The playoff series between the Chicago Cubs and the Washington Nationals should provide plenty of offense. With names like Kris Bryant, Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, Anthony Rizzo, Daniel Murphy, and Ryan Zimmerman, there will be no shortage of thump in the National League Division Series. But one player who has a chance to be a real […]
Tag: Willson Contreras
How Have the Cubs Made Up for Willson Contreras’s Absence?
One of the many unique aspects of baseball is that it’s one of the few professions on earth where someone can nickname a co-worker “Killer,” and it becomes a term of endearment. But in the case of Willson Contreras, his teammates dubbed him “Killer” because the intensity that he brought to every game played a […]
Catching Defense Suddenly a Legitimate Strength
Despite the stability largely provided by their exceptional core of young talent, the Cubs entered 2017 with some questions behind the plate. Set to roll with a combination of Willson Contreras and Miguel Montero, there were questions as to the defensive development of the former, and questions about the offensive production of the latter. A […]
The Surprisingly Elite Alex Avila
One member of the Cubs lineup was the best hitter at his position in the entire league in the first half of the season. It wasn’t Kris Bryant, although he was close to the top: Justin Turner, Jose Ramirez and Anthony Rendon have all been very good. It wasn’t Anthony Rizzo, who didn’t even crack […]
Ian Happ’s Role Down the Stretch
There was a point this season where Ian Happ felt like the only thing that had gone right for the Cubs. The rookie came up in mid-May and immediately started raking. Ten of his first twenty-five hits went for home runs, and he was one of the few players keeping the team from sinking further […]
Game 97 Recap: Cubs 5, Cardinals 3
What You Need to Know While you were watching Game of Thrones, the Cubs reclaimed theirs, tying the Brewers at the top of the NL Central for the first time since May 26th. A pair of home runs bit José Quintana, but Willson Contreras and the offense picked him up. Next Level They had to […]
Gauging Willson Contreras’s Excellence
The 2017 season opened with a walk-off loss to the Cardinals, on national television, at the hands of the Actually Bad Randal Grichuk. Coming off a World Series win, it was difficult to feel down about the loss—but then they kept coming. Until recently, it seemed impossible for the Cubs to snap off a winning […]
Willson Contreras’ Offense Is On The Rise
As frustrating as this season has been on the North Side of Chicago, many continue to hold out hope that at any given moment, this Cubs team is going to break out in a big way. We’ve seen some signs of it, though it has yet to materialize into anything resembling consistency, especially on the […]
Game 35 Recap: Cubs 3, Cardinals 2
What you need to know: Eddie Butler made his debut for the Cubs today, and it was a good one. All Butler did was surrender two hits, strike out five, and walk three over six shutout innings, a welcome change from the Cubs’ incumbent starters of late. And yet, Butler’s performance was overshadowed a bit […]
What’s up with Willson?
Coming into the 2017 season, one of the many reasons to be optimistic was getting a full season of catcher Willson Contreras. The 24-year-old backstop burst onto the scene in 2016, solidifying himself as the Cubs every day catcher in the second half of the season. He was not only better with the glove than […]