A Chicago Cubs Fan Community Since February 9, 2005
After I posted this article Tuesday citing a Joon Lee report on the Dodgers supposedly not paying their fair share of TV revenue sharing, my attention was called to this Los Angeles Times article by Bill Shaikin, in which Lee’s claims are, well, basically refuted: It also revived a strange chapter in team history, with […]
Happy Wednesday, everyone! We’re inching ever closer to Truck Day, which means we’re closer than ever to pitchers and catchers reporting. Baseball is almost back! We’re turning our attention to the World Baseball Classic today, as reports are out that Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve will both miss the WBC due to insurance issues. Bo […]
On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow the various narrative paths. “Maybe I called it wrong, but it’s official.” — Tom Connolly, HoF Umpire. Kiki Cuyler* makes the Hall, and other stories. Today in baseball history: Cubs Birthdays: Bob […]
It’s Tuesday night here at BCB After Dark: the grooviest hangout for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in out of the cold. We’re so glad to see you. There’s no cover charge. We can check your coat for you. Bring your own beverage. BCB After Dark is the place […]
The Cubs signed Tucker Barnhart to a two-year, $6.5 million contract before the 2023 season to be the backup catcher to Yan Gomes. This was another miscalculation by Jed Hoyer, as Barnhart was released before the ‘23 season ended after batting just .202/.285/.257 and throwing out only 18.9 percent of runners trying to steal. And […]
Fourth in the series. Today we look at the Cubs’ recently-acquired backup DH/First Baseman. Tyler Austin is a 34-year-old journeyman, drafted by the Yankees in the third round of the 2010 MLB Draft. His lifetime 0.9 bWAR is inflated by his reasonable 2018-2019 seasons. After 2019, he journeyed to NPB, where he did well for six […]
Last week, I wrote this article noting that a number of owners were “enraged” about the Dodgers signing Kyle Tucker and that some owners were going to push for a salary cap “no matter what.” The Dodgers are doing a pretty good job of playing MLB’s villain team, the equivalent to the “Evil Empire” the […]
There are bound to be some events of note at some point. Perhaps not today. But we remain vigilant. Pitchers and catchers are due to report in two weeks. We do have a nice The Compound Podcast if you have time, and several shorter stories, both on video and via text. Randy Holt has a […]
Welcome back to BCB After Dark: the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. We so glad you braved the weather to visit us. Please come in out of the cold. It’s plenty warm in here. We can check your coat. There’s no cover charge. Bring your own beverage. […]
Miles Mastrobuoni was the 26th man on the roster for most of his time with the Cubs in 2023 and 2024, a substitute fielder, pinch-hitter and pinch-runner. The Cubs were 14-10 after defeating the Padres April 27, but then went on a long losing skid, losing 10 of 15 entering the final game of a […]
Third in the series. Today we look at the Cubs’ young DH/C/1B. In previous episodes, we looked at the Cubs’ two catchers, Miguel Amaya and Carson Kelly, indulged in a little speculation, and had video of some of their exploits. As we move on to the rest of the roster, it seems reasonable to look […]
One of the things the Cubs lacked in their 92-win team in 2025 was a good, traditional backup outfielder. They had Vidal Bruján backing up Pete Crow-Armstrong in center field, and that, as you know, was hardly optimal. Willi Castro and Jon Berti also played outfield for the Cubs last year. Apart from Ian Happ, […]
Good morning.
On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow the various narrative paths. “Maybe I called it wrong, but it’s official.” — Tom Connolly, HoF Umpire. Steve Trout* and others are traded for, plus the expanded strike zone and more! Where […]
This is a really good view of a bygone era at Wrigley Field, also sent to me by BCB reader Joe Coney. I had to enhance the colors a bit; the original photo as sent to me was a bit washed out. This also made it easier to read the matchups on the scoreboard, and […]
The gloves are still on. But the Cubs are ‘going for it’, and there aren’t so many kids playing. Maybe Kevin Alcantara breaks camp with the big kids. Otherwise, it’s pretty much a veteran squad. Jaxon Wiggins might change that some, but he isn’t expected any time soon. He’ll be handled with the proverbial sartorial […]
Japanese star Yu Darvish signed a six-year, $126 million deal with the Cubs before the 2018 season, with escalators that could have brought that deal to $150 million. You all likely remember the “Daily Darvish” posts I made here in early 2018 in anticipation of Darvish’s signing. Injuries and ineffectiveness ruined his first year with […]
Here’s another photo sent to me by BCB reader Joe Coney. I sleuthed one of his scoreboard photos last weekend and this is another one. So, what do we know about this photo? The Cubs are playing the Giants. Again, as in the last photo, it has to be between 1978 and 1981, because the […]
Welcome to the weekend. We can expect some winnowing around the edges, but it looks like the personnel are settled, more or less. I have some concerns about the handedness of the bench but it’ll work out. Or it won’t. Ability counts more, really. But I like balance. Apparently I’m not alone. I understand that […]
The Cubs had played a bit better after the All-Star break in 2022, but were still far out of first place, or indeed, any contention. They had picked up Franmil Reyes on waivers from the Guardians in early August. Just one year earlier, Reyes had a 30-homer season for Cleveland (and had hit 37 for […]
31-year-old Carson Franklin Kelly had a real nice year in 2025, registering 3.6 bWAR and a slash line of .249/.333/.428 with 17 home runs and 50 RBI in 421 plate appearances. Not too shabby. Yeah, he wasn’t Cal Raleigh, but then, neither is anybody else. That was easily his best year in MLB, surpassing the […]
I am thinking of a pitcher. He made 17 starts early in his career and the results were not good: 5.49 ERA, 1.341 WHIP, his teams were 5-12 in those 17 games. Then this pitcher was traded — twice in one offseason, incidentally — and converted to relief. Almost immediately he became a dominant closer, […]
Happy Friday everyone, lots of fun little tidbits for you in our news of the day. We’ve got some more thoughts and discussion about the Hall of Fame inductees, including some bold sentiments from Carlos Beltran about why he doesn’t want to be defined by the Astros cheating scandal. Plus, two big starting pitcher trades […]
On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow the various narrative paths. “Maybe I called it wrong, but it’s official.” — Tom Connolly, HoF Umpire. Hack Wilson finds another new team. Happy birthday, Jeff Samardzija* and other stories for the discerning […]
Amaya needs a little more proofing but is penciled in as the full-time starter for 2027. He’ll start more as the season goes on and he is healthy and having success. Miguel Amaya, a 26-year-old Panamanian native (he turns 27 on March 9) was well on his way to winning the job outright when he […]