The Value of Injuries, Succeeding with a First-Pitch Out, and Other Bullets

Feb 24, 2018

The Wife has a conference today, and I’ve got some friends in town, so this morning is a five-guys-and-two-kids-and-a-baby situation. I will thus try to bang out some Bullets tout suite …

A great read on the Cubs’ new closer, and the benefit of experience:

Brandon Morrow has been beset by injuries for much of his career. Instead of deterring him from playing the game, he used them to learn more about his body and become a better pitcher. https://t.co/h9DYABLTVg
— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) February 23, 2018

The guy always had the top tier talent – he was drafted just ahead of Clayton Kershaw and Andrew Miller – but the constant onslaught of injuries prevented him from staying on the field consistently long enough to really cement that talent. The upside of that has been a process of getting to know his body much better than most pitchers do, and understand what he needs to do – in a very specific way – to be at his best and stay healthy. Such a good read. None of it means that Morrow will definitely be healthy and effective for the Cubs (there are real risks there), but it all does help you understand why the Cubs were willing to jump on him for that role after such a limited return to health and effectiveness, and after not having been a closer in a decade.

Peter Bourjos knows he has long odds of making the Cubs’ roster out of Spring Training – from where I sit, it would take an injury or the Cubs starting the season with only seven in the bullpen – but he makes an interesting point to the Tribune on why he took his minor league deal with the Cubs, rather than a rebuilding club: when you look really good in Spring Training with a rebuilding club, that may not actually matter in terms of whether you make the team. On a competitive team, though, if you show you’re valuable, they’ll figure out a way to get you involved.

I liked something subtle I heard from Ian Happ in his quick post-game interview at ESPN – in his first at bat, he ambushed a fastball on the first pitch, rocketed it to left field, but Christian Yelich was there at the wall to catch it. Happ called that a “successful first effort.” He’s very right, and it’s just funny because you rarely hear a player say that about an out, especially on the first pitch. But he saw a good pitch right away and he barreled it. That’s really all a hitter can control, and he successfully did so.

Javy Baez wants to win a Gold Glove this year, and if he gets enough starts at second base, it could very well happen.

The Red Sox still haven’t made the JD Martinez signing official, which is odd, since he had his physical, reportedly, all the way back on Wednesday. No one seems to know what’s up.

Well, Michael Saunders is no longer a Pirate:

Michael Saunders agreed to sign with the #Pirates three days ago, now #Royals announce they’ve signed him.

My guess: Corey Dickerson trade had an impact on his decision.

— Robert Murray (@RobertMurrayFRS) February 23, 2018

Francisco Liriano signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Tigers. So he’ll be available at the Trade Deadline.

Cubs fans are everywhere:

Team USA curling gets their gold. Note the Cubs fans in the back flying the W. pic.twitter.com/aNEUSc5vai

— Laken Litman (@LakenLitman) February 24, 2018

Meanwhile, it’s heavy rumor season in the football world, so check out the latest at TYL, Bears fans:

Bears Mentioned Among Teams Interested in Trading for Jarvis Landry, Signing Sammy Watkins https://t.co/JGYv6DIdWN pic.twitter.com/jYataZpcly

— The Ten-Yard Line (@TheTenYardLine) February 23, 2018

A random deal at Amazon today if you’re looking for a bathroom scale – this one is well-reviewed, 40% off, and under $18.

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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