Right Field Construction Underway and Other Bullets

A BN Did You Know: the daily Bullets post actually started out as a Spring Training feature – a way to highlight how various players performed in the previous day’s games (“Spring Training Battle Watch”). Over time, it became a way to cover stories that weren’t going to get a whole post of their own.

  • The construction in the far-right corner of the right field bleachers is underway, as you can see in the picture obtained by the Chicago Tribune (at that link). The construction will add rooftop-style seating, a patio, and a 75-foot LED board, and, I have to be completely honest, I’m excited to see the finished result. I think it’s going to look good, function well, and add some revenue to the pot. Everything is supposed to be good to go for Opening Day.
  • Cubs minor league pitcher Ricardo Estevez has been suspended 50 games after testing positive for a banned substance. Estevez pitched in the Dominican Summer League last year (a step below rookie ball, so he’s a long, long way off from being someone you’ve ever heard of). There isn’t any word yet on whether he’ll appeal the suspension, which appeal would almost certainly last five months and feature arguments related to erroneous testing and medication prescribed for a personal problem.
  • There’s no update on a possible extension for Matt Garza, who avoided arbitration for 2012 by signing a $9.5 million deal (he’s got one more year of arbitration after that). The Cubs would greatly prefer to either have him locked up beyond 2013, or traded, by the trade deadline this year.
  • Another fluffy Spring Training preview, this from Gordon Wittenmyer. The roster looks bad, but they’ll try really hard. That’s the gist.
  • A Yankees blog undertook a very interesting analysis of the rumors generated by Jon Heyman, Buster Olney, and Ken Rosenthal this Winter. It turns out that Heyman reported a disproportionately high volume of rumors surrounding Scott Boras clients. Further, his rumors connected a disproportionately high volume of those clients to the Yankees. Coincidence? Could be. But we know agents are frequently sources, and we know Boras likes to use the media to help his clients (and how better to help them than to get the media to report that the Yankees are interested). You don’t want to conclude too much here, but, well, it’s interesting. That’s all.
  • written by

    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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