OSS: Kyle Schwarber blasts the Cubs to at least a series win. Three up: Kyle Schwarber hit an opposite field grand slam off of Mike Leake in the seventh to put the Cubs ahead. You may have heard that Schwarber is in a bit of a slump, having just five hits in the previous two weeks going into this game. …
Cubs 3, Cardinals 2 (6.2.17)
OSS: What strange new world is this? Three up: The key play of the game was Anthony Rizzo taking third base on a groundout in the eighth inning to set up the go ahead run on a sac fly from Heyward. His double preceding that helped too I guess. Heyward also drove in the Cubs second run with a double …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (25-24) at San Diego Padres (19-33)
Well that was, uh, not great. At least the Cubs transition from playing one of the best teams in the league to one of the worst. Weird shit tends to happen on west coast road trips though, so who knows what will happen. The Padres are as bad as their record, with the second worst offense in baseball by wOBA …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (25-21) at Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles (27-20)
The Dodgers pitching is tops in the league, which is not a huge surprise, but their offense is way better than I would have guessed as well. They were fourth in the NL in offensive production last year, and are right there again in 2017. Turner, Grandal, and Seager are having big years as expected, but they are also getting …
OV Podcast episode 20
In this episode, Jeff and Myles discuss: Revised win total predictions for the Cubs Which struggling players we are more and less worried about Should Jaby Baez eat into Russell's playing time? How long can Ian Happ keep this up First inning runs – hilarious or frustrating? Guessing the lineup on this day in 2012, including the most comical 3-4 …
Cubs 5, Giants 4 (5.24.17)
OSS: Rizzo hits two homers into the wind and the Cubs hang on to win Three up: Rizzo was the easy WPA leader in this game, hitting two game-tying solo shots in the first and fourth innings and added a single and IBB in his other two PAs. It's nice to see him finally heating up, and his season line …
Series Preview: San Francisco Giants (19-26) at Chicago Cubs (22-20)
As much grumbling as there has been at the Cubs slow start, this series offers a stark reminder that it could be much worse. The Giants season can be summed up with the fact that Giants ace Madison Bumgarner, who has been out since late April due to a dirtbike accident, has the team's third highest offensive WAR on the …
Series Preview: Milwaukee Brewers (24-18) at Chicago Cubs (21-19)
There's a little less smoke and mirrors going on with the Brewers record compared to the team the Cubs just swept. The Brewers are simply scoring a crapload of runs, in large part thanks to Eric Thames's scorching hot April. He has slowed down a bit in May, but he's anchored what has been a pretty good offense, middle infield …
Cubs 7, Reds 5 (5.17.17)
TSS: Cubs get some hits with runners in scoring position? What sorcery is this? Three up: On a day when the wind was howling out, the Cubs scored seven runs without a home run. Coomer claimed it was 45 mph winds but I'm guessing that was jsut gusts. The biggest hit of the day was Kyle Schwarber's two-run single that …
Cubs 9, Reds 5 (5.16.17)
OSS: There's nothing like Bronson Arroyo and the wind blowing out at Wrigley to wake up an offense. Three up: The Cubs 'only' hit four home runs in this game, but somehow it felt like there were a lot more. Of all of them, Kyle Schwarber's bomb into the back rows of the RF bleachers was the most impressive, and …