Addison Russell

[Bryants Disco Ball]

The good news is that Addison Russell will never play well enough to have this happen.

[CyHawk_Cub]

Moving Javy to accommodate a mediocre player, and POS person, like Russell sounds like something the Marlins would do.

 

I want to say I would be shocked if they did this, but I no longer can be surprised by what these asswipes do. horsefeathers them all.

[TMan92]

From the Athletic:

Melisa Reidy, Russell’s ex-wife and the cooperating witness who shaped the 40-game suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy with the players’ union, shared her thoughts on the situation with an Instagram post:

 

“Continuing to project hatred won’t solve or help encourage anyone to be a better person,” Reidy wrote. “I see Addison taking hits from every direction (and) he continues to show up (and) face crowds that are disgusted with him. Which is completely understandable for y’all to feel that way…I felt that way for a long time.

 

“Has he really changed? I don’t know. Maybe it’s for his career, or because he has no other option but to suck it up, to be able to make a living to support all his children. (But) it also might just be someone who has been lost his entire life, trying to figure out who they are (and) attempt to become a less shittier person.

 

“Only God knows Addison’s heart. Not gonna lie he’s not my favorite person but my heart & conscience can’t take much more of the brutal name calling & condemning. I’ve forgiven Addison for hurting me & I’ve let go of all the anger I once had towards him.”

[Sammy Sofa]

Only God knows Addison’s heart.

 

I mean...it's not only God that's hearing the dumb, unrepentant, egotistical things he keeps saying.

[entbird79]

A friend of mine who’s worked security at Wrigley has quit after the events of this past week. Here’s what he posted to Facebook, sharing with his permission.

 

Of course, it is appropriate that my last day not only go extra innings, but be cold and be raining from inning 3 through inning 15.

 

Of course, in my final week, the organization would welcome back a man who has been accused, punished, and suspended for domestic violence, saying that he will be held to a higher standard and that they should be a part of the solution and rehabilitation of the abuser. And yet, in his first "un-coached" quotes since coming back, the abuser did nothing more than prove that he has learned nothing, still doesn't understand the gravity and seriousness of the assaults he has committed. Of course, he has not been held to a higher standard, and clearly he is not going to be asked to uphold one. Words and actions that were nothing more than cosmetic and hollow to dry to blow past the storm instead of bracing and making choices to break the storm

 

Of course, there is also just the game of baseball, which I love, the team itself (Definitely not it's owners, definitely not it's organization), which I love, and the palace in which they play, which I love most of all. All of them together providing a week full of drama, joy and memories on the field. Three Walk-off homers in a 5 game span, a 4-2 week, games that will be remembered for a long time in a legitimate historical landmark that I've been lucky enough to call a second home for more than 5 years.

 

Some physical pain and discomfort, some joy and memories forever, and reminders that the machine behind it doesn't intend on being better. I'm not sure there is a better time capsule for my journey there than this week.

 

I leave with love in my heart for those of us at the ground level, trying to do the best we can to make the experience joyful for everyone with nearly zero support from the people who's job it is to run it. I leave with love for the place, its' beauty and its' history. And I leave still loving the game and the team.

 

Give Roast our best!

[Forgotmyoldlogin]

A friend of mine who’s worked security at Wrigley has quit after the events of this past week. Here’s what he posted to Facebook, sharing with his permission.

 

Of course, it is appropriate that my last day not only go extra innings, but be cold and be raining from inning 3 through inning 15.

 

Of course, in my final week, the organization would welcome back a man who has been accused, punished, and suspended for domestic violence, saying that he will be held to a higher standard and that they should be a part of the solution and rehabilitation of the abuser. And yet, in his first "un-coached" quotes since coming back, the abuser did nothing more than prove that he has learned nothing, still doesn't understand the gravity and seriousness of the assaults he has committed. Of course, he has not been held to a higher standard, and clearly he is not going to be asked to uphold one. Words and actions that were nothing more than cosmetic and hollow to dry to blow past the storm instead of bracing and making choices to break the storm

 

Of course, there is also just the game of baseball, which I love, the team itself (Definitely not it's owners, definitely not it's organization), which I love, and the palace in which they play, which I love most of all. All of them together providing a week full of drama, joy and memories on the field. Three Walk-off homers in a 5 game span, a 4-2 week, games that will be remembered for a long time in a legitimate historical landmark that I've been lucky enough to call a second home for more than 5 years.

