https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/page/194/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/5-prospects-the-cubs-might-focus-on-with-the-68-overall-mlb-draft-pick-r130/This week, we’ll spend some time looking at prospects the Cubs might focus on with the 68th overall pick. As usual with these pieces, the goal is not to make predictions, rather, to give an overview of the type of talent that might be available to teams with this pick. I’ve used these prospects’...130Wed, 14 Jun 2023 12:50:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/do-we-need-to-account-more-for-the-schedule-when-assessing-the-cubs-r132/The Cubs’ seasonal arc, to date, can be traced by checking in on them against each of their AL West opponents. Early on, they had exciting and emotional wins over the Rangers and Mariners, and then an affirming sweep of the A’s. By contrast, excruciating and deflating losses to the Astros and Ma...132Tue, 13 Jun 2023 12:20:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/mike-tauchman-is-why-everyone-is-careful-with-injuries-anymore-r131/Have you noticed that players play through fewer bouts of soreness or tsuris than they did even 10 years ago? Do you see rehab assignments that don't feel necessary in the first place stretch out to a full week? Do you want to see teams be a bit less conservative with injuries? You know who's to...131Mon, 12 Jun 2023 12:29:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/kyle-hendrickss-two-changeups-have-finalized-their-divorce-r129/For years, careful observers have noticed that Kyle Hendricks relies not on one changeup, but on two distinct ones: a traditional, fading one, and one with less movement but a highly deceptive cut to it, away from a right-handed batter. Now, though, it doesn't even take a careful observer. N...129Sun, 11 Jun 2023 12:25:21 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/a-new-level-of-self-awareness-has-pushed-marcus-stroman-to-new-heights-r128/The Cubs ace's ERA actually rose Friday night. He got the team 20 outs and claimed his seventh win, but because he allowed two earned runs, he ticked up to 2.42 for the season. That's a fair reflection of how he pitched, too. He wasn't dominant. He didn't have his best stuff. Yet, he found somet...128Sat, 10 Jun 2023 11:54:26 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/nico-hoerner-needs-to-bat-sixth-for-a-while-r127/The Cubs offense is, as it has seemed to be more often than not over the last half-decade, utterly broken. Since May 1, the team is batting .222/.311/.357. Their leadoff hitter has, alas, been part of the problem, and it's time to shake up the lineup in a more substantial way. While many fan...127Fri, 09 Jun 2023 11:27:39 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/draft-preview-five-outfielders-im-watching-r126/We’ve covered all the positions in this series, so we’re going to circle back and look at three under-the-radar outfielders as well as two outfielders that are very much on the radar. The term “personal cheeseball” (better represented by #personalcheeseball) originated over twenty years ago...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/After losing a third straight game Wednesday night in Anaheim, the Cubs are now 26-35. They lag the division-leading Brewers by 7.5 games and have a 7.9-percent chance of reaching the postseason, according to FanGraphs. Worse news, though, might be coming from Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. The...125Thu, 08 Jun 2023 11:45:23 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/learning-from-failure-with-jameson-taillon-r124/On Wednesday night, the Cubs turn to Jameson Taillon and ask him to help save their sinking season. Last time out, the right-hander won his first game as a Cub, thanks to (for now) giving up on some changes he and the team tried to make after he signed this winter. What can we learn from that?...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/In the coming weeks, we’ll spend some time going in-depth on players whom the Cubs could target with their first pick in next month's MLB Draft, at No. 13. This week, we’re looking at pitchers. For these pieces, we’ll use the positions of players on the Consensus Board as a proxy for who they mi...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/Monday night found Cubs pitchers struggling to miss bats and paying both an actual and a psychological price for it. Meanwhile, their hitters struck out 12 times and were similarly compromised. Unfortunately, that's nothing new, for a team that still lags the league in generating whiffs on the m...123Tue, 06 Jun 2023 11:55:07 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/can-dansby-swanson-stay-this-good-all-season-r122/Whatever else has gone on in this mixed bag of a season, the Cubs have to be thrilled with what they've gotten from Dansby Swanson. The biggest thing they did this winter appears to be the thing they did best, and it's paying off in a huge way. With Swanson, however, it's worth asking: Can it la...122Mon, 05 Jun 2023 11:21:16 +0000