A Chicago Cubs Fan Community Since February 9, 2005
The Cubs have signed their first free agent of the winter and it’s right-handed reliever Phil Maton to a two-year deal with a club option for a third year. Bleacher Nation’s Michael Cerami had it first and The Athletic’s Will Sammon was first with the length of the deal. We still don’t have the dollar […]
Today was the deadline to tender contracts to all arbitration-eligible players. The Cubs had just four such players for 2026: Justin Steele, Javier Assad, Eli Morgan and Reese McGuire. Three of those players will be offered 2026 contracts. One will not: Reese McGuire came along at exactly the right time for the 2025 Cubs. He […]
The Cubs were being rebuilt by new President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein in 2012, and the results on the field showed it. They finished 61-101, their first 100-loss season since 1966. One of the bright spots was Bryan LaHair, who began the year as the team’s first baseman. He hit well enough in the […]
The other day Josh posed this question in After Dark: Should the Cubs sign Cody Ponce? Ponce pitched in 20 games for the Pirates in 2020 and 2021, with not much success (5.86 ERA, 1.536 WHIP) and then went to throw several years in Japan and Korea, with good results the last two years. Now […]
Good morning. I think Al pretty much handled the fiasco concerning the MLB TV rights, so we’ll skip that here.
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 Quinton Berry and other former Cubs! Today in baseball history: Cubs Birthdays: […]
Coming off the division title years in 2007 and 2008, hopes were high for a three-peat in 2009. But the Cubs struggled for much of the early going in ‘09. They kept near first place, but after mid-April were not again in first place — until July 26, when a win over the Reds put […]
Last February, ESPN, which has been carrying Major League Baseball games for 35 years, including its signature Sunday Night Baseball franchise, opted out of the last three years of a deal with MLB in which it was supposed to pay the league $550 million a year. The breakup was somewhat acrimonious, with MLB issuing a […]
We cover the coverage like PCA covers center field. Rumors abound but few things have materialized so far. *means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} 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 […]
It’s Wednesday night at BCB After Dark: the coolest spot for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in out of the cold. So glad you decided to stop in. It’s a special night tonight. There’s no cover charge. We have a few tables available. The hostess will seat you […]
The stove is hot and Tuesday was the day we learned if players were going to take the qualifying offer or not. There was a bit of suspense for the Cubs on this one because while it was pretty much a lock that 2025’s blockbuster trade addition, Kyle Tucker, would decline the qualifying offer and […]
In 2007, the Cubs were coming off a 96-loss season. But they had a new manager, Lou Piniella, and general manager Jim Hendry had made some key acquisitions, including signing Alfonso Soriano to what was at the time the biggest contract in franchise history. And then, thud. The team got off to a bad start […]
When you post on SB Nation, we don’t want you to miss all the conversations and responses that follow. So starting today, whenever a user replies to your comment or to your post on the Feed, you’ll see a notification at the top right corner of the page. And of course, this means that when […]
Josh already wrote about the Japanese star here last week, but I wanted to post my thoughts, especially after Shōta Imanaga accepted the qualifying offer Tuesday. Many of you think that’s it for the Cubs, that they aren’t going to go after another free agent starter such as Dylan Cease, Michael King or Tatsuya Imai, […]
Everyone loves a dog, but apparently, Josh Naylor really loves the Mariners’ clubhouse dog, because the sweet pooch was a big deciding factor in why he decided to re-sign with Seattle for another five years. Other teams take note! We’ve also seen the new Hall of Fame ballot for 2026 with a dozen new faces […]
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: Billy Sunday, Stu Martin, Manny Jimenez, Dickie Noles, Jeff Hartsock, Jeff Gray. Also notable: Roy […]
It’s Tuesday night here at BCB After Dark: the grooviest afterparty for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in out of the cold. We’re so glad you decided to stop by. Your name is on the guest list. We still have a few tables available. Bring your own beverage. […]
Today at 5 p.m. Central time was the deadline for teams to move players in their minor-league systems to their 40-man rosters to protect them from being selected in next month’s Rule 5 Draft. As a reminder, players 19 or older drafted or signed no later than 2022 and players 18 or older drafted no […]
We’ve been waiting for this decision ever since the Cubs and Shōta Imanaga both rejected their mutual contract options for 2026 and beyond. And now, just before the 3 p.m. CT deadline for such things, we have Imanaga’s decision: I think most of us expected this decision after Imanaga’s bad second half of 2025, in […]
This game had some crazy things happen, and not all on the field. Joe Girardi, who wasn’t hitting much around that time, was just a pinch-hitter as he walked this game off. Let’s begin at the beginning. The Cubs entered this day with a 63-47 record and led the NL Central by 1.5 games over […]
As you know, the Cubs did try to sign Alex Bregman last offseason. They made him a four-year, $130 million offer. That’s an AAV of $35 million, which would have been the highest AAV for any contract in Cubs history. Bregman turned that deal down and instead signed a three-year, $120 million ($40 million AAV) […]
We cover the coverage like PCA covers center field. The Professor said goodbye. The Cubs’ plans for him are as yet unascertained. Jesse Rogers had what info there was to be had. We of course wish only the very best for Kyle Hendricks and his family and await any developments. Regardless of where you stand […]
Welcome back to BCB After Dark: the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Please come on in and sit with us. If you need anything, let us know. We can check your coat for you. There are still a few tables available. The hostess will seat you now. […]
Just one day after Orlando Merced thrilled a full house at Wrigley Field with a pinch-hit, three-run walkoff homer (written up here last Friday), the Cubs did it again against the Brewers, this time with longtime fan favorite Mark Grace doing the honors. This game also featured Sammy Sosa’s 61st and 62nd home runs, at […]
The Hall of Fame ballot to be voted on by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America was released Monday, and it contains 27 players. New to the ballot this year are outfielders Ryan Braun and Matt Kemp, infielders Howie Kendrick and Daniel Murphy and pitchers Cole Hamels and Rick Porcello. Also added are […]