 

Some physical pain and discomfort, some joy and memories forever, and reminders that the machine behind it doesn't intend on being better. I'm not sure there is a better time capsule for my journey there than this week.

 

I leave with love in my heart for those of us at the ground level, trying to do the best we can to make the experience joyful for everyone with nearly zero support from the people who's job it is to run it. I leave with love for the place, its' beauty and its' history. And I leave still loving the game and the team.

 

Give Roast our best!

 

It’s not Roast! He quit years ago.

[Derwood]

From the Athletic:

Melisa Reidy, Russell’s ex-wife and the cooperating witness who shaped the 40-game suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy with the players’ union, shared her thoughts on the situation with an Instagram post:

 

“Continuing to project hatred won’t solve or help encourage anyone to be a better person,” Reidy wrote. “I see Addison taking hits from every direction (and) he continues to show up (and) face crowds that are disgusted with him. Which is completely understandable for y’all to feel that way…I felt that way for a long time.

 

“Has he really changed? I don’t know. Maybe it’s for his career, or because he has no other option but to suck it up, to be able to make a living to support all his children. (But) it also might just be someone who has been lost his entire life, trying to figure out who they are (and) attempt to become a less horsefeathers person.

 

“Only God knows Addison’s heart. Not gonna lie he’s not my favorite person but my heart & conscience can’t take much more of the brutal name calling & condemning. I’ve forgiven Addison for hurting me & I’ve let go of all the anger I once had towards him.”

 

 

But I've been told that she is only in it for the fame/money, and that he's completely innocent. Why should I listen to a word that this gold-digging attention whore has to say?

 

/this is what people really think

[Cubswin11]

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[NOLA]

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[BigSlick]

I don't even understand the cynical 'baseball-only' side of this. Addison Russell is not a very good baseball player. I don't even think he's better than Javy defensively. Why are they doing this? It makes no sense to me from any angle.

[Gmoney08]

I don't even understand the cynical 'baseball-only' side of this. Addison Russell is not a very good baseball player. I don't even think he's better than Javy defensively. Why are they doing this? It makes no sense to me from any angle.

 

Looks like Ravech was wrong and Theo put the kabosh on this report.

[Sammy Sofa]

I don't even understand the cynical 'baseball-only' side of this. Addison Russell is not a very good baseball player. I don't even think he's better than Javy defensively. Why are they doing this? It makes no sense to me from any angle.

 

That's my take on the whole thing; like, let's say he turns it around and starts playing well again for a while. How realistic is it to say he's an actual trade asset? His whole rep right now is as an abusive scumbag, so how many teams are going to actually give up anything of value for him?

 

Yeah, I know teams have been more than happy in the past (including the VERY recent past) to gloss over this type of thing, but it does definitely feel like things have changed and are changing in terms of how fans and the media approach players like this. It seems like complete BS for the Cubs to be trying to shape this like they either want him to be good enough again to be a viable trade chip OR a useful player on the Cubs, because there's essentially no way for him to get out from under the stain (and rightly so) of what he did multiple times. This guy is NEVER going to be of any real value in a trade, and it's a horsefeathering farce for the Cubs to essentially act like he still needs to be on the team along those lines.

[squally1313]

I don't even understand the cynical 'baseball-only' side of this. Addison Russell is not a very good baseball player. I don't even think he's better than Javy defensively. Why are they doing this? It makes no sense to me from any angle.

 

That's my take on the whole thing; like, let's say he turns it around and starts playing well again for a while. How realistic is it to say he's an actual trade asset? His whole rep right now is as an abusive scumbag, so how many teams are going to actually give up anything of value for him?

