Dreamt I was taking batting practice at Wrigley Field, which would’ve been the best Christmas gift ever. I kept peppering the center field wall, frustrated that I was making really good contact but couldn’t get one out of the park. So I remembered that I needed to get out in front and try to pull the ball to achieve my best power. Did it, and finally yanked one out, just barely.
In other words, I literally dream about players needing to pull the ball in the air more frequently if they wan...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 1 month ago
| 1 read
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: […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 1 month ago
| 2 reads
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 […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 1 month ago
| 0 reads
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, […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 1 month ago
| 1 read
Merrrrrry Christmas, my friends! I hope you are having a wonderful day of family, friends, gifts, breakfast pancakes, peace, and love. I will myself be relaxing to the extent the kiddos make it practicable, though I will mostly be hoping they have a great day.
Absent any EXTREMELY urgent breaking news or rumors or what-have-you (or if everyone in the house falls asleep and I get bored, which is always possible, and has happened some years in the past), I won’t have much in the way of Cubs...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 1 month ago
| 0 reads
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 […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 1 month ago
| 0 reads
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 […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 1 month ago
| 0 reads
We’re 10 days away from the Tatsuya Imai posting expiring, and not really much closer to knowing with much confidence (1) the teams seriously making a real push, or (2) the expected price tag. As we saw two years ago with Shota Imanaga (and recently with Munetaka Murakami), the markets for Japanese stars is notoriously difficult to project, and the rumor mill is far more mum than for domestic free agents. It’s just the way these things always go.
That said, there are some interesting bits...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 1 month ago
| 4 reads
‘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 […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 1 month ago
| 1 read
Morning, all! Jacob Webb has signed a one year deal with the Chicago Cubs, joining fellow former Ranger relievers Hoby Milner and Phil Matom. And that’s all I’m seeing out there today.
From Lone Star Ball
| about 1 month ago
| 1 read
Just one day left to hear “All I Want for Christmas is You” another 800 times before the day arrives. I’m not even complaining, because I feel like I’ve barely heard it this year. It’s fine. Lay it on me.
There was a flurry of deals announced or otherwise reported out yesterday around baseball, which wasn’t a huge surprise. As we’ve discussed, although Christmas doesn’t represent an actual deadline, a lot of guys (and team execs) treat it as a soft deadline to try to wrap up various mov...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 1 month ago
| 0 reads
How much do you remember from the last 12 months of Outsports stories? Test your knowledge!
The post Play the Outsports ’12 Gays of Christmas’ Quiz of the Year! appeared first on Outsports .
From Outsports
| about 1 month ago
| 2 reads
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: […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 1 month ago
| 0 reads
Sports Illustrated | Delilah Bourque: The Yankees were provided a glimmer of hope in a potential pursuit of starting pitcher Tatsuya Imai. Voices around the industry have singled out the Yankees and Cubs as the likeliest landing spots for the NPB star, and sources recently relayed that Chicago is not one of his preferred landing […]
From Pinstripe Alley
| about 1 month ago
| 3 reads
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 […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 1 month ago
| 1 read
Post-2025 MLB Off-Season Will Begin on Sunday 11/2
12/23 UPDATE : The Cubs signed non-tendered free-agent RHRP Jacob Webb to a one-year $1.5M contract, with a $2.5M club option for 2027. $500K in potential annual performance bonuses are also included in the deal. The Cubs now have 35 players on their MLB Reserve List (40-man roster), so five slots are open. Webb has no minor league options left, and because he has accrued at least five years of MLB Service Time he cannot ...
From The Cub Reporter (TCR) | A Chicago Cubs Blog
| about 1 month ago
| 3 reads
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. […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 1 month ago
| 1 read
Were you an effective member of the 2025 Texas Rangers bullpen? Congratulations! You’re now on the Chicago Cubs!
Following in the footsteps of Phil Maton and Hoby Milner , righty Jacob Webb is joining the rebuilt Cubs bullpen:
Webb is set to make $1.5 million in 2026 with incentives that can push it to $2 million, league sources said. The option is worth $2.5 million with incentives that can push it to $3 million. https://t.co/FYmqCdkTCS — Will Sammon (@WillSammon) December 23,...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 1 month ago
| 2 reads
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 […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 1 month ago
| 0 reads
Japanese slugging corner infielder Kazuma Okamoto is available to MLB teams until January 4, at which time his posting period ends. Either he’s signed a contract by then, or he hasn’t, and that’s now less than two weeks away. I’d say things have to start heating up soon, but then again, we didn’t really hear much of anything on Munetaka Murakami until a few days before his posting concluded, and he ultimately signed a two-year, $34 million deal with the White Sox this weekend.
Jon Heyman ...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 1 month ago
| 2 reads
After free agents and DFA’d guys were deleted from the Cubs’ 40-man roster last month, just 31 players remained. That seemed like a small number. So far this offseason, just three other players have been added back to that 40-man roster, leaving it at 34. I thought that still sounded pretty small, so I decided […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 2 months ago
| 0 reads
Matt Shaw is in the news again, That’s all I’m going to say. Chase Strumpf is calling it a career. Framber Valdez and Pete Fairbanks are in the air. The next real event is the Cubs Convention, Friday, January 16, through Sunday, January 18, 2026. *means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 2 months ago
| 2 reads
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. […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 2 months ago
| 2 reads
There was a time when Rob Refsnyder was looking like a really good right-handed-hitting 4th outfielder/bench option for the Cubs, whose middle of the lineup might otherwise skew a little lefty-heavy in 2026 (at least in terms of the side where a lot of the production comes).
But after the Tyler Austin signing , it seemed like the Cubs had probably found their righty bopper – even announcing him as an infielder and an outfielder, even though he hasn’t played the latter in years – and that ...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 2 months ago
| 5 reads
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 […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 2 months ago
| 0 reads