Cubbies Gazette

Phillies a favorite for Trea Turner: https://twitter.com/jonmorosi/status/1597962704919986177?t=QnO4oIpYif_nSuIrRjGwlg&s=09 My Cubs off-season predictions Pt 1 https://twitter.com/CubbiesGazette/status/1598012284328374272?t=tBfM5yWewFrsDqJFQGh3Nw&s=19 https://twitter.com/CubbiesGazette/status/1598012288245825541?t=Aufj9qcxGI0mOPNLW3aHIw&s=19 https://twitter.com/CubbiesGazette/status/1598012293018636288?t=8aWX6NHiMSF6IrAnO4VWFQ&s=19 Thoughts on trading for Zac Gallen, an ace the Cubs could use? https://twitter.com/CubbiesGazette/status/1598061115682193409?t=dIsQxp34RXfH3m2-PvOGng&s=19 Bleacher Nation with the Lukewarm Stove https://twitter.com/BleacherNation/status/1598021959790792706?t=rzdvWqWTJOC1qzbVpKoFDA&s=19 Correct. The Cubs need a 1B even with Mervis. https://twitter.com/FullCountTommy/status/1598020571404505088?t=hlpMFBw1gUtLVRmCLJIarw&s=19

It's been awhile Cubs fans. I've been pretty active on Twitter, so if you haven't yet, give me a follow there. There's plenty of Cubs blogs out there, with my personal favorite being Bleacher Nation. So I don't intend to just repeat or say the same things others are saying, but I want to provide my thoughts on certain things that might differ or be new to Cubs fans.  Basically, I want to write brief articles on different Cubs related topics that might be new or original. This is just a hobby for me, so don't expect articles every single day. I'll also be sharing some thoughts of others from Twitter that I found interesting. If you're interested in writing for Cubbies Gazette, DM me on Twitter or email me at cubbiesgazette@gmail.com. Thanks for all of your support on Twitter, and as always, GO CUBS GO!

  #Cubs live BP with Jordan Wicks vs Luis Vazquez. (via @maddie_m_lee ) pic.twitter.com/ZOL74ARlDR — Cubbies Gazette (@CubbiesGazette) March 5, 2022 Here’s a look at Jordan Wicks’ new curveball, this one of the get-me-over variety versus 2021 4th-rounder Christian Franklin. #Cubs @WatchMarqee @ScottyChags with the video from AZ. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/bQeyueynCt — Lance Brozdowski (@LanceBroz) March 5, 2022 Another day with a lot of #Cubs live BPs. Ed Howard, James Triantos and Pete Crow-Armstrong hitting on one of the fields. pic.twitter.com/cZ9RTvLyfk — Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) March 5, 2022 Kohl Franklin threw to batters today for the first time since his oblique injury over a year ago. Touched 99 mph twice. pic.twitter.com/t0lr6PCbVo — Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) March 5, 2022 Almost that time💙💫 pic.twitter.com/SJ1qtNsjYT — Ed Howard (@ehowardIV) March 5, 2022 Cubs prospect Kevin Alcántara does the shuffle on takes. One early takeaway from watching minicamp ...

  Yohendrick Pinango: Luke Little: Pete Crow-Armstrong:

  Give me all the hype. Because I'm seriously excited to see Stroman pitching for the CHICAGO CUBS this season. (Even though the lockout is happening, and the season will likely be delayed, etc, etc.) Anyway, I've already discussed his stats and what kind of pitcher and person he is, and all that good analytics stuff, but in order to be FULLY ready to see Stroman pitching this season you must watch this video. Yes, the very first clip of this video is Stroman having a nasty strikeout versus the 2021 NL MVP...Bryce Harper.  Pitchers are pitchers. They all have the same job: throw the ball to the catcher and try not to allow any runs. But the variety in pitchers is simply overwhelming...and I think Stroman is in his very own category. Why? Because I can't really think of any active MLB pitcher that has quite the same physique, style, and athleticism. He became the Cubs' shortest current player at 5'8, but that doesn't stop him from being an extremely explosive pi...

