Ok, most of my trade-deadline rage has subsided so I can now, objectively and calmly, assess the future of my favorite team… or not. The continuing narrative of the Cubs current (or most recent?? Have we transitioned into a new regime??) regime has been the inability to develop their own starting pitching from amateur to …
Continue reading “Welcome [Back] to the Bigs, Kid. The Birth of a New Cubs Core? Not Quite Yet…”
I started writing this post (and had most of it done) before they dropped 3 of 4 to the Dodgers on Sunday night. After that, the WHOLE tone of this post has changed. And I’m sad because of it. Anyway… The Chicago Cubs baseball in 2021 has been such a double-take season we fans have …
Happy Summer Everyone! To all us teachers: congratulations on making it through a really, really rough year. The 2020-2021 academic year is behind us… and 2021-2022 is before us. While many of us are likely enjoying a summer respite, others are likely already thinking about Fall classes, many of which will be back in person. …
Continue reading “Choose Wisely or Poorly: Dinosaur Books For Your Class (or yourself)”
Been away for a bit but I’m back for a second to talk about something important: pitching. Say what you want, pitching wins ballgames and it wins in the playoffs. And, for the most part, that means having good starting pitching. The Cubs didn’t start out the year too well in that department with the …
The #Cubs are going extinct right before our eyes. How it happened and why it’s a good thing overall.
Welcome to #2020SVP! This past week, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) held its annual meeting. This annual gathering brings together a diverse group of vertebrate fossil enthusiasts including professional researchers, students, artists, journalists, and amateurs from around the world. We all planned to gather together in Cincinnati, Ohio (which had just re-opened their natural …
Continue reading “SVP 2020: The Good, The Bad, & the Beneficial”
I am writing this post on Labor Day as a pre-emptive obituary for the 2020 Cubs that I hope comes back to bite me in the butt. But based on what I’ve seen so far, I fear it won’t. When the 2020 season was set to begin (before I knew of the playoff changes), I …
Continue reading “The Cubs Scoring Debt and How It All Went Wrong in 2020.”
The DH has come to the NL… who’s best to occupy this spot for the Cubs?
I’m Not Dead Yet! Hey Everyone! When last we left (way back in January) I was just about to begin Spring Semester 2020, complete with 400+ students across 4 lectures. Then COVID-19 happened and my university shifted to online-only instruction right around Spring Break. I had 2 weeks to move the last half of my …
Why all the fuss about Nanotyrannus? How does our changing understanding of this enigmatic dinosaur reflect the process of science?
A Dinosaur in the Dugout