https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/page/92/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/week-in-review-cubs-mean-business-as-tokyo-dodgers-come-calling-r1575/This week, as expected, the winning ways the North Siders have enjoyed nearly the entirety of spring subsided ever so briefly. Not only did they pick back up in front of record-setting crowds at Sloan Park, but we also witnessed a team and its message galvanize. The message? Cubs baseball and pl...1575Sun, 09 Mar 2025 18:10:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/lets-road-trip-cubs-2025-trip-14-one-more-dance-with-the-nl-central-r1553/Pittsburgh Pirates – September 15-17 PNC Park - Capacity 38,747 2024 Attendance: 1,720,361 (Averaged 21,239 - ranked 14th out of 15 NL teams, 25th overall MLB) When the Cubs invade Pittsburgh in April, they will be still formulating their rotation and lineup and will be trying to figure...1553Sun, 09 Mar 2025 17:15:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/chicago-cubs-2025-position-analysis-shortstop-r1562/Entering year three of Dansby Swanson's seven-year contract, the Cubs are in good hands at the position. Over his first two seasons with the Cubs, Swanson has been worth 8.2 fWAR, which is sixth in Major League Baseball, and has been the best defensive shortstop in terms of dWAR. This is especia...1562Sun, 09 Mar 2025 11:50:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/shota-imanaga-looks-like-he-is-ready-for-opening-day-r1569/Shota Imanaga will be looking to one-up himself this year, after a phenomenal rookie season. The left-hander went 15-3 with a 2.91 ERA across 173 innings last year. He finished fifth in Cy Young voting and fourth in Rookie of the Year voting, and will now try and build on that—or at least mainta...1569Sat, 08 Mar 2025 23:12:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/lets-road-trip-cubs-2025-trip-13-hotlanta-or-bust-r1552/Atlanta Braves – April 18-20 Truist Park - Capacity 41,084 2024 Attendance: 3,011,765 (Averaged 37,647 - ranked 4th out of 15 NL teams, 5th overall MLB) When the Cubs traveled to Atlanta in May 2024, they both entered the series with winning records. Atlanta shut out the Cubs in the fir...1552Sat, 08 Mar 2025 16:18:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/chicago-cubs-2025-position-analysis-first-base-r1572/What a difference a year makes. The first base position on the North Side was extremely uncertain ahead of the 2024 season. The Chicago Cubs had gone plug-and-play in the two years following Anthony Rizzo’s deadline departure. The 2022 group was led by Alfonso Rivas’ 81 games at the spot, with a...1572Sat, 08 Mar 2025 12:57:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/the-blueprint-for-a-90-win-cubs-team-in-2025-r1561/30 and 6: This is the number of starts Justin Steele needs to make for the season and in September, respectively. Steele has been a very good pitcher when he takes the mound. Unfortunately, he has not been healthy enough to make more than 30 starts in a season. Compounding this, his Septembers h...1561Fri, 07 Mar 2025 22:07:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/lets-road-trip-cubs-2025-trip-12-from-the-ocean-to-the-rockies-r1551/Los Angeles Angels - August 22-24 Angel Stadium: Capacity 45,517 2024 Attendance: 2,577,597 (Averaged 31,822, sixth in AL, 13th overall) When the Cubs entered Angel Stadium in June 2023, a healthy Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout , and Anthony Rendon were there to welcome them rudely with a t...1551Fri, 07 Mar 2025 16:23:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/pete-crow-armstrong-doesnt-have-to-lead-off-to-maximize-his-value-on-the-bases-r1570/By now, we're all well-trained students of the school of Sabermetrics 1.0, a movement that began in the 1970s and found its gear in earnest in the 1980s. One of the most famous of that first wave of data-driven insights into the game was the value of on-base percentage, as a better measurement o...1570Fri, 07 Mar 2025 12:45:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/chicago-cubs-2025-position-analysis-designated-hitter-r1566/I am offering a virtual high five to anyone who can name the Cubs’ Opening Day starter at designated hitter in the first three seasons since the National League adopted the position full-time in 2022.  Any takers? You might have gotten 2024 correct. It was Christopher Morel, with Nick Madri...1566Fri, 07 Mar 2025 00:17:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/chicago-cubs-2025-position-analysis-left-field-r1544/Left field is in capable hands with Ian Happ. He's averaged 3.7 WAR in his past three seasons and won a Gold Glove award in each of them. His power numbers are consistent; his OPS has also been between .780 and .790 yearly. He regularly scores and drives in over 80 runs per season. There's not m...1544Thu, 06 Mar 2025 14:15:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/the-cubs-sleep-advantage-r1565/I was looking around FanGraphs to check out what the league as a whole did in 2024, with a sort of idea that I would see if the Cubs in 2025 had assembled a team resembling my platonic ideal of an offense that hit for power via both the home run and gap-to-gap line drives; a pitching staff that...1565Thu, 06 Mar 2025 12:39:01 +0000