https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/page/177/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/with-scrappy-series-win-cubs-earn-right-to-keep-fighting-r184/  When Marcus Stroman let the game get away from him in the sixth inning Thursday afternoon against the Brewers, you didn't have to squint to see the writing on the wall. There was, in that moment, a very good chance that the Cubs would tumble into the break, nearly 10 games out of the lead...184Mon, 10 Jul 2023 12:28:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/is-cody-bellingers-strong-first-half-sustainable-r180/The thinking went that, if the Cubs could turn Cody Bellinger back into an above-average offensive player, they would either deal him at the trade deadline for prospects, or he would be a key player for a playoff contender. If Bellinger was still the below-average offensive player that he was fo...180Sun, 09 Jul 2023 12:43:10 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/for-one-night-radical-simplicity-solved-jameson-taillons-lefty-problems-r178/  Entering Friday's game, left-handed batters were hitting .308/.395/.654 against Jameson Taillon in 2023. It goes without saying that having half the league rake against you at such a rate renders being an effective starting pitcher impossible. Taillon's gaudy ERA reflected a little bit of...178Sat, 08 Jul 2023 12:28:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/was-a-split-in-milwaukee-good-enough-to-keep-the-cubs-alive-r177/All the pieces and beats of the season matter. If the Cubs had come to Miller Park at 41-41, they wouldn't have needed to worry at all about a split of these four games. A split on the road is usually good enough, and splitting with a team ahead of you in the standings on the road is nearly alwa...177Fri, 07 Jul 2023 12:20:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/a-win-with-endless-implications-r173/First of all, Wednesday night was a reminder of how narrow a margin for error Justin Steele has, using his limited repertoire. The sixth inning, in particular, demonstrated his vulnerability. He nearly escaped that frame with the Cubs down just 2-1, but a slider that found the plate and was left...173Thu, 06 Jul 2023 12:35:39 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/who-will-make-up-the-cubs-new-core-r168/Chicago sports are no exception. The Bulls dynasty of the 1990s had theirs. The Blackhawks teams of 2010 to 2015 had their core. The last great Cubs team featured an extensive one, with a core group that consisted of Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Javíer Baez, and Willson Contreras, among position...168Tue, 04 Jul 2023 12:31:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/what-in-the-world-are-the-cubs-doing-with-miguel-amaya-r164/A concussion suffered by Yan Gomes forced the Cubs to call up Miguel Amaya from Double-A Tennessee in early May. That stay on the roster only lasted about a week, but Amaya got the bump to Triple-A Iowa thereafter. Three weeks later, he was back with the parent time, this time thanks to his own...164Mon, 03 Jul 2023 15:16:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cant-win-for-losing-r169/The Cubs started what is, technically, the second half of their season Sunday night with a game that neatly summarized their first half. It was, in turns, infuriating, depressing, wildly exciting, and then deflating. The ultimate culprit in their failure was bad luck, but that didn't change the...169Mon, 03 Jul 2023 12:45:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-hitter-june23-hoerner-morel-dansby-swanson-ian-happ/With April being a solid offensive month and May disappointing, it was nice to see the Cubs show a semblance of balance and produce a middle-of-the-pack performance in June. Despite starting the month off relatively slow, the Cubs picked up the pace toward the end, leading to an overall fun mont...166Mon, 03 Jul 2023 12:08:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/nick-madrigal-has-earned-a-shot-r167/Like most who follow the Cubs closely, my reaction when I read that the Cubs were going to be giving Nick Madrigal reps at third-base during Spring Training was to laugh. Most third basemen are large, slugging types–like Patrick Wisdom, for instance. Madrigal, at 5’8”, 175 lbs, and with two majo...167Mon, 03 Jul 2023 06:49:17 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/the-cubs-have-three-players-headed-to-the-2023-all-star-game-r165/  Remarkable even in the absence of anything truly spectacular, Dansby Swanson has come exactly as advertised this season. Of the stars the Cubs could have signed to big deals to be their shortstop over the last two winters (Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Correa, Javier Baez, Corey Se...165Sun, 02 Jul 2023 22:53:44 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-pitcher-of-the-month-june-2023-r162/How did the Cubs provide a winning record in June after floundering in May? Dropping your team ERA from 4.73 to 3.43 sure doesn't hurt! Strike outs per nine innings, team FIP, and team WAR on the pitching side of the ledger didn't improve drastically, but overall consistency from game to game a...162Sun, 02 Jul 2023 16:19:01 +0000