Bryant’s Power, Yu’s Return, The Belt, Gold-oh-schmidt, and Other Bullets

The interminable post-Opening-Day-off-day is behind us, and Cubs baseball returns tonight in Texas. Edinson Volquez is starting for the Rangers, his first start following mid-2017 Tommy John surgery. That was the second Tommy John surgery of his career, and he turns 36 later this year. Good on him for making it all the way back again, and I’m sure if he were a little rusty tonight, everyone would understand.

  • This seems like a pretty awesome sign about Kris Bryant’s shoulder and power:
  • Going down to reach out and push one the other way is probably the most strain you’ll feel on your front shoulder, so, yeah, that’s good to see.
  • Random, but any time I think of a Bryant opposite field homer, I think of his walk-off against the Indians in 2015:
  • So, Paul Goldschmidt had himself a night:
  • At least two of those pitches were absolute meatballs, and the other one was a missed spot by two feet.
  • It’s not like we didn’t know Goldschmidt was one of the best hitters in the league when he joined the Cardinals this offseason, but I sure do remain chippy that they got him in one of those “volume” trades that people propose on message boards but that never actually happen in real life. And then of course they signed him to an eminently reasonable extension before he even played a game for them. That’s some Cardinals voodoo magic right there.
  • Charging gear, storage gear, and much more are your Deals of the Day at Amazon today.
  • An FYI on lefty Tim Collins’ contract with the Cubs, which is just a shade under fellow lefty Xavier Cedeño’s $900K:
  • The Myrtle Beach Pelicans unveiled their Opening Day roster, and Bryan has your breakdown here.
  • Baseball is fun:
  • Hey, Cubs baseball is back tonight, and it’s a big one:
  • Let’s go. I’m ready. Start the game right now.
  • (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

  • The MLBPA responded to the story of The Belt, and it’s a response that tells me they definitely already knew about it, but understood they had to say something:
  • It’s just such a foolish thing that the league was still doing in this era, and they deserve to be embarrassed about it. I’m not so sure it’s as much a matter of COLLUSION!!! as some people think, but even if not technically collusion in an actionable sense, it’s just a gross thing to do. You can commend good work performances without making it out to be some literal championship won over the very players that play your sport.
  • On the Bears side, with Jordan Howard off to Philadelphia, what happens to the run game now:
  • written by

    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.

    more cubs news

    Wrigley Field is Gonna Be Lit This Year (As in New Colored Lights!)

    Last year, the Cubs started using their new LED outfield lights to do a little dancing display during 'Go Cubs Go,' lighting along with the song and throwing in a W. It was very fun and I liked it. This...

    The 2024 Chicago Cubs for Dummies

    Boom. We made it. The offseason is over, and the Cubs regular season - and those elevated expectations - begins tomorrow. But in case you slept through the winter, I'm here to catch you up on everything you need to...

    Why Craig Counsell Wanted Miles Mastrobuoni on the Cubs’ Bench

    I don't know why Miles Mastrobuoni bugs some folks, but it's probably heavily-weighted toward his small-sample, bad-batted-ball-luck start last year, and that time he didn't dive while playing in right field. It can be hard to shake initial impressions, I...

    Kinda Sounds Like Craig Counsell May Have a Set Top Three in the Batting Order

    New Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell has said, generally, his batting order philosophy is the very simplistic (and very correct): just get your best hitters the most at bats. Sure, there's some play in that to set up good match-ups,...

    Los Angeles Dodgers Signing Will Smith to a TEN-YEAR Extension

    The Los Angeles Dodgers have done it again. And by it, I mean they have signed a funkily-structured contract that is going to leave some folks annoyed. The Dodgers are extending catcher Will Smith on a DECADE-long deal with a...

    The Stretch: 2024 MLB Season Preview

    On Monday, during a team-building conversation with some of the Bleacher Nation and Betsperts Media Group folks, we discussed sports—shocking, I know—and Brian Twining asked the group what their favorite sport was. For me, it's baseball. There's no debate. I...

    We Have to Talk About Some of the “Deals” the Cubs Sat Out in Free Agency

    This week, in a conversation with Jon Greenberg at The Athletic, Cubs President Jed Hoyer made an honest and sober (but also moderately disappointing) admission about the 2024 Chicago Cubs: "We need to perform probably at or a little bit...

