OSS: Three up You couldn’t have scripted it any better for David Ross’s final regular season game at Wrigley. A huge ovation from the crowd in his first PA, and a bomb of a home run in his second. It was also a classy move by Maddon to pull Ross in the seventh to soak in the moment. Even …
Cubs 9, Reds 2 (9.21.16)
OSS: The Cubs get to do this one more time to close out the season. Three Four Five up: It was a big day for Miguel Montero, who went 3-5 with 3 RBI and scored on a balk. He’s had a rough year all around, but it’s been nice to see him warm up these last few weeks. I get …
Cubs 7, Cardinals 0 (9.14.16)
OSS: Cubs magic number drops to Tony Campana. Three up: Jon Lester had another great game, pitching eight scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and just four baserunners. He lowered his ERA to second in the NL, behind teammate Cyle Hendricks. He was on pace for a Maddux in much of the early going, and is probably the favorite to start …
Miscellaneous Thoughts from the Pelicans last home game
A once-every-three-years guest post by BVS. Sunday night was the last home game of the year at TicketReturn Field, home of the Cubs A+ farm team. The Pelicans divebombed the Lynchburg Hillcats (CLE) 8-3 to even the Mills Cup series at 1-1. I don’t know why it’s called the Mills Cup, and am too lazy to look, but that’s the Carolina League Championship. They lost game one 4-3 …
Cubs 4, Cardinals 1 (9.12.16)
OSS: Three outs away from a Cy Young? Three up: Kyle Hendricks was just amazing today, taking a no-hitter into the ninth inning before losing it on a HR by Jeremy Hazelbaker. Even aside from the no-hit bid he was also on pace for a Maddux for most of this game. He lowered his league leading ERA to 2.03, and …
Cubs 3, Giants 2 (9.4.16)
OSS: The Jason Heyward Game? Three up: Heyward drove in all three runs in this game, including the RBI single that sent the game to extras in the ninth and the game-winner in the thirteenth. His slash line since the weekend off in Coors now stands at .308/.320/.442, and hopefully he just keeps on hitting. Addison Russell had a great …
Cubs 5, Giants 4 (9.1.16)
MSS: …before Tuesday’s game against the Athletics, pitcher Jeff Samardzija said he wasn’t thrilled with the moves. “I don’t think this team improves by trading Scott Feldman,” Samardzija said. “He was one of our better pitchers. He’s thrown a lot of innings, a solid dude, a solid guy in the clubhouse. It’s a shame to see him go, and the …
These 2016 Cubs are one of the best teams in the divisional era
This is the best Cubs team most of us have seen in our lifetimes. You’d have to be pretty old to have seen a better Cubs team than the 2016 version. So let’s just say this is the best Cubs team in our lives, but how good are they compared to the rest of the teams? The Cubs 3rd order …
Cubs 6, Pirates 5 (8.31.16)
OSS: Cubs close out August with a nail biter. Three up Kris Bryant homered again, keeping pace with Nolan Arenado for the NL lead. Jason Heyward had yet another solid day at the plate, going 2-3 with a walk, a RBI, and the totally common run-scored-on-balk. Since his series off in Colorado, he has a .333/.351/.500 slash line, and has …
Cubs 8, Pirates 7 (8.29.16)
OSS: Cubs win a bizarre one. Three Six up There were too many crazy plays in this game to stick to just three. WPA-wise this was one of the craziest games I’ve seen. There were twenty separate plays that swung win probability by more than ten percent. The biggest one was Jorge Soler‘s game-tying homer in the ninth (.470 WPA). …