Another Busy Weekend: Russell Martin, Spending Approach, Rumors Aplenty, More

bn baseball featureIt’s fairly typical this time of year: it was a busy weekend ’round these parts, especially on the rumor front. In case you checked out on Friday, let me catch you up on what you missed …

Friday, November 7, 2014

  • Bruce Levine reported on Friday that the Cubs had met with Russell Martin the day before, clearly indicating their interest in the veteran catcher.
  • A bunch of Cubs minor leaguers reached free agency, including former top pick Josh Vitters.
  • There was yet another prediction floating around out there that had the Cubs signing BOTH Jon Lester and Max Scherzer. Just like it was before, it’s fun to discuss, but pretty nuts.
  • An afternoon Lukewarm Stove looked at the idea of trading bats for arms (or not doing that), plus a bunch of the latest rumors around the game.
  • Saturday, November 8, 2014

  • Jed Hoyer indicated to beat writers that there wasn’t going to be too much turnover on the coaching staff post-Maddon.
  • I looked at some of the Hot Stove Scouting Reports that BP has been putting out on a handful of reported Cubs free agent targets.
  • The Cubs probably aren’t going to go crazy signing several top tier free agents this offseason, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
  • The first Obsessive Russell Martin Watch, although it’s been an obsession for a long time already.
  • Sunday, November 9, 2014

  • A report offers a new reason why Mark Cuban didn’t buy the Cubs back in 2008/09, and that springboards a conversation about what his ownership would or wouldn’t have been like.
  • Cubs season ticket holder renewals are up once again.
  • Another Lukewarm Stove, because there’s so much to discuss. This one looks at the outfield – complementary pieces versus starter pieces, and the relationship between them – and a bunch of other stuff.
  • 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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