The Chicago Cubs needed only one win to distinctly swing the advantage.
On Saturday, they got it. Now, the home-field advantage is on their side. But more importantly, so is the pitching lineup.
The Cubs’ 6-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 2 of the National League Division Series at Busch Stadium evened the best-of-five tilt. Now the scene moves to Wrigley Field, where Chicago’s North Side, and the 101-year-old stadium, will be rocking at unheard-of levels for Monday’s Game 3.
Aside from the Cubs having a chance to take the series lead, right-hander Jake Arrieta's presence on the mound will be the ...
The historic accolades are flowing in for Jake Arrieta.
And with those, the Chicago Cubs ace is setting himself up to bring in the big one—the National League Cy Young Award.
Arrieta made Cubs history Tuesday night when he threw a complete-game shutout, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out 11 in another dominant performance. This one came against the lowly Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field, and it was closed out with a weak ground-ball out and a standing ovation from the home fans.
The win was Arrieta's 20th of the year, making him the first Cubs pitcher to win that many ...
Just think of the possibilities.
This is the foundation books are written on. It is what makes one city hate another regardless of how closely its citizens follow sports. This is how the ideas are born for great 30 for 30s, ESPN’s acclaimed sports documentary series that has already featured the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry and the Chicago Cubs’ losing history.
But the Cubs are not losers at present day. They are aimed dead straight toward the postseason, and for the first time since Steve Bartman sat along the left field foul line, they are legitimate threats to take the National League pennant.
That ...
LOS ANGELES — Jake Arrieta’s solidification came loud, clear and dominant.
No-hitters tend to do that. But when they do it for an ace on the rise who's on a team thinking about the World Series, they do so with more authority.
Already in the midst of greatness this season, the Chicago Cubs’ right-hander fired the game of his life Sunday night at Dodger Stadium, striking out 12 on his way to a no-hitter and a 2-0 Cubs win.
His ball danced. It ducked. It shimmied. It disappeared. And there was almost nothing the Dodgers could do about it except rely on a scorekeeper’s ...
For almost four years now, there has been absolutely no shortage of hype.
Ever since Theo Epstein agreed to turn around the Chicago Cubs to the tune of $18.5 million for five years, the North Side faithful—and beyond—have salivated for the season when the new president of baseball operations would make good. In Epstein's fourth season running the show, the hype is now developing into substance.
Epstein, along with general manager Jed Hoyer and the Ricketts family's deep pockets, has used the draft (Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber), the domestic and international free-agent markets (Jon Lester and Jorge Soler) and shrewd trades ...
Kyle Schwarber is doing exactly what a young baseball player’s bosses ask.
Through one full game, at least.
Whether in spring training or during a surprise call-up during the season, Major League Baseball executives all say the same thing when it comes to prospects competing for a big league gig. They want the player to make their decisions difficult, meaning they want him to perform well enough that sending him back to the minor leagues becomes a challenge to sell.
Schwarber is on his way to doing that after his head-turning major league “debut” Wednesday against the Cleveland Indians. A game after technically ...
At nine months apart in age, Bryce Harper and Kris Bryant ran in the same Las Vegas baseball circles as kids and teens, young prodigies with beaming futures.
Harper, of course, took the unconventional path to superstardom. His well-known journey started with him graduating high school early, enrolling at a junior college and becoming the Washington Nationals’ No. 1 overall pick at the ripe old age of 17.
Two years later he made his major league debut, winning the National League Rookie of the Year award and even getting praise on MVP ballots in 2012. The kid who graced the Sports Illustrated ...
Kris Bryant’s time is now.
There is nothing left for him to prove in the minor leagues, and the Chicago Cubs have made a clear and definitive turn toward competitiveness. Both those reasons ought to point to the 23-year-old uber-prospect being on the team’s Opening Day roster.
Bryant is the Cubs’ best possible option to play third base. So as long as he is physically able when spring training concludes, the Cubs do not have any valid reasons to leave Bryant behind in the minors.
Off to AZ! Time to go to work!!
— Kris Bryant (@KrisBryant_23) February 15, 2015
Ever since the Cubs drafted ...
When you are the Chicago Cubs, maybe the most cursed, endearing and followed team in Major League Baseball, there is no hiding. When you are this popular and have lost this ugly for this long, you cannot duck great hope.
And while most would try, the Cubs do not. The expectations are welcomed by a franchise that has not won a World Series since 1908 and more recently finished fifth in the National League Central five consecutive times.
It is also a franchise relying heavily on players in their early 20s who have never dealt with such expectations. That isn’t quelling the ...
One can understand the panic amongst Chicago Cubs fans. After all, going more than a century without winning it all can severely test peoples’ patience.
Just not the Cubs front office.
Cubs President Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer made their first significant move this offseason by hiring new manager Joe Maddon. That appointment came one month ago. Since then, the Cubs have been the shy kid at the party. No trades, no free agents, no pizzazz.
And that is perfectly OK.
This is the most important offseason the Cubs have had in a long time, and it could shape where the franchise ...
Next Page »
