Rick Renteria Officially Introduced as Manager and Other Bullets

rick renteria cubsIt’s a snow day for The Wife and The Kids, so the house is a bit more lively than usual on a weekday.

  • Rick Renteria was officially introduced to the media yesterday as the manager of the Chicago Cubs, having been held up in traveling by his recovery from hip surgery. I’m sure it was nice to do the jersey thing, and the face-to-face thing, but there isn’t a ton of “manager” stuff in the various write-ups. There’s stuff about working with Starlin Castro and other hitters, but it’s most the generic, rah-rah stuff, rather than the Xs and Ox stuff. I guess that probably would have been a bit much to get into at the introductory press conference. Though I’d still like to know Renteria’s position on what kind of batter should bat second.
  • You can see recaps of the Renteria press conference here, here, here, and here, among other places.
  • For those wondering – or implicitly criticizing the front office – Theo Epstein said that Rick Renteria ultimately chose Brandon Hyde, the Cubs’ former Farm Director, to be his bench coach (Tribune). So it’s not like Hyde was forced on Renteria. Instead, I’d expect that the front office and Renteria both had input on the coaching staff, but the bench coach position was left largely up to Renteria.
  • Among qualifiers, your league leading batter (average) in the Dominican Winter League? It’s Junior Lake, with a .357 mark and an overall .357/.396/.480 line over 104 plate appearances, which is fantastic for the very competitive league (4th highest OPS, just behind Gregory Polanco and just ahead of Jurickson Profar). I still have my doubts that Lake can project to a Major League regular at a corner outfield position, but the young man can certainly tear it up in the DWL. Lake has been playing mostly left field of late (in deference to Felix Pie in center), which is good practice for him. As I consider his offensive future, I’m suddenly filled with sadness that he couldn’t stick at shortstop or even third base, where his expected offensive production would have looked pretty darn valuable. If there remains even a sliver of a hope that he can play average center field defense, I hope that’s where the Cubs focus his efforts. In left field, the bat looks below average to me, even if he largely maxes out his ability. (If the Cubs are going to give a young guy a chance in left field in 2014, rather than try to bring in an established bat, I’d just as soon see them give Josh Vitters a shot, given his upside at the plate (which, I know, is hard for some to hear). Actually, shrug. Let the two of them fight it out, I guess. If the punt play is already in effect by then, what’s there to lose? Maybe one of them breaks out.)
  • Epstein was asked yesterday about Kyle Hendricks’ chance to break camp with the big league club, and Epstein downplayed that possibility (Sahadev Sharma), indicating that Hendricks – who dominated AA and spent his last six starts at AAA last year – will start the year at AAA with some things left to work on. In terms of near MLB-ready pitching, Hendricks is as good as it gets for the Cubs, though most believe his ceiling is as a steady back-of-the rotation type, rather than a front-end guy.
  • Farewell Zach Putnam – the White Sox signed the former Cubs reliever to a minor league deal. Putnam, who had relatively minor elbow surgery last year, was fantastic at AAA for the Cubs, and nearly the made the team in 2013 out of Spring Training. He must have liked his chances to crack the White Sox bullpen better than the Cubs, or maybe the Cubs were simply ready to move on.
  • The Cubs lit their Christmas tree outside of Wrigley Field last night. In the future, that’s where the plaza will be.
  • President Obama has named Cubs board member/owner Laura Ricketts to the board of trustees of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
  • Over in the Bears’ world, there are sadly more injury bits to discuss, but also funny pictures!
  • Pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training on February 13. Start the countdown clock: 69 days.
  • (Picture via Renteria’s welcome message to Cubs fans.)

    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.

    more cubs news

    Wrigley Field is Gonna Be Lit This Year (As in New Colored Lights!)

    Last year, the Cubs started using their new LED outfield lights to do a little dancing display during 'Go Cubs Go,' lighting along with the song and throwing in a W. It was very fun and I liked it. This...

    The 2024 Chicago Cubs for Dummies

    Boom. We made it. The offseason is over, and the Cubs regular season - and those elevated expectations - begins tomorrow. But in case you slept through the winter, I'm here to catch you up on everything you need to...

    Why Craig Counsell Wanted Miles Mastrobuoni on the Cubs’ Bench

    I don't know why Miles Mastrobuoni bugs some folks, but it's probably heavily-weighted toward his small-sample, bad-batted-ball-luck start last year, and that time he didn't dive while playing in right field. It can be hard to shake initial impressions, I...

    Kinda Sounds Like Craig Counsell May Have a Set Top Three in the Batting Order

    New Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell has said, generally, his batting order philosophy is the very simplistic (and very correct): just get your best hitters the most at bats. Sure, there's some play in that to set up good match-ups,...

