NEWSLETTER
The Little Boy hooked a dad up with some baseball cards today, so we opened them together. Among the Cubs we got: Willson Contreras, Kyle Schwarber, Robel Garcia, and Danny Hultzen(!).
• No umpire-related striking or locking out, as MLB and the umpires came to an agreement on how pay will be handled in this messed up year. The short version is that umpires, like players, will receive a prorated share of pay depending on how many games are played, and will receive at least 1/3 of their pay going forward if at least one game is played this year (they’ve already received pay for January through April, and will also get 50% of what they were owed for May).
• Noted in the resolution of the deal: there might not be any instant replay this season, depending on whether the logistics (location, personnel) allow for it. This is going to be such a weird first year for David Ross, eh? The new reliever rule, but also maybe other rules that are totally different for the 2020 season – including maybe DHs across the board?
• And if a lot of that stuff happens this year, I agree that it might just hasten changes that were coming anyway:
From @dgoold on @TMASTL: I think we may have seen the end of National League baseball as we know it. What is on the horizon is the DH, more interleague play. They have to be creative, and this will accelerate changes that were already likely coming. #STLCards— Tim McKernan (@tmckernan) April 30, 2020
• You’re darn right Javy Báez shows up on the short list of the best arms in baseball:
After bouncing around the infield over his first five seasons, Báez settled in as the Cubs’ starting shortstop last year and was one of the best defensive players in all of baseball. Despite missing almost all of September with a hairline fracture in his left thumb, Báez tied for third in Defensive Runs Saved (26) and placed second among all players in Outs Above Average (+19).
The man known as “El Mago” (The Magician) is blessed with many gifts and would have been a fine pick for the fielding tool, but let’s focus on his rocket for a right arm. Báez was responsible for five of the 31 tracked assists of at least 90 mph by infielders last season, the second most in MLB, and his average arm strength on max-effort throws (88.3 mph) was the third best among infielders.
• Some Mother’s Day shopping:
The MLB Shop is doing a weekend sale and they put together a Cubs Mother's Day collection for you to peruse if you've got a loved one you want to hook up: https://t.co/j7ss4dC5Cp pic.twitter.com/TjqouoE8GW— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) May 2, 2020
• The one pictured is what I would have at the top, but I only have two of the five in my personal memory bank:
What was your first recollection of an ear-splitting sound at a sporting event, the kind that made you wonder if the world could possibly get any louder?
Here are the 5 loudest moments @PWSullivan heard.https://t.co/d1PIC0TP1e— Chicago Tribune Sports (@ChicagoSports) May 2, 2020
• I’ll leave it to Paul Sullivan to explain his list (Miggy’s granny was at number five), but I will mention that the Kerry Wood home run in Game 7 of the 2003 NLCS is frequently cited by folks as the loudest moment at Wrigley Field when the Miggy grand slam comes up. Definitely, those are the two loudest moments at Wrigley Field, I suspect. (Honorable mentions to Hector Rondon’s strikeout to end the 2015 NLDS, and the double play to end the 2016 NLCS – though both of those turned more “emotional” than loud very quickly.)
• Feels like we should have been made aware of the existence of this photo years ago:
