Manny Ramirez, Player/Coach, Starts Today and Other Bullets

Jun 26, 2014

Chicago is getting a new museum on the museum campus downtown: Star Wars! George Lucas selected Chicago for his upcoming museum over San Francisco, and there will be more detailed plans coming later this year. Something tells me Lucas won’t have to come to blows at any Zoning Commission hearings to get the thing built.

Manny Ramirez arrives at AAA today, joining the Iowa Cubs as a player coach. His past transgressions are well-documented, and some degree of circumspection is fair over the next few weeks. Patrick Mooney writes a great piece at CSN about bringing Manny into the fold, and it’s worth a read. As an aside, I found Theo Epstein’s explanation of why Ramirez will be a “player/coach” to be pretty compelling: “As a player/coach, there are no boundaries with his teammates. Sometimes, when you’re a coach, no matter how well you can communicate, no matter how well you can connect with players, there’s always a little bit of a boundary there. One person’s a coach, one person’s a player. But as a teammate, there’s often full transparency and you can admit things [about] your mental approach and your anxieties in the box and things like that. So I actually think it could work and I became more comfortable with that concept.” It sounds as though the Cubs would have been less interested in Ramirez as a pure coach, and I’m sure that would have been less appealing to Ramirez, too, who’s indicated that he’s not quite yet ready to hang ’em up (even at 42).

In any case, I expect we’ll be hearing a whole lot about Ramirez and the AAA youngsters in the coming days, and I look forward to it. It’s hard to know the tangible effect someone like Ramirez is having on, say, Javier Baez. And, if Baez suddenly goes on a torrid hot streak – something he’s wont to do anyway – it’ll probably be attributed to Ramirez (or if Baez struggles, etc.). I doubt we’ll actually be in a position to know, at least not any time soon, the real impact. So, I guess, that’s your word of caution.

When Edwin Jackson puts together a rough outing, I always hope there’s going to be some kind of explanation for why things went awry (see, for example, last time when he struggled in the sixth inning, and it was apparently because of calf cramps). No such luck in the quotes from Jackson or manager Rick Renteria this time (Cubs.com). Sometimes, a guy just struggles, I guess.

I didn’t know that Jake Arrieta and Homer Bailey are friends (I wonder if Homer ever tries to fist bump Jake), or that they train together in the offseason (Cubs.com).

Speaking of Arrieta, Gordon Wittenmyer writes about how the Orioles could have given up on a guy with this much potential. The reality is, it was pretty understandable at the time. I think the Cubs tend to deserve a lot of credit for believing in the upside and rolling the dice.

Rick Renteria says, per the Tribune, he has considered sending a reliever to the outfield for a batter so that he could then bring that reliever back to face the next batter (for match-ups, without taxing the pen). With an eight-man pen, it hardly seems like that would be necessary. I’m not opposed to it, but I’m also not crazy about sending a reliever out into the outfield to try and field a position, avoid injury, and then come back and pitch. I’m all for alternative thinking, but I’m not sure that should be high up on the chain. Perhaps just less bunting. Let’s start there.

Kris Bryant sparkles his way to the top of the home run leader board in the minors, and also to the top of BA’s most recent prospect piece. Kane County’s Trey Martin comes in for a mention, too, after swiping five bases the other day.

Jeff Moore at BP chatted, and, while he touched on a variety of Cubs prospect bits, I have to highlight this Q&A:

Mike (Milwaukee wi): The overall thinking of cubs fan is the farm system has taken a step back this year. Do you agree?

Jeff Moore: I don’t think Cubs fans could relax if they had ten beers, popped a Xanax then got laid. No, the farm system is fine.

Good line. Accurate.

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.

more cubs news

Chicago Cubs

Enhanced Box Score: Braves 2, Cubs 0 – May 13, 2024

Well that ninth inning rally started off great, with Cody Bellinger and Christopher Morel reaching, the latter on 12-pitch walk (the longest PA of his career). And then POOF. In just two pitches, the Cubs made three outs and the...

Michael Cerami

May 13, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Craig Counsell Was Just Thrown Out from the Dugout … by the First Base Umpire

Well you don't see that very often. Craig Counsell was just thrown out of the game from inside the Cubs dugout *by the FIRST BASE umpire* after a check-swing appeal. Here's what happened. In the bottom of the fourth inning,...

