October 12, 2018 • Chicago Sun-Times, Cubs fire hitting coach Chili Davis year after seeking new voice, style https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/cubs-fire-hitting-coach-chili-davis/ • Daily Herald, After all the computations, it says Dodgers over Milwaukee in 6 https://www.dailyherald.com/sports/20181011/after-all-the-computations-it-says-dodgers-over- milwaukee-in-6 • Daily Herald, After offensive struggles, Cubs fire hitting coach Chili Davis https://www.dailyherald.com/sports/20181011/after-offensive-struggles-cubs-fire-hitting-coach- chili-davis- • The Athletic, It’s not you, it’s us: With Chili Davis gone, it’s on Cubs to fix broken offense https://theathletic.com/584840/2018/10/12/with-chili-davis-gone-on-cubs-to-fix-offensive-issues/ • The Athletic, What firing Chili Davis says about the myth of ‘The Cubs Way’ https://theathletic.com/584702/2018/10/11/what-firing-chili-davis-says-about-the-myth-of-the- cubs-way/ • The Athletic, Dollars and sense: After 20 years, Marc Silverman’s distinctive voice still resonates on ESPN 1000 https://theathletic.com/584506/2018/10/12/dollars-and-sense-after-20-years-marc-silvermans- distinctive-voice-still-resonates-on-espn-1000/ • Cubs.com, Cubs part ways with hitting coach Chili Davis https://www.mlb.com/cubs/news/cubs-dismiss-hitting-coach-chili-davis/c-297660896 • Cubs.com, Here are key FAQs about Cubs' offseason https://www.mlb.com/cubs/news/cubs-faqs-for-the-2018-19-offseason/c-297623228 • Cubs.com, Pipeline names Cubs' Prospects of the Year https://www.mlb.com/cubs/news/cubs-prospects-of-the-year-abbott-vosler/c-297279308 • ESPNChicago.com, Chili Davis fired as Cubs' hitting coach after 2nd-half plate woes http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24961564/chili-davis-fired-chicago-cubs-hitting-coach • NBC Sports Chicago, Cubs part ways with hitting coach Chili Davis https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/cubs-part-ways-hitting-coach-chili-davis • NBC Sports Chicago, Cubs bench coach Brandon Hyde interviewed for Rangers' manager opening https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/cubs-bench-coach-brandon-hyde-interviewed-rangers- manager-opening • Chicago Tribune, Will Kyle Schwarber be traded? 5 offseason questions for the Cubs about their outfielders http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-offseason-questions-outfielders- 20181012-story.html • Chicago Tribune, Cubs fire hitting coach Chili Davis after 1 season http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-chili-davis-fired-20181011- story.html -- Chicago Sun-Times Cubs fire hitting coach Chili Davis year after seeking new voice, style By Gordon Wittenmyer It appears launch angle is making a comeback on the North Side. A year after making a shift in their organizational hitting philosophy, the Cubs fired hitting coach Chili Davis this week and now seek a better fit for still-developing young hitters who had trouble at times adapting to a more all-fields, less-launch-emphasis approach. “Our offense broke,” team president Theo Epstein said, addressing the Cubs’ Achilles heel last week after a quick exit from the playoffs. “Somewhere along the lines. So, of course, there’s going to be a thorough examination, and, of course, we’re going to spend all of our energy trying to fix it. And fixing it.” Epstein was quick to accept blame, adding, “This is not on the coaches.” Davis seemed well-liked and fit in quickly on Joe Maddon’s coaching staff with a manager he has known for decades. But it’s questionable how well the former All-Star and 19-year big-league hitter and his style fit with a young power-hitting core after three years drawing walks and hitting homers under the influence of hitting coach John Mallee. “He worked his tail off to make guys better, and so in that respect, he did everything that we asked of him,” Epstein said when talking about Davis and the goal “to sort of finish the development of our hitters,” including using all fields. “The goal was never to sacrifice power or, in my opinion, launch angle. It’s not a fad. The bottom line is line drives and balls in the air are way more productive than ground balls.” It’s probably no accident that two of the most veteran hitters on the roster, Ben Zobrist and Jason Heyward, had the smoothest transition and strongest working relationships with Davis, both improving on their 2017 production. The Cubs’ offensive numbers were similar to last year’s, despite their best hitter, Kris Bryant, spending four months hampered by a shoulder injury. But it was a feast-or-famine