Surgically reconstructed knee and all, Kyle Schwarber can still do a lot of things really well. His hitting in 2017 is not yet cause for celebration, and while at times his defense in left field can dazzle us, at others we might be forgiven for wanting to look away. There is one aspect of Schwarber’s […]
Tag: Kyle Schwarber
How the Outfield Is to Blame for the Cubs’ Slow Start, or: The Outfield Is Slowly Killing Us All
Sunday night’s marathon game at Wrigley Field offered fans a bevy of interesting, weird, and quirky things to see. The single-game strikeout record fell. The Cubs tied the game in the ninth against Aroldis Chapman. Aaron Hicks lost a Javier Baez home run in the twilit Chicago sky, throwing up his arms in surrender. Oh, […]
Kyle Schwarber Leading Off: It’s Working
It was an interesting thing watching the (I guess you’d call it) fallout from Joe Maddon announcing during the spring exhibition season that Kyle Schwarber would set the table for the Cubs in 2017. While it wasn’t met with a ton of opposition, it has led to countless breakdowns across media outlets and the blogosphere. […]
Face of the Philosophy: Schwarber’s (Not So) Hidden Strength
Kyle Schwarber led off the final inning of 2016 with an outlandish degree of confidence. He reportedly strode to the batter’s box, nonchalantly reassuring Mike Borzello, “Borzy, I’ve got this. Don’t worry. I’m locked in.” Naturally, he was right. It’s a special twenty-three-year-old who can bring that kind of self-assurance – and deliver – in […]
Cactus Catchup: Schwarber, Cuts, and a Starting Rotation
Putting in Work Kyle Schwarber flashed some versatility at the plate on Wednesday. He led off the game with a bunt single and hit a two-run shot later in the game. While it remains to be seen how often we should expect to see the former from Schwarber throughout the season, it just goes to […]
A reasoned analysis of Kyle Schwarber’s left field play
For all the members of Cubs Nation that have already wiped pre-2016 Cubs history from their memories, I will remind you about some very recent history: in 2015, the New York Mets unceremoniously swept the upstart Cubs 4-0, ending their season. At this point, I doubt that many Cubs players dwell on that sweep. One […]
Who should lead off for the Cubs in 2017?
The Chicago Cubs’ high-powered offense contributed to much of their success in 2016, and much of the third-ranked 808 runs they scored was due to the production of Dexter Fowler at the top of the order. Fowler had been the lead-off man on the North Side since he was acquired in 2015 and for two […]
A Brief Exploration of the Cubs’ Catching Depth
While the Cubs will head into the 2017 season with their lineup looking much the same way as it was for the bulk of last season, there’s still some intrigue about certain aspects of the roster. Centerfield is an interesting situation, and the return of Kyle Schwarber has obviously provided shiploads of buzz about of left field. […]
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 […]
Unleash The Schwarber… Against Lefties Too
Heading into full spring training, and into the season, one of the things intent Cub watchers are curious about is how, once again, Joe Maddon will juggle all the players he needs to get into the lineup. We know there are five guys for infield spots in Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist, Javy Baez, Addison Russell, […]