Joe Maddon Loves Nerds and Other Bullets

maddon and epsteinLast night as the evening wound down and it was time for the kids to go up to bath and bed, The Little Boy decided to turn off the TV … by throwing the remote at it. It’s one of those stories you hear all the time from other folks – three-year-old boys do three-year-old boy things – but, man, it was shocking to watch it live. The remote smacked the middle of the TV, forming a circular spiderweb of pixelated crack lines, the screen went black, and our jaws hit the floor. The fact that we just lost our TV was its own big disappointment, addressable in time, but there was also the matter of being a parent, in that moment – how and what do you say to a just-turned-three-year-old about the seriousness of what they’ve done? Anger isn’t going to get you anywhere, but you need the kid to know that what just happened is precisely why we tell you not to throw things like that.

We did the best we could, but I’m not sure how well it landed. His first question upon waking this morning was, “When are we getting a new TV?”

[adinserter block=”1″]Well, son, whenever it is, you won’t be watching it for a while, and you definitely won’t be handling the remote again any time soon. I’ll also make you read this some years down the road. (Hi, son. That was not cool, dude.)

In the meantime, I’m going to shop the fabulous selection of TVs at Amazon (shameless plug – gotta get something out of this experience, right? Might as well make it an advertisement). You should shop at Amazon, too, using the links you find at BN to support the site in the process!

  • At CSN, Joe Maddon talks about how his young players can avoid the sophomore slump, and, from his perspective, they’ve kind of already worked through that adjustment period during their “freshman” seasons. Moreover, it’s not really a matter of adjusting in the second year after doing well in the first year – it’s a constant ebb and flow of adjustments and counteradjustments, and keeping the mental side of the game in the appropriate place is perhaps the most important thing. Because the slumps will come. The hot streaks will come.
  • In response to Goose Gossage’s remarks about “nerds” taking over the game of baseball, Joe Maddon made some great points to the Tribune about how every generation winds up thinking certain things about the generation that comes after it, and he believes the Cubs front office does a good job balancing the “old” and the “new.” He also expressed his love for nerds. I think I can speak for nerds and say that we love you right back, Joe.
  • Speaking of those Gossage remarks, many of them flew directly counter to what Bryce Harper recently (correctly) said about the game needing to embrace more fun and personality, and Harper isn’t backing down from those remarks, offering even more.
  • As a reminder about Spring Training, I offer John Lackey’s comments that, in his first two innings yesterday, he was essentially just throwing fastballs (Cubs.com).
  • [adinserter block=”2″]

  • If you remember the horrible moment last year when a fan in Pittsburgh was struck, through the netting (which flexed too far backward), by a Starlin Castro foul ball behind home plate, the fan is suing MLB, the Pirates, and the company in charge of the netting for her injuries, which have been severe and lingering. It’s a very sad story, and she’s right that it never should have happened. It’s also so unfortunate because the timing involved in something like that happening seems like one in a billion. It’s a reminder to be, at all times, vigilant in the ballpark when the ball is in play, and it’s also a reminder that MLB’s initiative this year to expand (and improve) netting is a good idea.
  • I’m going to bet that this Yankees prospect catch will be among the best you see all Spring.
  • If you missed it, Dan Vogelbach went deep yesterday, and you can watch it here.
  • A bold new cap, indeed:
  • That looks really nice, and new:
  • The aforementioned, departed TV:
  • Thanks to The Little Boy, I now have a stock photo of a busted TV for times when the Cubs make me angry this season.

    Posted by Bleacher Nation on Friday, March 11, 2016

    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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