  Brailyn Marquez has seen plenty of challenges in his pitching career with the Cubs. He made his brief MLB debut in 2020 against the White Sox, where he got his first MLB strikeout, but did not pitch in 2020 otherwise due to the canceled minor league season, and in 2021 due to covid and injuries.  He was originally considered one of the Cubs' top prospects, if not no.1, but due to lack of pitching time and Brennen Davis and others quickly becoming more recognized, he no longer holds that No.1 top prospect ranking. That's not to say that he can still be good and back on the top prospects list this coming season, but it's not as much of a guarantee. With his shoulder injury being a definite concern, Hoyer and others seem to think Marquez's starting roles may be over. Formerly, he was considered to be the future ace of the Cubs' rotation, but at this point, it's hard to see that happening. Getting back to the everyday pitching role this year will definitely be a c...

 I'll take a break from considering the problems and future of the Cubs and have a little bit of fun. It all started here: This would be fun: C: Javy Báez 1B: Kyle Hendricks 2B: Sammy Sosa SS: Nick Castellanos 3B: Kyle Schwarber LF: Derrek Lee CF: Willson Contreras RF: Mark Grace SP: 2015 Jake Arrieta RP: Kyle Farnsworth CL: Anthony Rizzo https://t.co/Z4yLsPo3X3 — OBVIOUS SHIRTS® (@obvious_shirts) January 28, 2022 That would be a very fun lineup and defense to watch. Rizzo closing? I love it. (He has a 0.00 ERA and struck out Freddie Freeman, by the way). That would definitely be a fun game to watch, made up with Cubs players from all time, but I decided to make my own fun Cubs lineup using only players on the Cubs' roster right now. Here goes nothing: C: Kyle Hendricks 1B: Ian Happ 2B: Willson Contreras SS: Marcus Stroman 3B: Michael Hermosillo LF: Nick Madrigal CF: David Bote RF: Codi Heuer SP: Manuel Rodriguez RP: Wade Miley CL: Frank Schwindel I would like to put Andrew C...

I haven't been much encouraged with how the lockout and the negotiations are going. Both sides met two days in a row but based on reports not much happened besides some counter proposals and continued disagreement.  So, right now we're still wrapped in a "never ending" lockout, and while I don't really see Spring Training starting on time, and as disappointing as that may be, the lockout will eventually be over, even if it pushes the season back. And since the lockout will eventually be over, that means the "offseason" will resume, with tons of free agents having limited time to sign with a team. That may bring advantages and disadvantages all at the same time. There are plenty of teams that have big holes in their roster, and while the Cubs don't have HUGE open spots on their roster, there is still some needs. So, I'm going to discuss a little bit about what the Cubs' plans will be in an offseason that is limited and rushed. The Question of...

  The Cubs made an actual minor league signing just yesterday, and like most of them they have made, it was a bullpen arm. RHP Eric Yardley is a side-arming pitcher familiar to the Cubs, as he pitched for the Brewers in 2020-2021. Yardley has seen some good success and low numbers in his career, having a 3.00 ERA or less in 8 of his 13 stints in the minor leagues, dating back from 2014. He made his MLB debut in 2019 with the Padres, and posted a 2.31 ERA, ranking with his MaxEV being only 106 MPH (top 10% of MLB). He had a great year with the Brewers in 2020, posting a 1.54 ERA, but went downhill in 2021, showing a 6.75 ERA in 23 IP before heading to Triple A again, where he had a 3.22 ERA in 36 IP. He is heavily reliant on groundballs, as he has a career 60.8% GB rate, and isn't much of a strikeout guy (career 13% K rate). The curveball has been a successful pitch for him, as it has an 85 percentile ranking on the spin and has been one of his great pitches. As to the Cubs signing ...

  Naturally, every team plays their division rivals the most. For the Cubs, that's NL Central, and it's been a pretty unpredictable division for the last few years. Definitely less predictable than AL West, for example. So, it's a pretty natural conclusion that the Cubs' division rivals will either give them a lot of wins or a lot of losses, which in turn decides if the Cubs make or miss the playoffs. We'll start by figuring out how the Cubs fared against their rivals in 2021. The Cubs were 4-15 vs the Brewers in 2021 The Cubs were 9-10 vs the Cardinals in 2021 The Cubs were 8-11 vs the Reds in 2021 The Cubs were 14-5 vs the Pirates in 2021 Overall, the Cubs were 35-41 vs their division rivals in 2021 and played a total of 76 out of 162 games vs them. So, playing almost half of your season vs your division is pretty important, and the fact that the Cubs had a losing record vs every team except the Pirates is very telling. The Brewers DID win the division and their p...

