https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/page/128/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/is-a-postseason-bye-the-advantage-it-was-meant-to-be-r1139/We know the results haven't favored top teams in the first few years of the new playoff format. Is that a phenomenon with staying power? With the Cubs on the outside looking in at another postseason, we “lovable loser” fans will just have to watch from the sidelines, hoping our enemies lose...1139Wed, 02 Oct 2024 13:15:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-fire-mike-napoli-darren-holmes-jim-adduci/One secondary cost of signing a free-agent manager at the last moment, last winter, was that the Cubs didn't get to build the coaching staff their new skipper might want in the long run. Now, they've cleared their path to doing so. On the day after the end of the season, the Cubs dismissed c...1138Tue, 01 Oct 2024 11:35:34 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/a-strange-profound-offensive-depression-gripped-wrigley-field-this-year-heres-why-r1136/The fault was not in the air of the (pitcher-)friendly confines, but in the thing flying through it. If you tuned into any Cubs games down the stretch this season, you probably heard an allusion or two by Marquee Sports Network play-by-play man Boog Sciambi to the weird weather patterns and...1136Mon, 30 Sep 2024 11:16:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-week-in-review-its-over-what-comes-next-r1134/Saying goodbye to Cubs baseball for the season, especially for one whose heart was once filled with such hope, is excruciating. If you don't believe me, just ask Bleacher Jeff. If the blue-shirted vendor's echoes of "last call!" in the 8th inning weren't evidence enough, the Chicago Cubs played...1134Mon, 30 Sep 2024 01:55:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/a-glimpse-of-the-jaguar-what-kevin-alc%C3%A1ntara-offers-cubs-going-forward-r1132/With injuries mounting at the end of a long season, the Cubs called up one of their top prospects to make his debut Wednesday night. It will be just a cup of coffee, but it's a good chance to discuss what he can do for them in the short and medium term. None of the traditional tools are in a...1132Thu, 26 Sep 2024 15:50:06 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/weve-come-a-long-way-jed-hoyer-sees-progress-but-does-he-hear-that-ticking-r1131/The Cubs' chief baseball decision-maker believes his team is creeping steadily toward contention. If only that was how this worked. Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer discussed the state of the franchise Monday, and while he fell in line with the tone of urgency and needed impro...1131Wed, 25 Sep 2024 16:23:09 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/how-to-solve-baseballs-position-player-pitching-epidemic-and-up-the-intensity-of-games-r1130/What if every run counted, for a change? As another season winds down under new rules that have traded in Game 163s for tiebreakers that can determine division championships and playoff spots, there's a small but real risk that all-important postseason entries could come down to some silly t...1130Wed, 25 Sep 2024 11:12:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/a-stark-and-surprisingly-important-wrigley-field-park-effect-hiding-in-not-so-plain-sight-r1129/There's been a lot of talk about Wrigley Field playing differently this season, due to pitcher-friendly weather patterns. That appears to be real, but it won't repeat itself. Another key park factor, however, isn't changing any time soon. Offense has been way, way down at Wrigley Field this...1129Tue, 24 Sep 2024 16:15:24 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/what-is-the-cubs-dansby-swanson-contingency-plan-r1126/Dansby Swanson's signing certainly has not had the impact Jed Hoyer expected when he inked the shortstop to a seven-year deal prior to the 2023 season. Looking under the hood, there is reason to be concerned that the mistake will hamper the Cubs on the field and in the marketplace for years to c...1126Tue, 24 Sep 2024 11:43:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/should-we-be-worried-that-craig-counsell-couldnt-fix-the-cubs-run-differential-problem-r1128/The underlying numbers say the Cubs should be better than this. Then again, they also said that last year. To a point, it feels like the 2024 season was almost the exact same story as the 2023 season for the Chicago Cubs. A good April gave way to a very poor May and June. The team clawed bac...1128Mon, 23 Sep 2024 23:05:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/seiya-suzukis-well-roundedness-actually-makes-him-a-very-rare-hitter-r1127/For two years, many Cubs fans have struggled with the inarticulable feeling that Seiya Suzuki's whole is less than the sum of his parts, offensively. That might not be true, but at last, I think I can help clarify where the feeling comes from. The thing about Seiya Suzuki is, he does almost...1127Mon, 23 Sep 2024 15:25:52 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/week-in-review-cubs-officially-eliminated-from-postseason-show-some-frustration-r1125/Accepting unfavorable--yet, and worse, inevitable--outcomes is nauseating. That's why, as we begin the final week of the Cubs' 2024 season, searingly painful images of what this team could have been will linger in our minds, long after the Commissioner's Trophy is handed out in early November....1125Mon, 23 Sep 2024 11:14:01 +0000