Robo Umps Coming in Spring Training, Wrigley North, Javy the Star, and Other Cubs Bullets

My computer is always lousy with tabs, which eventually cause a whole lot of drain on system and browser resources. But I just can’t quit my tab habit. So I’m trying out this Chrome extension – The Great Suspender – which “suspends” your tabs if you haven’t used them in the last X hours. It seems to be working as it’s supposed to, because I’ve got about 10 suspended tabs up there, theoretically NOT using resources at the moment, but I also don’t have to go anywhere else to find them – they’re still right up there when I want to finally access them. Like, for example, to put these Bullets together …

Per the Commissioner, we’re going to see our first flashes of the electronic strike zone in a few weeks:

Rob Manfred also said on FOX Business that we’re going to see use of the so-called robot umpire system during spring training.

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) January 22, 2020

I presume the system will be utilized for data-gathering purposes, since the stakes in Spring Training are limited. The system is expected to be deployed in some parts of the minor leagues this year, and the best guess on big league timeline is 2022, when the new CBA kicks in. But obviously it could come sooner than that if there aren’t serious kinks to work out and if the players are on board. The umpires have already said they won’t fight it. I’m definitely curious to see how it looks in Spring Training.

As expected, Miller Park is changing its name, but incredibly, they are not going by the name everyone knows:

Home of the @Brewers to be renamed American Family Field: 'Short, simple and sweet' https://t.co/x2mEbBxDYq pic.twitter.com/2kBO004Qbn

— FOX6 News (@fox6now) January 22, 2020

American Family Field will have its first season in 2021, and Miller Park will get its retirement tour this season. Not that any self-respecting Cubs fan will call it anything other than Wrigley North.

The Brewers can change their ballpark name all they want. It won't matter. We already know its name: https://t.co/8wXeeQqn27 pic.twitter.com/W7zP3uK0ds

— OBVIOUS SHIRTS® (@obvious_shirts) January 22, 2020

At the Houston Sports Awards, which honored him and Alex Bregman, Astros owner (and current GM!) Jim Crane tried to speak for the players who didn’t say anything useful or contrite this past weekend about the sign-stealing scandal:

Astros owner Jim Crane said when the team assembles for Spring Training the players will come up with a plan to address the sign stealing saga publicly and will apologize for their role in the events that led to MLB’s sanctions. pic.twitter.com/55GzQDUgMe

— Alyson Footer (@alysonfooter) January 22, 2020

It’s kind of amazing that the plan is to get them together for a PR lesson, craft a statement they can all adopt, and then hope it goes away. Nah. Without actual human candor, it’s all just gonna linger throughout the season (as it probably should).

By this argument, aren’t you being a GOOD teammate to your CURRENT teammates by stopping some other teams from having an unfair, cheating advantage:

Red Sox legend Pedro Martinez doesn’t support Astros whistleblower Mike Fiers; ‘You’re just a bad teammate’ https://t.co/cAxGWsbPBg

— Christopher Smith (@SmittyOnMLB) January 21, 2020

Meanwhile, I’m dead:

https://twitter.com/amanda522/status/1219820660479926273

New Braves outfielder Marcell Ozuna is probably much worse defensively than some of the advance metrics suggest:

Someone asked me about this Ozuna discrepancy:

-8 OAA
+2 DRS
+5 UZR

I don't know about the other metrics. But I just watched a dozen plays that looked kind of like this. pic.twitter.com/aDM6KoRtsu

— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) January 22, 2020

Good stuff here, even if it remains such a black eye for professional baseball:

One Dodgers prospect trains at Dodger Stadium on offseason mornings and works at L.A. Live at night. Another does demolitions. Others work retail and rideshare jobs. I wrote about minor-league life and making ends meet. https://t.co/UebwpEdlHI

— Pedro Moura (@pedromoura) January 21, 2020

A reminder that Theo Epstein said this weekend that the Cubs care about minor league wages, and the Blue Jays’ across-the-board raise last year got their attention: “Stay tuned … we are working on it. Keep your ear to the ground for a change in policy.”

Javy, the superstar:

Hey Chicago, what do you say? @javy23baez and the @Cubs are on the cover of MLB The Show 20 today!
Order NOW: https://t.co/MLsBFufHlg #MLBTheShow #MLBTheShow20 #NewEra #TheShow20 #TheShow @NewEraCap pic.twitter.com/PR0cYgj6mT

— MLB The Show (@MLBTheShow) January 19, 2020

Introducing a real magician, @javy23baez aka "El Mago"!
Tune in for the World Gameplay Reveal of #MLBTheShow20 on 1/22!
Pre-Order now! https://t.co/pQQkOHPNM7 pic.twitter.com/inOCavHxeR

— MLB The Show (@MLBTheShow) January 21, 2020

Extend that Magician.

Amazon’s Fire tablets are on sale today, looking like 30% off. #ad

If you want a deeper look at minor league Rule 5 selection Jerrick Suiter, and why the Cubs are converting him to the mound:

The Cubs selected burly 1B/OF Jerrick Suiter in the Rule 5 draft based on 1.2 IP in mop-up duty. That’s right, they’re making him a pitcher/two-way player. https://t.co/EOgO5yRKEG

— Evan Altman (@DEvanAltman) January 22, 2020

We finally dropped a new podcast episode (we had been waiting on the Cubs to do something … lol):

New episode of Onto Waveland. ⁦@PJ_Mooney⁩, ⁦@BleacherNation⁩ and I talk about the vibe at Cubs Convention and how fans, Theo and Rossy are all reacting to another winter of inaction. https://t.co/8Uf2yMYKIz

— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) January 21, 2020