https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/page/157/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/do-the-2024-cubs-need-to-steal-bases-to-be-effective-offensively-r726/Last year, the Cubs were a very good baserunning team. Will that success and aggressiveness carry over to 2024? The 2023 iteration of the Chicago Cubs was one of the best baserunning teams in Major League Baseball. FanGraphs’ Base Running metric (BsR) takes the following into account as part...726Sat, 13 Apr 2024 11:17:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/analyzing-shota-imanagas-first-two-mlb-starts-r724/With two of their key veteran starters sidelined for most of the first month of this season, the Chicago Cubs needed a stabilizing presence in the rotation. Their newest starter has stopped that gap.   Shota Imanaga is off to a very strong start, but how long will it last? Imanaga has a...724Fri, 12 Apr 2024 15:24:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/diving-into-nico-hoerners-new-approach-and-assessing-its-value-r725/The Chicago Cubs' All-Star second baseman is not enjoying any success over the first fortnight of 2024. Under the hood, though, there are signs that the only changes in his game have been wise ones. It’s no secret that Nico Hoerner has had a relatively disappointing start to the 2024 season....725Fri, 12 Apr 2024 11:11:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/how-christopher-morel-has-gotten-on-plane-and-achieved-liftoff-r721/The Chicago Cubs retained the best hitter from their 2023 team, but didn't bring in the supplementary slugger for whom fans pined throughout the winter. As it turns out, they might have a budding monster who justifies that inaction. The more we come to understand hitting, the more clearly we...721Thu, 11 Apr 2024 11:07:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/jose-cuas-bullpen-roster-spot-optioned-to-minors-or-cut/Less than a year ago, José Cuas was the return in an ill-fated deadline trade with the Royals. Now, his roster spot hangs by a thread. José Cuas was expected to be a key part of the Cubs bullpen this year, after coming over from Kansas City in July 2023. In return, the Cubs surrendered slugg...719Wed, 10 Apr 2024 13:14:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/dansby-swanson-is-feasting-on-heat-and-spitting-on-spin-r720/The whole Chicago Cubs lineup seems to have a clear idea of what they want to do in each plate appearance. Their shortstop, highest-paid player, and steady leader might be the player thriving most on that intentional mentality. Earlier this week, I raved about the Chicago Cubs’ offensive app...720Wed, 10 Apr 2024 11:25:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/tonight-ben-brown-brings-his-death-ball-to-the-starting-rotation-r718/With two of the veterans on whom they were relying heavily to bear the innings load in the starting rotation shelved, the Chicago Cubs turn to a rookie Tuesday night in need of something great. With a lively fastball and a newfangled Death Ball, he's ready to answer that call. In his first b...718Tue, 09 Apr 2024 18:29:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/bullpen-depth-implosion-craig-counsell-mistakes/The near-immaculate vibes of the Chicago Cubs season went up in smoke Monday night, with one of the worst early-season losses imaginable. All is not lost, but their utter collapse in that game reflects real and worrisome vulnerabilities by which the team will be plagued for a while. You coul...716Tue, 09 Apr 2024 11:22:26 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/pitches-per-plate-appearance-walk-rate-dansby-happ-suzuki-counsell/Facing as stern an early test as the season can offer, the Chicago Cubs answered with an awesome offensive display this weekend against the Dodgers. It was their approach at the plate that stood out most. You can’t glean a ton from a three-game series early in the year. You can glean even le...714Mon, 08 Apr 2024 16:47:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/monday-morning-north-sider-rockies-sweep-dodgers-imanaga-the-room-and-more-r713/The Cubs went 5-1 in a week in which they swept the Rockies and took two of three from the Dodgers at Wrigley Field. I also got to meet Tommy Wiseau. That and more in this week’s MMNS. It was an impressive showing from the Cubs this week. They looked dominant for all but one inning against t...713Mon, 08 Apr 2024 11:51:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/cubs-week-in-review-morel-seiya-suzuki-shota-imanaga/The Cubs were back home this week for the first time in 2024, The friendly confines proved to be very friendly for the North Siders. If you missed any of last week's action, here's a quick recap of how the Cubs were able to take care of business against the Rockies and Dodgers. Summary for t...712Mon, 08 Apr 2024 01:37:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/the-tragedy-of-the-oakland-as-through-the-lens-of-a-cubs-fan-r710/On Thursday, Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher - the most hated man in baseball - announced the team would be moving to a minor-league ballpark in Sacramento as their future home stadium in Las Vegas is built. Let’s get one thing straight: what is happening to the Athletics and their fanba...710Sun, 07 Apr 2024 14:12:01 +0000