NEWSLETTER
Hey, there was actually some Winter Meetings-like activity yesterday for the first day of the virtual meetings. No, we don’t have that same buzz created by the chatter around the halls, but there were two legit trades consummated, with the Reds sending closer Raisel Iglesias to the Angels, and the Rangers sending righty Lance Lynn to the White Sox.
• I enjoyed looking back through this list at MLB.com of the top 100 plays of the year, now that I’ve got sufficient distance from the season not to be annoyed by anything that happened with the Cubs, and also have forgotten some of the cool stuff that happened. Obviously the top moment for the Cubs is the Alec Mills no-hitter, which comes in at number 7. Most of what is ahead of Mills makes sense to me, from the Slam Diego four games in a row with a grand slam to some incredible home run robberies to Lucas Giolito’s slightly-more-impressive no-hitter. But, with all due respect to Mookie Betts, whose rocket arm took the top spot, how on earth is this insane, nearly indescribable World Series walk-off not number one (it was number two):
UNBELIEVABLE. 😱#WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/kkzidC2d95
— MLB (@MLB) October 25, 2020
• We’ve talked about this before, but the Jason Heyward homer off of Josh Hader (and follow homer by Ildemaro Vargas) is pretty hard for me not to put on top of the Cubs’ moments this season. Mills’ no-hitter feels like less of a “moment” than an awesome game that we’ll always remember.
• JJ Cooper hears that the official announcement of the 120 minor league affiliates going forward could come tomorrow. It remains our expectation that the Cubs will stick with South Bend, Myrtle Beach, Tennessee, and Iowa, with Eugene moving to another organization, but nothing is official until it’s official. And we might hear some rumors as soon as today:
Multiple sources have told me we could get some clarity as soon as today on what the list of 120 affiliated @MiLB teams will be moving forward.
— Tommy Birch (@TommyBirch) December 8, 2020
• Ope, Len is cancelled:
Len Kasper said Tim Anderson is the best SS in Chicago. Chills
— Julian ❄️ (@Julian4948) December 8, 2020
Referring to my last tweet, i wasn’t trolling. So chills pic.twitter.com/ENW3scD6hH
— Julian ❄️ (@Julian4948) December 8, 2020
• I kid. What Kasper says is perfectly justifiable there, given what Tim Anderson has done the last couple years (relative to what Javy Báez has done). Right now, Anderson probably is the best shortstop in Chicago. But that switch can flip quite quickly when it comes to Javy, and for as entertaining and vibrant as Anderson is, there is only one El Mago.
• And they have a Hall of Famer Baseball Person managing:
White Sox hitters: Jose Abreu, Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada, Yasmani Grandal, Luis Robert, Eloy Jimenez, more.
White Sox rotation: Lucas Giolito, Dallas Keuchel, Lance Lynn, Dylan Cease, more.
Oh, and Michael Kopech is back throwing and reportedly looks very good.
That's a team.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 8, 2020
• Mets owner:
The new Mets owner is quite an ornery bloke. And I enjoy it. pic.twitter.com/3XZoKCmOoJ
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) December 8, 2020
• Cubs and Cubs fans doing good:
#CubsCharities collected over 1,100 items for @LakeviewPantry over the weekend!
Give back this holiday season by donating non-perishable food items at the Cubs Store at @GallagherWayChi through December 20 and receive a 20% discount on your purchase. pic.twitter.com/3DsYSlmBJi
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) December 7, 2020
• This is very well done:
They wear no eye black
They got no day baseball
He got rosin fingers
He shoot
Nasty sliders
Strikes called one, and one, and one for three
Hate to be caught looking
But there's nowhere to swing https://t.co/KfjmzJ0GEQ— In-Feels Fly Girl (@infieldflygrl) December 7, 2020
• Adam Wainwright is the Roberto Clemente winner this year:
Long awaited, more than deserved.
Adam Wainwright is your 2020 Roberto Clemente Award Winner! pic.twitter.com/SKcyCoo8rw
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) December 7, 2020
https://twitter.com/InfieldChatter/status/1336035248501530624
• How things are trending in the Central:
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) December 7, 2020
• A whole bunch of Amazon devices are on big discounts today, so peruse away. #ad
