Matt Murton invited to spring training

[Cubbie Swagger]

According to Jesse Rogers. Sweet.

[WrigleyField 22]

Oh Yea!

[Sammy Sofa]

VINCE IS DOIN' THE MOVIE.

[Proven Veteran]

VINCE IS DOIN' THE MOVIE.

 

 

Medellin 2: Electric Boogaloo

[dawson1989]

VINCE IS DOIN' THE MOVIE.

 

Red Aquaman

[Bull]

Who walks away from 350 million a year?

[UMFan83]

[tweet]

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[CubinNY]

[tweet]

[/tweet]

Come back was over before it started.

Edited March 1, 2016 by CubinNY

[Sammy Sofa]

Weirdly, I could have sworn he missed time due to the same thing years ago. Was there even a Cub felled by a bum appendix or am I just completely making that up?

 

Maybe I'm thinking of Angel Pagan's churning gut. Or Bryant's booze-based tummy troubles.

[jersey cubs fan]

Weirdly, I could have sworn he missed time due to the same thing years ago. Was there even a Cub felled by a bum appendix or am I just completely making that up?

 

Maybe I'm thinking of Angel Pagan's churning gut. Or Bryant's booze-based tummy troubles.

Tyler Colvin's stabby bat shard?

[David]

Weirdly, I could have sworn he missed time due to the same thing years ago. Was there even a Cub felled by a bum appendix or am I just completely making that up?

 

Maybe I'm thinking of Angel Pagan's churning gut. Or Bryant's booze-based tummy troubles.

 

I mean if you can confuse things as far apart in time as Pagan's gut and Bryant's hangovers, there is Niko's recent appendectomy.

[Sammy Sofa]

Weirdly, I could have sworn he missed time due to the same thing years ago. Was there even a Cub felled by a bum appendix or am I just completely making that up?

 

Maybe I'm thinking of Angel Pagan's churning gut. Or Bryant's booze-based tummy troubles.

 

I mean if you can confuse things as far apart in time as Pagan's gut and Bryant's hangovers, there is Niko's recent appendectomy.

 

That wasn't confusion so much as I love making fun of Bryant for his hangover poops.

[jersey cubs fan]

Felix Pie's testicular torsion

[Sammy Sofa]

Felix Pie's testicular torsion

 

Great band.

[Sammy Sofa]

Could I be confusing him with Matt Holliday and his bum appendix? Am I secretly a Cardinals fan?

[RammyFanny]

Not a Cub, but I still remember Kaz Matsui's anal fissure.

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

Felix Pie's testicular torsion

[bbvideo=560,315]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92u08Wmtxwk[/bbvideo]

[UMFan83]

Mildly interesting interview with Murton at BP Wrigleyville today. Most interesting part is talking about what goes on in the farm system today vs. 10 years ago.

 

The site has some weird highlighting and couldn't grab the quote (probably intentional) so here is the link:

 

http://wrigleyville.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/06/08/the-cubs-organization-and-life-in-the-minor-leagues-catching-up-with-matt-murton/

[David]

Mildly interesting interview with Murton at BP Wrigleyville today. Most interesting part is talking about what goes on in the farm system today vs. 10 years ago.

 

The site has some weird highlighting and couldn't grab the quote (probably intentional) so here is the link:

 

http://wrigleyville.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/06/08/the-cubs-organization-and-life-in-the-minor-leagues-catching-up-with-matt-murton/

 

Returning to the U.S. and to the Cubs organization

 

When he talked about his choice to return to the U.S. to continue his career, it was clear that, for him, it was all about opportunity. “When we got done at the end of this past year, I had spent 6 years with the Hanshin Tigers. My contract was up. I was the longest tenured foreign position player in their team history. Even guys who spend 10 years [in Japan] bounce from team to team. We [he and his family] were faced with the idea of moving to a new club or coming home, and I just knew the window of opportunity in this game is always short, and for me as I get older it gets shorter and shorter,” he said.

 

As far as where to return in Major League Baseball, there was interest from a few teams, but Murton saw the best opportunity with the Cubs. “To be able to come back with Theo, who drafted me, to give me the opportunity to come back with the Cubs. I knew there was a chance that I’d end up in Des Moines, and to be back here where I was comfortable and had friends and some family here… it just felt right,” he said. He also recognized and appreciated the work that the organization was doing as a whole, and liked the opportunity to be a part of it: “I really think there’s a special thing going here. I think they obviously have done a tremendous job of building an organization. Not just putting a team together, but building an organization. It’s just nice to be a part of that.”

 

Murton also commented on the difference between life in the Cubs farm system in the mid-2000s and now, and again, he highlighted a key difference in the organization that he’s observed since returning. Now, he sees a greater focus on preparing the minor league players for what they will see when, or if, they make it to the highest level. He said that the organization is doing a more deliberate job of bridging that gap, and noted a couple of things specifically: technology and nutrition.

 

“What you see now is simple things, like video. We get multiple angles. The video study and analysis is far more in depth than it was 10 years ago. There’s a lot more information given to you on the pitchers that you’re going to be facing that day.” Murton observed the difference in the care taken in keeping players physically healthy as well, and he said that there is greater emphasis on making sure players eat well and remarked on the presence of a nutritionist on the staff, something that wasn’t a part of minor league life 10 years ago. He also added that what is expected from the players has changed, saying, “The expectations of the players in regards to their pregame prep stuff has just increased. What they’re doing is preparing you for what you’re going to get at the major league level.”

 

For those players who will get that call, Murton knows that experience well, and remembers his first call to come to the Cubs 11 years ago. It was a time of nerves, sure, but he recalls the moment of stepping into the box against Dontrelle Willis and “not allowing the stage to make it bigger than what it is.” This isn’t to say that it wasn’t a tense moment. Murton remembered it vividly, but said that once that first pitch came in, it was “baseball as usual.” He sees the work that players are putting in at every level with the Cubs now, and, from top to bottom, it’s an organization that takes this work seriously.

 

Highlighting was fine :dontknow: