OSS: Javy walks it off in the 13th to complete the sweep of the Nationals. Three up Javy Baez hit a long blast to the left field bleachers to end this looooong, sloppy, game. Not surprisingly, he was the Cubs leading WPA position player of the day. The bullpen posted eight scoreless innings after Jake Arrieta could only make it through three …
Cubs 8, Nationals 5 (5/7/16)
OSS: It’s better to be lucky and good. Three Six up: Too many great performances to fit into the usual format today. Addison Russell had a huge day at the plate, posting a .431 WPA thanks to an RBI single in the sixth that sent Nats starter Gio Gonzalez to the showers and a two-run double in the seventh that gave the Cubs the …
Cubs 8, Nationals 6 (5/6/16)
OSS: Ben Zobrist homers again. And again. Three up: Ben Zobrist is just utterly on fire right now, homering twice and drawing two walks in today’s game. *Quietly deletes the WTF @ tbe Ben Zobrist signing post from the offseason*. When Rendon homered in the second PA of the game, it only made me more confident that the Cubs would have …
The Cubs historic start to the 2016 season
A lot has been written about how good the 2016 Cubs are. The articles began immediately after the Mets quickly dispatched of them in the 2015 NLCS. They increased significantly after the Cubs signed Jason Heyward and John Lackey away from division rival St. Louis. We’ve all marveled at some of these numbers and have thoroughly enjoyed watching the Cubs beat …
Cubs 5, Nats 2 (5/5/16)
OSS: “Zobrist high-fiving so hard that he nearly fell down is a pretty good microcosm for the season.” – umbra Three up: Zobrist had most of the RsBI today, with a bases clogged single in the fourth and an insurancey two run homer in the eighth. The Cubs ended up needing those extra runs, as the Nats finally broke through in …
What has gone wrong?
We all knew the Cubs had a very good team when the season started. We can never be sure exactly how that will play out, but over the first 26 games, it’s played out about as well as any Cubs fan could have hoped for. As Cubs fans, we’re often left wondering “what has gone right?” This year, I find …
Cubs 6, Pirates 2 (5/4/16)
OSS: What is best in life? To crush your enemies, to drive them before you, to hear the lamentations of their fanbase. Three up: Ben Zobrist was the WPA hero of the day, mostly due to a three run homer in the third inning that ended up as the nominal GWRBI. You just can’t make any mistakes against this Cubs lineup …
Cubs 7, Pirates 1 (5/3/16)
OSS: Fuck, this team. Three up: I don’t even know who to single out here, the Cubs are kicking ass and taking names from one of their main competitors for a playoff spot despite having three of their top position players out for injuries of varying severity. Tim fucking FedEx, the backup-backup-backup catcher was the top position player in WPA. Arrieta walked two batters …
Cubs 7, Pirates 2 (5/2/16)
OSS: Cubs rack up Cole’s pitch count for the second game in a row and chase him early. Three up: Anthony Rizzo paced the Cubs in WPA on the day, mostly due to a game tying double in the third inning and another in the fifth. It is great to see the hits dropping for him again. David Ross had the other …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (17-6) at Pittsburgh Pirates (15-10)
The Cubs and Pirates meet for the first time since the Cubs treated the Pirates like the Gatorade cooler in the Pirates dugout. One can hope that tempers are cooler this time around. The Pirates have come out of the gate hot with the best team wOBA in all of baseball. Their pitching, however, has been less good, posting a …