There's a saying in baseball: "A team never wants to lead the league in meetings."
The implication being that when a club holds a meeting, it's almost universally to discuss what is going wrong and how to repair it. But teams rarely find themselves where the Chicago Cubs stand, having already clinched the NL Central and preparing for the playoffs.
Manager Joe Maddon had three scheduled meetings on the books in the past few days, two of which were to answer a question most playoff-bound franchises would love to ponder: Which of his three starters—Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester or Kyle Hendricks—should be ...
It looked like a heck of a party at Wrigley Field, and why not? It's not every day the Chicago Cubs can spray some champagne.
Hey, Chicago hadn't clinched a playoff spot in about 12 months, and that's a long time to go without a party. The Cubs hadn't celebrated a division title in eight years, and that can feel like a lifetime.
Seriously, there's nothing wrong with a celebration, especially for a team that has had as perfect a season as the Cubs have had (and a perfect clinching day with a walk-off home run). The Cubs spent the spring listening ...
The Chicago Cubs took a step toward ending their World Series drought Thursday night when they clinched the National League Central. The milestone came by virtue of the St. Louis Cardinals' 6-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants despite Chicago's 5-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Cubs not only clinched the division; they ran away with it. No team in baseball holds as commanding of an advantage as Chicago’s 17-game lead over the Cardinals. In fact, St. Louis is closer to the last-place Cincinnati Reds (30.5 games back) in the division than it is to Chicago, and it is still a legitimate ...
Kyle Hendricks didn't make history Monday night at Busch Stadium. But he did make his National League Cy Young Award case loud and clear.
Hendricks came within three outs of becoming just the second Chicago Cubs pitcher to throw a no-hitter against the hated-rival St. Louis Cardinals. He carried a no-no through eight innings before Jeremy Hazelbaker ended it with a solo home run to lead off the ninth.
After a sideshow dust-up between umpire Joe West and Cubs skipper Joe Maddon that led to Maddon's ejection, closer Aroldis Chapman jogged in to nail down the 4-1 victory.
The Cubs (92-51) kept rolling ...
When Chicago Cubs shortstop Addison Russell knocked one over the fence in the second inning of last Monday's game against the San Diego Padres, it made him just the third shortstop in franchise history to collect 80 RBI in a single season, per ESPN Stats & Info.
The youngster joined Roy Smalley Jr. (in 1950) and Ernie Banks, who reached the total in each of his seven full seasons as Chicago's shortstop, per Baseball-Reference.com. Russell certainly has a long way to go to be mentioned in the same breath as Banks, but the 22-year-old is off to a good start in his ...
The Chicago Cubs are the best team in baseball by almost every measure.
They have the best record (82-47) and the best run differential (plus-217). They rank among MLB's top five in OPS (.777) and runs scored (655). They lead both leagues in ERA (3.12).
They can hit. They can pitch. Their rivals have plenty of reasons to fear them.
Now, there's another: Addison Russell, masher of baseballs.
A first-round pick by the Oakland A's in 2012, Russell has flashed elite potential since his debut with Chicago last season. But over the past month-plus, the 22-year-old shortstop has elevated his game like a helium ...
Two division leaders will clash at Chavez Ravine on Friday night when the Chicago Cubs visit the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener of a key three-game series.
The Cubs had a day off Thursday and will play the seventh game of their nine-game West Coast road trip as a small -110 betting favorite at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.
Chicago is 4-2 in the first six games of the trip and will send Mike Montgomery (1-1, 2.77 ERA in the National League) to the mound looking for his second win in his second consecutive start for the team after arriving in ...
Kyle Hendricks is like the frosting on a birthday cake. Peanut butter on toast. Hot fudge on a sundae.
The Chicago Cub is the best starting pitcher on MLB's top team, which stood 78-45 through Sunday's action.
Though the right-hander boasts an MLB-best 2.16 ERA, the Cubs would likely still be firmly in playoff position without him. Chicago is loaded with position players who were heralded as the organization's future when they were climbing the minor league ranks a few years ago. First baseman Anthony Rizzo, third baseman/outfielder Kris Bryant and shortstop Addison Russell are just a few of those players who ...
Because the baseball gods decree that every season must feature an overly complicated debate about the "V" in "MVP," 2016 has given us the curious case of Kris Bryant.
There's no need to be curious about Bryant's stardom. It's legit. The Chicago Cubs picked him No. 2 overall in 2013, and all he's done since then is emerge as a No. 1 prospect and last year's National League Rookie of the Year. For his next act, he has eyes on the NL Most Valuable Player Award.
That's not inside information, mind you. It's more like a hunch, based on the reality that ...
CHICAGO — In sports, we're used to losses prompting overly emotional and one-word reactions. Not so for the Chicago Cubs under manager Joe Maddon.
Sure, a baseball season is 162 games, but the sport still has its share of teams that allow a loss to linger. Maddon said he has been part of teams like that, so his objective when he joined Chicago in October 2014 was to keep emotions on an even keel.
The Cubs limped to the All-Star break this season, losing nine of 11, but they recently won 11 straight games and 13 of 15 overall.
"One of my main objectives with any ...
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