    Los Angeles Dodgers Signing Will Smith to a TEN-YEAR Extension

    The Los Angeles Dodgers have done it again. And by it, I mean they have signed a funkily-structured contract that is going to leave some folks annoyed. The Dodgers are extending catcher Will Smith on a DECADE-long deal with a...

    The Stretch: 2024 MLB Season Preview

    On Monday, during a team-building conversation with some of the Bleacher Nation and Betsperts Media Group folks, we discussed sports—shocking, I know—and Brian Twining asked the group what their favorite sport was. For me, it's baseball. There's no debate. I...

    We Have to Talk About Some of the “Deals” the Cubs Sat Out in Free Agency

    This week, in a conversation with Jon Greenberg at The Athletic, Cubs President Jed Hoyer made an honest and sober (but also moderately disappointing) admission about the 2024 Chicago Cubs: "We need to perform probably at or a little bit...

    The Chicago Cubs Are Reportedly Now Worth Over $5 Billion

    Given all the tumult in the baseball broadcasting world, and the uncertain future for that portion of revenues, you'd be forgiven for expecting that MLB franchise valuations would slow their recent surge. But, according to Sportico at least, you'd be...

    Reds Second Baseman Matt McLain Had Shoulder Surgery

    The injury to Matt McLain's shoulder issue obviously wound up being worse than he and the Cincinnati Reds had been hoping. The damage to his left (non-throwing) labrum ultimately required surgery: https://twitter.com/m_sheldon/status/1772993402604339478 When the hope is that a guy can...

    Cubs Actually Getting a Whole Lot of Votes to Win the NL Central

    ESPN dropped its big season preview, and included were a set of divisional predictions by way of their writers, editors, and analysts voting. There's nothing in the way of proof or certainty there, but with 26 voters, I do like...

    Latest News

    Pac-12 Basketball Predictions, Computer Picks and Best Bets | March 28

    There is one game featuring a Pac-12 teams on the Thursday postseason college basketball schedule, the Clemson Tigers versus the Arizona Wildcats. Make sure you check out below for today's best bets!How to Bet on Pac-12 Games[lasso rel="draftkings-promo-1" id="299003"]Best Pac-12...

    Rays vs. Blue Jays Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The Tampa Bay Rays look to start their season with a win as home favorites (-135) in a season-opening matchup with the Toronto Blue Jays. First pitch is on Thursday at 4:10 PM ET on MLB Network, live from Tropicana...

    Astros vs. Yankees Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The Houston Astros look to start their season with a win as home favorites (-156) in a season-opening matchup with the New York Yankees. First pitch is on Thursday at 4:10 PM ET on YES, live from Minute Maid Park.Houston's...

    Tigers vs. White Sox Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The Detroit Tigers begin their season as -181 favorites in a road tilt against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday at 4:10 PM ET, live on BSDET.Tarik Skubal starts for Detroit while Garrett Crochet is Chicago's starter for the contest.Tigers...

    Reds vs. Nationals Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The Cincinnati Reds begin their season as -154 favorites in a home tilt against the Washington Nationals on Thursday at 4:10 PM ET, live on MASN2.Cincinnati's Frankie Montas gets the start, and he'll go against Washington's Josiah Gray.Reds vs. Nationals...

    Dodgers vs. Cardinals Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The Los Angeles Dodgers (1-1) will look to Will Smith, red hot after a four-hit game, to lead them in a matchup with the St. Louis Cardinals (0-0) on Thursday at 4:10 PM ET on BSMW. The Dodgers are -232...

    Marlins vs. Pirates Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The Miami Marlins look to start their season with a win as home favorites (-133) in a season-opening matchup with the Pittsburgh Pirates. First pitch is on Thursday at 4:10 PM ET on Sportsnet PT, live from LoanDepot park.Miami's Jesus...

    Padres vs. Giants Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The San Francisco Giants (0-0) are the underdogs on the moneyline (-106) in Thursday's contest against the San Diego Padres (1-1). Game time is set for 4:10 PM ET on NBCS-BA. The Giants are favored against the spread in this...

    Twins vs. Royals Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The Minnesota Twins look to start their season with a win as road favorites (-122) in a season-opening matchup with the Kansas City Royals. First pitch is on Thursday at 4:10 PM ET on BSN, live from Kauffman Stadium.Pablo Lopez...

    Orioles vs. Angels Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The Baltimore Orioles are moneyline favorites (-192) to begin their season with a home win over the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday at 3:05 PM ET, live on BSW.Baltimore's Corbin Burnes and Los Angeles' Patrick Sandoval have been named the...

    more cubs news