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 …
Chicago Cubs (29-13) @ St. Louis Cardinals (23-21)
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Anthony Rizzo has been great, but Kris Bryant is this team’s MVP
I've heard all throughout the season, and I've even said it myself, that Anthony Rizzo was the 2015 Cubs MVP. Over the last few weeks, I've started to think that just can't be the case any longer. Rizzo has had a great season, but Kris Bryant's second half has pushed him ahead of Rizzo. Their batting lines are very similar. …
Kris Bryant’s 2015 is one of the best rookie seasons in Cubs history
Kris Bryant has had a fantastic season. He's probably going to win Rookie of the Year in the National League as he's hit .273/.367/.490 with a .370 wOBA and 135 wRC+. He's struckout a ton, but also has a very good walk rate for a rookie (11.7%) and he's hit 24 home runs while driving in 93. UZR rates him as …
Cubs 9, Pirates 6 (9/17/15)
OSS: Jung-ho Kang and Francisco Cervelli feel the wrath of Cubs. Three Up 1. Anthony Rizzo hit his 30th home run of the season to put the Cubs up 5-4. He tacked on a double and a walk and seems to be perhaps be emerging from his slump. Hopefully he is red hot for the next series. 2. Kris Bryant …
Where We Stand Now
Following last night’s 6-0 loss to the Indians, the Cubs are a solid 34-28, but are 8 games behind the Cardinals who have hacked their way to baseball’s best 43-21 record. The Pirates are in 2nd place and after winning 6 in a row are a couple of games ahead of the Cubs. The Cubs remain 5th in the NL, …