lineup all year, and it slumped in the second half. “Something happened to our offense in the second half,” Epstein said. “We stopped walking, stopped hitting home runs, stopped hitting the ball in the air.” As Anthony Rizzo said when asked during the final homestand about the challenge of hitting into a right- side infield shift: “I’m not worried about that. I’m trying to hit the ball over the shift.” The Cubs scored one or no runs in 39 of their 164 games this season, counting their 13-inning wild-card loss to the Rockies — including 20 of the final 66. In the end, the front office’s decision seems less about scapegoating Davis than about continuing to search for how to get the best out of a young group of hitters — and quickly, while a competitive window remains open. NOTE: Cubs bench coach Brandon Hyde was among the first candidates the Texas Rangers interviewed in their search to replace fired manager Jeff Banister. -- Daily Herald After all the computations, it says Dodgers over Milwaukee in 6 By Bruce Miles So who is going to win the National League championship series? The upstart Milwaukee Brewers had the best record in the league, and they have an MVP front-runner, Christian Yelich, on their roster. Or will it be the Los Angeles Dodgers, who will be making their third straight NLCS appearance -- they went 1-1 against the Cubs in 2016 and 2017 -- after climbing out of an early-season hole? Let's see if we can find out, using a formula from the stone age of sabermetrics. Bill James wasn't the only person doing sabermetrics 30-40 years ago, but he was the most well-known and perhaps the most prolific. Waiting for James' annual Baseball Abstract back in the 1980s was like waiting for Christmas, only in late winter and early spring. One particular Abstract caught my fancy, the 1984 edition, in which James expanded on a fun formula for predicting the winner of postseason series. James first introduced the formula in 1982 in Inside Sports magazine, a short-lived but great publication. Compared with today's environment -- in which terms such as wRC+, wOBA and OPS+ roll off tongues as quickly as RBI and "clutch hitters" once did -- James' formula seems quaint. But back in the day, James boasted of a 70 percent accuracy rate for his postseason formula. So let's give this 13-point formula a whirl for the Brewers-Dodgers battle, which begins Friday night at Miller Park. • Give 1 point per half-game difference in record. The Brewers had the best regular-season NL record at 96-67. The Dodgers finished 92-71. So award 8 points to the Brewers. • Award 3 points to team with more runs scored. The Dodgers get the 3 for their league-leading 804 runs, compared with 754 for the Brewers. • Give 14 points to team with fewer doubles. The Brewers get the 14 points here. In doing his research for coming up with the formula, James wrote in the '84 Abstract: "Teams which hit a lot of doubles had been wiped out with demonic consistency." • The team with more triples gets 12 points. So we give them to the Dodgers here. • To the team with more homers, give 10 points. Even though the Brewers have some boppers, the Dodgers outhomered them 235-218. • Let's get interesting here. Give 8 points to team with lower batting average. In the '84 Abstract, James wrote there was a "simple reason" to go against the team with the higher batting average: "It takes them too many hits to score." OK, so award 8 to the Dodgers, as they batted .250 as a team, while the Brewers were at .252. • Switching to defense, give 8 points to the team with fewer errors. The Dodgers get the 8 here. We saw several games this year in which the Brewers' defense was subpar, and they were third worst in errors (108). • But we're going to give 7 points to the Brewers for turning more double plays. • More on the counterintuitive side, go ahead and give 7 points to the team whose pitchers walked more batters. That would be the Brewers, whose pitchers walked 553 to 422 for the Dodgers. • Give a whopping 19 points to the team that tossed more shutouts. Those points go to the Brewers, who had 14, compared with 11 for the Dodgers. • The Dodgers will get 15 points for their league-leading 3.38 ERA The Brewers were fourth, at 3.73. • For their postseason experience, the Dodgers will get 12 points for being in the playoffs more recently. • Finally, the Dodgers will get 12 for going 4-3 in head-to-head play with the Brewers this season. Adding it all up, the Dodgers have 80 points to 55 for the Brewers. So we'll call it a six-game NLCS victory for L.A., at least based on what we have here.