Lots to get into this morning (that crazy Cardinals comeback, the Minor League Daily, and Justin Grimm heading to Iowa) means these Bullets were really delayed. Also, my computer died. It’s the second year in a row it’s done it just around this time of the year (post-Blogathon stress?), but last time the computer was three years old. This one is just a year old. Come on, Apple. Don’t do this to me. (For now, I was able to get it back enough to use, but it keeps crashing on me, and is extremely hard to get back on after it crashes (by the way, if this kind of thing ever happens to you on your Mac, bookmark this page on your phone).)
Tim Tebow, professional baseball player. That’s his goal anyway, as the 28-year-old former quarterback has apparently been working out for a year as an outfielder to try and give it a go. He’ll soon work out for Major League teams, presumably in the hopes of signing a minor league deal heading into the 2017 season. Tebow was a great ballplayer in high school through his junior year, but that was 11 years ago, and it’s not exactly easy to become a professional baseball player after such a long layoff. Heck, it’s hard enough to succeed when you go immediately into the sport. He’ll get a lot of flack from people for this (and some of it rightly so, since it kinda comes off as, “I couldn’t make it in football, I got bored of broadcasting, so, what the hell, I’ll just play a little baseball now, since it’s easy enough”). If he wants to try, I say hey, go for it man. But if he fails spectacularly, which seems like the most probable outcome, he probably owes the baseball world a nod to say, “Yeah, wow, this sport is really freaking hard.”[adinserter block=”1”]
… how would you feel if the Cubs signed him? For me, the circus would definitely be entertaining, but also really distracting, and eventually annoying. I’m all about the Cubs picking up no-risk athletic flyers – because you never know! – but I’m not sure Tebow, and the attention that comes with him, is the same kind of “no-risk” move as signing a guy out of independent ball.
Speaking of which, Carrie Muskat’s latest Inbox sheds just a little more light on the Tommy La Stella situation, which has remained mostly mysterious since the infielder was optioned to Iowa more than 10 days ago, but never showed up. According to Muskat, La Stella “apparently has made a deal” with the Cubs that he does not have to report to Iowa (we knew he’d been given more time than the customary 72 hours, but this sounds more indefinite than that). We know that La Stella was understandably not happy about being optioned out, and when you pair those two things together, it is a fair and logical conclusion that La Stella simply refused to go, and the Cubs decided to keep the peace and say that was all right. An important distinction here: We don’t know for sure if that’s an accurate conclusion, as it remains possible that there’s more to the story. Maybe something came up in La Stella’s life in the interim that made his lack of reporting more understandable. The world is sufficiently complicated that I always like to leave in that wiggle room – so often we find out later that wiggling is necessary. Maybe we’ll find out someday, maybe we won’t. It’ll certainly be interesting if and when he returns to the big league club. He’s still obviously talented enough to be a quality bench player on this team for the stretch run, and perhaps even the playoffs.[adinserter block=”2″]
Speaking of which part two, in an interview with BP Wrigleyville, Albert Almora Jr. seems like he took his demotion in stride, and has been getting after it with Iowa, keeping himself ready for that next opportunity, in whatever role the Cubs give him. Almora demonstrated pretty clearly that his glove isn’t just big-league ready, it’s big-league elite, so he’ll be back for sure in September, at a minimum, as a late-inning defensive replacement. And, if the Cubs build a big enough lead in the division, he’ll probably also be used as a spot starter to give guys rest in advance of the playoffs. The big question for Almora (and the Cubs) is whether his time in the big leagues, the adjustments he makes at Iowa, and then his preparation for next season, can together put his bat in a position to be average-ish in the big leagues starting in 2017. If so, he’ll do enough with the glove that he’s a pretty clear big league starter, even on a very good team like the Cubs. Then, after 2017, when he’ll still be only 23, there’s no reason to believe he can’t improve with the bat. He’ll probably never be an offensive star, but add a little power here and a little more selectivity there as he matures, and that could be a 110 wRC+ type player with an extremely golden glove. Want.
This John Lackey Q&A at ESPN is very John Lackey, and also will make you chuckle. However different we might be, I will say this: one thing I always really like in people is when I can tell that they know who they are, and they live their lives publicly as so thoroughly themselves. There’s no pretense with Lackey. He just is who he is. I like that.
Memes:
When yet another person says Kyle Hendricks can't be a great starter without huge velocity. pic.twitter.com/YlgVQZvhiY
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.
I don't want to overreact to a relatively brief stretch of success, and I certainly don't want to jinx anything. But Christopher Morel has looked pretty darn solid at third base the last couple weeks, hasn't he? Maybe some of...
UNCLENCH. They did it. There was 9th inning drama, because of course there was, but Drew Smyly was able to get the job done, pitching for the third consecutive day. Cubs win the game, Cubs win the series. Cubs win...
