OSS: Bullpen not sharp, but Cubs pull it out in extras against Kimbrel. Three Four up: 1. Kris Bryant waved at two sliders to start the game, then managed to turn the PA into a walk. He reached base five times today, with three walks and two bloopy singles. He #Respected180 by going to second on his first hit of …
Padres 5, Cubs 4 (4/17/15)
OSS: Inconsistent umpiring and inability to execute despite it sinks the Cubs. Three up: 1. I take back anything bad I’ve said about Herrera. He was on third base in the third inning and the Padres had a big shift on for Rizzo, leaving him uncovered at 3b. He took some huge leads, which led to Shields threatening to run …
Cubs 5, Reds 0 (4/15/15)
OSS: Jason Marquis did Jason Marquis things, Travis Wood looked like 2013 Travis Wood, and the Cubs are back in first place. Three up: 1. Anthony Rizzo hit his first homer of the year, an absolute bomb to right center into the teeth of the wind. The Cubs jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, which was …
Reds 3, Cubs 2 (4/14/15)
OSS: Death by a thousand singles (well, five) sinks the Cubs. Three up 1. Jake Arrieta’s stuff looked great tonight, but the Reds got five singles in the fourth inning and that’s all they ended up needing. 2. Beef Castle had a pinch hit homer off of former Cubs closer Kevin Gregg in the eighth inning. I’m hoping the Padres …
Cubs 7, Reds 6 (4/13/15)
OSS: *trademarks Jorge Soler Laser Show* Three up: 1. Jorge Soler was the star of the day, with two absolute bombs, both with Anthony Rizzo on base. Teams are growing to respect his cannon of an arm too, and he got an assist following a Lester throwing error early in the game. 2. Arismendy Alcantara got his first hit of …
Rockies 5, Cubs 1 (4/10/15)
OSS: Cubs can’t buy a hit with RISP Three up: 1. Matt Sczcur tied the game with a bases-loaded sac fly in the third. 2. Edwin Jackson looked good coming out of the pen, hitting 94-95 with his fastball. 3. Rizzo got on base four times in four PAs, with two HBP and two singles, one of them a bunt …
Cubs 2, Cardinals 0 (4/8/15)
OSS: Arrieta settled down, the Cubs finally drove in a runner in scoring position. Three up 1. Jake Arrieta walked two batters in the first inning, then rolled the rest of the way, striking out seven and only walking one additional batter in seven innings, all while sporting a magnificent beard. His final pitch hung clown shoes on opposing pitcher …
Previewing the NL Central via the BP Annual
Being more or less snowed in over the weekend provided plenty of time to leaf through this year’s BP annual. I was originally just going to rant about the Cardinals chapter, but figured I’d go ahead and do the whole division. Chicago Cubs Sahadev’s essay was excellent but not really news to those of us who follow the team as …
Ten Changes Rob Manfred, the MLB Players Union and Owners Should Enact Ten Years Ago
http://gty.im/52444340 It’s been almost a month since Rob Manfred discussed the possible, out-there, well-maybe-I-would-do-this-if-I-got-really-drunk-at-a-party changes with Karl Ravech. (Don’t worry, the “Ten Changes AndCounting Should Make to His Posting Habits” post is in the works including #6: “Consider posting every four years rather than annually or just whenever a new president is sworn into office or upon the closing ceremonies …
The 2015 Cubs (with ZIPS projections)
Position Player wOBA Pos Avg pwRC+ C Montero 0.304 0.305 100 1B Rizzo 0.367 0.328 112 2B Baez 0.319 0.298 107 SS Castro 0.33 0.297 111 3B Bryant 0.364 0.316 115 LF Coghlan 0.307 0.318 97 CF Fowler 0.345 0.32 108 RF Soler 0.335 0.316 106 – – – – – C2 Ross 0.277 0.259 107 IF La Stella 0.313 …