Clik here to view.
Batting orders no longer constructed the way they used to be
For generations, batting-order norms were practically a given: The leadoff hitter is a fast guy who can steal bases. No. 2 is a contact hitter who can play hit-and-run and move runners up. No. 3 is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kyle Schwarber to sit against LHPs, works to get back on hitting horse
LOS ANGELES — He stopped being the leadoff hitter a week ago. Now Cubs left fielder Kyle Schwarber isn’t an everyday player, either, until further notice. The lefty-hitting Schwarber, who’s a platoon...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cubs take it on the chin from Padres, stay patient with hitting woes
SAN DIEGO — Who’s your Padre? Hunter Renfroe, who hit the game-turning grand slam Monday in the fourth inning off Kyle Hendricks? Jose Torres, the left-hander who pitched two scoreless innings for the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
This is Cub? They aren’t playing up to slogan, but there’s time
Last year was a dream for the Cubs and their fans. Actually, it was more than that — it was a dream fulfilled, a nourishment that many thought might never occur in their lifetimes, no matter how young...
View ArticleClik here to view.
0-tel California: Cubs prisoners of their own device in bat-ugly trip
SAN DIEGO — The more fans call for change, the more the lineup stays the same. Manager Joe Maddon doubled down Wednesday on the patience refrain he has invoked for weeks as his young hitters continue...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Schwarber’s slam rallies Cubs past Cardinals, puts team back at .500
As the ball jumped off his bat and took flight toward the bleachers in left-center field, struggling slugger Kyle Schwarber paused for a moment to savor the view. Who could blame him? ‘‘It’s kind of a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
ESPN analyst Boone reflects on Wrigley’s charm, Fowler & Schwarber
After playing for six clubs in 12 seasons and spending the last seven years as an analyst for ESPN, Aaron Boone has seen his share of ballparks. He spent the bulk of his playing career in the National...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hard knocks: Albert Almora Jr. bruised in BP altercation with wall
The Cubs survived a scare before their game Tuesday against the Marlins. Center fielder Albert Almora Jr. bruised his right arm running into the center-field wall while chasing a fly ball during...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Conforto on Schwarber-like 2016 struggles: Demotion ‘valuable for me’
NEW YORK — The kid outfielder made World Series headlines and was handed a starting job the next season despite having played fewer than 75 career games in the big leagues. What could go wrong? ‘‘I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cubs send struggling Kyle Schwarber to Class AAA Iowa
MIAMI — Kyle Schwarber, who started the season as the Cubs’ leadoff hitter but has struggled with a .171 batting average, has been sent to Class AAA Iowa. The Cubs also put outfielder Jason Heyward,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why Cubs waited so long to demote Kyle Schwarber and what comes next
MIAMI — The Cubs’ patience has run out. After 2½ months of teeter-totter baseball behind mediocre starting pitching and worse hitting, the World Series champs put aside their organizational man crush...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Illinois stands to lose $40 billion in Medicaid cuts: hospital group
As the U.S. Senate considers legislation (“Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017”) to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and make devastating cuts to Medicaid, the Illinois Health and Hospital...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kyle Schwarber on demotion: ‘I’m not going to back down — trust me’
DES MOINES, Iowa — Kyle Schwarber knows he can’t argue with the Cubs’ decision last week to send him here to AAA Iowa. A .171 batting average, .673 OPS and strikeout rate of 28.7 this season wasn’t...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kyle Schwarber’s confidence still high: ‘I want to be one of the best’
DES MOINES, Iowa — The big man waved and missed at a pitch as it swept low and across the plate. The next offering — a crush-me curveball in the heart of the hitting zone — settled into the catcher’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cubs’ Kyle Schwarber on track to return from minors by All-Star break?
Kyle Schwarber has performed well enough in his first nine games back in the minors that the Cubs haven’t ruled out a return to the majors during the weekend series against the Pirates at Wrigley...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cubs mull return to leadoff for Kyle Schwarber despite past flop there
Anthony Rizzo might have proclaimed himself the greatest leadoff hitter of all time, but recent lineup trends suggest that he might not be used there anymore. In the team’s never-ending search for an...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Will Kyle Schwarber’s quick return help Cubs locate missing mojo?
That didn’t take long. Still mired in a seasonlong rut and with few places left to turn, the Cubs on Thursday pulled the Kyle Schwarber lever, recalling the struggling young slugger after 11 games of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Schwarber still in play for leadoff? Hesitant Theo says it’s up to Joe
Manager Joe Maddon is emphatic that batting leadoff was not a factor in the seasonlong hitting struggles that resulted in Kyle Schwarber’s two-week demotion to the minors. Schwarber said Thursday that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Maddon says 2016 layoff took toll on Schwarber offensively
A day after left fielder Kyle Schwarber returned from his Iowa demotion, manager Joe Maddon admitted that he might’ve underestimated the effect that missing most of the 2016 season had on Schwarber. He...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kyle Schwarber shows progress, but Cubs don’t in loss to Pirates
Cubs left fielder Kyle Schwarber got in some extra swings with hitting coach John Mallee while manager Joe Maddon watched before the game Saturday against the Pirates. The extra work and extra...
View Article