After a brief spasm of activity where the Cubs filled out a spot in the rotation with Tyler Chatwood and a couple spots in the bullpen, we’re all sitting around watching the water boil again. Or not boil, however that phrase goes. I guess not boil, which is even more boring than watching it boil. […]
Tag: Jon Lester
NLCS Game Two Recap: Dodgers 4, Cubs 1
As they prepared to meet the Spartans in a naval battle outside the city of Naupactus during the second year of the Peloponnesian War, the Athenian soldiers trembled at the overwhelming numbers and strength of their opponent. Sensing this fear, their general, Phormio, spoke to them, declaring that their inferiority in numbers was compensated for […]
Second City October: NLDS Game Two, Cubs (1-0) at Nationals (0-1)
The Cubs and Kyle Hendricks stole Game One from a dominant Stephen Strasburg, which makes winning Game Two a bit less desperate. Strictly speaking, the Cubs already got their one required win in Washington, and this is not a must-win game. That’s a boring way of thinking, though, and today the Cubs are in position […]
The Rotation’s Biggest Sequencing Changes
It’s no secret that the Cubs rotation has been different in 2017. Many would be quick to suggest that “different” is a nicer way of saying “bad”. While it’s certainly true that the results for the rotation have not been as good as in 2016, that does not in itself mean anything, nor does it […]
Game 44 Recap: Cubs 4, Giants 1
What You Need To Know: Coming into tonight’s game against Johnny Cueto and the Giants, Cub hitters had hit twelve home runs since the beginning of this current homestand, which began last Tuesday. This figure led the National League during the timeframe, and the Cubs continued their recent torrid home run pace by adding three more […]
Where Should Cubs’ Starting Pitching Concerns Be Focused?
The Chicago Cubs are not in a good place right now. They’re under .500, and there isn’t an area of the game in which anyone can declare that they’re actually excelling at this point. Despite some solid individual offensive and defensive performance, they haven’t put things together as a group in either respect. Same goes […]
Game 16 Recap: Cubs 6 Reds 5 (11)
What You Need to Know Jon Lester was imperfect tonight and the Reds tagged him for five runs in 5 2/3 innings, but the Cubs’ offense refused to die yet again as Anthony Rizzo tied the game with a three-run homer in the ninth. The Cubs finally caught up to the formerly first-place Reds. April […]
I Think… I Think I’m Getting The Jon Lester Fear
Hi, it’s me. The man on the mountain who’s here to instill panic in you about the top of the Cubs rotation. And you were so excited for the new season, weren’t you? Hadn’t even noticed the wind was biting, did you? I kill what you love. Actually, it’s not that bad. But it’s worth […]
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 […]
Jon Lester and Pitch Tunnels
Last week, Baseball Prospectus introduced some exciting new ways to evaluate pitching, one of which focuses on the notion of pitch tunnels. As that piece explains, this is essentially an attempt to quantify what Greg Maddux called the ‘column of milk'; the concept that an arsenal is extremely effective when the pitches are virtually indistinguishable […]