  I'm honestly surprised at the amount of news and otherwise interesting tidbits that have come up during the lockout. But hey, I'll take it over nothing! We knew right off the bat (no pun intended) that Correa was going to expensive. And we were getting even more hints when the Tigers chose Baez over Correa, likely having a lot to do with the price tag. But it was confirmed in a tweet by Jon Heyman. Correa first hired Scott Boras as his agent, an agent noted for getting pricey deals for his clients. Carlos Correa’s position before the lockout (or agent switch) was that he wanted $330M to $350M. But $330M was the clear minimum ask. Will still be interesting to see if he can beat Corey Seager’s $325M deal. — Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 19, 2022 The Cubs CAN afford it, because they are pretty flexible with payroll even after signing Marcus Stroman, but the question is IF they want to put that much money towards Correa, even with him being an extremely valuable and MVP-calibe...

  There's nothing like seeing your favorite team's pitchers showing off their latest pitching improvements during a lockout. That's what's been happening with Cubs' pitchers, so I'll share them with you. Split-cambio on this beautiful Tuesday morning in the Bu. pic.twitter.com/DorDTCc98v — Marcus Stroman (@STR0) January 18, 2022 ⚾️ 🎶 🔊 pic.twitter.com/8Iwz6RwlgC — Justin Steele (@J_Steele21) January 18, 2022 Bullpen day 🔥💙 see more in my tiktok⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️ https://t.co/120iVc90wB pic.twitter.com/o3qIf7UBas — manuel rodriguez (@manrod_77) January 20, 2022 Today’s spin class. pic.twitter.com/k0RVAoHYUC — Brad Wieck (@WieckBrad) January 22, 2022 ⏳ pic.twitter.com/A5eJSogbJU — Adbert Alzolay (@adbert29) January 21, 2022 Since we’re tweeting our experiences at “spin class” today 🌪👀 @adbert29 @WieckBrad pic.twitter.com/iGoQCXXIRC — Max Bain (@mbain_38) January 22, 2022 Stroman's pitch is of course beautiful- and will be even more so at Wrigley Fi...

  Brennen Davis ranked No.16 on Baseball Americas' Top 100 prospects, and after his amazing season and bright outlook for his future, I thought I'd share this video on his highlights from 2021. There is some news lately that I'll share either today or tomorrow (depending on the time I have), so stay tuned!

 I've mentioned quite a bit in the past about the Cubs' farm system, including some in-depth research on top Cubs prospects like Brennen Davis, James Triantos, Caleb Kilian and others, but I just want to take a little time to write about some of my general thoughts on the Cubs' farm system. This includes all the MiLB levels from Low A (the Myrtle Beach Pelicans) to Triple A (the Iowa Cubs). As a opening thought, the Cubs' system is often over-looked in the amount of talent (especially unique talent) that is in it. After the 2016 prospects like Bryant and Baez, and those like Happ that came later, the Cubs' system kind of dwindled. And it was certainly one of the top goals of Hoyer this past season to help build it back up, which I think they've been pretty successful in. The prospects that the Cubs netted in with trades before the deadline included Kevin Alcantara, Caleb Kilian, and Pete Crow-Armstrong, among others. They drafted Jordan Wicks and James Triantos ...

 I was reading somewhere lately (it was a sports news website) how optimistic they are that Schwindel and Wisdom are going to do very well in 2022 and be those power hitters in the lineup. My first initial reaction is "well, *if* Wisdom figures out the strikeouts" or "well, Schwindel is getting older and...", and then I stopped. I thought to myself, why not be optimistic? Why not "assume" that they WILL do well? What Cubs fan wouldn't want to see those two players become Cubs icons in these following years? So, I put together a short list of great things that could happen to these two in the 2022 season. Frank Schwindel plays at a MVP-caliber level. In his short stint in 2021, he hit pretty close to that, and what if he does it again? All season long? Frank Schwindel becomes the new Rizzo. Not that he exactly can replace Rizzo but become the new Rizzo in position and fan favorite. With his charisma and personality, he can easily become a Cubs icon like...

