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Bryant….. has the scent of trying to shuffle some of his hitting woos to Chili D. Bryant is barely half the player that Arenado is.
Molina takes on Bryant and Dempster.
Saw #stlcardinals outfielder Dexter Fowler at #stlblues game, said Kris Bryant texted him and apologized for comments he made earlier. #Cubs
— Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) January 20, 2019
A look at the #Cubs channel expected to launch by spring training 2020: Sinclair’s potential acquisition of the 22 regional sports networks up for grabs in the Disney/Fox merger appears to be a key piece of the puzzle. https://t.co/PZr39dkoUT
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) January 20, 2019
Let us hope the smack continues. My only concern is that if the words get too harsh, the possible negative effect it could have on our real young fans. If I had a young son, I most definitely would want him to be a competitive chap, but not to the point where he’s routinely calling his opponents “losers”, “flunkees”, “total failures” or “cub lovers”. But rivalries in full swing make the games so much more interesting. From a fan’s standpoint, rivalries are exciting. But from a player’s view, one would think that they would want to avoid enticing their opponents to pull out all the stops in a quest to beat the living daylights out of them. If I were managing the Cardinals, I would want all of the players to be well versed on the history of the storied rivalry with the cubs. I would do my best to instill an intense hatred in each and every one of them for Chicago’s North siders. BUT…..I would demand that they not utter a single word of their feelings outside the friendly confines of their own clubhouse.
We all know of baseball’s 3 main rivalries. I find it utterly impossible to rank them in order of intensity though. Hats off to St.Louis-Chicago, NY-Boston and LA-SF fans for keeping those rivalry fires a flaming for so many decades. The Phillies…..one would think the City of Brotherly Love’s baseball team would have at least one heated rivalry brewing. Their football team has a nasty one going with the Giants. The cross State Pirates would be a logical choice, but for whatever reason it has never fully materialized. Maybe their fans can prod the Phillies into getting an all out atrocious conflict going with one of their rivals. The Nats possibly? It has to be geographically close to Philadelphia, as that is rule #1 in forming a decent rivalry….having the 2 teams close enough to each other that the fans can easily visit their rivals ballparks, clad in the full colors of their beloved team and acting totally obnoxious…..especially when their team is beating the heck out of the home team. Does it really get any better than that?This is all really a big bunch of nothing. Everyone is bored during the off season because there is nothing else of significance to talk about.
“If I were managing the Cardinals, I would want all of the players to be well versed on the history of the storied rivalry with the cubs.”
Agreed, Pugs. And you know what’s funny? I initially read “storied rivalry” remark as “steroid rivalry.” As in, a rivalry on steroids. (Which it is, since the cubs finished tanking.) Or maybe a jab at the PED-tainted McGwire/Sosa battle of 1998.
“…one would think the City of Brotherly Love’s baseball team would have at least one heated rivalry brewing.”
I think the overheated rivalry in Philly is between the team and their own fans, Pugs. Or between the fans and Santa, not sure which.
“Cub lover” – the ultimate insult!
You got it, CC! So much worse than even the hurtful “cub fan.”
Anyway, regarding the business of a cubbienetwork in the near future…I’m not concerned. With the MLB luxury tax thresholds being relatively low, and the punishments now including draft pick penalties, the $$ playing field (relative to revenues only) is probably more level than it’s ever been. The Dodgers and Red Sox and cubs have been winning lately because they got smart guys Friedman and Dombrowski and Epstein, moreso than their fat wallets. Smart guys hire smart underlings, and more importantly they hire smart managers for the dugout.
We see the tiny-market Brewers with a player payroll at 70% of the first tax penalty level, and also see multiple high revenue teams apparently unwilling to even enter the bidding for Harper/Machado. With this new network the Ricketts family will make more money than ever, but I don’t expect it to influence the cub player payroll much, if at all — and thus it should have miniscule bearing on cubbie team quality going forward.
. With this new network the Ricketts family will make more money than ever, but I don’t expect it to influence the cub player payroll much, if at all — and thus it should have miniscule bearing on cubbie team quality going forward.
This is very true Bob. It is a great deal for the owners.
Same with the Cardinals new $1B TV deal. For the last 3 years we heard a lot about how when the new TV deal kicked in the Cards would start acting like big spenders. Well it has kicked in but I think our team is still rather frugal while always monitoring the occasional splurge. In other words, the same method as before the TV deal.
Bryant’s remark got 99 percent of the attention from the Cubs Convention this past weekend. This is a really long review that does not say a lot, IMO, but I came away with several conclusions:
The event did not sell out as it did past years.
Ricketts did not take fan questions, as he did in prior years.
Cubs fans seem pretty upset.https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2019/1/22/18191535/unconventional-cubs-convention-wrap
I guess the only thing more boring than St. Louis is this year’s Cubs offseason unless you consider Danny D exciting.
The #Cubs make nice move fortifying bullpen with the signing of Brad Brach to one-year, $3 million contract.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 24, 2019
There was a line in our local paper under the “Transactions” column that stated the Cubs hired some guy as “Director of High Performance”.
I understand that the nation is becoming more accepting of marijuana use, and many states, including the one I live in, have made recreational use of it legal. Thus I am not sure of the Cubs are ahead of the curve on creating a position focusing on players who perform high, or if this is more an analytical post, where they assess the potential value in guys when they are half-baked. 🙂
“It’s getting harder and harder to like the Cubs” – The Sun-Times sums up a bad two-plus years for the Baby Bears.
It has always been hard for me to like the Cubs so no change there.
It hasn’t been a good winter for the North Siders for sure. No big splashy free agents unless you count Hamels and now a member of their ownership group acting like an ignorant retard.
It would be easy for us to gloat except we have had our PR problems too in recent years (Hackgate) and the fact the Cubs still have the most talented roster in the NLC, on paper at least.
The Chicago Cubs and Sinclair broadcasting will announce today the formation of Marquee regional sports network. This will be the exclusive home for all Chicago Cub TV games beginning in Feb 2020.
— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) February 13, 2019
“I come in and look at my team only, and I know how good we can be. The last couple years we have been that team to beat. I still feel like we’re the team to beat, regardless of how teams are stacked up.”
— Carl Edwards Jr. https://t.co/I3UJ2mwSx5— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubMLB) February 14, 2019
This story mirrors what some here have talked about – that the Cubs may have missed their window.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/did-the-cubs-miss-their-chance-to-be-a-dynasty/
I would be thrilled if this is true but I’m very skeptical of all of these experts claiming doom and gloom for the Cubs. During the last four seasons the win totals for the Cubs have been:
97
103
92
95They still have the same core as the previous four teams so where is the regression coming from? There may be some injuries but enough for them to slide back to a 82-87 win team? I doubt it.
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…where is the regression coming from?Most likely from their starting pitching.
Only if they have significant injuries. That is possible but you can’t count on it.
Only if they have significant injuries. That is possible but you can’t count on it.
Only?? If the guys we were counting on on the rotation were 35, 35, 32, 30 and 29, we would be freaking out and saying we needed to add a free agent starter or some young blood. They are certainly at the age where they could fall off the proverbial cliff.
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