NEWSLETTER
The first half of the Bullets, as it were, are over here. That’s all the holy-crap-baseball-is-really-shooting-itself-in-the-penis stuff. There was so much of it that I decided you might prefer I break all that away so that you could ignore it, and just have these other Bullets instead.
• Hey, let’s get right out of the gate with something positive. Cubs prospects putting in work:
https://twitter.com/BrennenDavis__/status/1272743891628961792
Some clips from today’s live BP @kohlrf @BrennenDavis__ pic.twitter.com/QqcIRM48hQ
— Ryan Jensen (@rystacks24) June 16, 2020
• Rounding up, that’s Jensen hitting 100 mph right there. Giggity.
• This history was going to be made either way, but it’s quite reasonable to say, without the money fight, players could have been in Spring Training Part Two by now:
Cubs historian Ed Hartig reports 259 consecutive days without Cubs baseball is longest stretch since team began play in NL in 1876. Only longer stretch was 925 days when they skipped 1872 and 1873 seasons following the Great Chicago Fire. Congrats, baseball.
— Paul Sullivan (@PWSullivan) June 16, 2020
• This is so good (with appearances by Jason Heyward and Dexter Fowler, among many others):
https://twitter.com/TheCUTCH22/status/1272692082596069377
• Top Cubs pick Ed Howard, who is 18, is already eager to participate in improving baseball’s diversity and how it treats its players and communities. Look at some of these quotes at Cubs.com:
“[Using his platform to be a role model is] definitely something I’m big on,” Howard said. “I’m big on not only being a great player on the field, but I’m also big on being a great person off the field. My parents are real into that. They push me to be my best self at all times. I’ll definitely be a role model. I’ll definitely do things the right way all the time. I’m excited to get over there to the North Side ….
“There’s a lot of African-Americans that can play. There’s not that many in the league right now, but I definitely think there’s a lot more coming. I’m a guy. This is my Draft day, so in a few years I’ll be there, but I hear what [Theo Epstein is] saying.
“I feel like what’s going on in the world is real crazy. We all have got to come together and realize that we’re all the same, we’re all humans. I feel like everybody should just get along. Everybody love everybody. So, I’m excited, man. I think creating diversity is good for baseball. It should be diverse.”
• Teams that have made decisions on employees only through June are going to have to make decisions very soon, and they may have to do so without knowing whether there will be a season. The Astros appear to have done the right thing:
Astros owner Jim Crane told the team's full-time employees today there will be no layoffs or furloughs through Oct. 31, sources told The Athletic. Employees making $100,000 or more will take pay cuts.
— Jake Kaplan (@jakemkaplan) June 16, 2020
• Recall that the Nationals were the organization that initially was going to cut minor league pay to just $300 per week through June, and were roundly shamed into changing course. Now, they’ve changed course even further:
The Nationals have informed minor leaguers that they will make $400 a week through September 7, according to people with knowledge of the situation. That is when the minor league season would have ended. @EmilyCWaldon + @Britt_Ghiroli were first to mention.
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) June 16, 2020
• The lesson there is not only that justified shaming works, but that organizations *can* see their mistakes, change course, and make things better. The flashing light couldn’t be brighter for MLB as a whole: you screwed up the negotiations with the players, but now you can fix it.
• The craziest part of this moment was that it was 6’5″ Derrek Lee going up against 6’10” Chris Young. Just two enormous, enormous dudes getting angry:
https://twitter.com/ChiSportsDay/status/1272899362788605952
• Happy birthday to Kerry Wood, and an A+ on the glamour shot:
Happy birthday, Kid K! 🥳 pic.twitter.com/529ldrqZCW
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 16, 2020
• A heads up that the Echo Dot is 40% off at Amazon today (30 bucks). Also a huge sale on golf gear. #ad
