Turning Corners
For the first time since 1945, the Chicago Cubs will play in the World Series beginning Tuesday, October 25th at 7:08 pm CST.
Read more "Turning Corners"For the first time since 1945, the Chicago Cubs will play in the World Series beginning Tuesday, October 25th at 7:08 pm CST.
Read more "Turning Corners"Most of us know that Andrew Miller’s slider is excellent; but let’s illustrate just how unhittable the postseason’s best reliever’s best pitch is.
Read more "We Need to Talk About Andrew Miller’s Slider"On October 15, Miguel Montero set Chicago on fire with a game-winning grand slam in Game 1 of the NLCS. The win snapped a 7-game NLCS losing streak for the Chicago Cubs, and gave fans boundless confidence entering Game 2 the following day. The atmosphere in Wrigley Field was electric (or so I’m told), and […]
Read more "The Finality of Game Two"According to Ken Rosenthal, the Chicago Cubs are dipping again into their war chest of top-shelf prospects, welcoming white-hot catcher Willson Contreras to the show. The move will (most likely) be made possible by designating veteran Tim Federowicz for assignment. Given Miguel Montero’s defensive struggles lately and David Ross’s age, it seems like the perfect […]
Read more "Meet Willson Contreras: The Cubs’ Latest Can’t-Miss Callup"Javier Baez has been the second-worst kept secret in the Chicago Cubs development system over the past couple years. In that time, he’s struggled with intermittent flashes of brilliance. When he hits, he hits. His giant, loopy swing and bat speed make every fly look like it should hit the streets outside a park, and […]
Read more "Compact Swing, Contact Hitting: How Javier Baez is Steadily Figuring it Out"Contact pitching isn’t as flashy as strikeout dominance, but it can be far more efficient if done well, and Sale has done it dominantly so far.
Read more "Sale’s Pitch: How Contact Pitching Has Led to Chris Sale’s Dominant 2016"Blown leads are the bane of every baseball fan’s existence; it’s a gut punch to watch your team fall from a winning position, regardless of record. That being said, some teams this season have been way better at holding leads than others. In the interest of observing every team from as level a field as […]
Read more "By The Numbers: Which Teams Blow the Most Leads When and How Often in 2016"Let’s talk about Jeff Samardzija. As a lifelong Cubs fan, I’m all too familiar with him, both highs and lows. He was the ordained ace for a lot of Chicago’s bad seasons, until he turned down a 5-year contract in the neighborhood of $85 million and ended up on the South Side by way of […]
Read more "Shark’s Selection: How Jeff Samardzija is Producing for the Giants"I really like Yasiel Puig. I always have. Let’s get that clear (I have a bobblehead on my desk), because picking apart a player’s rough year always seems a bit mean. He’s fun to watch, and he has all the potential in the world. That being said, he underachieved a bit last year (but he […]
Read more "Yasiel’s Yield: Looking at Yasiel Puig’s Early-Season Struggles"After a cooler start, Ben Zobrist, just one of the Cubs’ important additions, has heated up quickly. His batting average has jumped up to .305 in a week, up from .253 on May 2. He’s on track for his best hitting season since back in 2009, when he finished the season at .297. He just […]
Read more "In The Zone: Ben Zobrist’s Career-Best Plate Discipline"