That Curt Schilling Thing Definitely Wasn’t Theo or Jed and Other Bullets

February 8, 2013, by Brett Taylor Chicago Cubs

Here is your obligatory reminder to check out yesterday’s fresh BN Podcast episode, which features Baseball Prospect prospect guru Jason Parks talking about Cubs prospects for almost an hour.

Curt Schilling’s comments that he was encouraged to try PEDs by a Red Sox official in 2008 as a solution to his aging/declining career trajectory got a whole lot of play for obvious reasons: it could have been anybody, and it’s a pretty incendiary charge. Cubs GM Jed Hoyer, who was an Assistant GM with the Red Sox at the time, immediately denied in the strongest possible terms that he or Theo Epstein ever had anything to do with encouraging PED use. Well, it turns out that Schilling left out huge chunks of the story, including the fact that the person(s) making the PED suggestion was/were not “in uniform” nor in the “baseball ops” department. That would exclude guys like Hoyer and Epstein, but Epstein was already excluded: when Schilling heard the PED comment, the guy to whom he reported it was none other than Theo Epstein, who was required to report the issue to MLB. There was an investigation, and whoever the person(s) was/were, they weren’t even fired over the incident. It was a medical staffer, apparently. That context yesterday would have been helpful.
The front office really does seem to love everything Dale Sveum has done in his first year as manager of the Cubs, including his ability to take the daily media beating. Patrick Mooney writes about that, and about the pressure Dale feels to succeed on the field this year.
A Vine Line piece featuring thoughts from Cubs minor league catcher Michael Brenly is a pretty interesting one, demonstrating the mindset of the fringe roster guys. Remember when you tried out for your high school baseball team over the course of a week? Well, multiply that by five weeks, and then multiply the intensity and pressure by 100.
Speaking of which, Tim Sheridan’s Boys of Spring blog is rolling once again, and should become a regular stop over the course of the Spring. He’s got some pictures up of the early arrivers, which include Matt Garza, Jeff Samardzija, James Russell, Steve Clevenger, Darwin Barney, David DeJesus, Darnell McDonald, and Dontrelle Willis (presumably among many others).
OMGLOL DID YOU KNOW THAT THE CUBS HAVEN’T WON MUCH AT WRIGLEY FIELD LOLOLOROFL!!!!1!!1!!!! Rick Morrissey is here to pluck some low hanging fruit, in case you hadn’t heard.
Yes, Spice Adams, you have won the Internet for the day.