League’s Collusion Defense Might Be “Nuh Uh”, Iowa Manager, Darvish as Rizzo, and Other Cubs Bullets

Little site tweak coming soon – we’re going to make the menu sticky on mobile. In other words, as you scroll down on the page, the menu will stick up there at the top (like it does on desktop). I figure that’ll further help folks with their site navigation – the logo will always take you back to the home page, and the three-bar-dropdown to the right will always have the links to the individual sports. You can also always see recent posts just below your current post, or click on the category (Cubs, Bears, whatever) to take you to that sport’s home page, too.

So, the big news last night if you missed it: the MLBPA is launching a collusion investigation based on comments Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos made about talking to other teams about free agents. You’re not allowed to “act in concert” when it comes to free agent signings, though it seemed more like Anthopoulos was speaking more generally than that. Still, given the state of things, if the players have an opportunity to push on the collusion question, they are absolutely going to take it, especially while CBA negotiations are going on – they need every bit of leverage they can get.

For his part, Anthopoulos has put out a statement, taking a different tack than I expected. Instead of explaining that he was merely talking about free agency generally as it relates to trade talks with other teams, Anthopoulos is saying he flat out didn’t actually mean that and didn’t actually say it:

Statement from #Braves Executive Vice President and General Manager Alex Anthopoulos: pic.twitter.com/AHk7WhbNDg

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) November 7, 2019

The Braves sure do like to step on their own parts when it comes to league-wide problems, eh? You’ll recall, they’re only just now coming out from under the hammer of punishment for their IFA misdealings (which were more widespread than just the Braves, but most egregious there), which is how Anthopoulos wound up with this job in the first place.

Ultimately, what happens in this fight is going to depend a great deal on how the offseason proceeds. So we’ll see what free agency looks like when it gets going (and how long it takes).

A good deeper dive from Jeff Passan on what this fight looks like right now, and how the union could proceed:

Baseball's labor arguments can be confusing. So here is a simple breakdown of what happened Wednesday, when a GM's off-handed comment in a news conference led the MLBPA to allege teams are coordinating in the free agent market, and what it all means: https://t.co/aGxjfUYQsc

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 7, 2019

Good news here, as Pevey is very well-liked and well-regarded by the players, and Iowa sure was awesome this year:

Nothing official but it sounds like the #Cubs expect Marty Pevey to be back with the @IowaCubs for the 2020 season.

— Tommy Birch (@TommyBirch) November 6, 2019

Yanthony Rizzish:

View this post on Instagram

Guess who?

A post shared by Yu Darvish (@darvishsefat11) on Nov 6, 2019 at 10:47am PST

I love that Darvish was getting feedback directly from the man, himself, in the comments:

https://twitter.com/BleacherNation/status/1192159562981412864

Among the many Deals at Amazon right now, the Fire tablet kids edition (we have them, kids love them) are dirt cheap at 40% off. So jump on it if you’re thinking about a cheap table to throw at your kids when necessary (no judgment here … sometimes you just have to). #ad

Bryan reminding folks just how much the Cubs harmed themselves unnecessarily on the offensive side of the ball:

We don’t talk enough about how the full seasons of Descalso, Almora, Russell, Kemp and Zobrist plus Heyward vs LHP combined for 1187 plate appearances. An average of 7.33 per game!

Their cumulative line: 222/289/338.

Much improvement available merely by smarter PT distribution.

— Cubs Prospects – Bryan Smith (@cubprospects) November 7, 2019

Cool thing the Cubs are doing for season ticket holders:

Lost in the announcement of yesterday's @Cubs ticket prices for 2020 was this nice season ticket holder perk….adding in one experience and one gift from which to choose.

I'm torn between playing football and taking BP and the bobblehead (duh) and the polo. #EverybodyIn #Cubs pic.twitter.com/CmX67VLas3

— Ashvin Lad (@ashvinlad) November 7, 2019

Those previously-announced DRS changes are going to yield some utterly enormous defensive swings for some players:

We recently announced some updates to our Defensive Runs Saved stat.

Allows us to account for positioning & shifts in calculations

Image shows which infielders got the biggest positive bump

For more information: check out the article at this linkhttps://t.co/ZIykK86u0h pic.twitter.com/Ev6XRI2ron

— Sports Info Solutions (@SportsInfo_SIS) November 6, 2019

It makes sense that a lot of the big swings are for defenders on the left side of the infield, since they are often the most impacted by extreme shifts (which were largely excluded from DRS previously). Consider this a reminder that advanced defensive metrics are STILL a work in progress.

Hey, the Bulls built another huge lead and actually held on this time:

Hey! They Won! Bulls Beat Hawks 113-93https://t.co/DtKDHtOSP0

— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) November 7, 2019

I’m nascent in my Bulls fandom, and I’ll admit completely to being way more focused on Cubs offseason stuff and Bears drama. So I don’t watch a lot yet. But I’m trying to get more into basketball, not just because we’re doing it here, but because this Bulls team actually seems like it could have a lotta fun young players. But anyway, the last three times I’ve tuned into a game – no exaggeration – the other team has gone on a long run, and I have not seen the Bulls score a single bucket live in any of their past three games. It is the most insane thing, and each time, when I turn the game off in disgust, the Bulls score right away, so I’m convinced I should leave it off. And I have. Sports fandom is so freaking stupid, isn’t it?

Sign him:

My dude already has a perfect swing! pic.twitter.com/43tfgm8I9J

— Baseball is Fun (@flippingbats) November 7, 2019

108 days:

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The #Cubs play their first Spring Training game in … 108 days.

A post shared by Bleacher Nation (@bleachernation) on Nov 7, 2019 at 7:39am PST