Jason Ross

Well, Mikolas got suspended for 5 days. If only they had taken the time to write the rule "It's totally cool to throw at a guy if he accidentally hit a catcher with his backswing" into the rulebook! Damn those unwritten rules!

My guess is the argument David Ross would give you is that More's defensively shaky at 3b, and has a 79 wRC+ against LHP on the season. I'd counter with Wisdom being DH level bad at 3b, and Trey Mancini being worthless, personally, so I don't agree, but that'd probably be my guess.

Rucker to AAA, Wesneski called up. Will start.

Man, there's nothing more than I hate about people whinging and moaning about fictitious rules that only exist in their brain. Example: here's Yan Gomes getting knocked out of a game with a backswing. No one threw at anyone.

I can't read. You're right, AA Rocket City.

The Angels just promoted 2023 1st round pick Nolan Schnauel to their AAA affiliate. They do things very differently. EDIT: I can't read.

Great minds think alike. I said that his recent trade idea involving the Cubs and the Astros felt like something you'd read on an Astros blog. He's the worst.

There's not better evidence for why Jim Bowden was a terrible GM than to read any article he writes.

This is both infuriating (the Cubs should not be, in any way, concerned with going over the luxury tax) but also interesting (in that they'll still lose Stroman at seasons end) in that maybe they can use prospects to get a controllable arm.

Bellinger is a Boras client. I think Cody Bellinger will sign the best contract, I dont think he really cares where he plays. Now, I think his best value is at CF and teams who think he's a CF'er for the next 2, 3 or 4 years are likely to offer more to him, so it may effect how much teams are willing to offer him. But I think that's a different discussion.

Horton finished 4IP, 5K's, 0BB, 0H, 1 HBP. 50 pitches - 37 strikes. Cruised.

Rojas has top-20/30 (or better) in baseball upside. We're a ways a way still, just 150 PA's into his career in the states, but there's something there.

Yeah, just read about it. I'm not going vegan any time soon, but it's a little cracked to eat a live lizard on camera for the yuks.

Same area scout who was on Horton. Who was following Horton since HS... Big Ty Nichols fan here!

I mean, for horsefeathers's sake, thats the most clearcut version of "this dude should get kicked out" of game I've seen.

Horton looks back tonight. Through 2: 28 pitches, 21 strikes, 3 K's, 0 anything else. Up to 98mph.

Wait...what? Yeah, horsefeathers this guy.

This is pretty poetic and exactly what you deserve plunking Happ like that. Throwing at players is stupid. You deserve this outcome.

Happ swung, Contreras kind of lunged at it, and the backswing whacked Willy. Got him good, probably stitches. Mikolas, I guess, blamed Happ (for what, the horsefeathers knows) and then threw at him...twice. The last had to be an 80mph lob at his ass. Got tossed. What his argument for **not* being tossed is probably worth a study in a college law class, because I couldn't imagine there was anything there to argue, it was the most obvious reason ever for him to get rung.

Oh horsefeathers Mikalas. What a jackals. Deserved the boot.

Man, that sucks for Contreras. I bet that's stitches.

The bold is where we likely differ. I'll trade slightly better baseball today every day, and twice on Sunday if it means a lot better baseball in the relative near future. But I'm not patient enough for that to be 2025, either if 2024 is another one of these mediocre, .500 type "maybe we can back into a playoff" type seasons. Regardless of this deadline the Chicago Cubs need to be committed to winning this offseason. Whether or not ownership and the front office has the stomach for that, is an entirely different conversion.

That I will agree with. With that said, I'm not sure it will change it enough to meaningfully matter. For example, Swanson captured a higher AAV than other SS and he was QO attached, and Turner and Bogaerts each got extremely huge contracts. So while it may change a team or two who's interested, he will be a premium position player in a thin market for impact bats, and I doubt at the end of the day the contract Bellinger signs will be much/any different if he's QO attached or not.

Damnit, lost my draft myself. Quick response: 1. I don't think the Cubs will find it impossible to add players who might help in 2024, but there just isn't enough time for the underperforming crowd to fix their issues and show improvement enough to make me want to pencil them into 2024 conifedently. The Cubs need to turn a corner from being the reclamation team to a confidently good roster. I don't mind them kind of doing that with the BP, because BP arms are just volatile in general, but I think that's where it needs to remain confined. 2. My last piece on Bellinger and the QO is this; the Cubs should never be afraid to drop a contract and sign a QO player. 2nd round picks are valuable, but not so valuable the Cubs should feel the need to keep Bellinger so they feel better about their draft budget. The Cubs also have a deep enough system currently, that losing a draft pick via FA shouldn't change their system much. Plus, we can view the prospects acquired for Bellinger as their 2nd round pick. I'm the biggest draft dork in the world but draft flexibility outside of the 1st round is more of a luxury (these picks just hit so infrequently). I'd prioritize winning.

Well, I think it's pretty unfair to reduce it, because I literally said at the end, that if the Cubs want to keep them this summer, than they can't half-ass it. That alludes to the Cubs adding players between now and August 2nd who are going to help. And, again, I've said it plenty now, I'm 100% of the belief that trading these two doesn't change 2024. They're FAs. I would agree, it'd be weird to talk 2024 and trade two of your best players, but only if they were contracted in 2024. Bellinger and Stroman will be FAs (no way Stroman opts in barring injury, IMO). If the Cubs were going to resign them midyear, well, they'd have resigned them by now more than likely. If the Cubs still want to resign them, than they simply need to offer them the best contract in the offseason. I doubt either holds a shred of animosity in the offseason over it. The Cubs are playing much better, but I think we need to remember that they have a long road to climb, and things are neither as good as they feel during great runs (conversely never as bad as they feel during poor runs). The team is still largely what they've been all year; a roughly .500 team who has many flaws but who plays in a bad division. They can't sit pat and expect to be more. So either add a few players designed to legitimately make the playoffs realistic or sell the two FAs. I can buy arguments on either side.