Marvel at Terry Francona and Andrew Miller, at Dave Roberts and Kenley Jansen, for they are bold and innovative and damn good at what they do. Francona and Miller, in particular, have been coming in for particular praise, these days, for their unwavering commitment to using the best relief pitcher in baseball in the highest […]
Tag: Second City October
Second City October: NLCS Game Five Preview, Cubs (2-2) at Dodgers (2-2)
The sleeping giant has woken. You can be forgiven if you forgot just how good this team was during a 21-inning scoreless streak. After all, nothing makes a team look flatter than a slumping offense, and there were more than a few folks out there starting to write their “I told you so’s” about this team. […]
Playoff Prospectus: Slump? What Slump?
The piece previewed here, written by Baseball Prospectus’s Mauricio Rubio, forms part of the main site’s comprehensive coverage of the playoffs, “Playoff Prospectus.” Additional Game Four coverage, exclusive to BP Wrigleyville, can be found here, under the name “Second City October” The Chicago Cubs, facing a potential 3-1 hole against a team with the best […]
Second City October: They’re Back, Baby
This piece, written by BP Wrigleyville’s Isaac Bennett, forms part of our in-house coverage of the Cubs in the playoffs, “Second City October.” Additional Game Four coverage can be found here. The Cubs entered tonight’s Game 4 of the National League Championship Series in a familiar position. Last year against the Cardinals, they needed to […]
SECOND CITY OCTOBER: NLCS GAME FOUR PREVIEW, CUBS (1-2) AT DODGERS (2-1)
The offense remains the story, and that story remains melancholy. You know the numbers. The scoreless streak has stretched to 18 innings, a Cubs franchise record for the postseason. In Games 2 and 3, the Cubs went down 1-2-3 in 11 of those 18 innings, and produced just one extra base hit. During the regular season, by […]
Second City October: Rizzo’s Woes, In Detail
She arrived at the Sphinx—the mythical beast posted on an outcropping, guarding the bridge to the World Series—anticipating the riddle of legend. The Sphinx spoke. “What creatures walk on four balls in the regular season, but strike out on three pitches in the playoffs?” — The cold randomness of the playoffs was the only legitimate […]
Second City October: Blanked Again
This piece, written by BP Wrigleyville’s Jared Wyllys, forms part of our in-house coverage of the Cubs in the playoffs, “Second City October.” Additional Game Three coverage can be found here. “Just rearrange the deck chairs and see how it plays.” — Joe Maddon In hindsight, probably a poorly chosen allusion for Maddon, though it’s provided a […]
Second City October: NLCS Game Three Preview, Cubs (1-1) at Dodgers (1-1)
This season has been defined by waiting. The regular season was completely devoid of drama. That made the past five months a wait for the postseason to begin, but for many there was also the wait for the other shoe to drop. Fans that have seen anything positive by this franchise be met with triple […]
Second City October: Bats Quiet, Heading West
For the second time in six postseason games, the Cubs pitched themselves into a game decided by a lonely solo home run. Of course, last night’s loss to the indomitable Clayton Kershaw was a far more bitter pill than their Game One NLDS victory, coming behind the strength of Jon Lester’s gem and Javier Baez’s […]
Second City October: Kershaw Draws the Dodgers Even
This piece, written by BP Wrigleyville’s Clarissa Young, forms part of our in-house coverage of the Cubs in the playoffs, “Second City October.” Additional Game Two coverage can be found here. When most starting pitchers throw a side session, it doesn’t involve securing the final two outs in Game 5 of a Division Series, but […]