https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/page/166/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cody-bellingers-bounceback-fueling-cubs-r83/Back in March 2021, I wrote a nonsense piece in which I attempted to quantify aesthetically pleasing baseball swings, with an absurd headline and everything. (I’m calling it nonsense, but I completely believed in what I wrote, and still do, two years later.) Therein, I discussed the best swings...83Thu, 11 May 2023 12:21:09 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/the-long-road-to-a-new-jameson-taillon-r81/Because everyone loves the sweeper, the fact that Jameson Taillon came to Cubs camp this spring eager to work one into his arsenal grabbed all the headlines. A handful of starts into his tenure, though, it's easy to see that there's more going on than the addition of a pitch.  Obviously, th...81Wed, 10 May 2023 12:24:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/david-ross-is-not-the-manager-the-cubs-need-to-turn-the-corner-r80/The latest (but far from first) example of Ross's ineptitude came Tuesday night. Many managers throughout baseball history have had the unfortunate tendency to place too much trust in a starter who appeared to be cruising, but Ross (like most of his counterparts in the last decade or so) has pro...80Wed, 10 May 2023 02:47:38 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/a-hard-reckoning-for-the-cubs-offense-r79/It took so long for the Cubs to promote Matt Mervis and Christopher Morel from Iowa to the majors that their legend outran their likely impact--even despite Morel having shown his flaws at the MLB level last year. Mervis, Morel, and Miguel Amaya do add a slightly stronger feeling of upside to th...79Tue, 09 May 2023 12:22:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/how-should-cubs-fans-receive-willson-contreras-tonight-r78/  The Cubs begin their season series against the Cardinals Monday night at Wrigley Field, which means that Willson Contreras is coming back to town. He arrives at a personal nadir, and the team he chose (and who chose him) this winter is at a collective one. Contreras has been moved semi-pe...78Mon, 08 May 2023 15:45:37 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/is-there-a-slugger-somewhere-inside-seiya-suzuki-r77/On its face, that's an almost silly question. Seiya Suzuki is 28 years old, and has been a proven power hitter for much of his professional career. He hit 38 home runs in his final season in Nippon Professional Baseball, in Japan, and averaged 29.5 homers over his last six years there. He has ab...77Mon, 08 May 2023 11:28:41 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/25-thoughts-on-the-25th-anniversary-of-kerry-woods-20-k-game-part-iii-r76/I've already written nearly 4,000 words about this historic performance, in two pieces (Part I and Part II) that broke down the first 17 thoughts I had while rewatching the carnage on YouTube this week. In today's finale, I have eight more notions to share, as we all continue to (try to) make se...76Sun, 07 May 2023 12:22:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/25-thoughts-on-the-25th-anniversary-of-kerry-woods-20-k-game-part-ii-r75/  As I wrote in part one, I went to YouTube and rewatched the entire game in which Kerry Wood did the almost unthinkable to the Astros. That installment contained my first nine important thoughts as I watched. Today, we'll run through the next eight. 10. "Only" six of his first 10 outs...75Sat, 06 May 2023 12:20:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/25-thoughts-on-the-25th-anniversary-of-kerry-woods-20-k-game-part-i-r74/The idea here is to marinate in the nostalgia and the thrill of that day, but also to see the bigger picture and tie the receding past to our present a bit. Our very first thought is in that latter vein. Kerry Wood had a sweeper. This spring, the talk of the baseball world has been the swe...74Fri, 05 May 2023 12:27:03 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/draft-preview-third-basemen-personalcheeseballs-r73/Like last week, with shortstops who end up moving off the position, third base is more of the same. The difference, of course, is that a move off third base is a move even further down the positional totem pole, which likely ends at first base.  The term “personal cheeseball” (better repres...73Thu, 04 May 2023 18:13:32 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-hitter-of-the-month-for-april-2023-cody-bellinger-r71/Without further ado, here are the five Cubs hitters up for hitter of the month for April. Honorable mention #4: Yan Gomes Gomes has displayed consistency throughout the first month of the season, not really lighting up one particular hitting metric, but succeeding across all of them in...71Thu, 04 May 2023 14:10:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-pitcher-of-the-month-for-april-2023-justin-steele-r72/Without further ado, here are the five Cubs pitchers up for pitcher of the month for April. Honorable Mention #4: Keegan Thompson When the bullpen is the issue, then we have to honor someone who is trying to be the solution. Thompson fit that bill for the Cubs in April. While his advan...72Thu, 04 May 2023 12:20:00 +0000