Michael Cerami

May 13, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Pre-Gamin’: Cubs at Braves (6:20 CT) – Lineups, Broadcast Info, Game Thread

CUBS LINEUP — The Atlanta Braves are one of, if not the toughest opponent the Cubs will face this season. But Seiya Suzuki is back, Cody Bellinger is back, and Shota Imanaga is on the mound. This Cubs team is...

Michael Cerami

May 13, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Cubs Roster Move: Alzolay to the IL, Cuas Returns (UPDATE)

It felt like this situation with Adbert Alzolay could not go on much longer, and it has now resolved itself with an Injured List move. Today, the Cubs placed Alzolay on the 15-day IL with a right forearm strain. Jose...

Brett Taylor

May 13, 2024

Chicago Cubs

MLB Has a New Streaming Home For Its ‘Sunday Leadoff’ Games

Fans can now watch MLB games via Roku. Do with that what you will. The "MLB Sunday Leadoff" games will begin this weekend. The first game, featuring the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals, starts at 12:05 p.m. CT,...

Patrick K. Flowers

May 13, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Let’s See How They Measure Up in Atlanta: Cubs vs Braves Series Preview

Cubs vs Braves — Six of the Cubs next ten games come against the Atlanta Braves, and the first three are on the road starting tonight. And while the Cubs did recently get Seiya Suzuki, Cody Bellinger, and Justin Steele...

Michael Cerami

May 13, 2024

Chicago Cubs

MLB Pipeline Added Two MORE Cubs to Their Top-100

Over the weekend, MLB Pipeline updated their top-100 MLB Prospect Rankings, with eight new players making the list after graduations and other considerations. And TWO of those players, Moises Ballesteros and Jefferson Rojas, are Chicago Cubs prospects. All together, that...

Michael Cerami

May 13, 2024

Chicago Cubs

For the Second Time in a Few Days, Birthday Boy Nico Hoerner Saved the Game

A happy 27th birthday to Chicago Cubs second baseman, and fill-in shortstop, Nico Hoerner. He is currently hitting a career-best .275/.364/.399/122 wRC+, and walking more often (9.7%) than he's striking out (9.1%). He has been absolutely scorching over the past...

Brett Taylor

May 13, 2024

Chicago Cubs

MLBits: Padres Best the Dodgers, Skenes Debut Reactions, Guardians New Threads, More

The Dodgers have a comfortable lead in the NL West, but the Padres are proving to themselves that they can make this a two-horse race. Plus, reactions from Paul Skenes' major league debut and more in today's MLB Notes. Padres...

Patrick K. Flowers

May 13, 2024

Chicago Cubs

David Peralta Has Opted Out of His Minor League Deal with the Cubs

The Chicago Cubs have had veteran outfielder David Peralta around as emergency depth going back to Spring Training, when he was working his way back from offseason arm surgery. But he might now be heading off to join another organization....

Brett Taylor

May 13, 2024

How to Watch

Rangers vs. Guardians: Free Live Stream, TV Channel, How to Watch

In a series opener on Tuesday, Marcus Semien and the Texas Rangers (22-20) face Josh Naylor and the Cleveland Guardians (25-16), with first pitch scheduled for 8:05 PM ET at Globe Life Field.Find out how to watch the Texas-Cleveland matchup...

Data Skrive

May 13, 2024

How to Watch

Astros vs. Athletics: Free Live Stream, TV Channel, How to Watch

The Houston Astros (15-25), who will give the start to Ronel Blanco, host the Oakland Athletics (19-23) with JP Sears on the mound, Tuesday at 8:10 PM ET.If you're planning on watching this game, keep reading for TV and streaming...

Data Skrive

May 13, 2024

Chicago Cubs

On Tuesday, in a series opener at Comerica Park, Reese Olson starts for the Detroit Tigers (20-20) versus Ryan Weathers and the Miami Marlins (11-31), with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 PM ET.Find out how to watch the Detroit-Miami matchup...

Data Skrive

May 13, 2024

Manny Ramirez, Player/Coach, Starts Today and Other Bullets

Read More

more cubs news

Latest News

more cubs news

Most Popular

Most Popular

Latest News

Most Popular

Most Popular