Why the Brandon Morrow News Doesn’t Freak Me Out (More) and Other Bullets
Hoping to get back to a sense of normalcy today after a couple days of sickness. That’ll mean working out midday, and hopefully I don’t get sick in the middle of a burpee or something.
- I can’t decide if I’m being an unrelenting and unreasonable optimist about the Brandon Morrow news, or if I’m just being pragmatic. That is to say, word that he had a cleanup procedure in his elbow last month, after the bone bruise healed but he still didn’t feel quite right, doesn’t have me freaked out. I feel chill about it. Given his extensive injury history, and the fact that this was always the big risk with his signing, I guess I just feel like … OK, fine. Get in there, try to clean some stuff up, and limit his innings next year. If he misses time at the start of the season but is able to pitch well from May on, that’d be great, right? Even if he *hadn’t* had surgery, that would have been great to hope for. He was already kinda broken, so it’s not like him having surgery makes me more freaked out than I already was. And the Cubs already had massive needs in the bullpen, so it’s not like I wasn’t already expecting them to pursue additions. The news that he had a procedure and probably won’t start the season on time just feels … normal?
- Put another way, it would have been unreasonable to count on Morrow definitely being a 60-appearance closer next year anyway. The Cubs took a chance on him last offseason, and it didn’t work out for precisely the reasons you would have reasonably feared it would not work out. Whatever he contributes in 2019 was already feeling like a bonus to me, I guess.
- Folks wondering why the Cubs gave this information up before signing free agents, and why they waited to do the surgery, by the way:
Because he was specifically asked with many cameras on him and didn't lie about something that would easily be proven false in the future https://t.co/rQ2HoZcEux
— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) December 6, 2018
For the many asking why it took so long to have the surgery, they were letting Morrow heal naturally from the bone bruise and he was still having pain, so he underwent this debridement. https://t.co/m9Eq3OY6tk
— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) December 6, 2018
- ZiPS is rolling out for the season ahead, and one of the big NL East contenders gets the treatment:
2019 ZiPS Projections – Atlanta #Braves https://t.co/xrYcXdmdOC #ZiPS19
— Dan Szymborski (@DSzymborski) December 6, 2018
- That’s FOUR players PROJECTED to top 4.0 WAR, which is pretty much nuts. Not that I can necessarily argue against it, because if each of Freddie Freeman, Ronald Acuña, Ozzie Albies, and Josh Donaldson are healthy, they sure look like 4-win players. And with a couple brilliant framers behind the plate receiving a very serviceable pitching staff? They’re right there with the Nationals as the best team in the East on paper right now. No question.
- Two reads on the Addison Russell situation:
Can the Cubs be leaders in finding more comprehensive ways to address, and prevent, domestic abuse? @pgammo’s column: https://t.co/phDuCi1UcO
— The Athletic (@TheAthleticCHI) December 5, 2018
https://twitter.com/Ring_Sheryl/status/1070681015948075010
- Kyle Hendricks is 29 today, and Jed Hoyer is 45:
Happy birthday to the professor, @kylehendricks28! pic.twitter.com/Nrzana8spq
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) December 7, 2018
Happy birthday to #Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer! pic.twitter.com/ktrPLyxbNY
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) December 7, 2018
- Sammy Sosa remains in the background:
Sammy Sosa is seemingly still a #Cubs fan despite having a strained relationship with his former team. https://t.co/XU4dEuEdKe
— Sun-Times Sports (@suntimes_sports) December 5, 2018
- If you missed the horrible overnight news, former Cub Luis Valbuena died in a car accident. Live life, enjoy what you do, and flip every bat:
Life is too short. Flip the damn bat and enjoy the hell out of the game, because you never know when it's your last.
— Daily Random Cub (@DailyRandomCub) December 7, 2018
- May the Cubs bat flip every hit (and every walk) next season in a tribute to Valbuena.
- 12 days of deals at Amazon today is fashion, so get yourself some style on the cheap.
