Bryant and the Care of the Core, Another Top Executive Job Opens Up, and Other Cubs Bullets

Bought a gigantic box of gigantic cookies yesterday, because it made no sense to me to buy a regular sized box of gigantic cookies. I have some eating to do. Don’t call me a hero.

•   Kris Bryant’s comments to Patrick Mooney about the Cubs core having stuck together for so long, and having gone through this year together, present some interesting framing for an offseason that could see him leaving or extended or just heading into his walk year:

“It means a lot to all of us,” Bryant said. “Those guys in there, too, will probably say that we’ve taken each other for granted. You never really realized how long you have playing with each other. It’s been incredible just to be here with those guys. Obviously, you see what they can do on the field. But just as people – as husbands and fathers and brothers – it’s unbelievable. This group of people here in this organization and everybody in the city, it’s just amazing. It’s been so fun. Even this year, it’s been so fun.

“I have to commend everybody involved, with this organization, with MLB. I know I said some comments earlier – before this all started in summer camp – how maybe I didn’t feel safe. But, gosh, man, everything about this season was first-class. I’m actually kind of scared to go home. Leaving this, I’m sad, because I had so much fun with these guys.”

•   These guys all know how different things could be in 2021. And if not 2021, then certainly 2022. We’ve already talked a great deal about how the Cubs aren’t in a great spot to dismantle right now – the pieces you might be interested in shopping have almost no trade value in the current market, and are probably worth much more just bringing back to see what happens in 2021. We all want to see change, but it’s worth keeping in mind that this season was so bizarre that it’s hard to say for certain that bringing the core back in 2021 just means it’ll all be the same again. Certainly these players would be happy to be reunited for one last run. And maybe they all play better – in walk years, mind you – if they’re still together? I don’t know. There aren’t easy answers or avenues on this one.

•   The Phillies have an opening at the top of their organizational ladder:

•   Together with the Angels opening, that’s now two very high-profile, win-now, big-money jobs available to a top executive. I know that people will start asking about yesterday’s report that Theo Epstein could depart the Cubs as soon as this offseason. Obviously  you can’t rule anything out, but I think there would be legitimate questions about Epstein’s interest in simply moving on to another baseball organization. He might be into it, he might not. He’s led two big-market orgs for 20 years now – he’s gonna have a wide, wide range of options for the next thing, be it within baseball, another sport, or some other sphere entirely.

•   Yu Darvish kicked ass this year:

•   Halloween costumes, outdoor tools, home appliances, and more are your Deals of the Day at Amazon. #ad

•   The MLB.com beat writer for the Cubs is quite awesome in many ways, including staging this hilarious set of pictures:

•   Great local news, as Silvy is in remission:

Great classic shot:

written by

Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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