Weekend Catch-Up: Szczur Rumors, Offensive Explosions, Extensions, Much More

It was a busy and fun weekend in the Cubs’ world, so you’re going to want to peruse the headlines to catch yourself up if you were out.

Friday, March 24

  • The Cubs have the best fifth starter in baseball again this year.
  • Kris Bryant is a too-good-to-be-true story, but it’s all true.
  • For fun(?), I looked at the Cubs’ opening day lineups throughout the rebuilding process.
  • The Cubs revealed their gold uniforms and caps on Friday, which they’ll wear for the home opener.
  • There is one offensive thing the Cubs do really poorly, but it’s OK!
  • The Cubs can actually pay attention to the top prospects in the draft this year, since they’ve got two top 30 picks.
  • Also from the MLBits, Pirates third baseman Jung-Ho Kang was denied a visa to come to the US, which puts his season in jeopardy.
  • The Cubs lost to the Indians Friday, though Ian Happ homered again and Kyle Schwarber caught in a minor league game. Albert Almora gave us a scare leaving early, but he was fine.
  • [adinserter block=”1″]

    Saturday, March 25

  • Luke wrote up an infield prospect about whom you may not have heard too much, Jason Vosler.
  • Among Saturday’s Bullets, Mike Montgomery’s reaction to being put in the bullpen to start the season was exactly what you’d hope to hear.
  • Two more young players reportedly agreed to long-term extensions around baseball: Rougned Odor and Jose Ramirez.
  • The Cubs split their split-squad day, with plenty to discuss about the games.
  • One specific from the games? There was a 10-minute stretch where, between the two games, FOUR CUBS homered in rapid-fire succession.
  • The big rumor/news from Saturday was a report that, not only is there possible interest out there in Matt Szczur, but the Cubs are actively shopping him.
  • Sunday, March 26

  • Michael ranked 20 baseball movies he watched in a single month.
  • Among Sunday’s Bullets, Tommy La Stella has reportedly confirmed that, yes, if he’s optioned to AAA Iowa at the end of Spring, he will go this time.
  • The Cubs didn’t win both of their games on Sunday either, but they once again romped the Reds in Las Vegas. Except this time, it started with a huge first inning, and didn’t let up from there.
  • Not only did the Cubs embarrass the Reds in the final score, there was also the indignity of John Andreoli throwing out a runner at first base from the outfield.
  • Among the BIF bits from the weekend is one that is actually baseball-news relevant: the Indians’ GM’s six-year-old son may have spilled the beans on a possible Francisco Lindor extension.
  • And, a reminder that these babies came out this weekend – it’s what the Cubs will be wearing to open up the season in celebration of the championship:
  • 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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