 

Yeah, I know teams have been more than happy in the past (including the VERY recent past) to gloss over this type of thing, but it does definitely feel like things have changed and are changing in terms of how fans and the media approach players like this. It seems like complete BS for the Cubs to be trying to shape this like they either want him to be good enough again to be a viable trade chip OR a useful player on the Cubs, because there's essentially no way for him to get out from under the stain (and rightly so) of what he did multiple times. This guy is NEVER going to be of any real value in a trade, and it's a horsefeathering farce for the Cubs to essentially act like he still needs to be on the team along those lines.

 

The only thing that made/makes sense to me is that right now he's insurance for any sort of significant Javy injury. No one else on the roster can play SS consistently, and the couple names down in AAA, while performing pretty well now (Adames, Dixon Machado) were essentially complete unknowns going into this year. That doesn't explain at all why he got called up for Zobrist, outside of maybe it was just fluky timing with Zobrist leaving for an undisclosed length of time and Descalso being old and slow and having a nagging injury, which left you with basically KB, Javy, and Bote as infielders.

 

This is all from a pure baseball perspective by the way. Big picture, as always, horsefeathers Addison Russell.

[champaignchris]

That’s precisely the question... good glove/bad bat middle infielders who can backup the starting shortstop are a dime a dozen... so why does it have to be Addison Russell? Why take the publicity hit when there are literally a dozen players who’d happily adequately fill that roll for $2.5MM less per year?

 

The only thing that makes sense to me is that the Cubs:

a. Think Russell is doing things right off the field in order to be a better person going forward; AND

b. Think Russell can get back to being a starting- to All-Star-quality player.

 

The Cubs are obviously in better position to know these things than I am, but the early returns in both respects don’t look great.

[Sammy Sofa]

So long as Happ is in the org and still healthy, there's absolutely no reason for Russell to be up.

 

(Obviously there's no good reason for him to be on the team, period)

[javy knows my name]

That’s precisely the question... good glove/bad bat middle infielders who can backup the starting shortstop are a dime a dozen... so why does it have to be Addison Russell? Why take the publicity hit when there are literally a dozen players who’d happily adequately fill that roll for $2.5MM less per year?

 

The only thing that makes sense to me is that the Cubs:

a. Think Russell is doing things right off the field in order to be a better person going forward; AND

b. Think Russell can get back to being a starting- to All-Star-quality player.

 

The Cubs are obviously in better position to know these things than I am, but the early returns in both respects don’t look great.

 

OR

c. The Ricketts want to pwn the libs.

 

 

I'm sticking with it

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I think the simplest way to say it is that they are invested and "believe in" Russell. They used a big trade chip to get him when he was only in AA, he rewarded them with multiple strong MLB seasons and being a part of the title team. I believe the FO when they say they're interested/invested in the people, and even absent the circumstances I think they hold the core players tighter than is optimal. Schwarber is a less gross example of this, it would've been easy/tempting to trade him at multiple points, but they believe in him being the best version of the player he could be.

 

As far as the DV stuff goes, part of it is not being able to reconcile the Russell you know and the Russell that did those things, and I think that comes out in how they've approached it. Reading Mooney's article on it this week, it's fairly clear that they've engaged earnestly on the broad issue of domestic violence, and there is logic to trying to be an example of rehabilitation, especially if your primary goal is preventing repeat offenses by that person. But all of that is mostly behind the scenes and doesn't force you to confront the outward message you send when you keep Russell around. It's a lesson they have not learned from Chapman and Murphy, that while we should do our best to rehabilitate those players, they are also avatars for the pain that so many people have experienced. Their bar for keeping those avatars around in the name of rehabilitation has not been near high enough, given the comments that all 3 of Chapman, Murphy, and Russell have made about those issues since being acquired/retained.

[CyHawk_Cub]

I think there's plenty of motivated reasoning going on with Russell enablers/apologists.

[Sammy Sofa]

What was the "core" of basically untouchable players Theo was talking about at one point? Wasn't it Bryant, Rizzo, Schwarber and Russell?

 

Yeesh.

[BigSlick]

What was the "core" of basically untouchable players Theo was talking about at one point? Wasn't it Bryant, Rizzo, Schwarber and Russell?

 

Yeesh.

Well, uh, two out of four aint bad

 

Eek.

