https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/page/112/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/shota-imanagas-evolving-arsenal-r1039/When the Chicago Cubs signed Shota Imanaga to a four-year, $53-million dollar contract in January, they certainly had high expectations. In fact, this contract may have been an underpay at the time–many thought Imanaga would get a much richer deal. In 2023, with the Yokohoma DeNA BayStars, he pi...1039Tue, 13 Aug 2024 11:48:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/kyle-hendricks-and-the-cubs-are-in-an-awkward-position-right-now-r1038/  There was enough of a Kyle Hendricks rebound, last month, to justify keeping him around as the team floundered and trudged toward what had a chance to be a deadline sell-off. Hendricks was clearly the worst of the team's healthy starters at the time, but he deserves the organization's res...1038Mon, 12 Aug 2024 22:12:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-magic-number-is-28-but-they-dont-get-to-count-other-teams-losses-r1036/When the old heads say that games in April count just as much as ones in September, this is the kind of moment they're anticipating. The Cubs made an impressive trade in the late stages of July, to close a month in which they asserted themselves as a better team than they'd looked like in May or...1036Mon, 12 Aug 2024 13:15:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/better-allocation-better-alignment-better-outcomes-for-cubs-r1037/There's meant to be some division of labor in baseball. Sure, you want the two-way stars, and you want dynamic players who help score or prevent runs in multiple ways, but a great team is built around the idea that everyone has something to contribute--and ideally, that means not putting too gre...1037Mon, 12 Aug 2024 11:29:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/week-in-review-the-cubs-stack-wins-and-find-consistency-in-eye-opening-week-r1035/Embarking on a week of baseball in which the North Side club enjoyed an extraordinarily rare two days off, wins as if they weren't already, were weighted at an immensely high premium. Craig Counsell's squad is hitting harder these days than Matt Cameron of Pearl Jam on a snare drum. The Cubs are...1035Mon, 12 Aug 2024 00:10:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/they-got-away-with-it-saturday-night-but-cubs-need-a-better-replay-challenge-process-r1034/In the bottom of the ninth inning of the Cubs' 3-1 win Saturday night, things got off to a chaotic start. Two different fans jumped from the stands onto the playing field during the break between the top and bottom of the frame, requiring security to remove them, and one managed to add injury to...1034Sun, 11 Aug 2024 13:04:36 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-minor-league-relievers-nick-hull-mitchell-tyranski-sam-mcwilliams/Honorable Mention LHP Angel Hernandez - Myrtle Beach Pelicans - 4 G, 0.73 ERA, 0.730 WHIP, 12 ⅓ IP, 4 H, 5 BB, 20 K Hernandez spent the entire 2022 and 2023 seasons with Myrtle Beach to much worse results. After posting a 5.79 ERA in 2022 and a 4.14 ERA in 2023, he started the 2024 season...1032Fri, 09 Aug 2024 23:17:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/porter-hodge-is-establishing-why-hes-the-best-reliever-in-the-cubs-bullpen-r1031/When someone asks who the best reliever in the Cubs bullpen is, you may think of a few names. Perhaps the first to come to mind is Tyson Miller, a great find by the front office after he was designated for assignment by the Mariners in May. Miller has become one of Craig Counsell’s most trusted...1031Fri, 09 Aug 2024 14:11:36 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/dansby-swanson-and-nico-hoerner-are-a-dynamic-infield-duo-leaders-for-cubs-r1030/What’s better than winning? Winning in style, and that’s what, along with intangible leadership, Cubs’ Middle infielders Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson provide. Every time you watch a game on Marquee, Jim Deshaies breaks down the defensive alignment for the Cubs. If you notice, and I know...1030Fri, 09 Aug 2024 13:12:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/with-some-simple-fixes-cubs-have-found-something-great-in-jorge-l%C3%B3pez-r1029/In a rubber match against one of his former teams Wednesday afternoon, Jorge López had the latest of several great outings for the Cubs. His two scoreless innings included two strikeouts, and he earned the win, since starter Javier Assad had left too early to claim it. That showing brought López...1029Thu, 08 Aug 2024 13:41:13 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/nico-hoerner-can-catalyze-cubs-lineup-if-he-gets-back-to-being-who-he-is-r1028/At his best, Nico Hoerner is an old-fashioned sparkplug. He can hit .300, with plenty of walks to push the on-base percentage associated with that average toward .380. He can steal bases and wreak havoc for opponents. Be it from the top of the order or as a rally-starter in the bottom half of it...1028Thu, 08 Aug 2024 11:07:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/adbert-alzolay-is-on-twitter-pleading-for-the-life-of-his-country-its-your-job-to-listen-r1027/There is an unfortunate tendency, in the United States, to think about much of the rest of the world as less cultured or civilized. That assumption is racist and xenophobic, and it's also objectively wrong. To wit: don't assume, merely because nothing material is being done about it, that there'...1027Wed, 07 Aug 2024 16:52:00 +0000