Cubbies Gazette

  Braves shut out the Astros last night, including no-hitting them into the 7th inning, which gives them the 2-1 series lead, so that's good news to me. Let's start out by a few MLB news tidbits. The Padres hired Bob Melvin, who was the current Athletics manager, to be their new manager. Although a pretty abrupt move out of nowhere, Melvin is a manager with lots of experience who has managed a team that has been making the playoffs the last few years, and maybe will help guide the Padres in that direction. The PETA wants to rename "bullpen" to "arm barn" saying that the former is offensive to cows. I won't say too much on this so I don't lose my temper, but THE COWS DON'T EVEN WATCH MLB! One of the most ridiculous things I've heard in baseball for a while now... Albert Pujols, one of the more ancient specimens in baseball right now, is going to be playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic, and said that he wasn't ready to retire yet. ...

  Ian Happ had the Cubs' front office's trust going into the 2021 season, gaining an Opening Day lead-off spot, and the hopes that he would be a reliable, everyday lead-off hitter getting good results like he did in 2020. But, that was not the case, especially in the first half of the season, batting a deplorable .183/.296/.330 with only 42 hits and 9 homeruns in 230 AB. That was not the results the Cubs were hoping to get from the player that was their best in 2020. In the second half of the season, however, Happ started warming up. (Just a little late perhaps?) He batted . 268/.350/.536 with 63 hits and 16 homeruns in 235 AB, a remarkable change from the bad results he was having the first half. In September/October alone, Happ batted .317/.405/.615 with a 1.020 OPS in 104 AB. That is more like the Happ the Cubs were expecting him to be like, only even a little better! If you viewed those results only, you would consider Happ to be one of your best players, which indeed he ...

 As we enter the final stretch for baseball in 2021- a Braves/Astros World Series, it's a good time to look back at memorable Cubs' history in 2016, when the Cubs broke a 108 year WS win drought to beat the Indians in the World Series. The Cubs cruised to a 103-58 standing at the end of the season, getting the NL Central pennant and meaning they'd face the winner of the Wild Card, who ended up being the Giants. Game One of the NLDS Jon Lester threw 8 shut-out innings, Chapman closed the 9th with a shut-out against the Giants and Javier Baez solo-homered in the 8th to give the Cubs a 1-0 win against the Giants and get the 1-0 series lead. Game Two of the NLDS Kyle Hendricks started the game, only allowing 2 runs, and he drove in 2 runs himself in the 2nd with a single, but he left the game in the 3rd due to a line-drive injury. Reliever Travis Wood replaced Hendricks, and hit a home run, yes a home run in the 4th to give the Cubs a 5-2 lead. That was the first homer to be hi...

We're all set for an Astros/Braves World Series, after the Braves beat the Dodgers in 6 games with a 4-2 final score after a deciding 3-run homer by Eddie Rosario. So, better then a Astros/Dodgers World Series (in my opinion) but I'll be cheering for the Braves in this World Series. Now to the question you have all been waiting for: When Can The Cubs Start Competing Again? Well, of course I can't answer that question for sure, but based on different factors, we can get pretty good idea. The Cubs Plan On Competing in 2022 Cubs' Chairman Tom Ricketts sent an email to Cubs fans and this is an excerpt: " While we failed to extend our six-straight winning seasons streak and secure our spot in the postseason, we made important changes that put us in a position to succeed as we build the next great Cubs team. Beginning to replenish our much-improved farm system was just the start. Jed and the team are now focused on reloading our roster. We have the resources necessary t...