[biittner77]

I don't even understand the cynical 'baseball-only' side of this. Addison Russell is not a very good baseball player. I don't even think he's better than Javy defensively. Why are they doing this? It makes no sense to me from any angle.

 

That's my take on the whole thing; like, let's say he turns it around and starts playing well again for a while. How realistic is it to say he's an actual trade asset? His whole rep right now is as an abusive scumbag, so how many teams are going to actually give up anything of value for him?

 

Yeah, I know teams have been more than happy in the past (including the VERY recent past) to gloss over this type of thing, but it does definitely feel like things have changed and are changing in terms of how fans and the media approach players like this. It seems like complete BS for the Cubs to be trying to shape this like they either want him to be good enough again to be a viable trade chip OR a useful player on the Cubs, because there's essentially no way for him to get out from under the stain (and rightly so) of what he did multiple times. This guy is NEVER going to be of any real value in a trade, and it's a horsefeathering farce for the Cubs to essentially act like he still needs to be on the team along those lines.

 

A new team could give him a fresh start and fans have a short memory for what players did while with another team (see Murphy, Daniel). His trade value would come from being able to hit. If he can do that, the Cubs will be able to find a taker. That might not be likely but it's still possible considering he plays a defense first position. Is that a good enough reason to keep him around? Certainly not.

[Cubswin11]

What was the "core" of basically untouchable players Theo was talking about at one point? Wasn't it Bryant, Rizzo, Schwarber and Russell?

 

Yeesh.

It’s been talked about before, but when really would’ve been the right time to trade Schwarber and/or Russell?? It made no sense to trade Schwarbs after 2015, they thought he could still catch at least ~40 games a year and then he blew his knee out in 2016. He never really had value after that. And Russell (from the baseball side), he was a useful player and had some big moments in the WS run (at 22-23), you don’t trade him after that. Then he just fell off/got hurt/turned in to human garbage and this was still when Javy was a huge unknown on the infield.

 

We can be upset they didn’t turn out to a better outcome but the window to trade them was small (if it ever existed) and they were probably right at the time to be essentially “untouchable.”

[JennieGarthAlgar]

It’s been talked about before, but when really would’ve been the right time to trade Schwarber and/or Russell?? It made no sense to trade Schwarbs after 2015, they thought he could still catch at least ~40 games a year and then he blew his knee out in 2016. He never really had value after that. And Russell (from the baseball side), he was a useful player and had some big moments in the WS run (at 22-23), you don’t trade him after that. Then he just fell off/got hurt/turned in to human garbage and this was still when Javy was a huge unknown on the infield.

 

Huh? The entire year he was out rehabbing his knee I swear he was the most talked about trade chip in the game. Im pretty sure NYY wanted him for Andrew Miller? I could be misremembering but it feels like that entire season he was hurt every trade leak or rumor involving the Cubs was that AL GMs still wanted him badly.

 

He didn't really lose his value until the failed leadoff experiment and minor league demotion IMO.

[Banedon]

What was the "core" of basically untouchable players Theo was talking about at one point? Wasn't it Bryant, Rizzo, Schwarber and Russell?

 

Yeesh.

 

Theo has specifically said there's no untouchable players.

[squally1313]

It’s been talked about before, but when really would’ve been the right time to trade Schwarber and/or Russell?? It made no sense to trade Schwarbs after 2015, they thought he could still catch at least ~40 games a year and then he blew his knee out in 2016. He never really had value after that. And Russell (from the baseball side), he was a useful player and had some big moments in the WS run (at 22-23), you don’t trade him after that. Then he just fell off/got hurt/turned in to human garbage and this was still when Javy was a huge unknown on the infield.

 

Huh? The entire year he was out rehabbing his knee I swear he was the most talked about trade chip in the game. Im pretty sure NYY wanted him for Andrew Miller? I could be misremembering but it feels like that entire season he was hurt every trade leak or rumor involving the Cubs was that AL GMs still wanted him badly.

 

He didn't really lose his value until the failed leadoff experiment and minor league demotion IMO.

 

Fair, but even with the benefit of hindsight, that would have been a really bad trade.