So many possible opening paragraph items for the Bullets today are possible, two of which I can plausibly include down below as actual baseball-related-content items. So I will. One of the other two I was kicking around was George RR Martin’s announcement that his next ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ book will not be released before HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’ airs its next season in April (EEEEEEE!!!), which means that, for the first time in their dual tracks, show watchers will probably be in a position to somewhat spoil book readers. Just an odd situation, and I’m sure deeply disappointing for book readers (of which I am not one).
The other thing was The Wife, The Brother-In-Law and The Sister-In-Law and I went Dave & Buster’s last night, where I’d not been in 10 years. It was fun, and, while I was quite bad at pop-a-shot, I was quite good at throwing balls and knocking down clowns. If that’s what baseball was, entirely, I’d be entering my twilight years in the bigs.
Jerry Crasnick writes about the most interesting people for 2016 in a variety of places, and Jason Heyward gets the nod as the most interesting guy on the Cubs, and the third most interesting guy to follow overall in MLB heading into to the new season. I actually think that’s a fair selection, when you consider that we’re not talking about the best player or the most important player or the most impactful player (although Heyward is certainly set to be very good, very important, and very impactful). Instead, it’s simply going to be extremely interesting to see how Heyward joins this young core – into which, chronologically, he fits quite well – as well as how his defense plays in center field and his bat plays at Wrigley Field. It’s entirely possible that his elite defensive ability in right field doesn’t translate to center for whatever unexpected reason, and his bat has already peaked and he’s the rare guy who starts his offensive retreat in his middle-late 20s. I don’t think either of those things are particularly likely, but they’re possible. Also possible: Heyward continues playing elite defense, even in center, and his bat takes another step forward – probably mostly in the power department – and he emerges as a clear MVP candidate for the next several years. The likely truth is somewhere in between, but the range of possibilities for a guy joining such an exciting team are what make it so interesting to follow. And we get to! Soon!
All that said, if you start letting yourself think about all the interesting possible stories on the Cubs, you will twist yourself in knots. Was that as good as it gets for Kris Bryant (which was awesome), or can he get even better? Will Kyle Schwarber keep doing what he did? Will Jorge Soler finally break out offensively and become the best hitter on the team (I know, that’s a crazy possibility when you consider the lineup, but it’s actually a real possibility!)? Will Jake Arrieta be able to duplicate or even nearly approximate his 2015 Cy Young season? Will the Cubs’ stable of super utility pitchers help evolve the pitching game in 2016? I could go on.
[adinserter block=”1″]
Jon Heyman has left CBS sports, as broken by Awful Announcing. Heyman joined CBS a little over four years ago from Sports Illustrated, and cemented himself as a news-breaking institution in the digital age. Here’s hoping he lands somewhere that he can still report and write regularly (he’s still affiliated with MLB Network, as far as I know, but that feels like a different kind of gig), because we’d all be missing out a little bit without Heyman breaking news. I’m reminded that, two years ago, CBS parted with both Scott Miller and Danny Knobler, too, each of whom was excellent, and each of whom has since been much more removed from our radar screens (Miller is doing good work at Bleacher Report, though I seem to catch his articles less often than I did at CBS; Knobler recently joined Bleacher Report, as well, but I haven’t seen too much from him since he parted CBS). CBS still has an excellent crew of writers manning the Eye on Baseball blog, but losing Heyman’s national reporting presence stinks.
Buster Olney no longer votes for the Hall of Fame, but he does a great job explaining here why using the character clause as a shield to keep certain players out doesn’t make sense.
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.
Meaning no offense to Kyle Hendricks, but if you had to choose a veteran right-handed in the Cubs' rotation to face the Atlanta Braves this week, you're probably going with Jameson Taillon. We may never know if that was part...
There is something about seeing Cubs players homer with pink bats that makes me smile extra wide. I suppose it's PROBABLY at least a little because this is one of my favorite Cubs memories: https://twitter.com/ChiSportsDay/status/1788291377333170611 Javy Báez, with the pink...
It's Mother's Day. I'm hanging with the family. I don't feel like being as pissed off as a game like that threatened to make me. So I am QUITE relieved by that 10th inning (and the fact that the Cubs...
