My Start to 2022: Academic Free Agent!
Author Archives: Richard Bykowski
Welcome [Back] to the Bigs, Kid. The Birth of a New Cubs Core? Not Quite Yet…
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 …
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A Sentimentally Critical Evaluation of the Chicago Cubs as We Approach the 2021 All-Star Break: An Illustrated Essay in GIF Format.
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 …
Choose Wisely or Poorly: Dinosaur Books For Your Class (or yourself)
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. …
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Wanted: Pitching for a World Series Run.
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 Mass Extinction of the Chicago Cubs
The #Cubs are going extinct right before our eyes. How it happened and why it’s a good thing overall.
SVP 2020: The Good, The Bad, & the Beneficial
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 …
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The Cubs Scoring Debt and How It All Went Wrong in 2020.
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 …
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To DH or Not to DH… Who is the Question?
The DH has come to the NL… who’s best to occupy this spot for the Cubs?
How Not To Be A Paleontologist
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 …
A Dinosaur in the Dugout 