A Chicago Cubs Fan Community Since February 9, 2005
Framber Valdez is considered by some to be the best free-agent starting pitcher on the market. Since becoming a full-time starting pitcher in 2020, Valdez has been remarkably consistent, posting ERAs no lower than 2.82 and no higher than 3.66, the latter his 2025 ERA. Overall in that time frame: 154 appearances (153 starts), 3.23 […]
Hoo boy, awards fans, we have some catching up to do. Since our last links post, we’ve gotten the biggest award winners of the season. On Wednesday, the Cy Young Awards were announced, and Tarik Skubal won for the second year in a row in the AL, while Paul Skenes of the Pirates won for […]
Sosa and Palmeiro free as birds, and other stories. Happy Birthday to Xavier Nady!* 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 […]
The 1993 Cubs were a maddening team. (Not “Maddon” ing, incidentally.) In their second year under manager Jim Lefebvre, they had hoped to make a jump into contention, but struggled around .500 most of the year. One of the bright spots on the team was catcher Rick Wilkins, who had been a part-time backstop for […]
The 1993 Cubs were a maddening team. (Not “Maddon” ing, incidentally.) In their second year under manager Jim Lefebvre, they had hoped to make a jump into contention, but struggled around .500 most of the year. One of the bright spots on the team was catcher Rick Wilkins, who had been a part-time backstop for […]
Most, if not all, of the players I’ve put in this series to date are guys the Cubs likely will not sign — too much money, too many years, or both. Here’s a pitcher who seems more up Jed Hoyer’s alley at the present time. Zac Gallen was originally drafted by the Cardinals (third round, […]
We cover the coverage like PCA covers center field. *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 […]
It’s Wednesday at BCB After Dark: the hippest hangout for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in and join us for a while. There’s no cover charge. The dress code is casual. We still have a few tables available. Bring your own beverage. BCB After Dark is the place for […]
The hit by Luis Salazar that won this day’s game might have been the single play that cemented the NL East title for the Cubs in 1989. To understand that statement, a little context is needed. Salazar had been acquired in trade just 10 days earlier from the Padres. It was just his ninth game […]
So if the Cubs aren’t going to re-sign Kyle Tucker — and I do not believe they will — then how about a reunion with Cody Bellinger? Bellinger had a very good 2025 with the Yankees, batting .272/.334/.480 with 29 home runs in 152 games. That was worth 5.1 bWAR. Yes, it was skewed a […]
Good moring.
Happy birthday to Jody Davis and other former Cubs. 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 in baseball history: Cubs Birthdays: […]
It’s Tuesday night here at BCB After Dark: the grooviest gathering of night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in and sit with us for a while. It’s always good to see a friend. Your name is on the guest list. We can take your coat if you’d like. The […]
The date in the headline likely sounds familiar to you. Of course, it’s the date of The Sandberg Game, in which Ryne Sandberg burst on the national scene with a 5-for-6 performance that included game-tying home runs in the ninth AND 10th innings. The Cubs came from deficits of 7-1 and 9-3 to defeat the […]
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article first appeared here Nov. 6, 2024, when Kyle Hendricks signed with the Angels. With the news of his retirement, I thought you’d enjoy reading it again. It’s been updated to include his 2025 season. One thing to remember about Kyle Hendricks’ mostly good-to-great 11 seasons in a Cubs uniform is that […]
Let me preface this article by saying the chances of the Cubs actually signing Kyle Schwarber as a free agent are pretty close to zero. He’s become a folk hero in Philadelphia and had four monstrous offensive seasons from 2022-25, hitting 46 or more home runs in three of the four years, and his 56 […]
We cover the coverage like PCA covers center field. So long, Professor. Cade was jobbed, too. Some things are set in stone, and some ain’t. One day, this will all be so much hieroglyphics. Hell, maybe we’re going backward and can read tablets in the original instead of swallowing them for our daily bread. The […]
It’s another week here at BCB After Dark: the hippest hangout for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in out of the cold. It’s always good to see you. Let us check your coat. We still have a few tables available. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your […]
The Baseball Writers Association of America announced the Rookie of the Year Award tonight and Braves catcher Drake Baldwin won the National League award over second-place right-hander Cade Horton of the Cubs. Baldwin received 21 first-place votes and 183 points. Horton received the other nine first-place votes and a vote total of 139. First baseman […]
The first thing to know about this game is that it was an unusually warm day for April in Chicago. It was 85 degrees at game time, and wound up being 92 degrees, which is still, 45 years later, the highest temperature ever recorded in Chicago in the month of April. This was just the […]
Coming off last night’s Fall Stars Game, it’s a great time to check back in with the Cubs Boys of Autumn playing for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League. The home run derby and the Fall Stars Game meant it was a short week for the Solar Sox with only four games […]
As you’ll recall, Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were placed on administrative leave by Major League Baseball last July while the league investigated charges that the two had rigged pitches as part of a gambling scheme. In fact, Ortiz was pulled from a planned start against the Cubs at Wrigley Field July […]
Happy Monday, everyone. We’ve had a busy weekend with news. The biggest story to break this weekend is likely the breaking betting scandal news coming out of the Cleveland Guardians camp. Though, if you’ve been following the news all season long, it perhaps shouldn’t come as a surprise. We’ll have more in-depth news about that […]
Hippo Vaughn re-ups and other stories. Happy birthday, Micah Bowie* and other former Cubs! 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 […]
As the first snows of late fall hit the streets of Chicago there is still baseball out in the Arizona desert where it’s been mid-80s and sunny since I arrived on Thursday. Last night in addition to the perfect weather, visitors at the Cubs Spring Training home, Sloan Park, were also treated to quite the […]