The Cubs have not played particularly well over the last week or two. The offense has been rather quiet. Other than the 8-run game in the opener in San Francisco, the Giants pretty much shut down the Cubs offense. The Brewers beat them 2 of 3 also and they’ve lost 7 of their last 11. To their credit, they have managed …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (27-9) vs Milwaukee Brewers (16-22)
The Brewers find themselves neck and neck with the Reds for the worst record in the NL central division. Their offense has been middle of the pack in the NL so far, and in fact they are second only to the Cubs in walk rate (11.0% to the Cubs 12.6%). But the pitching, particularly the starting pitching, has been putrid. …
Where We Stand Now (4-18-16)
Week 2 (April 11 – April 16) Monday, April 11 vs Reds: W 5-3 (Box, OV Recap) Wednesday, April 13 vs Reds: W 9-2 (Box, OV Recap) Thursday, April 14 vs Reds: W 8-1 (Box, OV Recap) Friday, April 15 vs Rockies: L 1-6 (Box, OV Recap) Saturday, April 16 vs Rockies: W 6-2 (Box, OV Recap) Sunday, April 17 vs …
Where We Stand Now (4-11-16)
Week 1 (April 4 – April 10) Monday, April 4 @ Angels: W 9-0 (Box, OV Recap) Tuesday, April 5 @ Angels: W 6-1 (Box, OV Recap) Thursday, April 7 @ Dbacks: W 14-6 (Box, OV Recap) Friday, April 8 @ Dbacks: L 2-3 (Box, OV Recap) Saturday, April 9 @Dbacks: W 4-2 (Box, OV Recap) Sunday, April 10 @ …
Are the Cubs the favorites to sign David Price?
Common sense would indicate the Cubs would have significant interest in David Price this offseason. He's one of the best pitchers in baseball and he's a free agent. He won't cost the Cubs a draft pick since he was traded at midseason. He had a long working relationship with Cubs manager Joe Maddon. And the Cubs could really use another …
NLCS: Cubs and Mets Series Preview Part 1
I thought I’d break this into at least 2 parts. The first part will focus on the pitching, particularly the Mets pitching. We’re all familiar enough with the Cubs pitching. In short, the Mets starting pitching is good. The first game is going to be started by Matt Harvey, but he’s their 3rd starter. And Matt Harvey is good at …
Joe Maddon OK with bullpen game in the postseason
Yesterday Joe Maddon talked a bit about what the Cubs might do if they beat the Pirates on October 7th. Jon Lester would start Game 1 against the Cardinals and then what? Jason Hammel and Kyle Hendricks haven't exactly pitched great down the stretch. The Cubs have had a couple bullpen games recently due to double-headers that have turned out …
Cubs 4, Pirates 5 – Cubs 2, Pirates 1 (9/15/15)
OSS: Cubs split with the Pirates with frustrating loss in Game 1 and semi-frustrating win in Game 2 Game 1 Three Up 1. Trevor Cahill has been great since coming to the Cubs on a minor-league deal. Since being released by the Braves, he's had a 2.79 FIP in his 4 Cubs appearances. He might get the start in the …
Cubs sign Jason Hammel
It is not a common occurrence that a player re-signs with the team that just traded him (*cough* Jon Lester *cough*), but Jason Hammel is proof positive that it can happen. The Cubs signed Hammel to a 2-year, $18 million deal with an option that could bring the final tally to $28 million. As far as middle-tier pitching options go, …
Reflections on the Samardzija Trade
Last night, the Cubs traded Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel for Addison Russell, Billy McKinney, Dan Straily and a PTBNL. In following reactions around the Cub twitter-sphere, I was pretty surprised at how split the reactions were: fans who have bought in to what Thoyer is doing think this is on par with the Wedding at Cana, those who haven’t …