Thank god. I was starting to think Brandon Pfaadt was Cy Young in disguise or something. I can't stand (or understand, for that matter) how this guy carves up the Cubs while getting destroyed by almost everybody else. But at...
Owen Caissie is just one of several Cubs top prospects at Triple-A Iowa this season, but after a monster Spring Training performance (following an equally impressive Double-A debut last season), he's got a lot of eyes on him this summer....
In discussing the potential for a Cubs move today for a fresh arm, I wondered if they'd go down and grab someone already on the 40-man roster or if they'd shift Julian Merryweather over to the 60-day IL to make...
CUBS LINEUP — How many rubber matches can one team have? After two wild games to start the series, the Cubs are looking to win their second-consecutive series this afternoon in Arizona. Jordan Wicks is on the mound for Chicago....
If you have an MLB.TV subscription: I suggest you try to catch a Baltimore Orioles game soon. The Orioles lineup is chock-full of young talent, and they're absolutely mashing the baseball right now. They're fun to watch if you can...
Pete Crow-Armstrong showed some life on Tuesday with a solo home run for the Iowa Cubs, but it was Luis Vázquez who played hero for Iowa in the end. Plus, Cade Horton dominated for the Smokies once again. That and...
If you have been paying attention at all, I think it's going to be very easy for you to fill in these blanks: https://twitter.com/BaseballAmerica/status/1780601113198383137 Yes, that'd be Jefferson Rojas, the still-18-year-old shortstop for the High-A South Bend Cubs, currently hitting...
As he's done nine times before, Cade Horton dominated in his latest outing for the Tennessee Smokies. It took him just 47 pitches to cruise through 4.0 innings of work and carve up the Rays' Double-A squad. https://twitter.com/MLBPipeline/status/1780387010039210247 Horton has...
The Boston Red Sox (10-9), who will give the ball to Brennan Bernardino, host the Cleveland Guardians (12-6) with Carlos Carrasco on the mound, Thursday at 1:35 PM ET.Keep scrolling to find out all the details on how to watch...
The Chicago Bulls can't seem to swat the injury bug. Despite Andre Drummond and Ayo Dosunmu returning from their multi-game absences on Wednesday, the Bulls have likely lost their defense ace. Alex Caruso suffered a foot injury in the first...
Whether or not he gets the hardware, Coby White is the NBA's Most Improved Player. The Chicago Bulls guard has fully embraced his bigger workload this season, showing improvements in almost every aspect of his game. This was on full...
The Miami Heat have some serious concerns after their Play-In Tournament loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night. According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, Jimmy Butler is "feared" to have suffered an MCL injury in his knee. An MRI...
In a series opener on Thursday, Logan Webb will take the mound for the San Francisco Giants (8-11) against Ryne Nelson and the Arizona Diamondbacks (9-10), with first pitch scheduled for 9:45 PM ET at Oracle Park.The article below will...
The San Francisco Giants are hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks for a four-game series, with the first matchup getting underway at 9:45 PM ET on Thursday, April 18.Giants vs. Diamondbacks Series Info Diamondbacks @ Giants Time: Thursday, April 18 at 9:45...
A four-game series between the Chicago Cubs and the visiting Miami Marlins will start on Thursday, April 18 at 7:40 PM ET.Cubs vs. Marlins Series Info Marlins @ Cubs Time: Thursday, April 18 at 7:40 PM ET Cubs Starting Pitcher:...
DeMar DeRozan is almost 35 years old and led the NBA in minutes this season. I want you to remember that as you watch what you're about to see. The Chicago Bulls' veteran forward was tearing apart the Atlanta Hawks...
The Chicago Bulls understood the assignment. Unlike what we saw against Toronto in the first Play-In Tournament game last season, the Bulls were the ones to get out to an early lead. DeMar DeRozan was completely in his bag from...
Michael Busch and the Chicago Cubs (11-7) host Luis Arraez and the Miami Marlins (4-15) on Thursday in a series opener, with first pitch at 7:40 PM ET.Keep reading to find out how to watch the Chicago-Miami matchup in the...
NEWSLETTER
Lots to get into this morning (that crazy Cardinals comeback, the Minor League Daily, and Justin Grimm heading to Iowa) means these Bullets were really delayed. Also, my computer died. It’s the second year in a row it’s done it just around this time of the year (post-Blogathon stress?), but last time the computer was three years old. This one is just a year old. Come on, Apple. Don’t do this to me. (For now, I was able to get it back enough to use, but it keeps crashing on me, and is extremely hard to get back on after it crashes (by the way, if this kind of thing ever happens to you on your Mac, bookmark this page on your phone).)
