https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/page/171/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/nico-hoerner-needs-to-bat-sixth-for-a-while-r127/While many fans prefer to blame the anonymous guys and the free-agent misfires at the bottom of the order for the Cubs' problems of run production, the fact is that the top of their lineup is just as deficient. Nico Hoerner, Dansby Swanson, Ian Happ, and Seiya Suzuki would all be fine as the fif...127Fri, 09 Jun 2023 11:27:39 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/draft-preview-five-outfielders-im-watching-r126/The term “personal cheeseball” (better represented by #personalcheeseball) originated over twenty years ago in the Baseball America offices when former writer and current Twins scout John Manuel started using it as “shorthand for a personal favorite that does not reflect the popular consensus.” ...126Thu, 08 Jun 2023 15:11:37 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/where-do-the-cubs-project-in-the-nl-central-over-the-next-five-years-r125/The last time the Cubs tore everything down and rebuilt, they eventually built a juggernaut. Of course, it helped that their apotheosis coincided with a nadir for the Cardinals, but no one in the NL Central had any chance of stopping the 2015-18 Cubs from claiming at least a few playoff appearan...125Thu, 08 Jun 2023 11:45:23 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/learning-from-failure-with-jameson-taillon-r124/If the Cubs signed Jameson Taillon because they thought they could reinvent him or turn him into an ace, then they were foolish and irresponsible with their $68 million. Several teams and a great many players suffer from this systematic error lately. Because of the revolution in player developme...124Wed, 07 Jun 2023 11:23:27 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/five-pitchers-the-cubs-could-target-with-the-number-13-overall-pick-r121/Chase Dollander Position: RHP, Age: 21, School: Tennessee, Height: 6’3, Weight: 195, B/T: R/R, Rank: 7 Dollander was a consensus top three pick for the early part of the season. His fall down the rankings is due as much to the rise and dominance of Paul Skenes as it is to his own uneven perf...121Tue, 06 Jun 2023 16:10:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/the-cubs-have-to-fight-over-the-strike-zone-because-they-cant-dominate-it-themselves-r123/When home-plate umpire Phil Cuzzi gave a slightly generous outside corner to Padres southpaw Blake Snell early Monday, the trouble started bubbling up quickly. Cuzzi's calls helped ensure that nothing came of an early Cubs rally. Then, in the bottom of the second inning, Cuzzi did not make the s...123Tue, 06 Jun 2023 11:55:07 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/can-dansby-swanson-stay-this-good-all-season-r122/A major and important narrative around Dansby Swanson, when he hit free agency last fall, was his inconsistency at the plate. Often, hitters get slapped with "inconsistent" in error, and just as often, "inconsistent" is a euphemism for bad. In Swanson's case, though, it genuinely felt like he wa...122Mon, 05 Jun 2023 11:21:16 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/miguel-amaya-and-the-near-future-of-the-cubs-roster-r120/Though it sounds like Justin Steele's forearm strain is mild enough not to warrant major concern, the Cubs placed him on the injured list Saturday. That was to be expected. It was a mild surprise, though, that they called up Miguel Amaya again to take Steele's place on the roster, rather than re...120Sun, 04 Jun 2023 12:35:11 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/accepting-some-failure-has-to-be-part-of-the-plan-for-matt-mervis-r119/In the first few weeks after his call-up, Matt Mervis was in the Cubs lineup virtually every day. He made his first start on May 5, and started eight of the next nine contests. He was in there at first base for 16 of the first 20, in fact. However, his sluggish start (a frightening .188/.268/.29...119Sat, 03 Jun 2023 14:23:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/how-adbert-alzolay-has-morphed-into-a-relief-ace-and-hype-machine-r118/It feels as though it took forever for Adbert Alzolay to matriculate from top prospect status to established big-leaguer. Inconsistency and injury conspired with the COVID pandemic to keep Alzolay in limbo until near the end of 2022. After his strong showing in the second half of last season, th...118Sat, 03 Jun 2023 12:20:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/the-2023-cubs-cant-win-without-an-elite-defense-and-they-dont-have-one-r117/The focus of most Cubs writers and fans, coming into this season, was on the spine of a great defense that the Cubs have constructed up the middle. That has panned out exactly as hoped, and might be the most exciting and compelling thing about this team thus far. Yan Gomes continues to look like...117Fri, 02 Jun 2023 12:20:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/personal-cheeseballs-first-basemen-r116/It’s not that it never works out. It’s that it almost never works out. Prince Fielder (7th overall in 2002) is an exception. Adrian Gonzalez (1st overall in 2000) is an exception. Beyond that, it’s been pretty brutal.  Matt LaPorta, the 7th overall pick in 2007, was a complete bust.  E...116Thu, 01 Jun 2023 15:18:51 +0000