In baseball, there are a lot of things that go beyond the numbers. Mechanics. Injury history. State of mind. And a general good old-fashioned feel for the game. While the numbers paint a large portion of the picture, they aren’t the only thing contributing to it. There are exceptions to the sabermetric rule, and I would […]
Category: Articles
Playoff Prospectus: Homers, Homers, Homers, Homers — NLDS Game 3 ($)
This piece, by BP’s Mike Gianella, first appeared at the Baseball Prospectus main site and is exclusively available to BP subscribers. We’ve posted a sneak preview here. Game Three of the NLDS between the Cardinals and the Cubs shifted to Wrigley Field on Monday night, with the advantage tilting to the Cubs not only because […]
An off Night for Arrieta, but Not for the Team
I think it’s safe to say that Jake Arrieta wasn’t as crisp on Monday evening as we’ve gotten accustomed to. Of course, the Cubs bats were able to pick him up with a historic offensive performance, but it was a little startling to see Arrieta walk off the mound with just two outs in the […]
NLDS Game Three Recap: Cubs 8 Cardinals 6
Top Play (WPA): Think anyone is busy writing Kris Bryant service time stories now? The Cubs’ superstar third baseman hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning (+0.252) off of Cardinals starter Michael Wacha—one of six the Cubs hit on the night, setting a new major-league record—and helped the Cubs go up two games to one in […]
Now Scouting: Michael Wacha Versus Cubs Hitters
If you like reading the words “four-seam fastball,” then a scouting report about Michael Wacha is the piece for you. With Wacha, it is all about that pitch, and the Cubs know that well entering Monday’s Game Three of the NLDS. Wacha was still averaging 95.04 mph on his four-seam fastball in September, going to the pitch with 62 percent frequency, about […]
Trevor Cahill and Unconventionality
During Saturday evening’s contest between the Cubs and the Cardinals, I noticed an interesting amount of curiosity on Twitter about Joe Maddon’s decision to bring Trevor Cahill into the ballgame in a critical eighth inning. Cahill was assigned the task of bridging the gap between Travis Wood, who had relieved starter Kyle Hendricks a few […]
Playoff Prospectus: Cubs Do Simple Better — NLDS Game 2 ($)
This piece, by BP Wrigleyville’s Rian Watt, first appeared at the Baseball Prospectus main site and is exclusively available to BP subscribers. We’ve posted a sneak preview here. It was 54 degrees on October 3rd in Milwaukee, and the Cubs were bunched around the batting cages, working on their bunting. Manager Joe Maddon, who spent […]
Bryant Looking to Get off the Ground
Kris Bryant doesn’t hit into double plays. It’s just not his thing. In 650 plate appearances this regular season, Bryant grounded into seven double plays. His 34.2 percent groundball rate is 14th lowest in baseball for players with at least 400 plate appearances. He’s also deceivingly fast and always busts it out of the box, […]
Inside the At-Bat: Jorge Soler’s Game-Winning, Second-Inning Home Run
Welcome to the postseason, Señor! -Brian Anderson, on the home run call The results of inserting Jorge Soler into the two hole against Jaime Garcia in Game Two were overwhelmingly positive. The decision, however, was curious, just slightly, based on Soler’s peripherals in 2015. First, in 71 plate appearances from the two-hole, about 17 percent of his […]
NLDS Game 2 Recap: Showed Up
In Game One, the Cubs were pulled back into reality a bit after experiencing the highs that come with winning a win-or-die game against Gerrit Cole. John Lackey completely shut the Cubs offense down, Jon Lester performed valiantl, but the Cardinals got their timely hits in, and Pedro Strop had another meltdown against a team […]