While baseball offers the great therapy of returning to action the very next day after a loss, that same quality allows little time for reveling in remarkable victories like Saturday night’s. All that needed to go well for the Cubs went well, and they overcame even issues such as small bullpen failures and cold bats […]
Tag: Second City October
Second City October: Miggy Makes ‘Em Pay
This piece, written by BP Wrigleyville’s Editor-in-Chief Rian Watt, forms part of our in-house coverage of the Cubs in the playoffs, “Second City October.” Additional Game One coverage can be found here. The 2016 Chicago Cubs posted a Park-Adjusted Defensive Efficiency (PADE) score of 6.38, which is both tremendously good, when considered in absolute terms—it means the team converted balls […]
Second City October: NLCS Game One Preview, Cubs (0-0) vs. Dodgers (0-0)
All throughout the melodic mayhem that was game five of the NLDS between the Dodgers and the Nationals on Thursday evening, there was a strange part of me that wanted this to happen. I didn’t care how the Dodgers did it, and obviously, neither did Dave Roberts. I just wanted the Cubs to face the […]
Second City October: NLCS Series Preview
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 NLDS coverage, written by Aaron Gleeman and originally run on the main site’s series “Playoff Prospectus,” can be found here. Fortune has not been kind to the Cubs when they travel to the west coast, and especially so in […]
Second City October: Late Into Game 4, the Giants Were Winning the NLDS
History tends to forget what almost happened. With baseball, people remember which team wins a postseason series, and even which team may have blown a big lead in a game. But take, for example, the three runs allowed after Clayton Kershaw left Game 4 of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ series with the Washington Nationals, bringing […]
Second City October: Finding Confidence In The Cubs’ Depth
I loved Aramis Ramirez. For nearly a decade he solved the Cubs’ riddle known at the hot corner, a vacuous wasteland for much of three decades after being vacated in the early ’70’s by the incomparable Ron Santo. Ramirez could hit anyone’s best heat, while still punishing breaking stuff that had even the slightest hint of loose spin. […]
Second City October: NLDS Recap—Cubs Advance to Second Consecutive NLCS
I feel the dread creeping in. It starts around the edges, like a foot slipping out from under a blanket on a cold night, the frigidity not gripping you completely but letting you know it’s there. It’s a familiar feeling, too: the frustrating boringness of the 2007 and 2008 National League Division Series, the resignation […]
Second City October: NLDS Game Four Preview, Cubs (2-1) at Giants (1-2)
Human perception is a funny thing. Most Cubs fans would have been very happy being up 2-1 in the series after facing postseason legend Madison Bumgarner. Today Cubs fans find themselves in that exact position, but lack of sleep is not the only reason why Cubs fans are not happy with this turn of events. […]
Second City October: A Manager’s Choices Make The Difference
The Cubs’ marathon loss to the Giants Monday night hurts, but only if we first remove context. From my fellow Wrigleyvillers, you’ll hear exceedingly reasonable takes focused on the fact that the Cubs anticipated a tough matchup with Madison Bumgarner, that Game Three was always the one they expected to be the most difficult, that […]
Second City October: Mike Montgomery’s Brilliance Not To Be Missed
October makes everything about baseball feel big, and nothing more so than emotions. We live for the big moments—the emotional highs and lows—and so the playoffs can be a time during which quiet, sturdy performances get easily overlooked. They shouldn’t be. And left-handed long relievers and spot starters are not usually the glamour players, but Cubs lefty […]