In what was likely Jake Arrieta’s final start as a Cub, he managed to stave off elimination for one more day. It was a fitting sendoff for a guy whose last four years have rivaled Greg Maddux’s best four years with the Cubs. Without Javier Baez’s pair of dingers and leaping catch on an errant […]
Tag: Second City October
What the Heck Is Going On: A Quick Look Ahead at the NLCS
Whew. If you’re reading this, the Cubs (somehow, barely, and very questionably) did what they needed to do against a great, great Nationals team after a great, great series. And now it’s Friday, and we’re all guzzling coffee, rubbing our eyes, and wondering what’s next. For the Los Angeles Dodgers, once again the Cubs’ NLCS […]
Second City October: NLDS Game Four, Nationals (1-2) at Cubs (2-1)
The Cubs have an opportunity to wrap up this instantly classic series on Tuesday evening after snatching a victory from the clutches of Max Scherzer on Monday. The Cubs need only win one of the next two games, and they have their first crack at a clinch at Wrigley Field with Jake Arrieta on the […]
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 […]
NLDS Game 1 Recap: Cubs 3, Nationals 0
If I could turn back time, there are three things I would do immediately… 1. Take back those words that hurt you and you’d stay 2. Unless you’re Baby Hitler, in which case you’re toast 3. Travel back to the second inning of tonight’s game and bet every cent I own that the Cubs will […]
Second City November: World Series Game Six Preview, Cubs (2-3) at Cleveland (3-2)
Second City November. For all that a Cubs World Series provokes a constant parade of precious, sepia-toned comparisons to the world as it was in years of past glory, baseball this late in the calendar year is entirely without parallel for the Cubs as a franchise. Perhaps you haven’t heard, but back in 1908, we hadn’t yet invented […]
Second City October: Home Field (dis) Advantage
The Cubs won 103 games—more than any other team in baseball—and do not have home field advantage in the World Series. You can call it unfair, ridiculous, or just plain dumb, but them’s the rules. That’s why they’ll have to beat Cleveland on their own turf in Game Six to get a chance at winning […]
Second City October: State of the World Series—We’re Back, Baby
The Cubs finally sent the Wrigley faithful home with a home victory on Sunday night, the satisfying result of an ulcer-inducing crucible of a World Series game. It was yet another in a series of “first since X” Cubs World Series feats—the first home World Series win since 1945, of course—and those who have watched […]
Second City October: One Third of the Way to a Miracle
Hey look, the 2016 Cubs showed up for the World Series! I am almost as relieved not to be writing a Cubs obituary right now as you are not to be reading one. Apparently the Ricketts have contracted with Miracle Max to open up a stand next to Hot Doug’s because it turns out that […]
Second City October: World Series Game Five Preview, Cleveland (3-1) at Cubs (1-3)
Here, almost as succinctly as I can put it, is everything we know about Game Five: It will be October 30th, the latest in the year the Cubs have played a game in franchise history. Jon Lester will start against Trevor Bauer, so the Cubs will once again have the advantage in the pitching matchup, playoff […]