While we wait for the World Series to start (and end) so the Cubs can finally do something to get back to the postseason, I realized a couple things that stemmed from the previous entry. The one thing is an extension of that blog, where it’s way more fun when the Cubs win, and that could generate far more goodwill …
Who Owns the Cubs?
Have we gotten to the bottom of this question, yet? Six years into its history (somehow that bit of canon came from the first half of its virtual existence), the Orthodox Church Of Cubs Baseball conducted an interview with the Chairman/Executive Chairman/Not Really the CEO/Owner-kind-of of the Cubs, Tom Ricketts. Part I of this wide-ranging interview was devoted exclusively to …
Is it time to shake up the infield?
The Cubs' offense has been incredible this year. Among starters, the OPS+ for each starter, in descending order: 193 181 173 128 117 115 (Jason Heyward!) 67 44 The astute reader will note that there are two less-than-average bats in that lineup. The first is Anthony Rizzo, who has dealt with back issues this year and is, well, Anthony Rizzo. …
White Sox 1, Cubs 8
OSS: The Cubs go deep 3 times and played screw the closer in the 8th. Three Four up: Javier Baez was only 1-4, but his 2-out home run in the 7th with 1 man on was the play of the night. Javy hit it way out and broke the 1-1 tie in Cubs favor. He’s got a 113 wRC+ on the …
Cubs 8, Phillies 1
OSS: Javier Baez goes 4-4 and John Lackey continues to dominate. Three up: Javier Baez was 4-4 today with a double and the game-winning RBI in the 5th. He was worth just over a quarter of a win in WPA today (0.27). Myself and another commenter were complaining about Baez's approach early in this one. He could still clean the …
Cubs beat Phillies 6-4, but could lose Jorge Soler
Soler Injury: Jorge Soler singled to the left field wall in his 2nd at-bat and as he was getting ready to round 1st base, he began limping and returned the bag. He grabbed his left hamstring and left immediately when Joe and the trainer came out to see him. Soler has had hamstring issues so they weren't going to take any …
Cubs 6, Diamondbacks 0 (6.3.16)
OSS: John Lackey was quite good and it seemed like everyone in the lineup had a double. Three up: John Lackey is efficient with his pitches. He struggled in the 2nd and threw 26 pitches, but other than that and a small jam in the 7th that Warren bailed him out of, he was outstanding. He struckout 9 and walked 2 …
Cubs 6, Phillies 2 (5.27.16)
OSS: David Ross picks up his 100th HR and the Cubs roll the Phillies on a stormy day. Three up David Ross hitting his 100th homer was the big story of the day. I was at lunch and missed it but you'd have to think that Pat Hughes called it a Turning Point. A lot of us here didn't want …
Cubs 2, Brewers 1 (5/18/16)
OSS: Against all odds, Travis Wood saves the day. Three up: Travis Wood Houdini-ed himself out of an impossible jam in the twelfth inning. He inherited two runners from Rondon, who was working in his second inning, then walked Santana to load the bases with nobody out. The Cubs brought an outfielder for the extra shot at the force at home but …
What has gone wrong?
We all knew the Cubs had a very good team when the season started. We can never be sure exactly how that will play out, but over the first 26 games, it’s played out about as well as any Cubs fan could have hoped for. As Cubs fans, we’re often left wondering “what has gone right?” This year, I find …