I don’t think anyone who was old enough to understand what was happening on September 11, 2001 is at serious risk for forgetting that day. So I’m not going to say something like “never forget.” But, even still, it felt wrong not to acknowledge the day. It’s still hard to think about it, especially given present events. I just get sad.
So we turn back to sports, and baseball, and the Cubs.
Remember that Matt Carpenter “double” a couple weeks ago in St. Louis – the one that bounced off of Arismendy Alcantara’s glove, and sure seemed like an error? Well, Gordon Wittenmyer reports that it has been changed to an error, which will drop pitcher Travis Wood’s ERA from 5.15 to 5.03. I probably won’t re-write my long take on Wood’s ugly season to adjust for the new numbers.
It’s been a rough week for the Cubs, but veterans John Baker and Carlos Villanueva tell the Tribune that manager Rick Renteria’s messages to the team – including the young players – have been spot on. I just about trust those guys implicitly, so if they say RR’s been on-point, then I’ll add to the pile of evidence that, in terms of player development, Renteria is an excellent manager.
That is, of course, slightly glib (as Twitter’s space limitations sometimes require), but it’s a discussion-starter, if nothing else. The sad thing is that, although, as a person, I’ll take “boring” over the other stuff, “boring” is much more likely to crush your business than anything the NFL or NBA are dealing with. Just look at the way PED usage is perceived in the NFL versus MLB. People simply think about the NFL differently, in large part because it’s so “exciting.”
And that said, I’m not so sure MLB is exempt from these kinds of off-the-field headaches. Obviously there are the long-standing PED problems. There are ugly rumors swirling about why Ron Washington left the Rangers (emphasis, for now, on “rumors”), and there is an ugly lawsuit aimed at Mets COO Jeff Wilpon for allegedly harassing an employee about her being pregnant outside of marriage.
If you watched BNTV this week, then you know that I got a totally badass Tennessee Smokies hat … that does not fit me. Thanks to BN’er Dr. ReiCow in the comments, I’ve come to learn that, because the type of hat I got is hand-made, the stated size can vary wildly from the actual size (also, I might have a disproportionately large head for a small dude). That, in turn, got me wondering if anyone has ever dealt with this problem before and could tell me some way to stretch the hat out. I asked the Googles, and watched some YouTube videos on how to do just that. So, today, with a hair dryer in hand, I’m going to try and make this hat wearable. I will keep you posted on this very important process.
And for those who didn’t catch this week’s episode of BNTV (subscribe for free on YouTube, and then that won’t happen), complete with a robust look at outfield trade targets and chili metaphors:
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.
Ed. Note: Since this article was published, a CT scan revealed a rib fracture for Cody Bellinger, who is now on the Injured List. You can find all the details of that news in our most recent article right here....
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