https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/page/128/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/amid-bullpen-chaos-is-it-time-to-declare-mark-leiter-jr-the-closer-r786/Frankly, I am starved for a normal 7-3 loss in which the Cubs went down early; I could simply chalk it up as a loss early on and then enjoy a game without a constantly elevated heart rate.  Talk to a fan of any professional baseball team, and they’ll likely think their team’s bullpen is bad...786Tue, 07 May 2024 13:18:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/christopher-morel-offensive-profile-approach-changes/Christopher Morel's defensive evolution at third base has been one of the most consistently discussed aspects of the 2024 Chicago Cubs. That’s a logical trend, given his transition to the spot after a winter of uncertainty and false starts. While we’ve discussed the hot-and-cold nature of his de...788Tue, 07 May 2024 12:18:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/dealing-with-the-whatever-three-things-true-in-cubs-woeful-bullpen-showing-monday-r789/Some fans have sharply criticized Craig Counsell's deployment of his new team's relief corps this season, even as they have acknowledged that the talent with which he's been asked to work might be insufficient, and even with the understanding that the ultimate responsibility for massive failures...789Tue, 07 May 2024 11:10:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/how-the-cubs-less-heralded-starting-pitchers-shut-down-their-top-rivals-r787/The Chicago Cubs pitching staff has had a rather cumbersome past couple of weeks. Already a team with a slim margin for error, injuries have conspired to remove that margin altogether. Without Cody Bellinger and Seiya Suzuki, it's an uphill battle on the offensive end. With multiple regulars see...787Mon, 06 May 2024 16:26:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/monday-morning-north-sider-beating-the-brewers-closer-shenanigans-cade-horton-and-more-r785/Welcome back all! Sorry for missing last week. NFL Draft coverage completely consumed me for the better part of a week, and then pre-production on my next film began… suffice to say, the life schedule hasn’t jived with the work schedule lately. We’re back now, though, and this week, I’ll be impl...785Mon, 06 May 2024 14:11:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/how-much-of-a-two-pitch-pitcher-is-justin-steele-exactly-r784/By and large, Justin Steele is a two-pitch pitcher. He has a fastball (a cutter, really, but some sources label it as a four-seamer), and he has a slider, and those two offerings account for nearly 97 percent of all the pitches he throws. The tendency, when analyzing pitchers who lean so heavily...784Mon, 06 May 2024 12:24:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cade-horton-might-very-well-be-a-right-handed-justin-steele-r783/The results were mixed in Cade Horton's first start with the Iowa Cubs. There were also some things to monitor, though not outright causes for concern. Most of all, though, there were indications of what kind of pitcher Horton is, rather than just how good he is. The similarities to Cubs ace Jus...783Sun, 05 May 2024 17:01:12 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/chicago-cubs-hitter-of-the-month-april-2024-r782/Thirty games is quite a lot of data to analyze, especially given that the MLB season used to start during the second week of April (it now starts in late March). Some hitters are notorious for being “slow starters,” warming up at the plate as the weather does. However, there’s bound to be a batc...782Sun, 05 May 2024 12:15:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/unlocking-baseball-team-expansion-realignment-playoff-overhaul-r773/For over a century, baseball has held a special place in American culture--"the national pastime." However, this reverence for tradition shouldn't equate to resistance against necessary changes. Throughout its history, baseball has undergone significant transformations, from implementing automat...773Sat, 04 May 2024 12:10:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/threading-the-needle-at-99-miles-per-hour-with-ben-brown-r780/About two-thirds of the way through his second pass through the Mets batting order, Ben Brown hit a speed bump. The fireballing Cubs starter had looked excellent through the first two innings, without fine control but with plenty of sheer stuff to make up for it. He was cruising, until he reache...780Fri, 03 May 2024 14:16:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/should-nick-madrigal-still-be-the-backup-third-baseman-r779/If you’ve followed this space for any length of time, you know the Chicago Cubs’ third base situation is something on which I’ve maintained a steady eye. That goes back to the spring, when the team decided to give Christopher Morel a more extended run there than we saw under the previous regime....779Fri, 03 May 2024 12:10:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-mlb-pitcher-april-2024-shot-imanaga-javier-assad-mark-leiter/The Cubs pitching depth has been put to the ultimate test this season, and we’re only one month in. Jameson Taillon missed a few weeks after an injury in Spring Training, Justin Steele only made it half a game in before hurting his hamstring, Julian Merryweather will be out until at least June,...777Thu, 02 May 2024 14:19:01 +0000