https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/page/197/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/nick-madrigal-has-to-go-r103/The Cubs' offense has yet to be shut out in 2023. They have seven above-average hitters on the active roster, even with Cody Bellinger on the injured list. To get the most out of that group, though, they need to jettison one of their persistently below-average ones. Nick Madrigal started the...103Tue, 23 May 2023 12:47:03 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/draft-preview-five-under-the-radar-pitchers-im-watching-r102/Drafting pitchers is fraught with risk. It's also the most important position on a baseball team. The pitching position is, in most people’s opinions, the most important position on a baseball team in terms of having both quality and depth. Yet, the term “there is no such thing as a pitching...102Mon, 22 May 2023 17:44:06 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/the-nightmare-of-the-90s-is-alive-in-wrigleyville-r101/There was something gnawing at me. It was tough to put my finger on it, but just as Christopher Morel's eighth home run in his first 11 games of 2023 sailed over the fence, the penny dropped. This is what the 1990s were like. Last Tuesday, Danny Rockett (on Twitter at @SonRanto, one of the d...101Mon, 22 May 2023 12:20:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/how-far-can-jeremiah-estrada-go-with-just-his-fastball-r100/Amid another tough loss for the Cubs on Saturday, one bright spot was the performance of Jeremiah Estrada. The rookie reliever might be emerging as a new relief ace for the team--if he can find a way to get a little more use out of his breaking ball. In his major-league career, Jeremiah Estr...100Sun, 21 May 2023 12:58:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/jed-hoyer-settled-all-family-business-and-his-team-responded-r99/On Friday, Jed Hoyer, Carter Hawkins, David Ross, and the rest of the Cubs brain trust enacted a bit of tough love. Five games (and really, a full month) into a tailspin that threatened to derail their season, the team's decision-makers (belatedly) made some big decisions. For one night, at leas...99Sat, 20 May 2023 12:35:56 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/down-but-not-out-the-cubs-have-to-save-their-season-now-r95/As bleak as things feel in the moment, the 2023 Cubs are not out of it. On the contrary, the door remains open to them in the National League standings. They just need to turn things around, starting tonight in Philadelphia. In other years, starting 19-24 might doom a team to irrelevance. It...95Fri, 19 May 2023 12:22:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/whats-eating-keegan-thompson-r94/There is, alas, much to unpack in the wake of the worst loss of the Cubs' 2023 season, which came Wednesday night in Houston. One of the most urgent questions with which the game left us, though, is what is wrong with the man who was their best fireman in 2022. It's almost unfair to start an...94Thu, 18 May 2023 12:35:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/the-next-round-of-adjustments-for-justin-steele-is-just-about-due-r93/For the first time since last summer, Justin Steele had a truly tough start Tuesday night. It was poorly timed, from a team perspective, but even within it, Steele showed his grit, and some obvious areas in which he needs to make adjustments stood out. Being a two-pitch starting pitcher is t...93Wed, 17 May 2023 14:16:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/matt-mervis-one-week-later-r91/It's too early for a serious progress report on the Cubs' rookie first baseman, but it's never too early to take a step back and try to see the bigger picture. What has Matt Mervis done well so far, and what signs do we have that he can adjust quickly to MLB pitching? The last few weeks have...91Tue, 16 May 2023 12:29:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/an-excruciating-clarity-how-a-third-straight-bad-week-laid-bare-the-cubs-peril-r90/The Cubs are, suddenly, hanging by a thread. They're two games under .500, just one-third of the way through a tough road trip. It's time for a gut check, at every level of the organization.   A baseball season is full of opportunities to indulge in unearned catastrophizing. There are 1...90Mon, 15 May 2023 07:36:55 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/were-at-a-critical-moment-for-cody-bellinger-r88/Barely a week ago, one could find plenty of Cubs fans discussing what it would take to extend Cody Bellinger. He was the heartbeat of the Cubs' offense. Right now, though, he's struggling, and the little problems that were below the surface before are coming to the fore. It was probably over...88Sun, 14 May 2023 12:19:24 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/3-trends-from-the-latest-mlb-draft-rankings-r84/We’re getting into the middle of May. As such, we’re also a few weeks away from the next Consensus Board update. Several major outlets (The Athletic, ESPN, MLB dot com among others) have updated their draft boards in the last 10 days. Here are some noticeable trends surrounding how the Consensus...84Sat, 13 May 2023 13:08:00 +0000