https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/page/93/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/dansby-swanson-and-his-new-friend-the-torpedo-bat-r1671/Given that we're barely into the middle of April, there's still a few weeks to go before we can make wild claims about the 2025 season. Claims like: Dansby Swanson is the best he's ever been. He's not (yet) technically the best version of himself. We've gotten excited about Dansby Swanson be...1671Sun, 13 Apr 2025 11:53:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/is-matt-shaws-plate-discipline-purposeful-or-a-symptom-of-a-larger-issue-r1670/The Cubs had some concerns about Matt Shaw after Tokyo. A few weeks later, new ones have emerged. The 2025 Chicago Cubs have, thus far, proven to be a much more offensively-adept team than their predecessors from last year. Even with cold temperatures attempting to pin down the offense, they...1670Sat, 12 Apr 2025 11:50:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/justin-steeles-injury-highlights-cubs-razor-thin-margin-for-error-r1667/Justin Steele will miss time because of the same injury that he missed time with last season. He had the offseason to recover, and clearly more time will be needed. This is not good news, but it's a reflection of the Cubs' reality: their roster sits precariously on a razor's edge of success and...1667Fri, 11 Apr 2025 14:06:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/pete-crow-armstrong-is-a-scintilla-of-plate-discipline-from-superstardom-r1669/The Cubs' young center fielder has a .549 OPS this season, and a .639 for his career. He's a mess at the plate. If someone, anyone, will teach him to swing less, though, he could become an eight-win player overnight. It's rarely this simple, even for the exceptionally talented big-league bal...1669Fri, 11 Apr 2025 11:11:35 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/the-cubs-are-the-best-baserunning-team-in-baseball-r1665/Who needs power, when you have efficiency? The 2024 Chicago Cubs weren't a bad offensive baseball team. They were 12th in the league in runs scored (736), eighth in steals (143), and were top 10 in on-base percentage (.317). But they also lacked impact. Their team ISO (.151) sat 21st, while...1665Thu, 10 Apr 2025 15:14:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/jameson-taillons-kick-change-is-kind-of-awesome-r1666/A few years ago, the sweeper took MLB by storm. Last year, it was the death ball. Now, the kick change is all the rage. An early season peak at some of Jameson Taillon’s pitch data suggests a different, more effective pitcher. His overall Stuff+, a metric that evaluates the quality of a pitc...1666Thu, 10 Apr 2025 11:54:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/is-it-time-to-press-the-panic-button-on-ryan-pressly-r1660/Ryan Pressly has struggled so far this season, and while it's still early on, some of the numbers suggest it may not be too early to have some concerns about the veteran reliever.  Chicago made a pair of deals with Houston in the offseason. One landed the Cubs Kyle Tucker, who has been sensa...1660Wed, 09 Apr 2025 22:33:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/chicago-cubs-bench-guys-aura-rankings-april-9-edition-r1658/The Cubs are off to a tremendous, exciting start, and the bench players have been integral to it. Gone are the days of flailing tiny infielders and large men with contact issues. In their stead are guys with game-changing speed, impressive beards, or both. Here's the latest edition of Bench Guys...1658Wed, 09 Apr 2025 17:07:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/justin-steele-lands-on-the-il-with-elbow-trouble-again-leaving-cubs-in-rotation-danger-r1664/The Cubs' frontline lefty has now been shelved with one arm problem or another in three consecutive seasons. This is likely to be his longest absence of the three, and it's a major problem for the surging North Siders.   The Cubs placed lefthander Justin Steele on the 15-day injured lis...1664Wed, 09 Apr 2025 15:57:50 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/the-cubs-bullpen-could-be-their-achilles-heel-who-will-step-up-r1662/"It can't all be wedding cake, it can't all be boiled away." So said the great indie-rock band Spoon, in their 2007 hit "The Underdog." I can think of no better song to exemplify this very good Chicago Cubs baseball team. They could be a great team, but do they have enough regard for the th...1662Wed, 09 Apr 2025 11:51:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/can-kyle-tucker-break-the-cubs-record-for-statcast-recorded-barrels-r1659/Through 13 games, the Cubs' major offseason acquisition is paying off in spades. If he keeps this up, he could—fairly easily—end up having the most prolific power season by any hitter for the North Siders in the Statcast Era. I still chuckle a little bit each time I type "the Statcast Era,"...1659Tue, 08 Apr 2025 16:29:51 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/mondays-win-sent-a-clear-message-the-cubs-will-take-what-you-cant-keep-from-them-r1657/Quietly, the Cubs dedicated themselves this winter not only to getting better, but to being more situation-proof. Monday night's frigid frenzy on the bases demonstrated the value of that endeavor. With the air heavy and cold and the wind rushing down Kenmore Avenue to defend the left-field w...1657Tue, 08 Apr 2025 10:34:02 +0000