Cardinals Awaiting MLB’s Investigation into Hacking and Other Bullets

cardinals sad injuryWelcome back from the weekend for those of you checking in/working today – being that it’s an official holiday today, I’ll have your weekend catch-up tomorrow morning.

I’ll also have a full take on the just-completed Cubs Convention later today. Lots in there that you’ll want to check out.

  • Cardinals principal owner Bill DeWitt, Jr. spoke about the hacking scandal, and about former scouting director Chris Correa who recently pled guilty to federal charges in the case (Cardinals.com): “[It] certainly shocked us, and I think shocked everybody in the game. Look, it’s a very competitive business. We all want to beat the other team. Everybody lives within the rules and tries to figure out what’s going to give them the advantage, but that sort of activity is just not at all in the culture of MLB. I think this is a one-off situation. The Commissioner will deal with it, and we’ll see how it plays out.”
  • As I’ve mentioned before, it’s very hard to imagine that information about the hack, as it was ongoing, reached up to ownership. So, then, it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that DeWitt genuinely doesn’t know how this investigation – whenever MLB finally takes it up – will unfold. You can read some of his other comments in the article, though, and it is noteworthy that he isn’t out there saying he knows for certain that Correa acted alone.
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  • As Bruce Miles notes, Theo Epstein believes that the Cubs still have a top 5 to 7 – somewhere in that range – farm system in baseball, even after you account for the fact that their most elite, impact types graduated last year. That’s truly remarkable, and is a testament to the kind of quality depth the Cubs were stockpiling over the past four years, both internationally and in the later rounds of the draft. In both of those two areas, the fruits can take several years to emerge, and I think that’s what we’re seeing now. No, you’re not likely to get a SUPER impact type late in a draft or without committing a huge international bonus, but I think we’re going to see several useful future big leaguers emerge in 2016 that weren’t squarely on our radar in 2013-15.
  • I smiled:
  • More on Javy Baez’s experience in Puerto Rico so far this offseason – he’ll soon head back there to continue playing for a little bit – and his time in center field. At the Cubs Convention, Joe Maddon was effusive in his praise for Baez’s defensive ability – overall, it sounds like Baez is one of the best defensive players Maddon has worked with, which you should know is extremely high praise. Maddon also mentioned how much he likes to see players – especially younger, big league ready players like Baez, playing in the competitive winter ball environment.
  • David Laurila’s always-interesting Sunday Notes.
  • I saw a ton of great hats at the Cubs Convention as I walked around, but I think I liked this one best. I’m sometimes wary of how the white front will look when actually wearing it, but it looked pretty cool on folks. And having had some issues with fitted hats not fitting me perfectly, I don’t really mind the strap in the back.
  • 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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