They say pitching and defense wins championships and the Cubs had both in spades last year. Joe Maddon’s starting pitching absolutely dominated their opponents and three of the Cubs starting five finished in the top 10 of the NL Cy Young voting. Eleven pitchers made a start last year and combined for an outstanding 81-39 record with five complete games, two shutouts, a 2.96 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 929 strikeouts in 989 innings. Arguably the best of the starting five was Jon Lester who redeemed … [Read more...]
Cubs 2016 Position Review – Right Field
Right field has been somewhat of an issue for a long time for the Chicago Cubs. Not since 2007 has the position seen any consistent production, but that was all set to change when the Cubs forked over $184 million for eight years to Jason Heyward. Instead, Heyward had the worst offensive season of his career and seven total players combined to bat .236/.313/.354 with 32 doubles, one triple, 14 home runs, 71 RBI and 11 stolen bases. To say Jason Heyward’s first season in a Cubs uniform was a … [Read more...]
Cubs 2016 Position Review – Shortstop
Over the past couple of years, names like Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Jake Arrieta have become synonymous with the Chicago Cubs and have helped them become big stars on the national stage. However, too many of its fans, there’s one player that hasn’t really gotten the recognition he deserves and that’s shortstop Addison Russell. At just 22 years old, he’s already considered one of the top talents at his position and over the past year really started to make his mark. In his second season, … [Read more...]
Cubs 2016 Position Review – Third Base
The hot corner lived up to its namesake this season for the Chicago Cubs. It featured the National League MVP in Kris Bryant and one of baseball’s rising stars in Javier Baez. Six players logged time at third base and collectively they batted .275/.358/.481 with 36 doubles, two triples, 30 home runs, 88 RBI and 10 stolen bases. As Kris Bryant gets better and better, it’s hard to argue with the front office’s decision to delay his service clock to earn seven years of control. Bryant became … [Read more...]
Cubs 2016 Position Review – Second Base
Last year brought a lot of wholesale changes to the second base position for the Chicago Cubs. First, the club signed veteran utility man Ben Zobrist to a four-year, $56 million deal during the Winter Meetings and shipped Starlin Castro to the Yankees. Zobrist, one of the most patient hitters in baseball really lengthened the lineup and helped the position post an overall mark of .288/.383/.458 with 31 doubles, four triples, 21 home runs, 90 RBI and 12 stolen bases. One of the biggest … [Read more...]
Cubs 2016 Position Review – First Base
Anthony Rizzo simply had a tremendous season manning first base on a daily basis for Joe Maddon. Considering how close their overall numbers were, it’s hard to believe that first baseman Anthony Rizzo finished just fourth in the MVP race. The first baseman cemented himself as one of baseball’s best young players earning a Silver Slugger with an impressive .292/.385/.544 batting line, 43 doubles, four triples, 32 home runs, 109 RBI and three stolen bases. For the third straight year, Rizzo … [Read more...]
Cubs 2016 Position Review – Catcher
The Cubs went into 2016 planning to use a three headed monster at catcher again. Miguel Montero, David Ross and Kyle Schwarber were expected to share the position with Schwarber set to learn how to frame pitches and call games from some of the best in the business. However, a knee injury suffered by Schwarber in the third game of the season ended his year and upended the front office’s plans. However, like the year prior, the Cubs called on a young catching prospect in Willson Contreras when … [Read more...]