https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/page/164/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/what-a-marcus-stroman-extension-could-look-like-r113/Already this season, we’ve seen multiple reports that Marcus Stroman would prefer to sign an extension with the Cubs, rather than either being dealt at the trade deadline or hitting free agency this fall. That probably shouldn’t shock us. For one thing, Stroman is already 32 years old. It makes...113Tue, 30 May 2023 12:22:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/david-ross-and-the-peeps-in-the-chili-pot-r112/  It feels, for all the world, like the 2023 Cubs are doomed to another season of untenable irrelevance. In fact, there's a real and lethal sense of existential dread settling over Cubdom, and it's not unearned. It's heavy, and it's impenetrable, and it's not just in the heads or the itchy...112Mon, 29 May 2023 12:23:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/will-the-cubs-bullpen-look-completely-different-in-a-week-r111/  It's no secret that the Cubs' relief corps is a mess. They not only lack effective pitchers, but don't seem to have any idea how to deploy the guys they do have. David Ross looks lost. Cornered by a long outing Friday that made Javier Assad unavailable Saturday night, Ross turned to Jerem...111Sun, 28 May 2023 12:20:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/jed-hoyer-is-not-getting-fired-before-david-ross-period-r107/A couple of weeks ago, after another close and winnable game slipped away for the Cubs against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field, I wrote a column saying that David Ross will not be able to get the team back over the hump and into contention. Many people responded to that piece by saying that the f...107Sat, 27 May 2023 12:35:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/bad-luck-wasnt-the-culprit-in-kyle-hendrickss-rough-return-r108/It would have been wildly unfair to expect vintage Kyle Hendricks on Thursday night. In his first appearance on a big-league mound since last July, Hendricks was bound to be a bit less than dominant. He was, but he also showed flashes of the good version of himself. His velocity was fine, and th...108Fri, 26 May 2023 12:29:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/nygaard-mock-draft-v-10-r106/1.) Pirates – Dylan Crews, OF, LSU - Arguably the best hitting prospect since Bryce Harper, Crews should be a no-doubt pick for Pittsburgh. 2.) Nationals – Paul Skenes, RHP, LSU - This is the highest Washington has drafted since having back-to-back first overall picks in 2009 and 2010. Sken...106Thu, 25 May 2023 20:20:57 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/christopher-morel-magic-and-what-he-needs-to-do-for-his-next-trick-r105/Normally, when I preface a piece with that type of phrasing, it’s not a harbinger of positivity. I can think of at least two occasions where this was the case (and weirdly, they both involved San Diego Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer). But in this case–when we’re in a stretch where the Cubs are...105Thu, 25 May 2023 11:59:06 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/this-time-the-four-seamer-is-working-for-marcus-stroman-r104/There's no full-scale reinvention happening here. Marcus Stroman will (probably) always be a sinker-first pitcher, and the Cubs prefer to have their pitchers sink or cut their fastballs, anyway. When pitching coach Tommy Hottovy and the rest of the team's pitching infrastructure got ahold of Str...104Wed, 24 May 2023 12:25:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/consensus-mlb-draft-board-v2-r98/How to Use This Tool This is hopefully easy to navigate. For a full explainer on the what, why, and how, here’s the explainer for V1. For each ranked player, you’ll see position, age, ranking, school, first name, last name, height, weight, handedness (S=switch), future value (not yet), and wri...98Tue, 23 May 2023 14:12:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/nick-madrigal-has-to-go-r103/Nick Madrigal started the season a little bit hot. He had a .345/.387/.414 batting line through his first 31 plate appearances, and had struck out only once. Since then, though, he's batted only .203/.239/.250. In 67 plate appearances, he has eight strikeouts. That would be a fine strikeout rate...103Tue, 23 May 2023 12:47:03 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/draft-preview-five-under-the-radar-pitchers-im-watching-r102/The pitching position is, in most people’s opinions, the most important position on a baseball team in terms of having both quality and depth. Yet, the term “there is no such thing as a pitching prospect (TINSTAAPP)” is one that is used quite frequently.  What you see as a high schooler or...102Mon, 22 May 2023 17:44:06 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/the-nightmare-of-the-90s-is-alive-in-wrigleyville-r101/Last Tuesday, Danny Rockett (on Twitter at @SonRanto, one of the deans of the metaphorical delegation from the real-life Wrigleyville to its digital counterpart) ran a Twitter poll asking fans of whom Christopher Morel most forcefully reminds them. He gave three options, and invited other sugges...101Mon, 22 May 2023 12:20:02 +0000