The Chicago Cubs' TV color man, Bob Brenly, was uncharacteristically blunt on Saturday night when he said: “What will it take to get these guys to start running hard?”
Brenly was referring to a play that occurred in the sixth inning against the Colorado Rockies, when Ryan Theriot barely scored ahead of Milton Bradley’s attempt to stretch a single into a double.
It was an important play at the time, since Theriot’s run gave the Cubs a 5-4 lead.
But it could have just as well applied to any number of instances this season, especially recently.
Alfonso Soriano has been running at less ...
Much has been said and written in recent days about the Cubs' chances of claiming one of an assortment of available players.
Yet as much as they do need hitting help (and yes, pitching too, now that Big Z’s back is aching again), the vast majority of players available at this time of year either have huge salary liabilities, or they are just plain bad.
Take, for example, Jason Giambi.
Released by the Oakland A’s on Friday, there has been some talk of the Cubs acquiring him to be a left-handed bat off the bench.
But at the time Giambi was shown the ...
If you are familiar with the excellent work done by The Hardball Times’ Chris Dutton and Peter Bendix, you are likely familiar with their creation of an expected Batting Average on Balls in Play metric (xBABIP).
BABIP—Batting average on balls in play: the rate at which batted balls other than home runs become hits has been mainly used to judge pitchers. That is, until the metric was improved by the creation of xBABIP, which has turned out to be a very strong predictor of future performance.
The idea is to separate skill from variance. They’ve isolated a batter’s skill at getting hits ...
Another day, another blown save.
That's the life of one Kevin Gregg, who led major league baseball in blown saves last year.
After a nice stretch of uncharacteristic reliability from Gregg, he has returned to Florida, where he pitched in 2007 and 2008, and has blown the lead in two consecutive games.
On Saturday, the Cubs came back and won, so all is forgiven.
But on Sunday, Gregg coughed up the lead once again, and then served up the game winning, walk off homer in the bottom of the ninth.
It was Dan Uggla. It was damn ugly.
It also served as a poignant reminder to ...
ESPNChicago.com is reporting that the Cubs have reached an agreement with the Pittsburgh Pirates that will send left-handed relief pitcher John Grabow to the Cubs.
The Cubs have been searching for bullpen help, specifically of the lefty variety, with Sean Marshall as their lone lefty in the pen.
Grabow has pitched well for the last-place Pirates this year, with a 3-0 record, a 3.42 ERA and 16 holds.
The MLB trade deadline expires Friday afternoon.
While the St. Louis Cardinals have been making moves of late, and the Milwaukee Brewers continue to look for another starter, don’t expect the Cubs to make a big splash at the trade deadline on Friday, July 31.
But don’t fret, Cubs fans. We don’t really need a whole lot of help. In fact, our most pressing needs are to get healthy and to continue to get improved play from the big guns.
While Alfonso Soriano and Milton Bradley start to heat up (Soriano much more than Bradley), the Cubs also look to the return of catcher Geo Soto in the near ...
Similar to how that beer commercial talks about the difference being "drinkability," the main difference between the Cubs and the defending champion Phils is "hittability."
Yes, there are other differences between the two teams. The Phillies have much more team speed, for example. And they are very successful in picking the right time to steal.
In fact, their stolen base percentage is the best in the National League at 79 percent. The Cubs are last in the NL at just 60 percent.
But the main difference, to me, is the offensive firepower that the Fightin' bring to the table. And we saw it ...
Mick Jagger once sang that "It's only rock-n-roll but I like it." While he was being tongue-in-cheek, since rock-n-roll has made the Rolling Stones' singer a multi-millionaire, there is nothing insincere about saying it's only the Nationals.
For the Washington Nationals are a lousy team, let's face it. But you know what? The Cubs just swept them.
And I like it.
Sure, the Nats are almost 40 games under .500. But for a disappointing team like our Cubs, any good news is welcome. And a four-game win streak certainly qualifies as good news.
Look, to be a contending team you not only need to ...
I’d like to introduce you to someone. His name is Ryne Sandberg. Yes, that Ryne Sandberg. Yet, no, not that Ryne Sandberg.
For you don’t know this Ryne Sandberg. This Ryno is charging, my friends.
Ryne Sandberg, who seldom, if ever, had a thought as a Cubs player, seems to really have found his personality since ending his playing days.
First, there was the inspiring speech at his HOF ceremony, where he railed against steroid usage in MLB.
And since he has become a manager in the Cubs minor league system, Sandberg has been very vocal with his players, the media, and even ...
Updated on July 7, at 3pm CT
Just when we thought we had a new owner, now comes word that the ongoing saga of "Let's make a Cubs deal" has a new angle.
According to Crain's Chicago Business, the Tribune has reached a tentative deal with a second buyer for the Cubs.
The second bidders are a group led by private equity investor Marc Utay. The report says that the Tribune Company will present both this, as well as the Ricketts family proposal to the bankruptcy court.
"We have not reached an agreement on terms with either party," Tribune spokesman Gary Weitman said.
Utay apparently ...
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