I'll just presume he was sending this one out for mom. And I'll also presume that the knee is indeed feeling good. Home run number nine on the season for Christopher Morel: https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1789713524052087082
CUBS LINEUP — The Cubs have played thirteen series so far this season, and this is already their eighth rubber match. Let's see if Kyle Hendricks and the Cubs can bring this one in. Chicago Cubs Lineup: Nico Hoerner, SS...
No surprises here, as the decision to start Kyle Hendricks this afternoon against the Pirates was made yesterday, but the news has officially hit the wire, and here it is. Kyle Hendricks Activated Kyle Hendricks is returning from his short...
Happy Mother's Day to the mothers among you, and to the mothers in my life! I'll be doing some extra family stuff today, so I'm gonna cruise through these Bullets ... Up front, because this was certainly the thing most...
The Sunday TBD has been D'd, and it's going to be Kyle Hendricks coming back an outing early. Instead of making another rehab start at Iowa, Hendricks is going to be activated from the IL to rejoin the rotation tomorrow:...
The Cubs came within 90 feet of keeping that ridiculous game going. No dice. Stupid game. Early on, it just kinda seemed like the Cubs might lose a perfectly normal - bad, but normal - game. Justin Steele did not...
CUBS LINEUP — After a little tease yesterday, Seiya Suzuki is actually, officially in the Cubs lineup today. And he'll be greeted with a tough matchup against the top pitching prospect in Major League Baseball. Welcome back! Chicago Cubs Lineup:...
The Detroit Tigers (20-20) and the Miami Marlins (11-31) face off at Comerica Park on Monday at 6:40 PM ET, beginning a three-game series.The probable starters are Matt Manning for the Tigers and Sixto Sanchez (0-1) for the Marlins.Tigers vs....
The Chicago Cubs (24-17) kick off a three-game series on Monday against the Atlanta Braves (24-13). The contest begins at 7:20 PM ET at Truist Park.The Braves will look to Reynaldo Lopez (2-1) versus the Cubs and Shota Imanaga (5-0).Braves...
The New York Mets (19-20) kick off a four-game series on Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies (28-13). The matchup begins at 7:10 PM ET at Citi Field.This contest's pitching matchup is set, as the Phillies will send Cristopher Sanchez (2-3)...
The Tampa Bay Rays (20-21) kick off a four-game series on Monday against the Boston Red Sox (21-19). The contest starts at 7:10 PM ET at Fenway Park.The probable starters are Kutter Crawford (2-1) for the Red Sox and Zach...
The NBA playoff schedule today, which includes the Boston Celtics squaring off against the Cleveland Cavaliers as one of two matchups, is not one to miss.If you're looking for NBA prop bets for today's games, we're here to assist you....
Meaning no offense to Kyle Hendricks, but if you had to choose a veteran right-handed in the Cubs' rotation to face the Atlanta Braves this week, you're probably going with Jameson Taillon. We may never know if that was part...
Another day, another load of Connor Bedard highlights from the World Championships in Czechia. Remember when the Blackhawks' star rookie scored twice in his first appearance of the tournament and we were all like "whoa that's cool!" Well, he did...
The Chicago Cubs versus the Atlanta Braves is a game to catch on a Monday MLB slate that has 14 thrilling matchups.MLB prop bets for today's games are available, so if you're interested in placing a bet or building a...
The Toronto Blue Jays (18-22) kick off a three-game series on Monday against the Baltimore Orioles (26-13). The matchup begins at 6:35 PM ET at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.The probable starters are Corbin Burnes (3-2) for the Orioles and...
The Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers are playing in the second round of the NBA Playoffs, with Game 4 next to come.Last time out, the Celtics bested the Cavaliers 106-93 on Saturday. Jayson Tatum paced the Celtics with 33 points,...
NEWSLETTER
So many possible opening paragraph items for the Bullets today are possible, two of which I can plausibly include down below as actual baseball-related-content items. So I will. One of the other two I was kicking around was George RR Martin’s announcement that his next ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ book will not be released before HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’ airs its next season in April (EEEEEEE!!!), which means that, for the first time in their dual tracks, show watchers will probably be in a position to somewhat spoil book readers. Just an odd situation, and I’m sure deeply disappointing for book readers (of which I am not one).
