I mean, there's no conceivable reason that one would have a repeatable skill of hitting better as a PH. Favorable matchups may explain some of it, but I'm still going to go with mostly fluke or coincidence.

“I guess I need to make some adjustments in the way I deliver my message to the millennial players now. I need to make those adjustments for the next job I get, if there is one.

“But without losing my identity,” he added. “Because I know what I know. And I know what I bring is not wrong. I’m not going to blame myself for this. I’m not going to blame anyone. It didn’t work.

“It’s surprising. It’s disappointing,” he said. “But Jed and Theo had to make a decision, and they did. All I can say is I appreciate the opportunity they gave me, and the next time around I’ll do a better job.”

“Hopefully, he has better success at this than I did,” said Davis, who stressed no hard feelings with the Cubs. “But regardless of who’s there, certain players there are going to have to make some adjustments, because the game’s changed, and pitchers are pitching them differently. They’re not pitching to launch angles and fly balls and all that anymore. They’re pitching away from that.

“They’re going to have to make that adjustment whether I’m there or not.”

Davis, who said he’s already been contacted by “three or four” other teams, had high praise for veteran Ben Zobrist, who had a big bounce-back year in 2018, but when asked about some others said, “I’m not going to say anything about other players.”

“I learned a lot this year,” he added. “I learned that the next situation I get in, before I say yes to a job, I need to make sure I know the personnel I’ll be dealing with in the clubhouse.

“I hope that the next guy connects better with the players, because I felt that there were multiple players there I didn’t connect with. It wasn’t that I didn’t try. It just wasn’t there.”

the game’s changed, and pitchers are pitching them differently. They’re not pitching to launch angles and fly balls and all that anymore. They’re pitching away from that.

a somewhat nice restaurant that nonetheless was pretty much a nicer version of a Chili's

20 years ago I worked in a somewhat nice restaurant that nonetheless was pretty much a nicer version of a Chili's and so to piss off our executive chef we would sing the babyback song all the time during service. It would drive him nuts.

670 The Score @670TheScore

Alan Nero on Joe Maddon being grilled about the Addison Russell situation before the domestic violence investigation was completed: "It's like everyone asking Trump how he's going to handle the Saudis before he has all the information."

Girardi surprised reds by pulling out Friday. He had a chance to win job at that point but they never got to point of talking money with him. He also pulled out of rangers derby. Industry speculation: he’s waiting a year on Chicago

Bill: Nico Hoerner is only player from the 2018 draft in the AFL. He was hurt mid-season so he needs at bats. How is he holding up against upper level competition?
Keith Law: Smart player but didn’t make much hard contact and he’s smaller than I thought. I think maybe a high-average/high OBP second baseman?

When slick fielding shortstop Addison Russell went out with injury, then later a suspension, Javy Baez stepped over from his second base position without missing a beat for the Cubs. His defense is elite at both second base and shortstop. He also moves to third base and first base, whenever needed, with tremendous success. He saved five runs at second base, three at shortstop and two more at third base in 2018. He led all infielders (not counting first baseman) with 46 Good Fielding Plays in 2018. He is excellent turning double plays from both second base and shortstop. His ability to make tags on throws is legendary.

The Cubs must make a decision on that option by Thursday. If the Cubs don't pick up the $20-million option, the Rangers would be on the hook for the 34-year-old Hamels' $6-million buyout, per terms on the contract.

If the Cubs pick up Hamels' option, they can begin negotiating a longer extension with him as early as Friday. If the Cubs choose not to pick up Hamels' option and then turn around and sign him to a new contract right away anyway, they could have to fend off a possible grievance from the Rangers, who would be on the hook for the $6-million buyout in that situation.

A middle ground could also involve sending the Rangers some sort of compensation. The first step in everything is the Cubs exercising or declining Hamels' option.

A middle ground could also involve sending the Rangers some sort of compensation.

Jesse Rogers @ESPNChiCubs 5m5 minutes ago

Cubs news: Not a surprise, reliever Brandon Kintzler will be exercising his $5 million player option for 2019 after the Cubs declined a $10 million team option on him for next season, per a source.

Chicago Cubs @Cubs 1m1 minute ago

The #Cubs today claimed OF Johnny Field off waivers from the Minnesota Twins.

#Cubs might make a trade to clear salary before picking up Hamels’ $20M option, sources tell The Athletic. At this point, a long-term deal for Hamels is unlikely. If Cubs decline option and make Hamels a free agent, #Rangers will pay his $6M buyout. But goal is to keep him.

Other teams' read on the Cubs' situation this winter: They have very little payroll flexibility, and will have to spend very carefully to affect upgrades for the 2019 season. The days of having a cheap core of young players are over for the front office.

Sahadev Sharma @sahadevsharma

I'll have more thoughts as the offseason goes along, but if they use money as an excuse from capitalizing on this clear window, it's an absolute sham and should be called out as such.

