https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/powered-by-departing-heroes-cubs-clinch-playoff-berth-in-last-chance-before-home-fans-r3357/All season, there has been a sense of urgency hanging over the Chicago Cubs. They need to win this year. They need to achieve as much as they can, and make the most of this chance, because the future is highly uncertain. However this year ended, it seemed, there were no guarantees of 2027 (or 20...3357Thu, 24 Sep 2026 21:43:30 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/nico-hoerner-is-becoming-a-throwback-in-a-bad-way-r3355/It was, relatively speaking, easy to hit an empty .300 in the late 1990s. Everyone could hit .280. Your extra hit a week wasn't worth much, unless you also added some extra-base hits and some walks. It's a lot harder to hit an empty .300 these days, but here's Nico Hoerner, doing it. In a l...3355Thu, 24 Sep 2026 11:26:24 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/a-timely-turn-michael-busch-trending-in-right-direction-literally-at-right-time-r3354/If you read this site, you're probably a lot like me. You might have grown up watching Steve Stone do color commentary on Cubs TV broadcasts, or you might have been slightly too young or too old for that, but you've probably at least seen him call a few games. (He's still a Chicago baseball fixt...3354Wed, 23 Sep 2026 22:15:34 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/after-in-season-pitch-mix-overhaul-ryan-rolison-is-a-whole-new-dude-r3352/He didn't have the luxury of the inning being over, so when Ryan Rolison knew his own assignment was complete Tuesday night, he had to confine himself to roaring triumphantly into his glove and stomping back to the grass behind the mound. That's a bit less satisfying than going all the way to th...3352Wed, 23 Sep 2026 16:03:14 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/matt-shaw-bunt-fail-craig-counsell-cooper-pratt-pat-murphy/Before we talk much about this, let's watch a few things together. This is one of those times when emotions are high and no one's going to be happy about anything that's said. At such times, it's more important than ever to show, rather than tell. We're going to watch a sequence unfold, with Mat...3350Wed, 23 Sep 2026 11:24:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/matthew-boyd-has-a-clear-path-toward-postseason-relevance-with-cubs-r3348/Matthew Boyd is no one’s definition of an ace. He has a career 4.52 ERA, with peripherals to match, and has topped out at 185 innings pitched in a single season. Teams don’t build their rotation around guys like Boyd, but they sure as hell appreciate them when they’re around. As such, the Chicag...3348Tue, 22 Sep 2026 22:28:35 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/who-should-be-the-cubs-highest-leverage-reliever-in-october-r3346/The Cubs’ pitching staff has dealt with more than their fair share of turmoil this season, particularly in the bullpen. Between injuries, inconsistency and a couple of trade deadline additions, this unit has constantly been adjusting throughout the season. With the Wild Card round of the playoff...3346Tue, 22 Sep 2026 16:25:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/justin-steele-wont-be-able-to-help-2026-cubs-except-through-a-poignant-morale-boost-r3347/You might have seen the news, over the weekend, that veteran Cubs starter Justin Steele fired two shutout innings Friday for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, striking out five in the process. It was the fourth official appearance of Steele's rehab assignment with Iowa, and the last one. It's time for Ste...3347Mon, 21 Sep 2026 21:01:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/could-david-peterson-be-chicago-cubs-playoff-ace-r3345/It's never going to look as good as a good day for Kevin Gausman, Clay Holmes, Matthew Boyd or Shota Imanaga. The dominance of which those guys are capable is not quite within David Peterson's reach. He misses more bats than most ground-ball guys, but in the end, he's still a ground-ball guy. If...3345Mon, 21 Sep 2026 17:16:22 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/can-cubs-remain-afloat-at-third-base-sans-alex-bregman-r3343/The Chicago Cubs look likely to be without Alex Bregman for a period of time following a freak accident on Sunday in which a foul ball from Michael Busch caught Bregman in the face while Bregman was standing in the on-deck circle. The timeline itself, however, remains unclear as Bregman is set t...3343Mon, 21 Sep 2026 16:06:20 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-week-in-review-reinforcements-put-north-siders-on-precipice-of-postseason-r3341/The Cubs' magic number is 1. They haven't quite earned the right to spray champagne, but they moved much closer this week, with back-to-back series wins over the Atlanta club at Wrigley Field and the Cincinnatis at Great American Ballpark. We've spoken often in this space about how Chicago...3341Mon, 21 Sep 2026 13:04:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/pete-crow-armstrong-and-alex-bregman-have-been-confidence-demons-this-year-r3340/It's been an exhilarating season for Pete Crow-Armstrong, in almost every possible way. He started the season by playing center field about as well as it's ever been played, and by making plays with his legs on offenses, even as he struggled at the plate overall. He seemed to be playing with swa...3340Mon, 21 Sep 2026 11:35:02 +0000