Farrell May Not Be a Fit for Cubs, Old Friend Junior Lake, Brewer as Best Lineup, and Other Bullets

Nov 26, 2018

The snows and freezing rains have arrived in the greater Chicago area, so my sympathies are with many of you. Here in Columbus, we’re a bit above freezing, so it’s just a lot of rain and wind.

Although there are reports of the Cubs’ interest in, and/or desire to interview, former Red Sox manager (and pitching coach during the Theo Epstein era) John Farrell for their open pitching coach position, Ken Rosenthal reports via a source that Farrell is “sensitive” to the awkward situation with Joe Maddon under contract for just one more year. As we discussed previously, there would be a lot of opportunities for folks to wonder whether he was simply the manager-in-waiting, looking over Maddon’s shoulder (and, in fairness to hypothetical future folks who did that wondering … maybe he would be the manager-in-waiting … so …). You can understand why Farrell, who can afford to be patient about his next opportunity, might want to avoid this particular one.

Former Reds manager Bryan Price has also been reported as getting an interview with the Cubs, but current Cubs run prevention coordinator Tommy Hottovy may make the most sense for the gig, which will presumably be filled soon. (Right?)

Old friend sighting! It’s a Junior Lake walk-off:

https://twitter.com/lidomrd/status/1066854907070828544?s=21

Lake is still only 28! But he’s been out of the big leagues since an unsuccessful 22-game stretch with the Blue Jays in 2016. He’s raked in Mexico the last couple years, largely on the strength of brilliant K/BB rates, which, if you remember Lake, suggests something nefarious about the control of pitchers in the Mexican League. Given his age and athletic ability, it wouldn’t be unthinkable for him to re-emerge in MLB at some point, but the reality is that he was never able to compete against pitchers with great command and great spin. I’m not sure that suddenly changes at age 28/29.

These are just so much fun:

Rare Color-(Part 1 of 2) 1937 @cubs pre-game, Wrigley Field-Pre-Ivy-(From the Flagstaff Films baseball home movie archive) pic.twitter.com/eQTvE0ykML

— Flagstaff Films (@Flagstafffilms) November 25, 2018

Rare Color-(Part 2 of 2) 1937 @cubs pre-game, Wrigley Field-Pre-Ivy-(From the Flagstaff Films baseball home movie archive) pic.twitter.com/9aWf8NmvJN

— Flagstaff Films (@Flagstafffilms) November 25, 2018

The Cubs’ World Series win ranked as the second most unforgettable moment in Illinois history, behind Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, but ahead of Illinois becoming the first state to ratify the 13th Amendment ending slavery. So … I don’t really know what to do with that trio of bits.

A deep dive on Andy Haines, and how the now former Cubs assistant hitting coach became the Brewers’ hitting coach. Good read. He’s certainly getting into the spirit of his new gig, when referencing the top of his lineup (Lorenzo Cain, Christian Yelich, Jesus Aguilar, and Ryan Braun): “One through four, there is nobody in baseball better than that.” Hey, man, I understand that you gotta support the new crew, but that one through four is not even the best in the division, let alone the NL, let alone all of baseball.

The Pirates’ farm system comes in for a review at FanGraphs, and although there is limited impact at the top, it is crazy deep in potential big league contributors. It reminds me of the Cubs’ farm system, but with a little more at the top and even more quality depth.

A couple beautiful pictures that will undoubtedly make you further rue the weather outside:

Summer nights >>> pic.twitter.com/Dm4XHydkWI

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) November 25, 2018

Wrigley in November. pic.twitter.com/GQkVq2BZiw

— Wrigley Aerials (@WrigleyAerials) November 25, 2018

Cyber Monday is here, which means if you’re going to do some shopping, please and thanks head over to Fanatics, MLB Shop, and Amazon via our links to get your awesome deals and support BN in the process.

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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