Happy Mother’s Day, Happy Jake Arrieta Day, Mike Trout Trade Talk, and Other Bullets

jake arrieta cubs road blueA very happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there, including my own, and including The Wife. Most of us would be nowhere without the impact and influence of the women in our lives (and that includes women), so much love all around.

To that end, you’ll have to excuse the later Bullets – we’ve had some Mother’s Day fun to get to.

  • It was a pretty special moment yesterday for pinch hitter Ryan Kalish, who drove in two with a single and gave the Cubs the lead in the sixth inning: “When I got the hit, the dugout was just losing it,” Kalish told Cubs.com. “That was so special to me. They know I’m here to help them win, they know I’m good enough, but they also know where I’ve come from. You could just feel it immediately. I looked in the dugout and people are jumping like crazy. I had some emotion at first base.” You’ll recall that Kalish is coming back from a lost season in 2015, which featured two knee surgeries, and had already worked his way back to baseball in 2014 after multiple surgeries (including neck surgeries that could have ended his career). That he is here right now, contributing to this team, is nothing short of remarkable. So here I am remarking.[adinserter block=”1″]
  • Also worth remarking: Happy Jake Arrieta Day! The Cubs go for the four-game sweep behind a guy for whom the Cubs have not lost since July of last year. It’s going to happen one of these games, but, of course, every start he makes I’ll give myself reasons why I really don’t want today to be the day. For example: a four-game sweep over the team that came into this series as the second best team in baseball? WANT.
  • It’s the question everyone wanted to discuss in the wake of Garrett Richards’ and Andrew Heaney’s UCL injuries: given the extreme unlikelihood of competing this year, is it time for the Angels to sell Mike Trout for a massive haul? Dave Cameron discussed it at length here at FanGraphs. I agree completely with Cameron’s ultimate conclusion: it’s not something the Angels have to do, but this really is a point at which they have to consider it. With so much dead money on the books, with so little talent in the farm system, and with so little realistic chance of competing in the next couple years, the kind of return they could get for Trout has to look tantalizing. We have no indication at this time that the Angels will seriously consider it, but boy this would be a fun topic to discuss – whether the Cubs were involved or not – if rumors actually start popping up.
  • Bartolo Colon hit the first home run of his career last night. It’s true. It really happened. And it was as glorious as you’re picturing.[adinserter block=”2″]
  • Refurbished Dyson handheld vacuums are today’s deal of the day at Amazon (we have one, we love one).
  • If you missed it earlier, enjoy Addison Russell’s bases-loaded double, which ultimately won yesterday’s game. A check-in with the farm system, and also a Cubs roster move before today’s game.
  • Jake Arrieta and Jason Heyward on their moms’ impact, and Addison Russell on the women in his life.
  • More Mother’s Day:
  • 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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