UMFan83

I was gonna see how long it took you to figure out 😁

have no idea how he hit 10 HR in 2022 and 9 in 2023

They said on the SNB broadcast that the Cubs came into the game with just 8 double plays all season. They’ve had 6 double plays in the 4 games since.

Always fun when a perceived hole that everyone wanted the GM to fill in the offseason is exposed so frequently so soon into the season.

Next 9 are gonna be tough though with MIL/SF/NYM having a combined winning percentage of .602 which is on average harder than the first 27 games where we didn't play a team under .500

I don't remember that specific story but I do remember people pointing out how often he was involved in mound visits/initiating his own mound visits frequently to talk to the pitcher. Definitely would have been an issue in the mound visit limit era. I really hope that happened though because that cracks me up.

Just for comparison here is the 2023 offense after 31 games vs. 2025 offense after 31 games. 2025: .263/.341/.451/.792 2023: .270/.341/.436/.777 We also started out hot somewhat hot offensively in 2024, but faded much quicker and for longer. I definitely think this team is much better equipped to sustain the offense and not fall into a 2 month slump like we did in 2023 though.

Neifi Pérez, known affectionately in Chicago as “Neifi!!” (exclamation marks required), was a slick-fielding shortstop who played for the Cubs during the mid-2000s and somehow became both a punchline and a trusted savior in Dusty Baker’s eyes—sometimes simultaneously. Before donning Cubbie blue, Neifi played a key role in one of the more surreal chapters in Cubs lore: on the final day of the 1998 regular season, he hit a walk-off homer for the Rockies to beat the Giants, forcing San Francisco into a one-game playoff against the Cubs for the NL Wild Card. The Cubs would go on to win that Game 163, and Neifi’s unlikely blast became a huge assist to Chicago's postseason fate. Fast-forward to 2005: the Cubs are flailing, spirits are low, and Dusty Baker needs a spark. Enter Neifi Pérez and his electrifying .274/.298/.383 slash line—numbers that scream "fourth infielder" but whispered "MVP" to Dusty. Baker famously claimed that Neifi "saved the team," though it was never made entirely clear from what. Was it boredom? A shortage of bunt attempts? A locker room dangerously low on grit and veteran presence? We may never know. Neifi quickly became a fixture in the Cubs’ lineup, not because of his OPS, but because he "played the game the right way," which apparently meant grounding out a lot and occasionally slapping a single past the second baseman. Fans eventually developed a sort of Stockholm Syndrome affection for Neifi, chanting his name when he came to the plate, partly out of irony, partly because it was fun to say, and partly because he was often inexplicably hitting second in the lineup. Though Neifi Pérez may not have filled stat sheets or inspired awe with his bat, he gave Cubs fans something far more valuable: endless debates about lineup construction and countless jokes on sports radio. In the end, Neifi didn’t just save the team—he saved the spirit of head-scratching, Dusty-era Cubs baseball. And for that, we salute him. Probably with a bunt. View full player

One of those games over 162. They just need to figure out how to avoid the May swoon for the 3rd year in a row after a hot start in April.

You're right, its secretly in honor of Mitch Keller

Not only that but there was some erroneous reporting when KB was traded that we got Bart back and people were upset when we learned it wasn’t true. Though like you said, not like we got much ultimately.

I just want to say horsefeathers Yamal is good

Loveland fits more of the WR in a TE body mold and yeah good route runner, definitely difficult cover for a LB but he was also giving DBs challenges at Michigan.

I was just randomly thinking about how Amaya has gotten off to a solid start overall (123 OPS+, 0.8 bWAR) and has had some huge hits but because of Kelly's performance he's only started about half the games. Let's say Kelly doesn't fall back to his career norms, do you just split their playing time, do you try to get them ABs at DH or just play the hot hand throughout the year? What Kelly is doing is awesome and should absolutely be playing when he's hitting like this but he's also 4 years older than Amaya so less likely to be the starting catcher of the future, so I think you have to try to continue giving Amaya PAs a good chunk of the time.

So 20% of our double plays hit into this season were hit tonight.

Cubs number 1 starter Jameson Taillon?

Just debating if Chubb is the right option or someone like Dobbins or even a trade (Breece Hall has rumored to be on the block) is the better fit. Chubb is the highest risk/reward I suppose if he does get back to form 18 months post-ACL we'll get his production at a huge discount. Worst case scenario he sucks and we're still at where we are today with Swift and Roshon.

Dont know how I feel about this if it happens and it's the Bears. You can partially discount his performance last year coming off a torn ACL, but he's also 29. He was a monster before the injury though...just don't want to commit too much in terms of a contract for him in case he's just washed.

By not using all their available resources

Weren’t gonna win 63% of our games all year especially playing nothing but good teams but still this was very winnable

Painful

Have a base open let’s throw 4 non competitive pitches in a row to bring up turner

Welp. Not looking too good right now

This ump horsefeathers blows