A Modest But Good Cubs Offseason, Offensive Bounce-Back, FOX Out on RSNs, and Other Bullets
The Wife and I worked out together this morning before working and then doing some errands. This is what a date looks like to parents of young children. It’s actually quite nice. (Hi, dear!)
- Is it a good offseason for the Cubs if they, from here, were to sign a decent reliever like Adam Warren and also a quality veteran back-up catcher like Martin Maldonado? I would like those moves, as well as the Daniel Descalso signing, and I would think the Cubs are in a better spot than they were when the season ended. But I’d still have deep concerns about the bullpen and the failure to at least seriously try to land an impact bat. I’m trying not to let myself get to a place where I can talk myself into thinking, “Yeah, actually, this was a great offseason!” if the Cubs do the bare minimum. I just hope they *at least* do that much.
- Speaking of which, a mention at The Athletic:
One rival executive gets it https://t.co/vrAAmb1jeL pic.twitter.com/3ndD5h7jNW
— SignBryceHarperCountTommy (@FullCountTommy) January 12, 2019
- With Javy Baez having settled at a surprisingly low figure for 2019 ($5.2 million), you can’t help but wonder if the Cubs and/or he are setting the stage for extension talks that could land him life-changing money, and the Cubs more cost certainty in the years ahead.
- Some hopeful notes on the Cubs’ offensive situation, if you connect some dots:
Well, it worked for the Cubs… er, I, ah https://t.co/eUrqPDYi8J
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) January 11, 2019
There absolutely *could* be other explanations. But, at least one plausible explanation? It looks like a poorly-conceived and poorly-communicated philosophy started to take root over the course of the season. https://t.co/XZpCaL5K1C
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) January 11, 2019
- This is peripheral to the Cubs’ planned RSN, but it’s huge peripheral news, if that makes sense:
Fox isn't going to be buying back its RSNs from Disney, and with Charter and Comcast also out of the bidding, things are going to get very interestinghttps://t.co/pN0gSU6EaN
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 11, 2019
- FOX has been in the RSN business for a very long time, and now they view it as not especially valuable.
- With FOX out of the running to land those 22 RSNs, the majority of which carry MLB rights, the chance that a non-traditional bidder like Amazon or Major League Baseball carries the day has increased. It isn’t inconceivable that if one of those two entities were to win these RSNs, the long-standing structure of baseball rights – especially as it relates to streaming – could change in a very fundamental way. Alternatively, one of the bidders is Sinclair Broadcasting, a distributor with whom the Cubs are reportedly going to partner on their new RSN. If Sinclair were to win these rights, they’d suddenly be partners for upwards of half of MLB, and would wield tremendous leverage. Stay tuned.
- This certain feels accurate, given the allergy even large markets have developed to the luxury tax, despite it’s relatively small actual cost:
The MLBPA's chief negotiator tells @WSJSports that there is concern over teams using the luxury tax as a de facto salary cap. MLB says player share of league revenue hasn't changed. With free agency again in a deep freeze, here's where things stand. https://t.co/EnpnWVVHCY pic.twitter.com/GY7JRaVj89
— Jared Diamond (@jareddiamond) January 11, 2019
- On the flip side, the players are going to have to figure out how to confront this data, if it’s accurate:
If Forbes data here is correct, this isn't really all that bad – 54% of league revenues going to players is comparable to (or better) than other major sports. Article: https://t.co/rurQ7VhFR9 pic.twitter.com/tRYkCgmubF
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) January 11, 2019
- Is a lack of activity over the past couple winters actually hurting attendance during the season? I’m not wholly convinced (I’m in the school of thought that the only things that actually move the attendance needle are price and competitiveness), but it’s an interesting theory:
New column: I have a theory:
Isn't it possible that a big reason for baseball's declining attendance is another offseason where, for many teams, it feels like NOTHING happened?
Some lessons from baseball's recent past tell me I'm onto something! https://t.co/7Q9iRCMAnv
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) January 11, 2019
- Heads up, nerds:
We're hiring a Baseball Systems Developer at the Cubs. Python, Javascript, ReactJS, Node and more fun stuff.https://t.co/lSxEvblzRv
— Ryan Kruse (@RyanKruse) January 12, 2019
- A bit on one of the Cubs’ minor league signings:
In today's @DMRsports: Playing in the minors is never the goal. But for Colin Rea, it may not be such a bad thing after the #Cubs signed him to a minor league deal yesterday. https://t.co/8RPbqrS8lj
— Tommy Birch (@TommyBirch) January 11, 2019
Javy Baez and Kyle Schwarber are doing some good:
https://twitter.com/MLBPuertoRico/status/1083804486496411651
https://twitter.com/InfieldChatter/status/1083174015944937473
- The Bears got their man:
BOOM: Bears Hire Chuck Pagano as Defensive Coordinator https://t.co/N4bEhJzlu9 pic.twitter.com/2KNVyRZAgf
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) January 12, 2019