A Chicago Cubs Fan Community Since February 9, 2005
The Cubs bullpen was a strength for the Cubs in 2025 but with Andrew Kittredge returning to the Baltimore Orioles, Drew Pomeranz signing with the Los Angeles Angels and Brad Keller inking a two-year deal with the Phillies, the late innings of Cubs games will look a lot different in 2026. The Cubs have been […]
Last month, I wrote about Chris Denorfia’s walk-off home run, a blast that still stands as the only one in MLB history to win a scoreless game in extra innings. Before he did that, though, the versatile Denorfia became another Cubs position player to take the mound. It happened Aug. 19, 2015 at Wrigley Field […]
Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller was one of the names most mentioned in trade rumors around last summer’s deadline. Along with basically every top starting pitcher rumored to be dealt last July, Keller stayed right where he was, in the Pirates rotation. Keller has been, if nothing else, a durable starter. He has made at least […]
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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. Today we feature financial skullduggery and other such fare, just the thing for a holiday […]
This was not an expected signing by the Chicago Cubs baseball team: Hmm, I said. This is not a player I’m familiar with, and probably, neither are you. Tyler Austin was the Yankees’ 13th round pick out of high school in Georgia in 2013. He made his MLB debut in 2016 and played parts of […]
Tokyo travelogue: Street scenes in Shinjuku Tokyo travelogue: Sunday at the Imperial Palace grounds, Ueno Park and Akihabara Japan travelogue: A day trip to Kyoto Japan travelogue: Hakone and Mt. Fuji Tokyo travelogue: Tea ceremony and Tokyo Tower A Tokyo travelogue, and Tuesday at the Tokyo Dome A few thoughts about traveling to Japan to see the Cubs play
Before he was Cubs manager for four years, before he was a World Series hero, before he was “Grandpa Rossy,” David Ross was just another Cubs backup catcher. Well, not “just” another one. He had been signed at the recommendation of Jon Lester, who the Cubs signed to a long-term deal before 2015, as Lester […]
Thanks again to BCB reader JayWent for this article suggestion. Kris Bubic has talent — he was a No. 1 pick (40th overall) in 2018 out of Stanford. If that date and school sounds familiar, it should, because Nico Hoerner was the Cubs’ No. 1 pick out of Stanford that year, thus Bubic and Hoerner […]
Brad Keller and Luke Weaver signed identical-money deals, with the Phillies and Mets, respectively, sources indicate. Pedro Strop is selling his former home, Bowden is bullish on Bregman to Chicago. *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 […]
It’s Wednesday evening here at BCB After Dark: the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. We’re so glad you decided to stop by. Come on in out of the cold. We can check your hat and coat for you. There are still a couple tables available. They’re all […]
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is going to look very familiar, as it just ran last month as part of my “walkoff heroes” series. I’m running it again because, well, John Baker was one of the Cubs position player pitchers in the divisional play era, and he does have a singular distinction: In that era, of […]
Also by suggestion from the article I posted here Monday, let’s take a look at former Rays closer Pete Fairbanks, now a free agent. Fairbanks, originally a ninth-round pick of the Rangers in 2015 from the University of Missouri, was traded to the Rays in 2019. He’s been the Tampa Bay closer for the last […]
Happy Wednesday, BCB readers! We’ve got lots of good little news bites to keep you entertained today, including some roundups of trade rumors, looks at some free agent signings that teams are hoping will be the thing they need to compete next year. Some highlights we’ll touch on today are the wild totals being accumulated […]
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 Marvell Wynne* and other former Cubs. The spitball is grandfathered in, and […]
It’s Tuesday night here at BCB After Dark: the grooviest get-together for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in out of the cold. It’s so good to see you this evening. We can check your coat for you. We still have a few tables available. There’s no cover charge. […]
It’s the most wonderful time of the year as the holidays approach. If your calendar is anything like mine the time from Thanksgiving through New Years is filled with opportunities to catch up with loved ones, holiday parties with old friends, and more. This Saturday, Dec. 20, the Bleacher Bunch podcast including some of your […]
Caleb Thielbar was one of Jed Hoyer’s better reclamation projects in 2025. After posting a 5.32 ERA in 59 relief appearances for the Twins in 2024 at age 37, Thielbar appeared done. But Hoyer and his team saw something they liked, so they signed Thielbar to a one-year, $2.75 million deal. And Thielbar had possibly […]
The 2012 Cubs were, by design, a bad team. New President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein had torn down the previous structure to rebuild, and what was left was not very good. After an unexpectedly good 15-10 July, the Cubs began August winning just six of their first 24 games, never winning more than one […]
Thanks to BCB reader JayWent, who suggested I write an article about Japanese third baseman Munetaka Murakami and the chances the Cubs might be interested in him. Murakami is listed at 6-2, 213, which makes him a pretty large man for a Japanese player. By comparison, Seiya Suzuki is 6-0 and 182. Murakami bats left-handed […]
Luke Weaver is the latest name floating around in the blogosphere. Michael King is said to have reduced his potential landing spots to three AL East cities. The sources are credible but nothing is definite yet. *means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page […]
It’s the start of a new week here at BCB After Dark: the hippest spot for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in out of the cold. We’ve got a fire going in here. We can take your coat. We still have a few tables available. Bring your own […]
Eight years have passed since the last Cubs position player to pitch, Doug Dascenzo, who pitched in four games for the team covering five innings. There was great hope for the 1999 Cubs entering the season. And, in fact, the team started out well. After defeating the Diamondbacks June 8, they were 32-23 and just […]
As you know, I have posted a series of articles here on players who could be free agent or trade targets for the Cubs this offseason. As a refresher, here are links to all those articles (except for two players who have already signed elsewhere). Dec. 5: Luis Severino (trade) Dec. 4: Edward Cabrera (trade) […]
Good morning.