OSS: All the double plays! Three up: The Cubs defense turned seven double plays in this one, which tied a MLB record, including one to end the game. Six were on the ground, and the Cubs also got a lineout DP to end the eighth. They have an okay defense this year, I guess. It must have been stupid frustrating …
Cubs 1, Pirates 0
OSS: Jon Lester bounces back in a big way. Three up: Jon Lester threw his first scoreless start in over a month and a half, giving up five hits and striking out eight in six innings. The strikeouts are great, perhaps even more encouraging is the lack of walks. More of this would sure be nice. Ian Happ provided all …
Cubs 4, Nationals 3
OSS: Bote!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Three up: David Bote hit a walkoff grand slam to dead center and turned a shutout into a win. Bote’s homer was worth .901 WPA, which is about as big as it can get in a single PA. If WPA took into account the fact that he had two strikes at the time, it would be even bigger. …
Cubs 3, Royals 1
OSS: Javy Baez doing Jazy Baez things. Three up: Javy Baez continues to do it all. In this game he hit his 25th HR of the year to give the Cubs the lead in the sixth, then doubled in an insurance run in the eighth. He also made a spectacular diving play at third base, snagging a liner right on …
Cubs 9, Pirates 2
OSS: Cole Hamels strikes out nine in his Cubs debut. Three up: It wasn’t the most efficient start, but Cole Hamels struck out nine Pirates in five innings in his first appearance in a Cubs uniform. He also picked up his first hit as a Cub as the team jumped all over the Pirates pitchers early. Hamels allowed one unearned …
Cole Hamels ————> Cubs
The final details are still being worked out, but the Cubs are on the verge of acquiring Cole Hamels. The main asset trading hands seems to be salary relief for the Rangers, who were on the hook for $14m going forward on Hamel’s deal. Going the other way could be P Rollie Lacy (Myrtle Beach) and OF DJ Wilson (also …
Cubs 7, Cardinals 2
OSS: Three out of five ain’t bad. Three up: Jose Quintana gutted out seven innings and allowed just two runs, which was just what the bullpen needed after a couple of early hooks and a doubleheader in this series. Kyle Schwarber had the biggest hit in this game, a solo shot in the sixth inning that gave the Cubs the …
Cubs 9, Cardinals 6
OSS: Cubs bats break it open in the fifth. Three up: Jason Heyward had a solid day against his old team, racking up three hits and two clutch RBI singles in the early innings. He also purloined his first stolen base of the year. I’m guessing the events of the last week or two have been a nice reminder that …
What would you say….you do here?
While the Cubs position players have had a fantastic first half, returns have been less than great on the pitching front. With ~60% of the season in the books, Jon Lester leads the pitching staff with 1.0 fWAR. I’ll go into individual player recaps below, but one thing I’ve been wondering for a while is why there has been so …
Midseason Update: Position Players
The Cubs lead the division at the all-star break. As constituted, they are clearly a better team than any other in the division (which isn’t saying they are guaranteed to win it). The primary reason for that is a completely dominant performance by the bottom of the lineup, by far the best squad in the National League and in the …