If one were to write a book about the first 72 games of Miami’s 2016 season it would likely be titled Slightly Above Average: The Story of the First 72 Games of Miami’s 2016 Season*. Their record is 38-34. Their third-order winning percentage is .509. Their run differential is even. Luckily for the Marlins, though, slightly above average […]
Tag: Series Preview
Series Preview: Cubs vs. Cardinals, June 20-22
As extraordinary as it might have seemed in this offseason that was so pregnant with expectation for a competitive National League Central race, the Cubs enter this three-game, mid-June set with the Cardinals at Wrigley a stunning 12.5 games ahead of the Redbirds in the Central, and with an even-more-imposing 15 game lead on the reeling Pirates, who’ve […]
Series Preview: Pirates at Cubs, June 17-19
This has a chance to be a moment. If the Cubs win two out of three in each of their series over the next week, they will hit the road with at least their current 9.5-game lead in the NL Central, and both the Pirates and the Cardinals will be running low on chances to […]
Series Preview: Cubs at Nationals, June 13-15
Many things went into the Cubs’ four-game sweep of the Nationals at Wrigley Field last month. Their offense was sizzling, they came up with an effective (if unorthodox and, tactically speaking, questionable) salve for the burn Bryce Harper had inflicted upon the rest of the league to that point in the season, and whereas the […]
Series Preview: Cubs at Braves, June 10-12
In our last series preview, Matt Trueblood made a good observation: There is no such thing as a soft schedule. But with the Cubs just coming off an 8-2 homestand at Wrigley Field and then hitting the road for six of nine contests against the worst team in baseball while missing their ace pitcher in the […]
Series Preview: Cubs at Phillies, June 6-8
There is no such thing as a soft schedule over the course of an MLB season. The Cubs had a pretty soft April, but a tough stretch in May, and after a brief respite, they’ll soon see the difficulty setting ratchet up again. Between now and the All-Star break, the Cubs will play 33 games […]
Series Preview: Cubs vs. Diamondbacks, June 3-5
Disappointing results? Terrible alternate uniforms? Executives who barge into opposing team’s broadcast booths? The Arizona Diamondbacks have it all (but mostly those three things)! And all of it will be on display starting Friday afternoon, as the Diamondbacks arrive on the North Side to open up a three game series. It will be their only trip to […]
Series Preview: Cubs vs. Dodgers, May 30-June 2
Dear reader, this is where I say “I told you so.” The Los Angeles Dodgers roll into Wrigley Field on Monday with a middling 26-24 record, good for second place in the NL West, but 4 1/2 games behind the Giants. Meanwhile, their starting pitching—behind Clayton Kershaw and the currently-injured Kenta Maeda—has been predictably suspect. […]
Series Preview: Cubs vs. Phillies, May 27-29
The Phillies have been perhaps one of the National League’s biggest surprises so far in 2016, and while they might be just a testament to the weirdness of baseball (their run differential doesn’t quite line up with their spot in the standings) many Cubs fans are still getting over the last series between these two […]
Series Preview: Cubs at Cardinals, May 23-25
This is a moment, an opportunity for the Cubs to both create a little more breathing room between themselves and their most formidable divisional rival, and to get themselves out of the funk they’ve been in for almost a fortnight. If they miss that opportunity, it’d hardly be calamitous. The Cardinals can’t catch the Cubs […]