bat: Javier Baez’s Second-Inning Home Run
Great moments… are born from great opportunity. And that’s what you have here, tonight, boys. That’s what you’ve earned here tonight. One game. -Kurt Russell (as Herb Brooks), Miracle It’s hard to know who Kurt Russell/Herb Brooks was addressing in this speech. Some scholars maintain it was the 1980 U.S. Men’s Hockey Team, just moments […]
Seven Surprises from the 2015 Cubs Season
The Cubs have already surprised a lot of knowledgeable people by winning 97 games and making the playoffs this year. How did they do it? A lot of it was pretty predictable: Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant led the offense, while Jon Lester put together a very good season after a rocky start. But a lot of […]
An Exercise in Hopeful Caution: The Young Cubs and PECOTA 10-Year Projections
There are lots of exciting things about the Chicago Cubs this season, and in my opinion the most exciting among them is this: Despite their sizable and ever-increasing odds of making the playoffs (86.3 percent, as of this writing), fans have every reason to believe that the 2015 major-league baseball season will be the Cubs’ worst in […]
The Adjustments of Javy and Mendy
Baseball is a game of adjustments. We’ve all heard that line. We’ve heard it so much that I wouldn’t blame someone for saying it’s a cliché. But it isn’t a cliché. It’s true. Baseball is a game of adjustments, especially at the major-league level. One trick ponies—whether they’re position players or pitchers—tend to have limited […]
YOUNG CUBS: THAT’S JUST SOME CUBBY LUCK
Hello, readers. Welcome to another edition of “Young Cubs.” Today is an exciting day for every baseball fan, especially if you enjoy tracking the minor leagues and development of prospects. Yes, today is the start of the 2015 MLB Draft! All the mock drafts and speculation have led up to this. There will undoubtedly be […]
Fixing the Middle-Infield Clog
Photo courtesy of Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports Through Monday, Javier Baez was batting .311/.388/.522 in his first 103 plate appearances of the season at Triple-A Iowa. Despite dealing with the tragic loss of his younger sister at the beginning of the season, and taking time away from the team to share in his family’s grief, Baez […]
YOUNG CUBS: SCHWARBER SMASH
Photo courtesy of Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports Hello, readers. First of all, I’d like to mention that there are no odds and ends today as there wasn’t much spare news coming out of the system this weekend. I will, however, say that many of the top prospects in the organization continued to perform really well, and […]