https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/page/99/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/why-i-wont-use-war-or-warp-in-baseball-articles-ever-again-r1102/Someone pointed out to me, a few weeks ago, that I use wins above replacement (WAR) and its cousin, WARP, less often than most writers with whom they typically think of me as a kindred spirit. I was a little bit surprised, and a little bit alarmed. WAR is one of the fundamental concepts of much...1102Tue, 10 Sep 2024 11:33:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/trade-nico-hoerner-waivers-dfa-patrick-wisdom-mike-tauchman-nick-madrigal/There will be money to spend this winter, and a few players are sloughing naturally off the Cubs' books and roster roll. To get from where they are to where they really want to be, though, the team doesn't need a few more capable contributors; they need over a dozen. The Brewers are not a bad an...1101Mon, 09 Sep 2024 15:01:30 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/anthony-rizzos-return-to-departure-from-wrigley-provide-somber-reminder-not-much-has-changed-r1099/Remember when the Cubs were good? Like, not just “a few games above .500” good, but really, genuinely good? Good enough to win the division and 100 games in the regular season? Good enough to make it to the National League Championship Series year after year? Good enough, even, to win the one th...1099Mon, 09 Sep 2024 11:56:14 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-week-in-review-flirtation-with-postseason-appearance-met-with-sobering-reality-r1100/If familiarity breeds contempt, the Cubs and Pirates must really hate each other by now. This past Monday, the Cubs squared off with the Pittsburgh Pirates again for the first of a three-game set at Wrigley Field. The Cubs cranked the vibes to an all-time high and held a 3-0 lead through seven s...1100Sun, 08 Sep 2024 23:23:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/the-epitome-of-effectively-wild-javier-assad-has-proved-his-skill-set-legit-r1097/We live in much too strikeout- and walk-obsessed a world for Javier Assad to be a star. He's only fanned 19.6% of the batters he's faced this year, and he's walked 9.9% of them. Those numbers are both markedly worse than the league average. In strikeout rate minus walk rate (an increasingly popu...1097Sun, 08 Sep 2024 13:06:18 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/looking-back-at-the-cody-bellinger-contract-did-the-cubs-sign-the-right-free-agent-r1096/With the Chicago Cubs now six games out of the final playoff position heading into Sunday’s action, FanGraphs lists their odds of making the playoffs at under one percent. I don’t think anyone can argue with that, either. Not only would they have to pass both the Mets and the Braves, but both te...1096Sun, 08 Sep 2024 12:59:51 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/the-cubs-need-to-beat-the-yankees-today-but-can-they-r1095/It’s Saturday, it’s September, and the Cubs aren’t quiiiiite out of it yet. Javier Assad will be pitching today, with clutch hero Christian Bethancourt doing the catching, as the Cubs try to claw their way even with the Yanks in this series. Rizzo will be back in the lineup (hopefully, you caugh...1095Sat, 07 Sep 2024 14:18:11 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/can-pete-crow-armstrong-lead-the-cubs-to-the-promised-land-october-r1094/It’s fun to watch Pete Crow-Armstrong play baseball. Over the past month, his torrid performance has played a key role in lifting the Cubs from what seemed to be another Sell-By season into a legitimate rat race with the Mets and Braves for the final Wild Card slot. Slim as the Cubs' chances may...1094Fri, 06 Sep 2024 14:14:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/anthony-rizzo-wrigley-field-return-michael-busch-rookie-season-fielding-stats/If you're the type to buy in heavily on second-half trends for one season when predicting the next, you might be somewhat down on Michael Busch right now. In his first full big-league season, Busch has had a tough run since the All-Star break, batting .206/.296/.348 in 152 plate appearances. Spl...1093Fri, 06 Sep 2024 11:20:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/justin-steele-injury-update-corbin-burnes-tommy-john-surgery-cubs-2025-needs/In the past three years, Justin Steele has missed time with back, hamstring (twice), and elbow (twice) injuries. He also faded mightily in the failed playoff run of 2023, with a 4.91 ERA in September. It's time to worry about Steele's long-term viability, as he enters his 30s next summer. Some i...1092Thu, 05 Sep 2024 23:07:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-hitter-of-the-month-august-2024-r1090/August was a fun month for the 2024 Chicago Cubs, rolling to an 18-9 record and re-inserting themselves into the Wild Card hunt. How did they do that? Offense.  In August, the Cubs were fourth in baseball with a 120 WRC+ as a team, slashing an impressive .260/.333/.459. In addition, th...1090Thu, 05 Sep 2024 17:09:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/history-shota-imanaga-nate-pearson-porter-hodge-miguel-amaya-no-hit-pirates-r1091/It's bittersweet to see a pitcher pulled from a no-hitter. In a perfect world, where Tommy John surgery never had to be invented and where hurlers paid no price for the turn of the lineup card, we might never see it happen. Here in the real world, though, it's part of the game--and not a bad one...1091Thu, 05 Sep 2024 02:10:09 +0000