Back in the times that we all assumed Bryce Harper would be patrolling right field at Wrigley come the start of 2019, discussion of Ian Happ focused largely on his value as a trade piece or a 4th outfielder. With Harper likely to sign elsewhere and with the Cubs currently not linked to any other … Continue reading Ian Happ’s Path Forward
On Friday, the Cubs did what it seemed increasingly likely that they would do and tendered a contract to shortstop Addison Russell. Russell, of course, was suspended at the tail end of the 2018 Cubs season for his violent and unacceptable actions towards his ex-wife, Melisa Reidy following her detailing his abusive behavior in a … Continue reading Rehabilitation, change, and Addison Russell
I have no thoughts to offer on the Cubs bringing in Anthony Iapoce to be their new hitting coach. He seems like a guy they like and someone who buys into the importance of launch angle, so that's good enough, right? Instead, let's dive into one of the most outstanding seasons that any Cubs hitter has … Continue reading Wayback Machine: Derrek Lee’s Ridiculous 2005
A big part of the Cubs success and hope over the last several years has come from the infield... and catcher! After the 2016 season, it was easy to imagine that the Cubs were set around the diamond for years with a group that included Anthony Rizzo, Javy Báez, Addison Russell, Kris Bryant, and Willson … Continue reading 2018 Rundown: Infield (and Catcher!)
It's one and done for Chili Davis. The Cubs have parted with Davis after just one year. It's hard to argue that the one year was anything other than a giant disappointment. I've already written about the Cubs offense overall its contribution to the madenning finish to the 2018 season. Brendan Miller did a deep, deep … Continue reading Just One Bowl of Chili
The Cubs outfield had mixed results in 2018. On the one hand... Jason Heyward had his best season as a Cub! Ben Zobrist was awesome despite his age! Kyle Schwarber was a reliable masher of right handed pitching! Albert Almora had a pretty good first half! Ian Happ more or less repeated what he did … Continue reading 2018 Rundown: Outfield
The Cubs bullpen in 2018 was a tale of two halves - a strong unit in the first half gave way to a weakness in the second. Hey, that sounds a lot like the 2017 Cubs! Those Cubs relievers also started the year strong before fading and becoming a significant problem by playoff time. One … Continue reading 2018 Rundown: Bullpen
Going into the year the Cubs' starting rotation was expected to be a major strength. Favorable comparisons were made with both the 2016 and 2004 starting rotations as the idea floated around that this group could be one of the best Cubs rotations ever. At various points throughout the season, those predictions fell flat. Yu … Continue reading 2018 Rundown: Starting Rotation
The 2018 Chicago Cubs were the most frustrating and perplexing group that we've seen during the Cubs' current run of contention. They won more games than their counterparts from last year, but managed to underwhelm relative to that team, which was itself underwhelming in some ways compared to the unexpected and uncomplicated excitement of the … Continue reading Power Outage
