I am bummed the Cubs did not make these playoffs, man. There is fun stuff happening. I wish the Cubs were somehow involved.
That made me think of something that’ll just say out of context for now, but will obviously be explored throughout the offseason. Having done this a long time, I can say that, when teams take a huge step forward year-to-year, they often look a whole lot like the Chicago Cubs’ situation right now: solid big league core, deep and yet also top-heavy farm system, financial flexibility to make impact additions.
Does that mean the 2024 Cubs WILL take a big step forward from 2023? Of course not. They might not do enough this offseason. Baseball might get squirrelly next year. Stuff happens. But I’m just saying, this is the SHAPE we often see when teams jump from 80-ish wins to 90-ish. (All the more reason NOT to screw around this offseason, and make sure you add those impact pieces!)
Cody Bellinger offers up the after-season thank you to, among others, Cubs fans (who assuredly all respond with, please let this just be the beginning):
Hey, that’s a former Cubs prospect he’s referencing:
Had a guy in Lansing call time, I throw ball anyway, he hits the ball about 450 ft, ump said “no HR you called time”… Next pitch he hits another bomb, this one counts. Next at bat he goes deep again. 3 Hr in 2 at bat. Was not a fun experience. His name was Brian Dopirak. https://t.co/2h0V29mOl9— Eric O’Flaherty (@EOF34) October 12, 2023
Francisco Lindor had surgery to remove a bone spur from his right elbow, but is expected to be good to go for Spring Training.
Comcast moves ROOT Sports NW off the basic tier to its “Ultimate” tier. Customers informed that the move will add $20 a month to keep Mariners, Blazers, Kraken content.
That’s not the same as a provider dropping the RSN – which has also happened in recent years, obviously – but it’s pretty darn close. The whole value proposition for teams and RSNs was that their channel would be carried on the most basic tier of cable, thus they get carriage fees for every subscriber, thus the team can get massive rights fees from the RSN. Whether the provider drops the channel or boots it to an ultra-premium tier, the impact is the same: carriage fees to the RSN fall dramatically, and the desire to pay massive rights fees to the team goes down significantly.
In the end, remember, these are all just variations on a theme: the RSN business model is crumbling to dust, and MLB and its teams will have to figure out ways to replace the coming loss in revenue from the old model. For many teams (like the Cubs) that will include a robust direct-to-consumer streaming option, which at least cushions the transition. For other teams, it will involve getting subsumed by the league and offered up as part of a bundle (with MLB’s end goal to be that ALL games for ALL teams would someday be available, without blackouts, on a single service).
Former Cubs coach Will Venable is still a hot managerial candidate, but for now, he’s taking himself off the market to stick with the Rangers under Bruce Bochy:
NEWS: Will Venable, Rangers associate manager, has been contacted by multiple @MLB teams regarding their managerial openings, but he’s told those clubs that he’s staying with Texas.
This is a significant development. Venable, 40, is highly regarded in the industry. @MLBNetwork— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) October 12, 2023
There’s a good chance that *IF* the Cubs made a change at manager after the 2024 season, Venable would be receiving a call to interview. Is that a factor in him staying off the circuit this year? Eh, I doubt it. Way too much speculation there, including him having to guess that David Ross would be fired next year – faaaaar from a lock. Instead, I wonder if he is simply very happy with the Rangers right now, and thinks he’ll have a chance to succeed Bochy in a couple years.
It really gives you a sense of how each pitch type fits into a VERY GENERAL movement bucket. Toss in the velocity differences (not included in the chart, but generally speaking the higher-velocity pitches are the higher groups), and you have an even better understanding of how these pitches work together. You can also see how and why pitch classifications bleed together for different pitchers. (Also, dollars to donuts: one of those weird, outlying four-seam fastballs to the right of the main group is Justin Steele’s.)
Woohoo! It begins! Even without Shohei Ohtani news, the Winter Meetings are getting started tonight with a fairly big trade. The Atlanta Braves have reportedly acquired 24-year-old outfielder Jarred Kelenic, 27-year-old 1B Evan White, and 31-year-old lefty Marco Gonzales from...
Long-time Major League manager Jim Leyland today received the good news that he'd been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in a vote by the Contemporary Baseball Era Non-Players Committee. Leyland managed in 22 seasons with the Pirates,...