Jerry Crasnick @jcrasnick 11m11 minutes ago

The #Cubs are picking up Cole Hamels' $20 million option today, according to sources. In a related move, they're trading pitcher Drew Smiley to the #Rangers.

Smiley

I'm comfortable the Cubs could replace Chatwood, Kintzler, or Duensing and their production with guys they already have.

Cubs claimed INF Jack Reinheimer off waivers from Mets,
reinstated Yu, Morrow, Hancock and Zagunis off 60-day DL and
outrighted Gore and Freeman. 40-man now at 39

A baseball offseason is unpredictable and constantly changing. Theo Epstein’s front office is forward-thinking and extremely creative. But Friday’s salary-dump trade – moving Drew Smyly to the Texas Rangers in order to pick up the $20 million option on Cole Hamels – reinforced what multiple sources have told The Athletic: The Cubs have financial concerns that may limit their ability and motivation to make a huge splash this winter.

Player of the Week: Nico Hoerner, SS, Cubs
60 AB, 21 H, 7 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, HR, 8 RBI (14 games)

With their top pick for 2018, the Chicago Cubs opted for the bat of Stanford University shortstop Nico Hoerner and it hasn’t taken long this fall season to see what made him so attractive.

“I like him a lot,” Lou Marson said. “To be honest, he’s my favorite player on this team.”

The 6-1 shortstop jumped three levels in his first summer with the Cubs organization, ending the year with Class-A South Bend.

Although he wasn’t known for home run power in college — hitting a total of 10 dingers over his three-year career in the Pac-12 — he’s shown some raw pop at the plate since arriving in Mesa.

With speed as his selling tool, Hoerner makes good use of his body and his defense has caught Marson’s attention.

“He’s a very good shortstop,” Marson said. “He makes all the routine plays and has great back speed. The Cubs have a good player. I think that I see him moving through the system very quickly, especially as a college guy. Great kid, works hard. His instincts on the bases are unbelievable as well.”

“He’s an all-around player,” Marson continued. “Really falls in the dirt, stealing bases, he’s a good kid.”

A baseball offseason is unpredictable and constantly changing. Theo Epstein’s front office is forward-thinking and extremely creative. But Friday’s salary-dump trade – moving Drew Smyly to the Texas Rangers in order to pick up the $20 million option on Cole Hamels – reinforced what multiple sources have told The Athletic: The Cubs have financial concerns that may limit their ability and motivation to make a huge splash this winter.

There is a path opening for Russell to potentially come back to Wrigley Field and wear a Cubs uniform again, sources told The Athletic, stressing that no final decision has been made yet. The Cubs understand that a conditional return would be controversial and unpopular and could backfire in a way that alienates fans and again embarrasses the franchise.

Don’t assume that the Cubs are automatically going to cut ties with Russell this winter or that Russell is guaranteed a second chance, at least in Chicago. His future with the team is still up in the air as the baseball industry gathers for the annual GM meetings this week in Carlsbad, California.

A baseball offseason is unpredictable and constantly changing. Theo Epstein’s front office is forward-thinking and extremely creative. But Friday’s salary-dump trade – moving Drew Smyly to the Texas Rangers in order to pick up the $20 million option on Cole Hamels – reinforced what multiple sources have told The Athletic: The Cubs have financial concerns that may limit their ability and motivation to make a huge splash this winter.

There's an alternate, more optimistic, way to view this: That the Smyly dump wasn't because they couldn't have afforded Hamels without it, but because they wanted to be able to both afford Hamels and still have enough budget room to pursue Harper (or Machado, I guess, although Harper seems the more obvious target). And $7 million (Smyly's 2019 salary) is a pretty high price for a guy who would have gone into spring training as the Cubs' #7 starter with a chance to fall even further.

It appears that they’re using the upper end of the MLB luxury tax, $246 million, as an artificial salary cap. If president Theo Epstein is able to make salary-clearing trades to the point that adding Harper or Machado suddenly fits into their self-imposed budget, then perhaps their offseason plans start to look a bit differently. But for right now, it appears as though adding one of the two prime free agents from this class appears to be a long shot.

The reality is that even before bringing Hamels back into the fold, the Cubs would have been sitting around a CBT of $208 million. With that in mind, adding Harper would have pushed them, optimistically, around $8 million shy of that $246 million threshold they appear to have set for themselves. While the Cubs need to upgrade their offense, they also need to add a significant arm to their bullpen and a backup catcher. And that doesn’t include their annual desire to have a decent cushion below their budget so they can add as needed during the season.

Theo Epstein says there will be no extension this winter for Joe Maddon. Will reevaluate late into next season.

Theo Epstein confirms the Cubs are digging into the Addison Russell case and feel a responsibility to get it right because "this happened on our watch." Epstein says: "Everything remains an open question."

