It’s the beginning of September, which not only means that kids head back to school and beer gardens become a lot less fun, but also that I, as I have since the beginning of time the beginning of the season, will sit down and write about the top Cubs’ contributors and moments from the previous month. If you want […]
Tag: Kyle Schwarber
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 […]
Kyle Schwarber, Chris Coghlan, and Contributing on Both Sides of the Ball
The Cubs have made a big statement, through their actions over the last few years, about their commitment to building the organization internally, both through player development and by trading for young, cost-controlled players. This strategy has resulted in the team drafting, signing, or trading for young, budding stars such as Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, Jorge Soler, […]
When a Young Man Walks By
As of Monday, the Cubs had given 2,345 plate appearances to players in their age-25 season or younger. In those trips to the plate, that subset of the team drew 207 walks. Both figures are the highest in the league for that age group, which should surprise no one at this point. The Cubs are […]
Day and Night: The Cubs’ Odd Home and Away Splits
Through Monday, the Cubs are 27-24 at home and 30-23 on the road. I try not to get too carried away over split data, but while this portrays a positive development, there are intriguing undertones. This table shows the difference in OPS for the Cubs since 2000 for home and away games (hOPS and aOPS), […]
That’s So Cub: A Look at the Top July Contributors and Moments
It’s the beginning of August, which means not only that the dog days of summer are officially here, but also that I, as I have since the beginning of time the beginning of the season, will sit down and write about the top Cubs’ contributors and moments from the previous month. If you want a brief technical summary of […]
Breaking Down Kyle Schwarber, Hitter
Moving forward into the second half of an already immensely exciting 2015, we are all faced with the reality that in the last couple of weeks, the offense has been absent for the Chicago Cubs. We aren’t exactly sure why, we just know that it’s happening. Though the Cubs have lost Miguel Montero to a fluke […]
What History Says When You Start Four Rookies
I was listening to 670 The Score on Monday afternoon when Dan Bernstein asked whether a team that started four rookies had ever made the playoffs. I enjoy researching these types of questions, and Dan did leave quite a bit to the imagination. I chose to define “rookie” using the filter in the Baseball-Reference Play […]
Evaluating Kyle Schwarber the Catcher
My first impressions of Kyle Schwarber were solidified in Beloit, Wisconsin where I traversed flat landscapes and a forgotten Midwest town to gain a glimpse of the Cubs top pick in 2014. His size was striking, especially when contrasted against the immature frames that populate the Midwest League. Schwarber was physically maxed out then with […]
No-Hitter Is of No Matter, It’s the No Offense That’s Concerning
Everyone okay? Did you get a chance to breathe, punch a wall, or drown your sorrows in a fine beverage? Good deal, it was probably time for some of that anyway; we all need to blow off a little steam every now and then. But here’s the thing: the fact that the Cubs got no […]