The Cardinals had a brutal month of May, going 7-17 and nearly going from first to worst in the division. While their offense has been solid, their starting pitching has been brutal. Michael Wacha has taken another giant step back, and the shine has faded from Miles Mikolas after he took the league by storm in 2018. Team Leaders Cubs …
Series Preview: Philadelphia Phillies (27-19) at Chicago Cubs (27-17)
Two first place teams match up for a big series at Wrigley Field. All the story lines will be focused on the return of Jay Carrieta, whose rotation spot didn’t come up against the Cubs in his first year in Philadelphia. Team Leaders Phils OBP: Rhys Hoskins (.390) ISO: Hoskins (.273) HR: Hoskins (11) R+RBI: Hoskins (62) wRC+: Hoskins (148) …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (25-16) at Washington Nationals (18-25)
It’s been a rough go of it for the Nats this year, just won their first series in over a month. Former Cubs bench coach Dave Martinez doesn’t seem to have brought that Joe Maddon magic along with him, and every new team that comes into DC has to be double checking wikipedia before the series to see if he’s …
Series Preview: St Louis Cardinals (20-11) at Chicago Cubs (16-12)
The Cubs have caught fire over the past few weeks, but the same can be said for the Cardinals. Their offense (112 wRC+) has been on par with the Cubs (114 wrC+), but their pitching staff has been a dumpster fire. Their starters sport a 4.47 ERA, which is slightly worse than average, but that masks an absurd 81.5% strand …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (12-11) at Arizona Diamondbacks (15-11)
The Cubs head to the desert, which is feeling especially desert-like already (high of 101 forecast for today). Since this is one of my two ‘local’ teams I’m out here to catch a few games and see some locals that I know. Thank the maker that (insert bank here) Park is air conditioned. The Cubs just saw the Dbacks last …
Series Preview: Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles (15-9) at Chicago Cubs (10-10)
The Cubs have feasted on a couple of mediocre to bad teams over the past week or so, but now get to face arguably the best team in the NL. They just took three of four in Milwaukee, knocking around Josh Hader for not one but two lead-changing home runs. Team Leaders I’m switching to 2019 numbers now, though small …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (5-9) at Miami Marlins (4-12)
Well, at least Chatwood didn’t start after all. The Cubs take a brief break from their homestand for a three game series with the Marlins, who seem to be on track to be a new calibration point for the concept of replacement level. Still, it always seems like weird things happen in Miami, even when you leave their home run …
Cubs 2, Pirates 0 and mini-preview: Anaheim Trouts of Disneyland (7-6) at Chicago Cubs (4-8)
OSS: Cubs eke one out in the rain Three up: Jose Quintana had one of his best starts as a Cub, striking out eleven batters in seven shutout innings. It’s especially good to see given how much of a disaster his last start was. Even better, he only issued one walk. Daniel Descalso had the big hit of the night, …
Series Preview: Pittsburgh Pirates (5-3) at Chicago Cubs (2-7)
Well, that road trip is over with. Hopefully the Cubs can get a fresh start now that they are finally at their homes for the first time in two months. At least the Brewers final felt like a regular loss instead of yet another back-breaking loss. Team Leaders I’ll use the teams’ 2018 numbers here (excluding injured/departed players), since looking …
Series Preview: Chicago Dumpster Fire (1-5) at Milwaukee Brewers (6-1)
Well that sucked. I’m not even jazzed enough to joke about this being the real Cubs home opener. The Brewers have gotten off to a hot start, full of dramatic walk off hits/catches and all the other fun things that the 2016 Cubs seemed to have from the get go. The Cubs meanwhile have gone from a team that certain …