OSS: That fucking 8th inning. Three Up 1. Kyle Hendricks was pretty solid today. He didn't walk a single batter (only 2 strikeouts, so lots of balls in play). He made one bad mistake to David Freese, but allowed no other runs on the day. 2. Ian Happ had a 2-run single that would give the Cubs a 3-2 lead …
We have to talk about Dillon Maples
Baseball can be an exceedingly cruel game. The best hitters are defined as the ones that fail merely 60% of the time they come to the plate. Throwing the ball means always being a pitch away from the disabled list and an uncertain future. The path to success is littered with the failures of near-identical men and the smell of …
Cubs 17, Pirates 3
OSS: Cubs hit four homers and Javy steals home*. Three up: The Cubs blasted a bunch of homers to put this game out of reach, including two by Kyle Schwarber. But before then, they plated several runs on good baserunning. Javy Baez's steal of home, set up by a steal of second and a throwing error by Chris Stewart was …
Series Preview: Pittsburgh Pilates (63-68) at Chicago Cubs (69-60)
That joke in the title is a bit of a stretch. /dadjokes The Pirates have been a hot and cold team this year, but they've been cold lately. After climbing to 58-58, they've been 5-10 in their last 15 with many of those games being non-competitive. Furthermore, the Cubs miss both Cole and Taillon, instead getting the pitchers on the …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (68-58) at Philadelphia Phillies (46-80)
Finally free of the last of the anti-stat GMs, the Phillies set about to be the next big teardown and rebuild team. They had a promising season in 2016, as some of their young talent hit the bigs, and maybe things were starting to look 2014 Cubs-ish about them. In 2017, pretty much everyone not named Aaron Nola took a …
Cubs 6, Jays 5 (10 innings)
OSS: Cubs out-weird the Jays in extras while blowing and retaking the lead. Three up: The tenth inning of this game had, between both teams, – An error on a routine throw back to the pitcher by Alex Avila – Three walks, one with the bases loaded – A run scored on a wild pitch – Not one but two …
Cubs 7, Jays 4
OSS: Holy shit, Javy Baez. Three up: Baez had a nice day at the plate, going 2-4 with three runs batted in, but the highlight of the game was this ridiculous snag in the ninth inning. My only complaint is that he somehow makes it look *too* easy (dying laughing). Arrieta had another solid outing, striking out six in 6.1 …
Cubs 15, Reds 5
OSS: We are back! (for the 19th time) Three up: The Cubs offense exploded for 15 runs against the Reds garbage fire of a pitching staff. Anthony Rizzo led the way with five RsBI, including back to back HRs with Kris Bryant in the fourth to put the game truly out of reach. He also got the scoring going in …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (59-54) at Arizona Diamondbacks (64-50)
I had been planning to take a long weekend and catch this series in Phoenix. Instead, I ended up shelling out hundreds of dollars to repair rodent damage to my car, and will be watching from home. I feel like I should present the repair bill to the cat. Team Leaders Cubs OBP: Kris Bryant (.390) ISO: Anthony Rizzo (.246) …
Cubs 4, Nats 9
OSS: Cubs bullpen in shambles (again) as Nats make late comeback Three up: Willson Contreras smacked two solo homers bringing his total to 21. His wOBA is up to .369. His ISO is 45 points better than last year. Jon Lester pitched a good game until running into trouble in the 7th. Prior to the 7th, Lester had 7 Ks through …