Cubs Adding New Positions, Tech Needs, NL Wild Card Arrives, Netting, and Other Cubs Bullets

Ugh. The season is in the rearview, which means I get to dig in more on under-the-hood tasks here at BN, and it means I discover technical problems of which I was previously blissfully unaware. If only I hadn’t dug in … (ok, no, actually that would have been worse). #AdminProblems

While I bang away at some code, you read these Bullets …

• The new manager isn’t the only big hire coming to the Cubs organization. Among the many revelations in Theo Epstein’s end-of-season presser yesterday, I found it interesting that, when discussion infrastructure changes the Cubs need to make at an organization level because (I’m putting words in his mouth here a little bit) the Cubs have fallen behind the top of the league, he mentioned two new positions the Cubs would be hiring for: Director of Pitching, and Director of Hitting.
• At first blush, you might think … don’t the Cubs already have that? And yeah, they do have a minor league pitching coordinator (Brendan Sagara) and minor league hitting coordinator (Chris Valaika). But I’m thinking what Epstein is talking about – and it makes so much more sense – is adding a guy who is in charge of ALL the pitching or hitting development for the organization, not just at the minor league level (and then leaving the big league stuff to the coaching staff). Given the way you want this stuff to be integrated throughout an org, this would seem to be a pair of really key positions (and it makes me wonder if those rumors about DriveLine’s Kyle Boddy getting an interview were for the Director of Pitching position (yes please)).
• I suspect these dudes will be very technologically-inclined, given the way the game is trending. You need people who not only know how to employ the newest and best technology, but also how to translate it to performance, AND how to stay ahead of the rest of the league on tech. The Cubs have done great things with their Pitch Lab this past year, but clearly, that was a game of catch-up, not a game of get-ahead.
• Keep in mind, the Cubs are also looking for a new man in charge of scouting and player development, after Jason McLeod was moved over to the big league side.
• This does sum up a huge part of the difference between tonight’s NL Wild Card competitors:

The Brewers and Nationals have much different approaches to getting 27 outs from their pitching staffs. My story with @AdamMcCalvy on how these teams got to the same place Tuesday with a different philosophy: https://t.co/oVnJzleWhL

— Jamal Collier (@JamalCollier) October 1, 2019

• I can’t even rip the Brewers at this point, because they’ve made the EXTREME bullpenning work for them for two years now. The organization deserves a lot of credit for targeting the right guys, and Craig Counsell deserves a ton of credit for deploying them so well night in and night out.
• … but hell if I’m gonna be rooting for them tonight. Go Nats. Go Scherzer.
• Netting:

NBC News found at least 808 reports of injuries to fans from baseballs at major league parks from 2012 to 2019, including concussions and permanent vision loss. https://t.co/1d69KxrQVm

— Maury Brown (@BizballMaury) October 1, 2019

• The Cubs are among the teams looking to add additional netting before the 2020 season.
• Cameras and gear are among the Deals of the Day at Amazon today.
• Bulls season is here, with media day yesterday, and the team laying out its aggressive goal for the season. Make sure you’re following our Bulls coverage on Twitter and on FB, if you dig – just smack that like button, and share with your friends please and thanks: