https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/page/143/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/how-much-should-defense-inform-the-cubs-choice-of-first-base-targets-r447/The Chicago Cubs introduced Craig Counsell as their manager on Monday morning. While his staff still needs sorting, we now know the face of the man tasked with manning the bench in 2024. There are a few other spots, however, where we aren’t quite so fortunate.  Among those is first base, wh...447Wed, 15 Nov 2023 11:59:49 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-add-arias-horn-and-hodge-to-40-man-roster-r445/Last week, the Cubs added smooth-fielding shortstop Luis Vazquez to their 40-man roster, not only keeping him from the Rule 5 draft, but also keeping him from free agency. On Monday afternoon, the Cubs added three pitchers to their 40-man roster as well.  40-man roster spots are critically...445Wed, 15 Nov 2023 00:08:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/the-conniving-genius-of-jed-hoyer-r440/“Loyalty is but a whim those who struggle to deploy confidence rely on for support.” - Lao Tzu  There’s been a lot said, written, tweeted, and reposted (by fans, national pundits and bloggers alike) in regard to the Cubs shocking move to hire Craig Counsell last week. How Counsell makes the...440Tue, 14 Nov 2023 18:13:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/highlights-from-cubs-manager-craig-counsells-introductory-press-conference-r441/At 10 AM on Monday, November 13th 2023, Craig Counsell was introduced as the 56th manager in Cubs history, a week after the shocking news of his hiring changed expectations, opinions, and analysis of the 2023 Offseason. Counsell came off as cerebral and analytical in his responses in the 40-minu...441Tue, 14 Nov 2023 15:10:36 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/top-50-fits-for-the-cubs-in-mlb-free-agency-nos-40-31-r443/I'm attempting a unique (but, I think, a valuable) balancing act with this exercise. Ranking free agents from a global, league-wider perspective smooths too many important places where there's real friction preventing a given player from fitting what a team needs. Focusing on what the Cubs need...443Tue, 14 Nov 2023 13:14:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/top-50-fits-for-the-cubs-in-mlb-free-agency-nos-50-41-r437/Firstly, I had better clarify what this list will be. I'm not endeavoring, as several national sites do, to rank every free agent by talent or projected production over the life of a given contract. I'm also not ranking the players the Cubs are most likely to sign. This list (entirely my own; do...437Sun, 12 Nov 2023 12:10:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/thank-you-david-ross-r435/It has been a few days, so I can safely say I have finally been able to pick my jaw up off of the floor. The Craig Counsell announcement has quickly turned into an “I remember where I was when…” Cubs memory. I am still carrying some momentum from the shock and excitement.  However, this is...435Sat, 11 Nov 2023 15:09:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/why-the-cubs-had-to-fire-david-ross-for-craig-counsell-r428/When I wrote my piece advocating for the Cubs to fire David Ross, I did it with the pretense that it was more suggestive than practical.  In that article, I mentioned my love for Ross, the person, and my appreciation for what he had done leading the team through that soul-crushing firesale in 20...428Fri, 10 Nov 2023 13:14:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/wow-managerial-shenanigans-r432/“What are things that will never happen in my lifetime, Alex.” To say the latter is not the news I expected to wake up to this fine November morning would be the most massive of understatements. The Cubs have a penchant for this kind of thing, having replaced Rick Renteria with Joe Maddon w...432Thu, 09 Nov 2023 15:14:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/how-much-craig-counsell-is-worth-might-depend-on-the-bullpen-hes-given-r431/In the wake of the news that the Chicago Cubs have fired David Ross and are bringing in Craig Counsell as their manager, I have a confession to make: I have always been skeptical of the overall value that a manager brings to a baseball team.  Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely times w...431Wed, 08 Nov 2023 17:49:53 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/craig-counsells-arrival-announces-the-chicago-cubs-own-r427/Normally, when I get a text from my father on a Monday afternoon, it’s related to our juggernaut fantasy football team (eight finals appearances in eleven years… don’t ask me about our record in said finals) or laughing at the weekly incompetence of the New York Jets and Giants. So when I got a...427Wed, 08 Nov 2023 12:45:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/podcast-this-is-not-a-rebuild-nov-6-2023-the-2023-chicago-cubs-offseason-begins-in-earnest-r426/We recorded this episode of This is Not a Rebuild on Sunday night, well before the world (including the four of us) knew that Craig Counsell would be the first big arrival of the winter. As such, our conversations centered mostly on the contract options exercised and declined, and on the multipl...426Tue, 07 Nov 2023 15:07:02 +0000