The Wife is off to a conference until Sunday, so, for me, that means lots of extra kiddo fun time. For you, that could mean some periods in the late afternoon/early evening when I’m not around here, while I attend to the rigors of parenthood. Thus, if something huge breaks later in the day and you don’t immediately see something here, trust that I will be with you shortly, as soon as I can get the crayon out of my son’s nose.
Bruce Levine reports that Special Assistant Tim Wilken, who you may remember was brought in under Jim Hendry as scouting director, and then survived the turnover there (albeit with a role change), is being sought for an interview by the Diamondbacks for their open scouting director position. There’s a reason the Cubs kept Wilken – one of the most respected scouting men in the game, as near as I can tell – around when the new front office took over. As always in these situations, you want to wish the individual well, if the new opportunity is best for him. If not, however, I’d imagine it will be nice to keep the band together. Things seem to be working quite well on the scouting and player development side, and the Cubs have been fortunate so far not to have much attrition.
Speaking of behind-the-scenes, here’s Ken Rosenthal talking about how the Billy Butler signing was reported. Not initially by him, mind you. But by a 13-year-old and an 18-year-old on Twitter. It’s a very fun video, and a reminder of how the times continue to change. In some ways, I suppose it reminds me that as much I’d love to be breaking out scoops, that world is becoming flooded by folks from every corner with the legit ability to break news. Sure, I might still do some of that, but I tend to think you folks are best served by me providing analysis of, and context for, the news and rumors of the day.
Mike Bauman writes about why the NL Central might be baseball’s deepest and best division next year. I think it’s probably too early to say that, though I can certainly envision realistic scenarios where all five teams look like .500 or better on paper come March. More likely, though, I could foresee a step back for the Brewers and Pirates, continued struggles for the Reds, and continued goodness (sigh) for the Cardinals. The Cubs, right now, are probably the toughest team to predict.
Speaking of the Cardinals, are they about to get really aggressive? As it was when Albert Pujols was approaching free agency, I can’t say I don’t hope the Cardinals do sign a huge deal or two. That would have been a huge mistake for them, and maybe their aggressiveness now will lead to them actually making a mistake. Then again, if I’m wondering whether the Cardinals signing a Scherzer or a Lester could be a mistake … shouldn’t I be wondering the same about the Cubs?
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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