With Saturday night’s sudden DFA and the subsequent Monday trade of outfielder Matt Szczur, the Cubs bid farewell to one of the longest tenured members of the organization and a valuable piece of the 2016 World Series championship team. With multiple prior pinch hit successes and a reputation as a great teammate and all-around good […]
Tag: Matt Szczur
The 25th Man: La Stella Or Szczur
With less than a week to go until the Cubs open up the 2017 season in St. Louis, the vast majority of the Opening Day 25-man roster has been pretty clearly solidified with just a few final exceptions. The most notable of those is the battle for the final bench spot. With Joe Maddon’s known […]
Playoff Particulars: Matt Szczur vs. Albert Almora
The season is winding down and the Cubs have clinched not only the Division, but also the top seed in the National League. All that’s left to do now is to prepare for the playoffs, and that includes trying to decide who is the best fit on the playoff roster. Most of the spots have […]
Game 114 Recap: Cubs 13 Cardinals 2
I suppose that if there are statement losses, then this must have been a very big statement win. Last night’s game ended on a bit of a controversial note with the fourth ball that walked in the winning run, and all of that came after the pitch that probably ended Matt Holliday’s season. So today felt […]
The Thing About Matt Szczur’s First Pitch Home Run
Last night, Matt Szczur hit a home run on the first pitch he saw in the third inning (and, indeed, in the game). Here’s what it looked like: There’s any number of interesting angles to talk about here. You could draw a parallel between Szczur’s alma mater (Villanova) and what happened in Houston on Monday […]
Dexter Fowler’s Impact on the Race for the Roster
One short month ago, I wrote about the Cubs’ cramped roster situation, and laid out the various scenarios that might unfold before we get to a final Opening Day roster. The front office had already had an incredible offseason, bringing in top-level talent at three different positions via free agency, and adding an intriguing arm in […]
Szczur Sings Backup as Utility Role Beckons
In the last stretch of the off-season—for me, the part that stretches from the Cubs Convention in mid-January until pitchers and catchers report a month later—there’s a lot of nervous chatter, inane conversation, and debate over the most minor of details involving baseball players and teams. While it would be nice to have real baseball […]
Life at the Margins in the Cubs’ Outfield
The Cubs, it appears, are done with their major offseason moves. That’s not a bad thing—lord knows they’ve done enough already—but it does mean that the present period, running roughly between the end of Cubs Convention and the beginning of Spring Training, lacks a certain something when it comes to news. Namely, news. But that doesn’t mean that […]
How a Poor Bench Has Contributed to a Season-Long Power Outage
Last week, 10 of us here at BP Wrigleyville answered the question, “Who or what is the harbinger of Cubs’ offensive success?” Basically, we all honed in on a specific player, explained why he needs to start hitting the damn ball, and how, if he does, the rest of the offense is sure to follow. It […]
Cubs’ Triple-A 40-Man’ers Could Contribute One Way or Another
As teams around baseball scramble this time of year to self-identify as buyers, sellers, or something more nuanced, every organization is looking ahead to August and September, and, in many cases, beyond. Will we get enough production from our 25-man roster to stay in contention? Will we need to go outside the organization to make […]