Go to Hell, Theo
The suits at Desipio’s parent company are demanding fresh content, and so they had me pre-write this in the event that the Cubs do the unthinkable and trade Luis Valbuena over the Christmas holiday. I think I handled it very maturely. Of course, it’s…
Theo briefs Jon Lester on Chicago media
Our good friend Bruce Miles confirmed something we were about to leak. Before signing with the Cubs, Jon Lester was briefed on what to expect from the media who cover the team. Theo briefed Lester on Chicago media. He still signed with #Cubs — Bruce Miles…
The rebuilding is over
The hard part, for Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer, ended sometime last season. It was probably about the time Jorge Soler joined Javy Baez on the active roster. For three years, two very competitive guys had to have the discipline to make moves for tomorrow, not today,…
Putting the ‘pale’ in Pale Hose
The White Sox made a couple of late night moves to acquire former Cubs pitcher/wide receiver Jeff Samardzija and former Yankees closer David Robertson. So far, the Sox have been very active this offseason, picking up mostly a cast of mediocrities, so getting two…
Some guys can’t take a hint
Less than six months after trading him away, the Cubs have re-signed pitcher Jason Hammel. This time, Hammel gets a nice raise, a second guaranteed year and a third year option. I’m sure that’ll help console him next July when he’s packing his…
Oh, goody, Ryan Dempster’s back
Just when everything seemed to be going so well. The Cubs offseason had included getting the best manager in the game, bringing back Hank White, adding Dave Martinez to the coaching staff, and making an ambitious run at Jon Lester. Hey, they’d even seen the…
Adventures in Twitter with Bruce Levine
The Score’s baseball insider Bruce Levine gets his fair share of scoops. He’s plugged in with both Chicago baseball teams, the Cubs and the other one, and he has a pipeline straight to Tom Ricketts and his manservant Dennis Culloton. Bruce also is a friend…
Sponsorship has its privileges
The Cubs announced today that the big videoboard in left field (the one giving hokey traditionalists the vapors) that will debut sometime next season, will bear the name of Wintrust Financial. Apparently that is a bank, or some shit. My good friends in the Cubs…
Not everybody wants to play for your favorite team
Being a Cubs fan wouldn’t be all that bad if it weren’t for two things: 1) the soul-crushing losing 2) other Cubs fans. For the past three years we’ve had it pretty easy. The team has been purposely horrible (as opposed to the unintentionally…
Cubs host Nerdfest Q and A with Crane
Yesterday, the Cubs invited a gaggle of Cubs bloggers to sit down with Cubs Vice President for Business Mismanagement Crane Kenney. Apparently they didn’t have postal addresses for Hire Jim Essian or me. But, thankfully, our good friend Al Yellon did score…
What the Panda in Boston means to the Cubs
Remember a few years ago when the Red Sox went apeshit in the offseason and signed every free agent and then flamed out in September and fired Tito Francona and Theo left and then they hired Bobby Valentine and the team sucked and the Dodgers took all of those bad…
Off to a grand start
The Cubs are off to a flying start this offseason, they have already shuffled their coaching staff, then dumped manager Rick(y) Renteria in favor of Joe Maddon, and why yesterday they traded Arodys Vizcaino back to the Barves from which he came, to bring in lefty…
My hot take on Derrick Rose
Long before I was a fading blog star who wrote often (and then only occasionally, and now a little more often than occasionally) about the Cubs I was literally a world famous NBA writer who got paid to do it. I tell you this not to brag (because it was the late…
A GM meetings primer
The MLB general managers meetings are held this week in Arizona. We know what the winter meetings, held in December are. But what gets done at the GM meetings? They’re not just an excuse for 30 overpaid (mostly) white dudes to play golf in the desert,…
EJax must go! Interview with a candidate: Nick Swisher
Now that the Cubs mercy killing of Ricky Renteria’s career has been completed, they need to get on with the real business of the offseason. Dumping Edwin Jackson. Am I right? Edwin’s due $11 million each of the next two seasons, and he’s been…
Joe called Ricky
True to his word, new Cubs manager Joe Maddon placed a call to former Cubs manager Rick(y) Renteria not long after the press conference to announce Joe’s hiring. You might think it would be awkward for the old manager to have to talk to the guy who not only…
Boring is for suckers
It took all of about 180 seconds yesterday for Joe Maddon to do two things…get about a tenth of the way through his press conference preamble, and for the world to see his appeal. If you could just hire any competent manager and hand him the Cubs roster and…
Ricky’s getting off easy
With the Joe Maddon to the Cubs announcement due any time now, there is still some (not a lot, granted) hand-wringing about what this move says about the Cubs management. Sure, they are spending big to hire the best manager they can get, but in the process they are…