What You Show in Spring Training, the Javy Tag, the Hendricks Trade, and Other Bullets

Mar 15, 2017

I’m headed out to the back fields this morning to hopefully catch some Cubs prospect action there. It’s pretty much one of my favorite things to do all baseball season long, because you’re just right there in the middle of it.

This came in for mention last night in the Spring Training Miscellany, but I think it’s worth pointing out here, as well:

Davies admitted he fell behind too much vs. Cubs. But: “It’s tough when you don’t want to show a team in your division everything you have.”
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) March 14, 2017

That’s from yesterday’s Brewers starter, Kyle Davies, whom many believe will be something of a breakout guy this year thanks to his command, movement, and deception. Does he have a legit concern that showing a team like the Cubs too much right now could hurt him in the regular season? It’s something to consider, though my instinct is that it’s even more important not to show particular hitters how you’re going to attack them (pitch selection and location, and then sequencing) in the regular season. Yes, you want to practice what you’re going to be in the regular season, but you don’t necessarily have to show a hitter exactly what you’re going to try to do to him.

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Could this be yet another reason for the disparity in performance between veterans and younger or non-roster players in the spring? If a veteran is completely confident that he’s got a spot on the team, and has absolutely no interest in “proving” anything in the results in the spring, might he be far more inclined to let opponents see what he wants them to see in the spring, as opposed to what he thinks will get them out? The obvious caveat there is that a pitcher still has to work on all of his stuff and get his arm into shape by Opening Day, but, in individual at bats against certain future foes, surely the pitcher can mess around a bit.

A CSN interview with Cubs-pitcher-turned-special-assistant Ted Lilly includes a variety of interesting bits, including his comments on the failed 2012 Ryan Dempster trade to the Dodgers. It turns out that Dodgers execs asked Lilly’s thoughts on acquiring Dempster, but apparently they didn’t heed his advice, because the deal didn’t go through. Which was good news for the Cubs, obviously, because they wound up sending Dempster to Texas at the last minute for Christian Villanueva … and Kyle Hendricks.

Team Puerto Rico beat Team Dominican Republic last night in a heavily-anticipated WBC match-up, which not only produced a beauty of a no-look tag from Javy Baez, but also netted a pretty great celebration at the end:

Big win, big celebration for Puerto Rico. #WBC2017 pic.twitter.com/eDlEQteEoq

— WBC Baseball (@WBCBaseball) March 15, 2017

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The Javy tag, by the way:

Javy Baez is the best. Pointing and celebrating before the throw even gets there, because he knows what's up. pic.twitter.com/WDkFfObwir

— Brett Taylor (@BleacherNation) March 15, 2017

When you know you've got it… #PhotoOfTheNight pic.twitter.com/tbaLXKNB8W

— ESPN (@espn) March 15, 2017

These guys really care, really want to win, and really want to show it.

If you missed it, David Ross is going to be on ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ and I approve of his initial song choice:

David Ross to dance to 'Go Cubs Go' on 'Dancing with the Stars' https://t.co/0jAFfdA82G pic.twitter.com/A0NAHwvYEu

— ChicagoSports (@ChicagoSports) March 14, 2017

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Compliments for Carl Jr. from Carl’s Jr. after Carl Jr. complimented Carl’s Jr.:

.@CEdwardsSBS Hey Carl, it's Carl. We think your tastes are plenty refined. https://t.co/ZpZPo8A2Ni pic.twitter.com/F37L2hitNm
— Carl's Jr. (@CarlsJr) March 14, 2017

Fanatics has a 20% off sale going on right now (code: COURT), so peruse around and think about picking up some gear, Cubs or otherwise.

Over at TYL, Luis has your morning Bullets here, and I’d love any and all Bears fans to smack that “like” button right there:

written by

Brett Taylor

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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