Freaking Marlins Might Help Another NL Central Team, Clemens Still Slinging, Fun Aplenty, and Other Bullets

I’m really looking forward to the Super Bowl. Sure, I’d be looking forward to it more if the Bears were playing – actually, I’d probably be unable to breathe – but the way I figure it, the Bears already DOMINATED the Rams this year, so if the Rams win tonight, that means the Bears are the Super Bowl champs. That’s how this works. Don’t argue.

  • If the freaking garbage bag Marlins do it again – sending a star to the NL Central for relative peanuts – I will absolutely scale the walls of that unadorned butthole they call a ballpark and contract them with my bare hands:
  • With Realmuto in the fold, the Reds are a Nick Senzel breakout away from having a truly excellent offense. I can see the risks in the rotation, but I think that bullpen is legit. So, on the whole, Realmuto + a good Senzel and boom, you’ve got a team that I think is right up there with the Cardinals and Brewers, nipping at the Cubs’ heels on paper.
  • Right now, the Reds are projected at 82-80 by FanGraphs (using Steamer (ZiPS is not in there yet)), which is third best in the NL Central, behind the Cubs (88-74) and the Cardinals (86-76).
  • Freaking Marlins.
  • (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)

  • A couple Cubs on their new (new, new, new, old) hitting coach:
  • The Cubs’ new beat writer at Cubs.com, Jordan Bastian, is pro-universal DH, so he is now automatically in good-standing:
  • This was fun:
  • Please:
  • So far, the big leagues haven’t been too kind to the Cubs’ former large adult prospect, but Vogelbach remains an impressive hitter – it’s just that he hasn’t slugged enough (ironically) to be a worthwhile overall DH. At least with the rebuilding Mariners, he should get some chances again this year.
  • A bunch of wallets of the RFID variety are your deal of the day at Amazon.
  • Roger Clemens is now 56, but he can still spin it a bit, and would probably be able to start for the Marlins:
  • Boy, looks like Yadi is … bored:
  • That’s it. Bear for life:
  • And dat’s my coach:
  • https://www.facebook.com/BleacherNationBears/photos/a.1325244567521699/2160234400689374/?type=3&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARAcdr1pjx9g9G6oLTqEGZvS4Gmy2sOLy9OlP5tGeSh8jOWM5G4RKfAkFTfKKHxHo3XkJTZI3lpCDA285EfQbgrBaa-McGOpBNCEW6yIx5Pvuhfhe6WZ8dU3_yQH-ubMh7TV_w0MgSbAlhDGa5OyjlM6ayGDhQffG323-5qn41i0-_uWc5YLiAcINADsxUijtkXxpOCdZRNN-_-iJLezxQQPhXIHoaFhLE3JV1KKPUII3bunVhMMrpL3ej_dgVHuIkHPna28zQpUY5kRZ9QAyOj-voa5KenTylIql0ebDFoctvdsfm1ceWJkhDiHMLR-fTluZ4NO4Q_mG_GvrWS1vEmJnAlB&__tn__=-R

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    Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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