Zagunis Getting Chills, Edwards Gets Fined, How Hoyer Watches, and Other Bullets

Yet another huge extension for a superstar – Jacob deGrom this time – and I really, really think there’s more to it than JUST players are afraid of free agency. Yes, that’s a factor, and teams are leveraging it. But consider, it’s not like these guys are signing terrible deals. They’re good contracts! Nobody is looking at these deals and thinking the players are screwing themselves. And since teams don’t operate that way, it just has me suspicious about what other motivations might be lurking under the surface for these extensions. My full thoughts on that matter are here.

Other Bullets …

Absent an outside addition, Mark Zagunis is going to make the Cubs’ Opening Day roster. Obviously the Cubs can and should always choose the best roster for competitive purposes, but when this kind of moment comes together for a young player, especially a guy who has been working for years to get over that AAA hump, it really is worth enjoying separately as a cool moment:

"I just get chills thinking about it."

Zagunis is the last man standing for the final bench job on the Opening Day roster. He's still awaiting the call to Maddon's office. More in today's notebook: https://t.co/4KTsfGEWWl via @MLB

— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) March 26, 2019

Zagunis has certainly been raking in Arizona, hitting .349/.431/.721, with 4 HR and 4 2B in just 43 ABs. If Zagunis “qualified” (LOL, Spring Training), his OPS would be the third highest in baseball.

Some small bits of hope on Zagunis’s power turn this spring: he’s specifically changed his stance and hand position to create more lift, and he also had a shoulder injury last year that held down his power production in the first half. You see him, physically, and it’s not at all hard to envision Zagunis having a ton of power. But that just has never been his game, and, at 26, it’s rare that it would finally come through. But it *does* happen, and Zagunis otherwise has really excellent plate discipline. So, yeah, the potential is in there to be a really good big league bench bat/corner outfielder.

Carl Edwards Jr.’s heart was in the right place, but this was deserved – I’m just glad he didn’t get suspended:

Carl Edwards Jr. confirmed he did get fined for hitting Austin Nola last week.

— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) March 25, 2019

In case you missed what that was all about, see here.

This is a really great read, and look behind the scenes:

Jed Hoyer allowed me to sit with him for a few innings earlier this week. I would have stayed longer but eventually he kicked me out! Give this a read: What a GM sees when he watches a baseball game https://t.co/OZC0UrAoWr

— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) March 23, 2019

I like the note that Hoyer has never gone directly to a player with some mechanical thing he’s noticed when watching a game – instead, he goes through the channels so that the players have only the right voices communicating with them. Even if Hoyer is one of the “bosses,” you still don’t want a too-many-cooks situation.

Rob Zastryzny is on his way out of the Cubs organization, and the best of luck to him:

Rob Zastryzny was *really good* down the stretch of the 2016 season. In 3 years, he pitched 35 league average innings for tired Cubs bullpens. He was a good teammate. Rob Z was released yesterday. Someone is going to get a functional, versatile lefty reliever. Good luck.

— Cubs Prospects – Bryan Smith (@cubprospects) March 26, 2019

Chris Singleton, a Cubs prospect whose mother was murdered in the Charleston shooting, has been released and is moving on from his baseball career – but it’s pretty clear he’s gonna do good things:

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding.”
–
Follow me on my new journey to spread love across this country & the world.
–#CantLetMomsDown#Inspire pic.twitter.com/mIaPYWYYzh

— Chris Singleton (@csingleton__2) March 23, 2019

A tribute, and a lesson:

This was the late former mental skills guy Ken Ravizza’s annual thing with the team. The season represented by 162 balls plus 11 more to win the WS. Maddon conducting the talk in place of his good friend who died suddenly last summer. pic.twitter.com/qcZeRo4oAA

— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) March 25, 2019

A closer look at the visualization of a baseball season. Maddon spoke about it with the team today: “Really emphasizing what it takes to get to the end.” pic.twitter.com/4sVKXtiwI4

— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) March 25, 2019

Cubs players, doing some good:

Cubs players presented this Fiat to a groundscrew guy that took care of the fields during spring training. pic.twitter.com/UEXSE2v4Yt

— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) March 25, 2019

Wow. Now THAT is a Jake Arrieta slutter, the likes of which I’ve not seen since maybe 2016:

https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1110235201408565250

Sporps:

You see now, to me this is preposterous. https://t.co/GFlfxGZg6c

— Brett Taylor (@Brett_A_Taylor) March 26, 2019

Toys, tools, and PUPPY gear are among your Deals of the Day at Amazon today.

Offseason fun for Bears fans:

https://twitter.com/BN_Bears/status/1110500949695578112