Lost in the wealth of young Cubs talent like Kris Bryant, Jorge Soler, Javier Baez, and Arismendy Alcantara are some of the other players of their generation. Junior Lake typifies this crowd, which also included former Cubs Brett Jackson and Josh Vitters—players best left forgotten. What shouldn’t be readily forgotten is how hot Lake’s 2013 […]
Tag: Starlin Castro
The Cubs at 50 Games
As the Cubs has passed the 50-game mark, they’re approaching the point where questions begin to be answered, and not always in a positive manner. With a 27-23 record after Tuesday, the Cubs would be right in the thick of the playoffs if they were to begin now. It’s not too soon to wonder if the […]
Castro Cleaning Up Was a Mess
Photo courtesy of Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports On Monday afternoon when the Cubs lineup was posted on twitter, many noticed a rather large change: Starlin Castro was no longer in the clean-up spot. I’m not sharing any new information with you by saying that Castro has looked rough at the plate of late, you’ve seen […]
Fixing the Middle-Infield Clog
Photo courtesy of Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports Through Monday, Javier Baez was batting .311/.388/.522 in his first 103 plate appearances of the season at Triple-A Iowa. Despite dealing with the tragic loss of his younger sister at the beginning of the season, and taking time away from the team to share in his family’s grief, Baez […]
Castro’s Bat Stuck in Neutral
Photo courtesy of Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports Early in the season Castro was hitting .355, and for that brief moment it looked like the ghosts of 2013 might’ve been completely behind him. Castro’s production has cratered since that high water mark; he entered play on May 20 with a .646 OPS and a mysterious lack […]
Was Castro’s Mild Dash Worth It?
Photo courtesy of David Banks-USA TODAY Sports My wife and I were driving to Chicago last Friday to help our younger daughter move from one Lakeview apartment to another. It really wasn’t the ideal time to move, with the Cubs at home, but a confluence of events made these days the only ones that would […]
Breaking Down the Cubs Defense
Photo courtesy of Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports Cubs fans had every right to be excited entering 2015. In addition to the wealth of young talent, new additions like Jon Lester, Jason Hammel, Miguel Montero, and David Ross had even the most jaded Cubs fan thinking positive thoughts. In the face of this optimism, a rational […]
Radically Young, Cubs Hope to Break Mold of Playoff Mix
The Cubs gave 25 plate appearances to players 25 years old or younger during Tuesday night’s win over the Mets. That leaves them with 683 PA by players in that age range this season—exactly 500 more than the Yankees gave to players that young all of last season. Add together last year’s Yankees and Athletics, […]
Game 24: Cardinals 10, Cubs 9
Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports Top Play (WPA): Joe Maddon used five relievers in tonight’s game, and tapped Zac Rosscup in the pivotal seventh after Pedro Strop failed to record an out. With runners at the corners and one out, Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong looped Rosscup’s 84 mph slider over Starlin Castro’s […]
That’s So Cub: A Look at the Top April Contributors and Moments
Photo courtesy of David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports Today is May 1st. That means, for one thing, that Mother’s Day is a mere ten days away. Purchase your thoughtful presents now. It means, for another, that—by virtue of their off day yesterday—the Chicago Cubs have completed their April schedule. Although mothers are undoubtedly important, it is that […]