This piece, by BP Wrigleyville’s Editor-in-Chief Sahadev Sharma, first appeared at the Baseball Prospectus main site and is available free for all to enjoy. We’ve posted a sneak preview here. The Cubs bullpen, which has been stout this postseason, gave up three runs. The offense, a group that carried them in the second half, was once […]
Tag: Playoffs
NLCS Game Three Recap: Slipping Away
All year long, Cubs’ leadership has preached a simple mantra to their young players: “Do simple better.” That mantra won the Northsiders the NLDS in Game Two’s critical second inning. It kept them close in the first two games of this long-awaited NLCS. And it led to countless moments in which the team was able to take advantage of more careless opponents and […]
Heat Gets the Headlines, but Command Is Key
The Cubs are good at hitting fastballs. They rank second in the NL with a .399 slugging percentage against pitches 96 mph and greater. The Cubs are bad at hitting fastballs. They rank 13th in the NL with a .230 batting average against pitches 94 mph and greater. Anthony Rizzo hit .372 against pitches 96 […]
Playoff Prospectus: NLCS Game Three Preview
This piece, by BP’s Mike Giannella, is the Cubs-specific portion of a longer LCS preview jointly written with Chris Mosch. We’ve posted Mike’s section by itself here; if you’d like to bone up on your ALCS knowledge, head over to the full piece here. We hope you enjoy. After taking the first two games in […]
Inside the At-Bat: Daniel Murphy’s First-Inning Home Run
In 2015, Jake Arrieta authored one of the greatest seasons for a starting pitcher in baseball history. Daniel Murphy is a good hitter who put together a very good free agent season (.281/.322/.449, .283 TAv), but prior to the past four days, his name and production were never put into historical context. Yet, here we are, two […]
Mets Win, Take 2-1 Series Lead: NLCS Game 2
No, that’s not a typo in the headline. Over at Baseball Prospectus, Sam Miller recaps a Mets victory in Game Two of the NLCS by using a little humor. Well, Cubs fans may not be in the mood to laugh, but perhaps assuming a Game Six victory is something you do want to hear about… […]
When Hendricks Made the Change
Kyle Hendricks was steaming. Sixty feet six inches away in the California sun, his catcher was shaking him off, calling for the changeup again and again in the face of Hendricks’ obvious frustration. Hendricks knew he couldn’t throw one, knew he didn’t have one. But the catcher was insistent, and the lanky right-hander finally rocked and […]
NLCS Game Two Recap: Mets 4 Cubs 1
Yesterday, Mauricio Rubio recapped a tough Game One loss, relaying the sadness, dejection, and frustration already thick in the air. At one point, he stopped to explain, “I’ve been the dejected fan wondering why this is happening again even if the series is young and the reasons for my sadness do not sync up with […]
Playoff Prospectus: NLCS Game 2 Preview and PECOTA Odds
This piece, by BP Wrigleyville’s Rian Watt, first appeared at the Baseball Prospectus main site and is available free for all to enjoy. We’ve posted a sneak preview here. After an series opener in which New York’s Dark Knight pitched his way back into Gotham’s good graces with 7 ⅔ strong innings against Chicago, the […]
Playoff Prospectus: Matt Harvey, from the Operating Table to the Opera — NLCS Game 1
This piece, by BP’s Jeffrey Paternostro, first appeared at the Baseball Prospectus main site and is available free for all to enjoy. We’ve posted a sneak preview here. Forget all that you know and all you have heard. Specifically, forget any talk of shutdowns and innings limits, ignore any hastily thrown together PR rehab, pretend you […]