Irrelevant Dude

Unlikely as it may be, if Mervis gets dealt for scraps and hits 30 home runs somewhere else, that is going to be annoying.

The Cubs certainly have a type. They are going to corner the market on journeyman 1B/DH options.

That was a hell of a highlight package put together by the Blackhawks for Chris Chelios. Whoever worked on that absolutely hit it out of the park.

I agree as things stand right now, but it will really depend on what happens the next few years. If Bellinger plays well and opts out into another big contract, this may very well end up being the best possible thing for him (and Boras will spin it as such). If he regresses and misses his one prime opportunity for a long term deal, then it will be a huge loss for him. A minor loss for the Cubs, but a huge loss for Cody/Boras. This deal is high risk for Cody and relatively low risk for the Cubs. Ultimately though, I think both sides would be thrilled if Bellinger has a great season and opts out after the first year.

Do we know if Bellinger got a NTC? I would assume that to be the case, but haven't seen it reported.

I don't get this sort of speculation that implies that the luxury tax is completely off limits. Who really cares if the Cubs are $1M under or $5M over? The difference to ownership is negligible and they are likely going to be able to reset next year anyway, so it doesn't make any sense for them to hamstring themselves now for fear of going $1 over. Obviously no owner WANTS to pay the luxury tax, but that's where we are. Bruce Levine made a comment on the radio this morning about the Cubs being done, immediately shooting down the idea of any more possible signings because they are "in the luxury tax". That just doesn't make sense. If you're going to go into the tax, you don't just stop immediately upon crossing the threshold. If there are guys who can help the team this year while still leaving some flexibility for midseason additions, those opportunities should absolutely be explored.

I don't love the look of the lettering, but we would probably get used to it eventually if they stick with it. I can't imagine EVER buying one of those new jerseys though. Nike's sweatshop-produced clothing has never been the greatest quality, but can you imagine how Fanatics must be operating if they can produce the uniforms for less than Nike could?

That Kipnis at bat in the 10th was, and still is, terrifying.

The one mistake he DID admit to was using Chapman for longer than necessary in Game 6. He didn't back down from his pitching decisions in Game 7, but was at least willing to concede that he let Chapman throw more pitches than he should have in Game 6.

MLB Network showed Game 7 of the World Series tonight with Maddon and Francona in studio alongside Bob Costas and Tom Verducci. There was nothing particularly revealing from either manager, but it was still fun to watch. If anyone missed it (and I assume a lot of people did considering I didn't find out about it until shortly before it started), they have it on their schedule again Saturday morning at 10:00. Amazingly, I haven't re-watched Game 7 in its entirety since it happened. I'm not sure this counts as watching the game in its entirety, since they skipped over a lot, but it is the closest I have come. Some of my takeaways from watching the game again were: - I was very critical of Maddon taking Hendricks out in the 5th at the time, but I had forgotten how good Lester actually was in relief. The two runs that scored against him in the 5th were more of a fluke than anything, and he locked things down after that. In hindsight, going to Chapman in the 8th was the worse move of the two. - Hendricks should have been out of the 5th inning if not for Strike 3 clearly in the zone being called a ball. I can't imagine our reactions to that pitch if the Guardians had ended up winning and I am thankful that is only an extremely minor footnote now. - I was still uncomfortable watching the game even knowing the outcome. Sitting in the exact same spot on the couch I was on 8 years ago, I'm pretty sure I reacted to the Rajai Davis home run almost the same way. I impulsively put my hands on top of my head, as if in complete shock, even after all these years. - I still can't get enough of Rizzo's nervous conversation with David Ross that was captured in the dugout. He was all of us at that point in time. - Lastly, why isn't Joe Maddon more beloved in Chicago? Despite some nearly-critical missteps in the World Series, he is still the manager who led the team to their first title in 108 years. He has as many championships as Ditka, yet is nowhere near as revered. The way his tenure ended was obviously disappointing, but the same could be said for Ditka as well. Maddon has an eccentric personality, but he has always seemed like a generally likeable guy. So what is it that has kept him largely out of the conversation in Chicago? Maybe he just hasn't embraced the opportunity to become that type of figure? Has he even been back to Wrigley Field in the past several years? Is it still too soon after his tenure with the Cubs? Or maybe he just doesn't want to be a distraction to the current team. It is possible things will change as time goes on and there are reunions, anniversary celebrations, etc, but it doesn't seem like he will ever take center stage as one of the most important figures in Cubs history. Anyway, I initially started this post simply to let everyone know about the special on MLB Network. I guess it turned into a bit more than that.

Cade HortonPete Crow-ArmstrongMatt ShawOwen CaissieMichael BuschJordan WicksKevin AlcantaraJames TriantosMoises BallesterosBen BrownAlexander CanarioBrandon BirdsellJefferson RojasMatt MervisJaxon WigginsDerniche ValdezBJ Murray JrCristian HernandezJosh Rivera

Yeah, probably. On one hand, they probably HAVE to do this to introduce a new jersey sponsor, but also the optics are not great with how the off-season has played out.

Maybe they should go on a barnstorming tour and just forget about the season entirely.

North Shore Adult Diapers, here's your chance to take your marketing campaign to the next level.

When ownership presents the expected benefits a new stadium will bring to the city (which we know are largely BS to begin with), do they offset that by the negative impact a move would have on Bridgeport and its surrounding areas? I'm guessing no.

Chip Caray's son has been hired to do play-by-play for a portion of Oakland Athletics games this year. It's about time that family caught a break! https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/athletics/2024/02/20/chris-caray-oakland-as-nbc-sports-harry-caray-jenny-cavnar/72672598007/

Jed gets a fair amount of criticism around here, so I don't think he gets off easy. It is true that the Cubs budget should be enough to compete on a regular basis. It also may be true that Jed is afraid to commit to elite level talent/contracts because he knows the repurcussions when those types of deals go bad. This ownership group hasn't shown a willingness to spend out of trouble, so one or two bad long-term contracts could put the team right back into semi-rebuild mode, waiting for dead money to come off the books before they can spend again. Jed may be risk-averse by nature, but that behavior is likely reinforced by ownership. The two go hand in hand.

Thank you Ricketts family for founding the Cubs organization! We really don't say that enough.

It is risky in that they may only make $50 Million next year instead of $100M. Can't we all relate?

And you think that power bat, as things stand, is going to be Mervis? Everything the Cubs are telling us (without telling us) is that they have no intention of Mervis being a part of their roster.

It's like one of these signs that my grandma used to have in her house. Once your brain C's it one way, it is difficult to C it any other way.

More revenue? What happened to all that Marquee money? Isn't that the revenue we were promised? It is convenient that the Cubs' "natural place" just so happens to be right below an arbitrary tax threshold.

Yep, and now it's stupid because the hashtag doesn't match the photo. Maybe scrap this one completely and try again.

I fear for what happens when Pat leaves (hopefully not for several years). Zaidman as a full-time radio guy would be a disaster.