MLBits: Shildt Suspended, Expanded Playoff Concern, DeGrom’s Cy Young Bid Takes a Hit, Targeting Jon Gray, More

I believe it was the philosopher Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, along with his partner Ke$ha Rose Sebert, who wisely observed: “I wish somebody would have told me, babe, some day these will be the good old days.”

I kid-ish, but those are words that’ve been on my mind a lot lately, particularly with respect to the Cubs 2020 season.

It’s become a little too common, I reckon, for most of us to look back on 2015 and 2016 as the best years to be a Cubs fan – often with longing and despair. And, sure, those were legitimately special seasons, but I wouldn’t sleep on 2020. This Cubs team has a LOT to offer, from a new manager (who’s been sufficiently solid that we don’t even talk about how weird it is that it’s DAVID FREAKIN’ ROSS), to the no-hitter, to Jon Lester’s final(?) season, to Yu Darvish’s Cy Young bid, to Jason Heyward’s utterly unexpected offensive explosion, to Ian Happ’s rise, to Willson Contreras’s framing, to Jason Kipnis’s everything, and to the fact that the Cubs are pretty much cruising towards their first NL Central title since 2017.

*This* is a great year to be a Cubs fan. Don’t let nostalgia blind you to the good old days of Cubs fandom happening right now.

Cardinals Manager Mike Shildt Suspended

In case you missed all the hoopla on Tuesday, the Cardinals and Brewers got into a bit of a dustup when Ryan Braun’s bat hit Yadi Molina’s glove and the benches cleared. In the fallout, Cardinals Manager Mik Shildt has been suspended one game, a sentence he’ll serve in the second half of a seven-inning double-header (which really makes it feel like hardly a suspension at all, or maybe seven-ninths of a suspension).

In any case, Shildt is being suspended for “actions that contributed to inciting the benches-clearing incident,” actions he doesn’t seem to feel particularly bad about:

“I hear chirping out of the dugout – we don’t start things,” Shildt said after the game. “But we’re not going to take it. I heard something that I didn’t appreciate.

“I don’t know where the insult came from. I feel like it was more directed to me, quite honestly,” Shildt said. “Did I do anything to warrant it? Perhaps. I was staring in the dugout. I will accept that. My hearing doesn’t suffer at all with a mask on. … There was a look in the dugout, there was something said, and at that point, all bets are off.”

“All bets are off” is exactly the sort of mature, thoughtful response you hope to hear from your manager in the middle of a pandemic, just two weeks away from the playoffs, when yours was a team that was entirely shut down because of an outbreak. /s

Expanded Playoffs Freakout

Ever since Rob Manfred strongly implied that an expanded postseason format could linger on beyond 2020, people have generally been freaking out online. And I don’t blame them. But as Ken Rosenthal points out, we’re really nowhere near needing to freak out.

For one, Manfred is not able to unilaterally change the postseason. He was able to do it this year with the approval of the players, approval that extends to this season only. For another, the expanded postseason conversation that existed before COVID-19 was about a 14-team format, not the current 16-team behemoth. And for yet another point, we may not even see any playoff expansion in next season, with the CBA up for negotiation after the year.

And when we get to that point, the choice won’t simply be between 10 teams, 14 teams, and 16 teams; there could be any number of completely unique formats on the table with any number of supporters and detractors. For now, this is just a 2020 thing. Let’s worry about the playoffs when we worry about the playoffs.

Jacob deGrom Departs After 2.0 IP, But Will He Return?

One of the biggest obstacles standing between Yu Darvish and his first Cy Young award is the two-time reigning Cy Young champion Jacob deGrom. But deGrom just hit a huge bump in the road, himself.

Last night, deGrom allowed three runs in two innings and was forced to leave the game with a right hamstring spasm. Listening to him discuss the injury/departure after the game, you can tell he was frustrated by (and perhaps even overtly aware of) the impact this could have on his shot at three straight Cy Young awards:

But the story isn’t over there.

The Mets will send deGrom through various tests over the coming days, and he’s clearly hoping to return immediately to get not one, but two more starts before the season is through:

Needless to say, the outcome here (whether or not he starts and how effective he is if he does) is going to have huge ramifications on the Cy Young race. Stay tuned. And also watch Trevor Bauer’s starts and hope he stinks.

Rockies Shut Down Jon Gray

Remember when Jon Gray was all the rage last deadline and offseason? Everybody wanted a piece of the 28-year-old righty coming off several solid seasons in a row with theoretical upside to spare, but the Rockies fought off the desire to trade him at every turn, prioritizing another run at the division in 2020. Now, unfortunately, he’s been shut down for the rest of the year thanks to right shoulder inflammation that first popped up back on September 2nd. Worse, in the eight 2020 starts Gray did make this year, he wasn’t very good at all: 6.69 ERA, abysmal strikeout rate, hard contact way up, velocity way down.

So what comes next? Well given the financial picture across baseball, his poor results, his injury, and his expected RAISE from $5.6 million in salary via arbitration, Jon Gray is a pretty obvious non-tender candidate in what’s going to be a dramatic uptick in non-tenders this offseason. The guys at MLBTR are already talking about it.

If he is indeed non-tendered, how about a buy-low option for the Cubs? Something to keep an eye on.

Odds and Ends:

•   MLB is pushing for higher voter turnout:

•   This was seriously one of the weirdest bounces you’ll ever see. In fact, it was so lucky I can’t believe it happened TO the Cardinals and not for them:

•   You threw DJ LeMahieu a 48 MPH pitch? Really? What’d you think was gonna happen?

written by

Michael Cerami began covering the Chicago Cubs for Bleacher Nation as a part-time contributor in 2015. One year later, he joined Bleacher Nation full-time, covering the Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball. Today, Michael runs Bleacher Nation, contributing as a writer (Cubs, MLB) and an editor for all sections of the site, including the Chicago Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks, as well as MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL. In 2019, Michael was the co-host of NBC Sports Chicago's Cubs Post-Game Show Outside the Ivy. You can find him on Twitter/X @Michael_Cerami

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

Orioles vs. Angels Probable Starting Pitchers – March 28

The Baltimore Orioles (0-0) open their 2024 season with a home game against the Los Angeles Angels (0-0) on Thursday, with first pitch at 3:05 PM ET.The Orioles will call on Corbin Burnes versus the Angels and Patrick Sandoval.Orioles vs....

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: Start Time, Streaming Live, 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.Keep reading to find out all the details on how to watch Arizona...

How to Watch Mariners vs. Red Sox: Live Stream or on TV

Luis Castillo will take the ball for the Seattle Mariners when they square off against starting pitcher Brayan Bello and the Boston Red Sox in their season opener on Thursday, with first pitch at 10:10 PM ET.The article below will...

Guardians vs. Athletics: Free Live Stream, TV Channel, How to Watch

The Cleveland Guardians, led by Jose Ramirez, square off against Brent Rooker and the Oakland Athletics in their first game of the season, at 10:07 PM ET on Thursday.If you're trying to watch this game, keep reading for streaming and...

Senators vs. Blackhawks Prediction: Odds, Picks, Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

The sportsbooks pick the Ottawa Senators to beat the Chicago Blackhawks in their matchup on Thursday, March 28, with the Senators given moneyline odds of -198 on home ice, and the Blackhawks at +164.Senators vs. Blackhawks Favorite, Moneyline, TotalFavorite: Senators...

more cubs news