NEWSLETTER
Tomorrow will be the time to think about the longer-term consequences of this Chicago Bears season, depending on this outcome or that outcome or that front office decision or that QB decision. For today? It’s all about wanting to see them beat the effing Packers, and win themselves a spot in the postseason. I just want to enjoy it.
• I wondered when we’d start seeing pre-2021 power rankings in baseball, and the flip of the calendar makes logical sense. So here it is at MLB.com. But the rub? So much of the offseason is still un-done. Yeah, we know that some teams are gonna be awesome and some are gonna be stinky, but what about that fat juicy middle, where most teams have simply done nothing at all yet this offseason? I guess you rank them as they stand on paper, knowing that more may or may not be coming (since most of those teams in the middle seem to not want to add anyone anyway … )
• The Cubs rank right smack in the middle right now, at number 15, behind the Cardinals in the NL Central (12), and ahead of the Reds (16), Brewers (18), and Pirates (do I really have to type the number? You know the number). I think that’s probably fair for the Cubs since so much of league is looking really rough right now, pre-free-agency. Then again, for as much as you can still talk yourself into the Cubs’ lineup bouncing back and being a top 10 group, the rotation right now is absolutely terrifying. Kyle Hendricks and Zack Davies are who they are, and that’s good. But Alec Mills, overall, was sneaky disappointing in 2020. Adbert Alzolay had two fantastic outings after the change to his pitch mix, but can we be sure he won’t go through continued adjustment periods? And after those four, there’s a lot of depth, but it’s young, untested depth, most of which has not really even pitched above AA. Given that you not only need a fifth starter, but also lots and lots of extra innings behind that group (to account not just for the injuries that occur every year, but the fact that no one threw a ton of innings in 2020) … it’s just so yikes right now. It’s gotta be a bottom five group in MLB right now, yes? With all due love and respect.
• Also, no matter how well the Cubs construct the bullpen on the fly with breakout guys, you can’t sleep on the impact that the rotation will have on that bullpen. The more innings the bullpen group has to cover, the more difficulty you’re going to have in optimizing their performance (and keeping the best in the group healthy). Suffice to say, the Cubs need to add a starting pitcher or two in free agency, but at least they have lots of innings available to offer bounce-back guys like Corey Kluber or Garrett Richards or James Paxton.
• Speaking of the juicy middle of teams that have done almost nothing this offseason, here’s a roundup on that sentiment from Joel Sherman: “Two months into free agency — coinciding with the end of 2020 — half the majors’ teams (15) had not signed a non-foreign free agent for more than $1 million, including the entire NL Central. Keep in mind how little $1 million is: The average 2020 salary would have been $4.4 million had a full season been played. A dozen teams had yet to sign a free agent to a major league contract for any amount, including the Yankees.”
• The *only* team in the NL Central to sign a free agent so far to a big league deal is the Cubs (reliever Jonathan Holder, $750,000). Cubs flexin’ those big market muscles in the Central, baby.
• Missing this shot right about now, because it’s awesome:
Currently missing camera shots like this. pic.twitter.com/SXfC168lYa
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) January 2, 2021
• I have jokes about recent Cubs things using images of recent other sports things:
When they told you the Yu Darvish trade return. pic.twitter.com/HVsDehZp9l
— Brett Taylor (@Brett_A_Taylor) January 2, 2021
• This is interesting, though there’s a bit of a chicken-and-egg issue:
Current results.
Football is the one sport that least requires to have seen the NFL in-person in order to enjoy watching on TV.
Hockey on the other hand helps if you can watch the NHL in-person.
Baseball/basketball about even in terms of the in-person effect. https://t.co/3nfwpAdhhQ pic.twitter.com/l0bdkjiKQK
— Tangotiger (@tangotiger) January 2, 2021
• On the baseball one, you might conclude that this means people are faaaaaaaaar more likely to watch baseball on TV if they’ve seen a game live, but it’s also merely possible that people who already like watching baseball on TV are faaaaaaaaar more likely to attend a game live. But, man, if it’s even a little bit that first one? All the more reason to (1) make MLB games financially more accessible to fans, and (2) make minor league games more geographically accessible to fans. Someone should probably send MLB a fax on this.
• Clearing out inventory is a January tradition, so hit up the MLB Shop while you can:
The MLB Shop is clearing out inventory post-holidays, so you can get some stuff for dirt cheap right now: https://t.co/CNHr8jvzgM pic.twitter.com/OrJEpmjJqs
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) January 2, 2021
