A Chicago Cubs Fan Community Since February 9, 2005
There are a couple of massive bullpen meltdowns in this group of losses. There are also a couple of games in which the opposition would simply not stop hitting home runs. I promise you there will be a “5 best Cubs games of 2025” article coming up next week, but I thought we’d start this […]
News item: Pete Fairbanks signs a one-year deal with the Marlins. That happened on Wednesday, Christmas Eve. With that, of the 50 top free agents listed by MLB Trade Rumors, 23 remain unsigned, including seven of the top 10. The Athletic’s Top 50 list, which has a few different players, also lists 23 unsigned players, […]
Good morning BCB friends. We hope that those of you who celebrate Christmas had a very Merry one indeed, and aren’t feeling too stuffed at the moment. Welcome to the lovely space between Christmas and New Years, where time and dates lose all meaning, and it is perfectly acceptable to eat boxed chocolate and oranges […]
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. Happy birthday to Nelson Velasquez and other former Cubs. Today in baseball history: Cubs Birthdays: […]
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, well, aside from missing baseball. But even that is creeping even closer. As we kill the time between now, Cubs Convention, pitchers and catchers reporting and Spring Training let’s celebrate the Cubs BCB style with a look back at 12 outstanding moments from the Cubs 2025 season […]
Today is Christmas Day and also, today we stand just 91 days from the Cubs’ 2026 season opener against the Nationals at Wrigley Field. The Cubs have, well, not put much under fans’ Christmas trees, player-wise, yet. Perhaps we’ll all get some New Year’s gifts upcoming. I hope this holiday season, whatever holiday you celebrate, […]
Pete Fairbanks goes to Miami. *means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page as sarcasm font. The powers that be have enabled real sarcasm font in the comments. Food For Thought: Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos […]
The Cubs had been on a second-half roll. At the end of August rolling into the beginning of September, they rode a six-game winning streak into a 4.5 game lead in the NL Central. So fans weren’t too worried when the Cubs lost the final game of a seven-game homestand to the Braves after winning […]
‘Twas the night before Cub Christmas, and in 2025The Cubs won 92, hooray! Playoff hope came aliveBut the Brewers ended that dream on October 11.We’re all waiting. C’mon, Jed, bring us to baseball heaven. Tokyo was where the ‘25 Cubs season beganIt was a very nice trip, but no wins came in Japan.After some more […]
Good morning and happy holidays. Ho ho ho.
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. Happy birthday to Nicholas Padilla and other former Cubs. Today in baseball history: Cubs Birthdays: […]
Welcome back to BCB After Dark: the jolliest joint for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. So glad to spread some holiday cheer with you. Come on in out of the cold. The mistletoe is over the door. The stockings are hanging by the chimney. There are still a few tables […]
The Cubs signed Jon Jay as a free agent going into the 2017 season largely because Dexter Fowler had left and they needed a center fielder. Jay had a reputation as a good fielder, though not much of a hitter, and as a good clubhouse guy. And Jay was just that. Good in the clubhouse. […]
Another right-handed reliever to add to the 2026 Cubs bullpen: Jacob Webb is 32 and was the 18th-round pick of the Braves in 2014 out of Tabor College in Kansas. He made his MLB debut for the Braves in 2019 and pitched three seasons for them, then spent 2022 in the Diamondbacks’ minor league system. […]
As we approach the end of 2025, it’s time to post various year-end reviews. So as has been my practice in previous years, I am today posting 10 of what I think are the best Cubs photos of the past season. The Cubs in Japan Here, the Cubs (first-base side) and Dodgers (third-base side) lineup […]
After free agents and DFA’d guys were deleted from the Cubs’ 40-man roster last month, just 31 players remained. That seemed like a small number. So far this offseason, just three other players have been added back to that 40-man roster, leaving it at 34. I thought that still sounded pretty small, so I decided […]
Matt Shaw is in the news again, That’s all I’m going to say. Chase Strumpf is calling it a career. Framber Valdez and Pete Fairbanks are in the air. The next real event is the Cubs Convention, Friday, January 16, through Sunday, January 18, 2026. *means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. […]
Welcome back to BCB After Dark: the grooviest spot for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. We’re so glad to see you. Come on in out of the cold. We’ve got a fire going in here. There’s no cover charge. There are still a few tables available. Bring your own beverage. […]
Before Miguel Montero became a Cubs postseason legend with his NLCS grand slam against the Dodgers and key hit in the 10th inning of Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, he pitched one inning for the Cubs. In 2016. In that great season. Yes, the Cubs needed a position player in a blowout. The […]
It’s a holiday week so you’d figure any deals made by teams, notably the Chicago Cubs, would be minor. And that’s what we have today: Christian Bethancourt is 34 and played in 24 games for the 2024 Cubs. In those games, covering 59 plate appearances, he batted .281/.305/.509 with three home runs and 15 RBI. […]
FanDuel Sports Networks are the RSNs that were once branded Bally Sports Networks, and prior to that were part of the Fox Sports Network group. They’ve gone through quite a bit of churn and change over the last few years as media companies have lurched from linear TV to streaming and several mergers have happened. […]
With the Cubs having added some players to the 40-man roster (which now stands at 34) since our first payroll look this offseason, I thought it was time for another article updating things as they stand as we head into the holiday weeks, where not much action is likely to happen. Before we get to […]
Happy Monday, friends. We’re fast approaching Christmas, which means we’ll likely see a slower week of activity around ye olde hot stove, as things get quiet before picking up again in the new year. We’ve still got some little news bites to keep you busy to start the week, as we mull over the White […]
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. Comiskey buys a team, Bobby Bonds, Ryan Freel, and more. RIP Ryan*. Today in baseball […]
Here’s one more from BCB reader Clark Addison. As I have noted in some previous sleuthing photos, this has to be from 2005 or 2006, one of the two seasons this century where the Cubs removed names from the back of home jerseys. The key to the year is No. 5. In 2005, that number […]