The Cubs are about to clinch a spot in the post-season. They still have a shot at winning more games than the 1984 and 2008 teams that were the best teams of my lifetime. And they're doing it ahead of schedule. Everyone should be in a pretty good mood, right? Shockingly, Paul Sullivan has been stewing for 10 months and …
Joe Maddon OK with bullpen game in the postseason
Yesterday Joe Maddon talked a bit about what the Cubs might do if they beat the Pirates on October 7th. Jon Lester would start Game 1 against the Cardinals and then what? Jason Hammel and Kyle Hendricks haven't exactly pitched great down the stretch. The Cubs have had a couple bullpen games recently due to double-headers that have turned out …
Addison Russell vs. 2010 Starlin Castro
In 130 game and 486 plate appearances, rookie Addison Russell has hit .238/.301/.389. His wOBA is .302 and his wRC+ sits at 88. As a 21 year old who is now firmly planted at shortstop, those are some pretty good numbers. As a Major League hitter, they're below average, but the age and position matter a lot. He's hit 13 …
Kris Bryant’s 2015 is one of the best rookie seasons in Cubs history
Kris Bryant has had a fantastic season. He's probably going to win Rookie of the Year in the National League as he's hit .273/.367/.490 with a .370 wOBA and 135 wRC+. He's struckout a ton, but also has a very good walk rate for a rookie (11.7%) and he's hit 24 home runs while driving in 93. UZR rates him as …
Jake Arrieta’s Innings Increase
Jake Arrieta has had a fantastic season this year. Actually, he's been fantastic since he joined the Cubs, but I find myself being a little bit scared about his workload right now. He's thrown 191 innings so far and has about 5 starts left this regular season. He's averaged roughly 6.8 innings per start. That puts him on pace to throw …
Myles’ Super Simple MVP System
It is getting close to awards time. That means you are going to see the think-pieces come out soon where people will lay out ballots for MVP that don't comport with reality; for instance, there is a guy on twitter right now that has Yadier Molina as the current front-runner (with a calculation of 8.5 WAR this season – I …
Looking at the potential NL Playoff rotations
I thought I’d take a look at the potential playoff rotations in the National League for fun. Jason Hammel, Kyle Hendricks and Dan Haren haven’t not been performing too great for the Cubs and it’s begun to feel as though it’s a weakness for the team, but there aren’t many teams that are five deep in their rotation. Hammel hasn’t …
A look at the Cubs rest of season rotation *UPDATED*
I was taking a look at how many days of rest Jake Arrieta may have come October 7th if the rotation stays on schedule. The Cubs are likely to play in Pittsburgh that day. I was curious whether or not Joe Maddon would have to tweak the rotation a bit down the stretch, but it appears he’s already done his …
Staying off the 2015 Cubs roller coaster + how I’ve changed as a Cubs fan
Adam wrote a great post that I recently enjoyed about how it’s become World Series or Bust for him and many other Cubs fans as this year has unfolded. It’s a fantastic read, but my main feeling at this point in season is almost exactly the opposite. IIRC, we discussed whether or not our views as fans/writers have changed at some …
A brief look at the rest of the season
The Cubs have lost four in a row and are now 6 games behind Pittsburgh for the 1st wild card spot. They’re still 4.5 games ahead of the Giants. More importantly at this point in my opinion, they’re 5 losses better than the Giants. You can’t really make up a loss, but you can make up the win. They’re 9.5 …