    The Chicago Cubs Are Reportedly Now Worth Over $5 Billion

    Given all the tumult in the baseball broadcasting world, and the uncertain future for that portion of revenues, you'd be forgiven for expecting that MLB franchise valuations would slow their recent surge. But, according to Sportico at least, you'd be...

    Reds Second Baseman Matt McLain Had Shoulder Surgery

    The injury to Matt McLain's shoulder issue obviously wound up being worse than he and the Cincinnati Reds had been hoping. The damage to his left (non-throwing) labrum ultimately required surgery: https://twitter.com/m_sheldon/status/1772993402604339478 When the hope is that a guy can...

    Cubs Actually Getting a Whole Lot of Votes to Win the NL Central

    ESPN dropped its big season preview, and included were a set of divisional predictions by way of their writers, editors, and analysts voting. There's nothing in the way of proof or certainty there, but with 26 voters, I do like...

    Latest News

    Celtics vs. Hawks Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats and Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The Atlanta Hawks (33-39) are big, 17.5-point underdogs as they attempt to build on a three-game winning streak when they host the Boston Celtics (57-15) on Thursday, March 28, 2024 at State Farm Arena. The matchup airs at 7:30 PM...

    Celtics vs. Hawks Predictions, Best Bets and Odds – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The Atlanta Hawks (33-39) are big, 17.5-point underdogs as they attempt to build on a three-game winning streak when they host the Boston Celtics (57-15) on Thursday, March 28, 2024 at State Farm Arena. The contest airs at 7:30 PM...

    Bucks vs. Pelicans Predictions, Best Bets and Odds – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The New Orleans Pelicans (44-28) are only 2-point underdogs against the Milwaukee Bucks (46-26) at Smoothie King Center on Thursday, March 28, 2024. The game begins at 8:00 PM ET on NBA. The matchup's point total is 223.If you are...

    How to Watch Indiana State Sycamores vs. Utah Utes: Live Stream or on TV

    The Indiana State Sycamores (31-6) will attempt to build on a three-game winning streak when they host the Utah Utes (22-14) on April 2, 2024. The Utes have also won three games in a row.Indiana State won its most recent...

    How to Watch Seton Hall Pirates vs. Georgia Bulldogs: Live Stream or on TV

    The Seton Hall Pirates (23-12) will attempt to extend a three-game win streak when they host the Georgia Bulldogs (20-16) on April 2, 2024. The Bulldogs have also won three games in a row.In its previous game, Seton Hall beat...

    Diamondbacks vs. Rockies: Free Live Stream, TV Channel, How to Watch

    The Arizona Diamondbacks, led by Corbin Carroll, take on Nolan Jones and the Colorado Rockies in their first game of the season, at 10:10 PM ET on Thursday.If you're trying to watch this game, keep reading for streaming and TV...

    Mariners vs. Red Sox: Start Time, Streaming Live, TV Channel, How to Watch

    The Seattle Mariners, led by Julio Rodriguez, square off against Rafael Devers and the Boston Red Sox in their opening game of the season, at 10:10 PM ET on Thursday.If you're trying to watch this game, keep reading for streaming...

    Guardians vs. Athletics: Start Time, Streaming Live, TV Channel, How to Watch

    In their season opener on Thursday, Jose Ramirez and the Cleveland Guardians face Brent Rooker and the Oakland Athletics, with first pitch scheduled for 10:07 PM ET at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.The article below will give you everything you need to...

    Senators vs. Blackhawks Prediction: Picks, Live Odds and Moneyline – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The bookmakers give the edge to the Ottawa Senators on home ice (-198) over the Chicago Blackhawks (+164) when they face off on Thursday, March 28 at 7:00 PM ET.Senators vs. Blackhawks Favorite, Moneyline, TotalFavorite: Senators (-198)Underdog: Blackhawks (+164)Total: 6.5Best...

    Wrigley Field is Gonna Be Lit This Year (As in New Colored Lights!)

    Last year, the Cubs started using their new LED outfield lights to do a little dancing display during 'Go Cubs Go,' lighting along with the song and throwing in a W. It was very fun and I liked it. This...

    more cubs news