 I miss baseball. I'm not trying to be whiny, but it's a fact. Sure, the Cubs signed 12 IFA prospects on Saturday. But you know what, that's really not the same thing. I miss the activity of signings and trades and rumors, plus the upcoming Spring Training that will probably be postponed. Anyway, I'm also pretty bored after having gone over everything that's been repeated several hundred times.  So, I decided to do some Cubs' stat browsing and try to find some interesting things that you'll be interested in. I was not unsuccessful, and some of the things I found actually got my attention. The Cubs' Best Stat Game Now, from a fan's perspective the Cubs' best game of the year might be their no-hitter against the Dodgers, or ones that included some Schwindel walk-offs. But from a stat perspective, the Cubs' best game was April 23rd, 2021, against the Brewers at Wrigley. Of course, this was back when the Cubs had their core group, plus the additi...

 Unfortunately, I cannot report on the Cubs signing any MLB free agents, due to the lockout I mentioned in a previous article:  Is the 2022 MLB Season in Jeopardy?  but the Cubs have signed five IFAs, some of which seem like pretty good signings. SS Alexis Hernandez Hernandez is the brother of current Cubs' prospect Cristian Hernandez and seems like he also has some good talents. Jesse Sanchez from MLB gives the following description on him:  " The athletic Hernandez has a chance to be a five-tool player and shows lots of potential. He is going to play in the middle of the field, but whether that’s at shortstop or in center is still to be determined because he can play both.  What’s more, the 17-year-old has the ability to be a plus runner and has a plus arm. He shows emerging raw power and a high baseball IQ. He has developed into an exciting player with solid makeup." He ranks No. 18 on MLB's Top 50 International Prospects, and I'm excited he gets to join his ...

  In light of Jon Lester's retirement, and the fact that the Cubs would probably have not won the World Series without him, I thought I'd share this video of his 2016 highlights, a year that was arguably his best, and definitely most rewarding. Hope you enjoyed, and also brought back some memories of how good Lester was. Plus, the fact that the Cubs won the World Series.

 I like avoiding the lockout topic as much as I can, and just focus on the Cubs and what will happen when there is baseball, but at this point it's kind of unavoidable. And it's also not good news. Going into the lockout I naturally expected it to be as aggravating as possible, with the possibility of Spring Training games or even regular season games being canceled. But I looked at the optimistic side that said that MLB and MLBPA would reach an agreement peaceably and before Spring Training starts. There are a million reasons why I want the lockout to end now, or at least before ST, including wanting to see how the new Cubs' team looks and all the endless possibilities to the success of prospects and players. But I'll start with the news first, and then discuss it from there. Baseball labor update: There is no deal. There never was going to be one today. MLB made a proposal. The reaction among the players was not positive. Few on either side expected it to be. The que...

 First off, I want to thank everyone who watched my interview with James Triantos, and I'm glad that you enjoyed it. Hopefully we'll have some other ones in the coming weeks, and I definitely enjoy getting to know these prospects and it makes me even more excited for their future. I'll mention a couple more things on Triantos in just a minute. The biggest news in the baseball world right now is Jon Lester's retirement, as he announced that he would be retiring just yesterday. Raising a glass to Jon Lester in celebration of a legendary career. 200 wins, 3 rings, a 2.51 postseason ERA and countless lives touched by your generosity. We are so fortunate to have you in the Cubs family. Enjoy retirement! pic.twitter.com/WvxTkn8Afx — Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) January 12, 2022 Long story short, the Cubs would not have been 2016 World Series Champions if they didn't have Lester. Here's some really neat things about his time with the Cubs: A career 3.64 ERA in 1002.2 IP in 6...

I had the special opportunity of interviewing Cubs' prospects, James Triantos. Enjoy watching it!  

 At this point in a lockout, I've discussed a ton of different stuff in relation to the Cubs, and I really hope this lockout ends soon so we can get back to baseball activity and Spring Training doesn't get cancelled. But fortunately, there are still some things for me to go over, including the Cubs' third base problem. The Cubs had a combination of Wisdom, Bote, Duffy, and Bryant at third in 2021. Wisdom got the most time there, with the Cubs utilizing Bryant's' outfield capabilities and Duffy and Bote both taking over second base. In 2022, without Duffy and Bryant, that leaves only Wisdom and Bote to take over the third base duties. Elite? Nope. Capable of having third base taken care of? I think so. I'm going to discuss the pros and cons of Bote and Wisdom, and also look at the remaining third base free agent and trade options and try to decide what the Cubs will be doing with third base. I'll start with Wisdom. I've talked about him a lot in the past...