https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/page/59/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/craig-counsells-lineups-are-doing-a-really-nice-job-covering-the-cubs-weaknesses-r1718/The Cubs are destroying left-handed pitching this season, even with three of their main hitters batting on the weak platoon side. After Friday’s victory over the Phillies, the team's OPS was .917 versus left-handers. When a right-hander toes the rubber, the OPS slips to .776. Both of these are h...1718Sun, 27 Apr 2025 11:56:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/is-michael-buschs-breakout-real-r1717/With Michael Busch’s torrid start to the season, it’s worth asking how much of what he is doing is real. There will be regression — his start is almost certainly not sustainable — but by how much will Busch regress? There are some important stats that suggest the Cubs might have a better first b...1717Sat, 26 Apr 2025 11:53:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/one-smaller-step-for-carson-kelly-one-giant-leap-for-carson-kellys-production-r1714/Somehow, if the season ended right now, Carson Kelly would be the best hitter in baseball for the year 2025. Somehow, as a catcher hitting the age when most catchers decline steeply in all facets, Kelly is swinging the bat 1.3 miles per hour faster than he did last year; his walk rate is roughly...1714Fri, 25 Apr 2025 11:36:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/chicago-cubs-bullpen-could-use-help-and-a-few-minnesota-twins-might-be-available-r1707/It’s been another worrisome start to the season for the Cubs' bullpen, and no lead feels safe. While it’s too early to swing a big deal, it’s worth keeping an eye on teams who could be targets to reinforce the relief corps. The Minnesota Twins could find themselves on the fringes of contention,...1707Thu, 24 Apr 2025 17:02:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/with-kyle-tucker-maybe-he-will-maybe-he-wont-and-that-uncertainty-is-ok-r1712/(Famous last words, but) This is not a thinkpiece. When it comes to Kyle Tucker as a Cub, it's practical advice for all of us who call ourselves the faithful of Chicago's North Side ball club. What is the advice, you ask? Enjoy yourself. Earlier this week, Jed Hoyer, Cubs President of Baseball O...1712Thu, 24 Apr 2025 11:56:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/whats-next-for-cubs-at-third-base-after-matt-shaw-gage-workman-experiments-fail-r1710/In between games of their quick two-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Chicago Cubs shuffled the roster around a little bit. Just not quite in the way that we thought they would:   The pitching side of things was noted earlier this week. With the Cubs acquiring Drew Pom...1710Wed, 23 Apr 2025 22:37:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/in-needed-roster-shuffle-cubs-end-gage-workman-experiment-sign-nicky-lopez-as-bench-filler-r1711/Wednesday brought a flurry of roster moves for the Cubs, as they try to survive a gauntlet of an early schedule that has seen them play teams with superb offenses, almost without a break. This time, the urgent need was to freshen the bullpen after yet another demanding, wild contest, so they rec...1711Wed, 23 Apr 2025 19:56:35 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/since-last-we-talked-about-this-pete-crow-armstrong-began-swinging-less-it-worked-r1708/Twelve days ago, Pete Crow-Armstrong was batting .211/.286/.263, and had yet to hit a home run on the young season. He was an absolute mess at the plate, but even then, you could hear the gathering thunder in his bat. He was swinging fast and generating some intriguing contact. He just needed to...1708Wed, 23 Apr 2025 11:44:45 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-latest-bullpen-reinforcement-gavin-hollowell-but-with-new-crazy-angles-r1706/  At the tail end of last season, the Cubs claimed Gavin Hollowell on waivers and got him onto the big-league mound for a game. They liked some of what they saw from Hollowell, a 6-foot-7 righthander with an utterly vexing arm angle, if you're an opposing righty. His deception seemed to be...1706Tue, 22 Apr 2025 23:13:40 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/for-dansby-swanson-strikeouts-are-piling-up-whats-going-on-r1704/An anecdote: I swung a torpedo bat for the first time on Monday. For some reason, one of my JV players acquired one at the earliest possible moment. I found that it was easier to find the barrel, but the weight distribution was quite a bit different. And when I didn't find the barrel, I found mo...1704Tue, 22 Apr 2025 16:16:17 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/this-is-the-seiya-suzuki-weve-all-been-waiting-for-r1703/There is a sizable, well-meaning contingent of Cubdom who would have you believe that Seiya Suzuki has been secretly elite, for a while now. Some of them are in the pockets of Big Wind At Wrigley—which is to say, they (rightly) took note of the extreme quiddities of the weather patterns at the F...1703Tue, 22 Apr 2025 11:29:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/ian-happs-defense-might-just-be-better-than-ever-r1699/Ian Happ has won three consecutive Gold Glove awards. Somehow.  For the last handful of years, there's been a perception of the Chicago Cubs' left fielder that doesn't necessarily link up with reality. Those of us who watch the Cubs with regularity know that he is, at times, a terrific defe...1699Mon, 21 Apr 2025 15:32:01 +0000