Dreaming on Bryant and Harper Together, Russell’s Contact, Contreras’s Toss, and Other Bullets

Jun 06, 2017

The Little Boy decided his wall and his door were an art project, so he is, at present, diligently working to scrub crayon away. The Internet has some tips on how best to do it, and maybe we’ll get there eventually, but we’re not necessarily looking for this to be easy.

Patrick Mooney talked to Kris Bryant about this weekend’s Bryce Harper rumor (Peter Gammons said he’s heard Harper wants to be a Cub), and it makes for a good read not only about that pairing, but about Bryant’s own contract situation. Bryant admits that the two Las Vegas natives have talked – in a light, fun way – about playing together again some day, but he knows that the business of the game will have a lot to do with how things actually play out.

Even if the money aspect were not going to be an issue (with arbitration raises coming for the Cubs, and so many needs in the rotation, it’s hard to see Harper being realistic unless the Cubs are willing to blow past the luxury tax cap), it would be interesting to consider how Harper would fit into the mix. To be quite clear, Harper is a guy you fit no matter who it displaces, but who would it be after next season? Harper probably isn’t a center fielder at this point, so would he go out to left and replace Kyle Schwarber? To right and move Jason Heyward to center? Or would Heyward have opted out at that point? It’s all totally academic at this point, and so much can change in a year and a half. But Harper’s free agency is a sufficiently huge deal that the conversations about it are going to start in earnest as soon as this offseason (in particular because expected bidders will start maneuvering to ensure they’re in a position to spend big the following offseason).

Fun fact: since Bryant came into the league in 2015, the top six in the NL in wRC+ goes Joey Votto, Harper, Freddie Freeman, Paul Goldschmidt, Bryant, and Anthony Rizzo. Imagine having three of those guys in the same freaking lineup.

Brett Anderson threw three simulated innings in Arizona yesterday as he recovers from his back injury (Cubs.com). There is no timetable in place for his return yet.

In his defense, Willson Contreras was probably thinking, “Well, I’m not supposed to fire it as hard as I can, right?”:

Missed it by that much. #SCNotTop10 pic.twitter.com/LlM4rGOtKx

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 6, 2017

Of course, Contreras then picked the runner off at first base, as if to say, “See, it’s better when I throw it hard.”

Rian Watt looks at Addison Russell’s troubles at The Athletic, and notes that a dramatic spike in medium contact is a very clear issue. At a whopping 62.5%, Russell leads baseball in medium contact by nearly three percentage points. Medium contact, in isolation, is not a horrible thing, but when it comes at the expense of hard contact it certainly is. On that front, Russell’s 22.8% hard contact rate is far below league average (31.9%), and far below where he was last year (29.3%).

Rob Zastryzny is funny, but does not have super powers:

Got bit by a spider last night and still showing no signs of having super powers. I'll keep you updated if anything changes.

— Rob Zastryzny (@RobZastryzny_8) June 5, 2017

Very cool shot:

That's a lot of first round picks…@kschwarb12 @ihapp_1 @KrisBryant_23 @Addison_Russell #ThatsCub #FlyTheW #GoCubsGo @BleacherNation #Cubs pic.twitter.com/Z6gbefNcKf

— MBDChicago (@MBDChicago) June 6, 2017

SCardenfreude:

Cardinals have lost an MLB-high 13 games this season in which they led by multiple runs, matching their total in 2016

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 6, 2017

With a hat tip to BN’er Laura, there’s a fantastic story at BIF about a 99-year-old Pirates usher who has been working there for 81 years.

Over at TYL, Luis wonders to what extent you can say GM Ryan Pace is “on the hot seat”.

Earlier, the Iowa Cubs turned a triple play! And the Cubs are back in first place!

Some super powerful little flashlights are a Deal of the Day at Amazon.

Also, clearance stuff is getting, well, cleared out:

Hey, take advantage of Cubs gear getting cleared out (aka SALE) at Fanatics: https://t.co/0UNrBIazBq #ad pic.twitter.com/x60Yoqrinc

— Brett Taylor (@BleacherNation) June 6, 2017

written by

Brett Taylor

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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