Here’s hoping the weather turns for me this weekend in Arizona, as it’s currently projected to feature the only significantly rainy days of the month (because of course). Weather projections are like win total projections, right? Subject to extreme variation, right?
In any case, I’m in the middle of multiple flights today, so I’ll see you fine folks when I see ya. Until then, Bullets …
I’m always interested to see Dave Cameron’s “best/worst transactions of the offseason” piece at FanGraphs, which has become something of an annual tradition. I know Cameron is not everyone’s cup of tea, and I don’t always agree with him, but I like the way he makes me think about things in new and different ways. This year’s installment of the “best transactions” list is out, and the Cubs’ trade for Wade Davis makes the cut at number eight: “While there wasn’t a lot of money being thrown around this winter, closers were the one area where teams were getting in bidding wars, and it took four- or five-year deals to land the best bullpen arms on the market. Rather than try to outbid the Dodgers or Yankees for a premium reliever, however, the Cubs used some of their excess talent to pick up another rent-a-closer.” Giving up a young player in trade for one year of a closer certainly stings, but I guarantee everyone here will appreciate it all the more when the season comes to a close, and we’re looking ahead to what the Cubs can do financially next offseason, when they need to replace some (expensive) starting pitching, and perhaps already having a loaded bullpen full of in-house late-inning options (rather than one really expensive closer under contract for four more years).
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Cameron goes on to note that the Cubs can be more aggresive in their late-season/playoff usage of Davis, since he’s under control for just this year, rather than worry about damaging their four or five-year investment, like the teams that signed guys like Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen, or Mark Melancon. Good point, though obviously hopefully the Cubs can keep Davis healthy regardless. I think Cameron slightly understates the value the Cubs gave up in Jorge Soler, but he’s ultimately correct that without the ability to get Soler regular at bats, he wasn’t going to have a chance to break out with the Cubs anyway.
Joe Maddon likes the reports he’s received on Jason Heyward’s work this offseason (Cubs.com), and notes that Heyward knew all along that he had to do something differently, but it would be too difficult to make the changes in-season.
(As we’ve been near-obsessing about JasonHeyward’swork on his swing this offseason, it’ll be a little over a week before we can see the fruits of that labor in game action … and even then, it’s worth remember that the process will be ongoing from there. How he looks (much less how he performs) in Cactus League play probably isn’t going to tell us a whole lot, and I’m going to have to keep reminding myself of that, as I tend to get breathless over every swing.)
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He’s a good dude, and he’s trying:
Dexter Fowler has brought speakers into the Cardinals clubhouse, @LangoschMLB tells @Bernstein_Goff, to ramp up fun and create loose vibe.
Greg Maddux pitching to Yadier Molina? That’ll rile some folks up, but remember that the Chiefs have been an affiliate of both the Cubs and Cardinals. I think it’s genius. And cool. And I want it.
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
Here’s hoping the weather turns for me this weekend in Arizona, as it’s currently projected to feature the only significantly rainy days of the month (because of course). Weather projections are like win total projections, right? Subject to extreme variation, right?
