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The former Cubs executive could help make the game better.
Thursday, Major League Baseball announced that former Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein would be joining the Commissioner’s office as “a consultant regarding on-field matters.”
More specifically, MLB’s press release announcing the hire stated:
Under the supervision of the Commissioner and the Owners’ Competition Committee, Epstein will work with baseball analytics experts from...
Danny Rockett
He’ll get the largest bonus the team has ever paid to an amateur international free agent.
This has been rumored for months, and today the Cubs have signed Dominican shortstop prospect Cristian Hernandez:
Source: #Cubs agree to $3 million deal with shortstop Cristian Hernandez, #6 on @MLBPipeline’s Top 30 Int’l Prospects list. https://t.co/mICaTNBDWa
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) January 15, 2021$3 million is the largest bonus the Cubs have ever given to a...
Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images
Corey Kluber pitches for the scouts. A look at the changes in the minor leagues. A modest proposal for the DH. The Astros one year after their scandal. Can pitchers handle the workload after a lost season?
There wasn’t any really big news this week in baseball, which worries me a great deal.
I’m still trying to re-gain the hang of these things. I almost wrote a review of the 1962 no-budget cult-classic horror film Carnival of Souls to fill up space,...
Photo by ?? Franklin McMahon/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
Scenes from the rich tapestry of the great game
... on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue brings a you a lighthearted Cubs-centric look at baseball’s past. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow along as we review select scenes from the rich tapestry of Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball history*.
Today in baseball history:
1888 - The Texas League is organized when the following six cities are...Hultzen will work as a pitching development assistant under Cubs assistant general manager/vice president of pitching Craig Breslow.
Signing Martinez may be a mere blip on the radar for fans, but he could provide the Mets with some needed defensive depth and coverage.
The 2020 season was a forgettable one for Martinez, who posted an awful .182/.265/.295 slash in 98 plate appearances between the Rays and the Cubs.
It's assumed Epstein will advise Manfred on issues such as pace-of-play and overall entertainment value, as well as how to improve the sport in the eyes of younger audiences.
There’s no indication yet as to whether this is a temporary post or a gateway to a more permanent position within the commissioner’s office.
Many view Epstein as a potential candidate to become MLB commissioner one day. Taking a job with the commissioner’s office could be a stepping stone that eventually leads to that.
Photo by Jeff Curry/Getty Images
Wait, hear me out.
After having traded Victor Caratini to the Padres in the Yu Darvish deal and stating that Miguel Amaya wouldn’t start 2021 in the major leagues, the Cubs need a backup catcher.
Why not make that guy Yadier Molina, one of the Cubs’ biggest nemeses of recent years, and a player Cubs fans love to hate?
No, I’m serious. Check out this note about Yadi from Derrick Goold in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Molina, 38, repeatedly has made clear...
Photo by David Banks/Getty Images
He’ll be a consultant.
When Theo Epstein stepped down as Cubs President of Baseball Operations, many people immediately connected him to the then-vacant similar post with the Phillies, the one that eventually went to Dave Dombrowski.
It was my feeling that Theo had likely had enough of that role, having done it for almost two decades and having broken two long World Series droughts. I felt he’d either try to get into team ownership, or go to the...
Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images
The types of players teams are looking for is different now. Also, a look at some previous Cubs rebuild attempts.
The years 2012 through 2014 weren’t the first Cubs rebuild years. When the Cubs dealt Glenn Beckert, Ron Santo, and Fergie Jenkins after the 1973 season, it was because the team's decision-makers wanted to get competitive, and doubted their presence was required for that to eventually happen. Jerry Morales, Steve Stone, and Bill Madlock chipped...
Al Yellon
It’s a good idea, but MLB is pressing forward with an on-time start.
Earlier this week, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred’s office sent a memo to all 30 teams telling them to prepare for an on-time start to Spring Training and the regular season.
Whether or not this happens, preparing for this is a good idea. If MLB can somehow do that, it’s good to be prepared.
With Arizona in particular being a hotspot for COVID-19 cases, it might be a good idea to delay Spring...
Photo by Robert Abbott Sengstacke/Getty Images
#Cubs and #MLB news you can use.
Like stick deodorant, we roll on. Like Lee Nails, we press on.
Tinker / Evers / Chance, Chicago #Cubs pic.twitter.com/9HKDEzNcwQ
— Gummy Arts (@gummyarts) January 13, 2021Here’s Cub Tracks News and Notes, your every-other-day-except-on-weekends escape from the humdrum. As always, * means autoplay on, or annoying ads, or both (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means...
Free agent Albert Almora Jr. is among the available center fielders on the Mets’ radar.
The Chicago Cubs are looking to add some depth to their rotation ahead of the 2021 season. They still aren't sure if Jon Lester will be back, so they're looking at other veteran options.
Photo by H. Armstrong Roberts/Classicstock/Getty Images
“Big Daddy” at bat.
The information included with this Getty Images photo is... not really grammatically correct:
1970s Strike Batter Missing The Pitched Ball Philadelphia Phillies And Chicago Cubs Baseball Game Veterans Stadium Philadelphia Pa USA
Well, I suppose it could have been fixed with a little punctuation:
1970s. Strike. Batter Missing The Pitched Ball. Philadelphia Phillies And Chicago Cubs Baseball Game, Veterans Stadium,...
Photo by Diamond Images/Getty Images
I’ve given the photo giant some information for their historic photos.
I had been thinking about doing this for some time, and then in a recent sleuthing post, BCB reader naplajoie suggested that I contact Getty Images and offer up the information I sleuthed to them, so they could update the data on various photos.
I located an email address for a Getty executive and did exactly that.
The next day I received an email from Karen Leach, manager of search...
The skyline of Nashville, Tennessee, a possible MLB expansion city | Photo by: John Greim/Loop Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
... even though it could bring a lot of money to current owners.
Major League Baseball hasn’t expanded for more than 20 years. The last teams added to MLB’s mix, the Tampa Bay (then Devil) Rays and Arizona Diamondbacks, were first created in 1995 and given three years to put together a farm system before their first games in 1998.
It’s been...