OSS: Three+ up: Addison Russell provided the biggest hit of the game, a no-doubter two run shot in the sixth inning to put the Cubs up 3-1, driving in who else but Javier Baez. Russell also added a single in the ninth and hustled his way into a leadoff ROE as the Cubs tacked on five insurance runs in the …
Cubs 10, Dodgers 2 (NLCS Game 4)
OSS: Back in business. Three+ up: Anthony Rizzo and Addison Russell were the most prominently struggling players on the offense going into this game, but their bats woke up in a big way tonight. Russell took Julio Urias deep in the fourth for a two run shot, and Rizzo hit a solo shot in the fifth. Both were making good …
Dodgers 6, Cubs 0 (NLCS Game 3)
OSS: Well, that sucked. Three up: The Cubs meat grinder got going early, sending seven batters to the plate against a clearly out-of-sorts Rich Hill in the second inning. He was over 40 pitches by the end of it plus half a hundred pickoff throws on noted base purloiner Anthony Rizzo, and the Cubs felt on schedule to do some …
Dodgers 1, Cubs 0 (NLCS Game 2)
OSS: Cubs run into a buzz saw named Kershaw and Jansen. Three up Not a lot of positives for the Cubs today. Oddly enough the only position player with positive WPA was Anthony Rizzo, who drew a leadoff walk in the seventh. The Cubs made a lot of good contact that inning but couldn’t get a ball to drop in. …
A Few Good Tweets From Game 1
One of the nice things about getting to a championship series is that everyone is paying attention. And, at least when Pedro Baez is pitching, there is plenty of time to survey the landscape. Revisiting the action while trying not to worry about Kershaw… On Howie Kendrick A. That’s not how defensive metrics work. B. Kendrick actually grades out as more …
Cubs 8, Dodgers 4 (NLCS Game 1)
OSS: Cardiac Cubs come up with another late comeback. Three up Miguel Montero hit a grand slam to put the Cubs back ahead in the eighth, yet another huge hit in the late innings for this team. Montero might not have even made the roster, given that his back issues were flaring up again. Just unreal. We are good. Woow. …
It’s Time to Stop Naysaying These Cubs
As most of you know, if you’ve spent any time around me or this site or my Twitter feed, my default setting is cynicism. This comes from a long time spent being a Cubs fan. I don’t need to rehash it all. You know why. Because some of you have lived through at least some of the years I’m referring to …
Cubs 6, Giants 5 (NLDS Game 4)
OSS: Javy Baez. Three Seven up: What a game, and a series overall by Javier Baez. Today alone, he made a ludicrous defensive play at second that was overturned on replay, then made a JavyTag to nail the runner one play later. He scored the Cubs second run after hustling out a grounder led to a two-base throwing error. Oh, …
Cubs 5, Giants 6 (NLDS Game 3)
OSS: This one’s probably on Joe. Three or more up: It’s the kind of play that doesn’t show up on WPA, but the most important play of the game was Almora’s sensational catch in the ninth inning, robbing Buster Posey of what would have been a walk-off double with almost any other right fielder out there. As a bonus he …
Cubs 1, Giants 0 (NLDS Game 1)
OSS: The Cubs prevail in a nerve-wracking pitchers duel. Three up: The obvious highlight of the game was the lone run scored in the game, a bomb by Javy Baez that looked like it was ticketed for Waveland but was almost blown back onto the field before hitting the basket. I’d like to say that this was the result of …