https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/page/141/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/the-ongoing-evolution-of-ian-happ-r740/There’s an episode of The Office where various members of the office staff discuss whether Hilary Swank is hot or not. The discussion spirals into a debate which results in a seemingly endless stalemate. This is where I find myself with Ian Happ, with whom I have a complicated relationship. Is h...740Wed, 17 Apr 2024 11:55:25 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/kyle-hendricks-cant-be-on-the-active-roster-right-now-r739/I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, or anything the Chicago Cubs front office or Craig Counsell or Tommy Hottovy or Kyle Hendricks himself doesn't already know. I'm also not suggesting anything radical. It's just this side of a fact. Sometime very soon (perhaps Thursday, when Ja...739Wed, 17 Apr 2024 04:35:12 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/when-should-we-expect-to-see-justin-steele-again-r737/Justin Steele went down with a hamstring strain on Opening Day, Mar. 28. Last week, on the debut episode of his new podcast (strictly speaking, I don't recommend listening to that show--it's not good--but there are some nuggets within), Steele talked about the quick thinking he did while making...737Tue, 16 Apr 2024 16:45:58 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/keegan-thompson-took-advantage-of-a-league-wide-approach-flaw-monday-night-r736/As we discussed over the weekend, Keegan Thompson didn't go down to Iowa this spring and magically ameliorate all the problems that plagued him in 2023. On the contrary, his performance data suggests that he's further from regaining high-end big-league stuff than ever. His first two appearances...736Tue, 16 Apr 2024 14:03:49 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/how-long-will-cubs-be-without-seiya-suzuki-and-how-do-they-fill-his-spot-r735/It felt ominous, early Monday morning, when Jesse Rogers reported that the Cubs were calling up outfielder Alexander Canario to meet the team in Arizona. Canario is off to a decent start with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, but he wasn't first in line for a promotion based purely on performance. If the...735Mon, 15 Apr 2024 22:18:27 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/top-prospect-alexander-canario-called-up-to-cubs-is-another-move-coming-r733/Alexander Canario, the 12th-ranked prospect on North Side Baseball, technically got the call last year. Still, after being sporadically used by former manager David Ross, he hasn’t been given an opportunity to show out at the big league level yet. The good news is that it sounds like that opport...733Mon, 15 Apr 2024 15:54:10 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/monday-morning-north-sider-michael-buschs-west-coast-scorcher-assadmanaga-the-masters-more-r731/This week’s showing wasn’t nearly as impressive as last week’s 5-1 performance against the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers, but the San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners are formidable opponents. There’s not a ton of shame in going .500 when traveling to the Pacific Standard Time Zone a...731Mon, 15 Apr 2024 12:09:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/ben-brown-tommy-john-surgery-risk-velocity-spin/  Although Jameson Taillon is right on the cusp of a return to the Cubs' starting rotation, the team won't turn to their veteran workhorse during their visit to the Arizona Diamondbacks to close out a nine-game road trip. Instead, they'll maintain the rotation established at the start of th...730Mon, 15 Apr 2024 11:11:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/week-in-review-busch-morel-brown-bullpen-west-coast/Record Last Week: 3-3 Runs Scored: 24 Runs Surrendered: 27 Standing: T-3rd in NL Central (1.5 GB) Transactions 04/10/24 - Chicago Cubs sent RHP Jameson Taillon on a rehab assignment to Iowa Cubs. 04/11/24 - Chicago Cubs traded C Joe Hudson to New York Mets....732Mon, 15 Apr 2024 10:13:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/kohl-franklin-leaves-triple-a-debut-hurt-jameson-taillon-on-verge-of-return-r728/  Jameson Taillon will meet the Cubs in Arizona, as they finish their long Western road trip this week. He should be back on the mound sometime during that series. Justin Steele is further away, but on schedule. When prospect Kohl Franklin will pitch again, unfortunately, is anyone's guess....728Sun, 14 Apr 2024 13:51:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/do-the-2024-cubs-need-to-steal-bases-to-be-effective-offensively-r726/The 2023 iteration of the Chicago Cubs was one of the best baserunning teams in Major League Baseball. FanGraphs’ Base Running metric (BsR) takes the following into account as part of its calculation:  Ultimate Base Running (UBR – a measure of each baserunning event) Weighted Stol...726Sat, 13 Apr 2024 11:17:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/analyzing-shota-imanagas-first-two-mlb-starts-r724/  Shota Imanaga is off to a very strong start, but how long will it last? Imanaga has appeared in two games so far this season, both being at Wrigley Field. I’ve been present for both, and they were an absolute joy to watch. The first game was the Cubs' home opener, a 1:20 game against...724Fri, 12 Apr 2024 15:24:01 +0000