Troubled Times, Unsigned Team, Berkman Gripes, and Other Bullets

Feb 06, 2019

Whew. It’s hard to shift the brain back a bit after being deep in on really significant rules change proposals this morning. At least it momentarily took our focus off of an offseason that has otherwise been full of oddities and missteps and ugliness for the Cubs.

Oh, wait, back to that:

.@PJ_Mooney on Joe Ricketts’ emails and the 'Cubs Way': https://t.co/hRLS6lDvg1

— The Athletic (@TheAthleticCHI) February 6, 2019

I share Patrick Mooney’s article there not to belabor any one particular negative storyline, but instead because I think it’s an excellent summation of all that has gone wrong for the Cubs in the last half-year – frequently by their own hand. The budget-related communications, the Daniel Murphy trade, the Addison Russell decisions, the Joe Maddon lame-duck status, the TV deal questions and partner, the political connections, the fighting in the Ward, and now the Joe Ricketts emails. You can debate whether the Cubs erred or not in these situations, but each has provided fertile ground for folks inclined to bash the Cubs to do so. It’s all just felt … bad.

Yes, the Cubs absolutely need the arrival of actual baseball so they can turn the page a bit, but they also could use this time as an opportunity to do some real good. Lead on something, Cubs. Grab this moment.

Speaking of the arrival of baseball – we’re about to hit the second week of February, and this is still a thing:

Now the All-Unemployed Pitching Staff!

Rotation:
Dallas Keuchel
Gio Gonzalez
Ervin Santana
Jeremy Hellickson
James Shields

Closer – Craig Kimbrel
Opener- Sergio Romo
RHs – Ryan Madson, Brad Boxberger, Bud Norris, AJ Ramos, Tyler Clippard
LHs – Jake Diekman, Tony Sipp

— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) February 6, 2019

Lance Berkman is (understandably) chapped that he fell off the Hall of Fame ballot, comparing himself to Edgar Martinez, who was elected to the Hall. Does he have a legit gripe? Yeah, probably:

Did Martinez have the better career? Yes. Is Martinez a Hall of Famer? In my opinion, yes. But should Berkman have received a little more conversation and consideration? Yup. Such is the reality of a crowded ballot and PED moralizing that creates a backlog.

LOL:

Love this. Tell the hitter to either get in the box or stop being a baby.

— Marcus Stroman (@MStrooo6) February 6, 2019

Robot vacuums, a Square register, a food dehydrator, and absurdly large teddy bears are among your Deals of the Day today at Amazon.

A reminder, indeed:

A reminder:
MLB pitchers hit .115/.144/.149 in 2018, all-time lows in all 3 slash categories.
42.2 K%, higher than A.Chapman's record as a pitcher.
They had a wRC+ of -25! And they've always been terrible. The last time they had a wRC+ better than 2018 Chris Davis (46) was 1902. pic.twitter.com/h6u95tsJ78
— James Smyth (@JamesSmyth621) February 6, 2019

Six more days:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bti6sFaAvrd/

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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Troubled Times, Unsigned Team, Berkman Gripes, and Other Bullets

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