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.
[ankin_law] The two bigger kiddos have performances all weekend, so that's going to be a lot of fun. Busy. Extremely busy. But fun. Justin Steele was really good last night, and if not for a dropped third strike that Miguel...
Teaser rally. Tying run stranded. Disappointment abounds. Justin Steele pitched quite well, and with a little defense, his line would look even better. It's nice to see him clicking again, though it doesn't much matter when the bats do next...
CUBS LINEUP — Well ... the Cubs "easy" stretch in the schedule is not quite going how I envisioned. But they still have three games in Cincinnati to make up some ground. Here's a look at the Cubs lineup for...
Today the Chicago Cubs activated lefty Jordan Wicks from the Injured List (forearm), and sent reliever Porter Hodge to Triple-A Iowa. What's interesting about the timing here is that Jordan Wicks is not starting tonight. And he's not scheduled to...
MLB Notes — On the one-year anniversary of his Major League debut, Elly De La Cruz ripped a three-run home run that erased a 2-0 deficit for Cincinnati, who went on to beat the Cubs 8-4 on Thursday at Great...
CUBS PROSPECTS — Cubs second-rounder Jaxon Wiggins made his Myrtle Beach Pelicans debut on Thursday and looked excellent, as the Pelicans earned the only win for the Cubs down on the farm yesterday. That and more in today's Cubs Farm...
The 2024 Dominican Summer League kicked off this week, which means many of the top prospects from the 2024 International Free Agent class are beginning their professional careers (including top Chicago Cubs signing Fernando Cruz). It's good timing, then, to...
Surprise: the White Sox series did not magically fix all that ails the Cubs. They will have to fundamentally improve over a much, much, much longer trajectory for us to feel any kind of confidence that they can actually get...
Maybe it's just my damaged heart, but it feels like weeks since the Cubs took an early, multi-run lead in a game. Thank you, Miguel Amaya for the third inning single, and thank you, Seiya Suzuki for the following homer:
It's a game of homers so far, with Seiya Suzuki's two-run shot getting it started, then Elly De La Cruz's three-run homer giving the Reds the lead, and now Christopher Morel's two-run shot taking it back. That's a dozen on...
The Cleveland Guardians (40-22) visit the Miami Marlins (22-41) at LoanDepot park on Saturday, starting at 7:35 PM ET.The Guardians will call on Ben Lively (5-2) versus the Marlins and Roddery Munoz.Guardians vs. Marlins Pitcher Matchup and Game InfoWhen: Saturday,...
The Los Angeles Dodgers (40-25) visit the New York Yankees (45-20) for a road game on Saturday at 7:35 PM ET.The probable pitchers are Nestor Cortes Jr. (3-4) for the Yankees and Gavin Stone (6-2) for the Dodgers.Yankees vs. Dodgers...
Caitlin Clark has some new fuel to add to the fire. According to reports by USA Today and The Athletic, the women's basketball sensation will not be featured on the 2024 US Olympic team roster. Indiana's No. 1 overall pick...
Steve McMichael's Hall of Fame enshrinement and induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame is one of the top stories of 2024. And while it isn't tarnished one bit by the fact that he won't be in attendance for...
[ankin_law] The two bigger kiddos have performances all weekend, so that's going to be a lot of fun. Busy. Extremely busy. But fun. Justin Steele was really good last night, and if not for a dropped third strike that Miguel...
The Pittsburgh Pirates (30-33) will look to Oneil Cruz, with homers in two straight games, to pull off an upset win over the Minnesota Twins (33-30) Saturday at PNC Park. The Twins are -121 moneyline favorites for the game, which...
The Atlanta Braves (35-26) are favorites (-139) on the moneyline when they take on the Washington Nationals (28-35) Saturday at 4:05 PM ET, live on MASN.Atlanta's Charlie Morton gets the start, and he'll go against Washington's MacKenzie Gore.Braves vs. Nationals...
The Toronto Blue Jays (30-33) are favorites (-172) on the moneyline when they take on the Oakland Athletics (26-39) Saturday at 4:07 PM ET, live on SNET.Kevin Gausman gets the starting nod for Toronto while Luis Medina is Oakland's starter...
The San Francisco Giants (31-33) will look to Wilmer Flores, who is coming off a two-homer game, to lead them in a matchup with the Texas Rangers (30-33) Saturday at 4:05 PM ET on BSSW. The Giants are -122 favorites...
The St. Louis Cardinals will take the field against the Colorado Rockies (22-41) on Saturday. The game begins at 4:15 PM ET on BSMW, with the Cardinals listed as -184 favorites on the moneyline.Kyle Gibson will get the ball for...
NEWSLETTER
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.