The Chicago Cubs haven't done much yet this offseason, officially, but I have no doubt they have been active. And while they wait for certain big shoes to drop, they took care of an important order of business this weekend....
We have known for quite some time that the Chicago Cubs would be interested in 25-year-old Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Cubs have scouted him like other interested teams, they've been reported to have interest, and there's also just kind...
The obsession, like the relative silence, continues ... It has felt for a while that Shohei Ohtani's free agent process would come to a head on the eve of the Winter Meetings. Maybe that's largely because we WANTED it to...
Hide your young kids' eyes: We are seeing Santa Number Two today, after seeing Santa Number One yesterday. There just happened to be events on back-to-back days that we wanted to take the kids to, each of which featured a...
Caveats aplenty here. There is a whole lot of high-stakes incentives flying around to propel misinformation, especially around the Yankees-Padres trade talks, because they are CLEARLY using the media to get out some of their desired messaging. But another report...
Within a FIVE-MINUTE SPAN, multiple reports dropped all communicating more or less the same thing: the Yankees and Padres have hit a wall in their long-reported and long-active Juan Soto trade talks. The trio of reports: https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/1730714790102806825 https://twitter.com/martinonyc/status/1730715967234179146 https://twitter.com/martinonyc/status/1730716683709419917 https://twitter.com/TheAthletic/status/1730716395976151309...
Time to start watching the annual Christmas movies. I might go with 'Love Actually' tonight. I don't care what you say. It's good. It is so hard right now. So hard to focus on ANYTHING. I know it's just baseball,...
In addition to Jeff Passan this morning listing the likely final teams on Shohei Ohtani as the Cubs, Dodgers, Blue Jays, and Angels - with the Giants an unknown - you can add two more who seem to be hearing...
The Clemson Tigers (7-0) bring a seven-game winning streak into a home matchup with the South Carolina Gamecocks (7-0), who have won seven straight as well.Clemson won its most recent game against Pittsburgh, 79-70, on Sunday. Joseph Girard III was...
The Siena Saints (2-6) face the Bryant Bulldogs (5-4) on December 6, 2023. The matchup airs on ESPN+.Siena dropped its previous game to Mount St. Mary's, 80-48, on Sunday. Zek Tekin led the way with 13 points, and also had...
The Stetson Hatters (5-3) play the Charlotte 49ers (4-3) at Halton Arena on December 5, 2023.In its previous game, Charlotte lost to Davidson on Wednesday, 85-81. Igor Milicic Jr. scored a team-high 19 points (and chipped in three assists and...
The Vanderbilt Commodores (4-4) battle the San Francisco Dons (5-3) on December 6, 2023. The matchup airs on SEC.In its previous game, Vanderbilt beat Alabama A&M on Saturday, 78-59. Its high scorer was Tyrin Lawrence with 19 points. San Francisco...
The Navy Midshipmen (2-4) hope to end a three-game road losing streak when they visit the George Washington Revolutionaries (6-2) on December 5, 2023.In its most recent game, George Washington lost to South Carolina on Friday, 89-67. Darren Buchanan Jr....
The Morgan State Bears (2-8) will try to turn around a seven-game losing streak when they host the UMBC Retrievers (5-5) on December 6, 2023 at Hill Field House.In its most recent game, Morgan State lost to Longwood on Sunday,...
The Coppin State Eagles (1-8) battle the Wagner Seahawks (3-4) on December 6, 2023. The matchup airs on ESPN+.In its most recent game, Coppin State fell to Navy on Sunday, 75-52. Justin Winston scored a team-high 14 points (and chipped...
The Pittsburgh Panthers (5-3) face the West Virginia Mountaineers (3-4) at WVU Coliseum on December 6, 2023.West Virginia lost its previous game to St. John's, 79-73, on Friday. Quinn Slazinski was its high scorer with 19 points. Pittsburgh lost its...
The Robert Morris Colonials (2-6) aim to end a four-game road losing streak when they visit the Canisius Golden Griffins (5-4) on December 6, 2023.Canisius dropped its most recent game to Saint Peter's, 54-52, on Sunday. Frank Mitchell led the...
The NJIT Highlanders (1-6) will visit the Fordham Rams (4-4) after losing four straight road games.In its most recent game, Fordham lost to Tulane on Sunday, 89-81. Antrell Charlton scored a team-high 18 points (and added three assists and six...
