An update on my … situation. I was able to see the doctor yesterday, and although it will be many more weeks before the hematoma dissipates (unfortunately there’s nothing that can accelerate that process), I was cleared to do light activity – the main thing being able to pick up The Littlest Girl again. Not being able to do that was not only painful from a but-I-love-her-she’s-my-baby perspective, it was painful because it effectively grounded The Wife from being able to do much of anything, since she always had to be present and available. So that was great news. From there, I can add on more activity as pain allows.
Fingers crossed that the next update you hear from me is in a couple weeks when things are basically back to normal.
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As you may recall, the plan with respect to retiring and beloved catcher David Ross was to have a sit down with team president Theo Epstein after Thanksgiving to discuss Ross’s future, possibly with the Cubs’ organization. That won’t be the only contact Ross receives, though, as Nick Cafardo reports that Ross is meeting with his agent to discuss the many overtures – “from broadcasting to coaching to managing and scouting” – he’s received. How could he not, right? Ross may not jump into a full-time role right away, in any case, as he’s indicated that he wants to have some time with his family right now after retiring from his playing days. We’ll see where Ross winds up, and then long-term what he decides to do. Even if he does something outside the Cubs’ organization in the near-term, that doesn’t mean he couldn’t return down the road in a different role.
The Pirates could make a surprising moving involving Andrew McCutchen this offseason, and no, it isn’t a trade. It’s moving him to right field, so that Gregory Polanco can go to left, and Starling Marte – the clear best of the bunch – can shift to center. As Mike Petriello writes, it’s an interesting maneuver, since McCutchen’s arm is one of the weakest parts of his game, and you don’t traditionally expect to see a weak arm in right field. But McCutchen has demonstrated what appears to be a much better ability to go to his right than to his left when fielding a ball, and PNC Park also has a much more difficult left field (crazy deep power alley) than right field. This is the new kind of data teams will have on their players in the coming years, and you might see moves that at first make you scratch your head, but then you dig in a bit and see the logic. I am a nerd, and thus, this excites me.
The Yankees released righty Nathan Eovaldi yesterday, and because folks remember that he was an intriguing name for a long time, they are wondering whether he’s someone the Cubs might go after. Maybe, but I think not everyone is remembering why the Yankees released him: Eovaldi, who has already had Tommy John surgery once, suffered a significant elbow injury in August that required another Tommy John surgery AND surgery to repair the flexor tendon which had “[torn] off the bone.” Eovaldi has already been all but ruled out for 2017, and his future is very much in doubt. In other words, if you want to be the team to pay him to rehab, that’s cool, but the eye has to be on retaining him for 2018 (still under team control), and, even then, the odds it turns into something are very low.
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The Cubs have announced that James Taylor (with Bonnie Raitt) is returning to Wrigley Field for a concert on July 17, 2017.
This seems smart, as we’re currently battling in our house about the who/how/how much of our outdoor Christmas lights this year – you can get strings of lights that are battery-powered, remote-controlled, and that you can put on a timer. There are trade-offs from traditional lights I’m sure (size/brightness/volume you’d have to buy to cover an area are the ones I suspect), but I’m intrigued.
Love for Junior just because:
Ken Griffey Jr. was incredible. Remember this crazy catch? He broke his wrist and still caught the ball. pic.twitter.com/mQmO0AxVvY
A game-used Kris Bryant jersey just sold for over $16,000 (Crain’s). Not, like, a playoff jersey. Just a regular season jersey (albeit the one he was wearing when he did this). Wow. Well, you can’t get that jersey today, but you can get a fan one for 30% off:
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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NEWSLETTER
An update on my … situation. I was able to see the doctor yesterday, and although it will be many more weeks before the hematoma dissipates (unfortunately there’s nothing that can accelerate that process), I was cleared to do light activity – the main thing being able to pick up The Littlest Girl again. Not being able to do that was not only painful from a but-I-love-her-she’s-my-baby perspective, it was painful because it effectively grounded The Wife from being able to do much of anything, since she always had to be present and available. So that was great news. From there, I can add on more activity as pain allows.