“I think we’re really talented, I do,” Epstein said. “I think that for the group as a whole and for a lot of individual players, it’s now time to turn that talent into production. In a lot of ways, we’re going to be as good as our core of talent produces. If you start to look at this competitive window as a whole, which we’ve all been operating under the assumption it’s going to be at least seven years, it’s time to produce or else there’s the chance for significant change with the group.”

But while Epstein repeatedly said he’s not ruling anything out regarding free agency or trades, the reality seems to be that that Cubs are a bit limited in how they’ll be able to maneuver this winter.

Ownership has determined a budget that appears to be well below the top luxury tax threshold of $246 million and underperformance by many of their young players has pushed their trade value down to levels that may make it difficult to find an acceptable return. It doesn’t help that Schwarber is coming off a disc-related back issue that limited him to 18 games in September and October and kept him from making a couple road trips with the team to avoid long flights. How that is affecting his trade value isn’t completely clear, but it’s certainly not a positive.

“The deeper we dug, the more we realized we still have a ton of talent offensively with the position player group. Which, in a lot of ways, should be the strength of the team. If you look on paper, the strength probably right now is the starting rotation. It probably should be, and someday will be, this position player group, but we’ve got a lot of work to do. For a few different reasons, it fell apart down the stretch and we weren’t able to make an adjustment and pull ourselves out of it.”

It certainly seems as though Epstein and company are attempting to recalibrate outside expectations for an offseason that started with grandiose predictions of a major pursuit of Bryce Harper or Manny Machado.

“I’m not ruling anything out,” Epstein said. “I’m not ruling anything out. No, I’m not ruling anything out. I think we have a lot of moving parts, an open mind and a desire to get better. So no, I’m not ruling anything in or out.”

Remember​ Theo​ Epstein’s “Our​ Offense​ Broke”​ end-of-season​ press​ conference? That happened 34​​ days ago, when Cubs fans and the Chicago media imagined all the different possibilities to fix a 95-win team that absolutely believes it underachieved this year.

Now listen to general manager Jed Hoyer on Tuesday at the type of event where the Cubs are usually linked to seemingly every big free agent and off-the-wall trade idea. By Day 2 of the GM meetings at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, Hoyer talked about how the Cubs didn’t necessarily need to add a hitter, stressing that improvement will come from within, reminding reporters that these players are still young and saying, “I feel really comfortable where we are for our offense.”

That sunny optimism in Southern California sure sounded a lot different than the frustration as soon as Wrigley Field went dark in early October. That shift in tone goes far beyond media smokescreens, a cooling-off period after a frustrating season, faith in yet another new hitting coach and the sense of loyalty Cubs officials feel toward certain players. Believe it or not, the budget crunch is real.

The Cubs were linked to Machado early in the midsummer trade market, but the talks never gained momentum. Despite the uncertainty surrounding Cubs shortstop Addison Russell, it's unclear if the Cubs will pursue Machado this offseason. In general, the Cubs seem more enamored with players becoming available via free agency in future offseasons -- such as Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado -- than those in the current class. However, it's noteworthy that Harper would welcome the opportunity to play with childhood friend Kris Bryant -- and reportedly has a dog named Wrigley.

and reportedly has a dog named Wrigley.

how I got both Griffey and Bonds and it didn't really cost us that much.

I've seen some rumors that the Cubs are looking at position players who are versatile, so that could mean someone like Marwin Gonzalez.

Well yeah, Griffey is 48 and Bonds is 54...and that's if you're talking about the sons.

The Cubs are kicking the tires on free-agent relievers and trade scenarios to acquire bullpen help at the GM Meetings.

Left-handed specialists are high on the Cubs' wish list, with Justin Wilson representing their only power arm from the left side in 2018. Wilson has now entered free agency himself, creating a hole in the back of a bullpen in which Pedro Strop, Carl Edwards Jr. and Brandon Morrow are big arms from the right side.

"Adding bullpen depth is a priority," Hoyer said. "Certainly adding from the (left side) is ideal. I am more focused on good relievers. The key is not just having a good pen all year. You need that bullpen fresh down the stretch. Part of that is having depth and not overusing guys. We have a strong rotation. Our bullpen performed exceptionally well last year, but we have to add more depth to make sure we get to the end of the season."

The Cubs are kicking the tires on free-agent relievers and trade scenarios to acquire bullpen help at the GM Meetings.

Boras said he's been in communication with Cubs, and that they're directly involved with Russell as he's undergoing therapy.
Does he expect him back with Cubs after suspension ends:

“… I have no expectation otherwise and I have not been told anything otherwise.”

Boras: "Addison is getting therapy. Addison is growing and understanding the responsibilities of his team, his league, his city. The learning curve of this is good for everybody. It’s been really, really good for Addison going forward.”

Amid rumblings about Jim Hickey's uncertain status as Cubs pitching coach moving forward, Theo Epstein declined to comment: "I'm not in a position to formally announce the final coaching staff yet."

Boras: "Addison is getting therapy. Addison is growing and understanding the responsibilities of his team, his league, his city. The learning curve of this is good for everybody. It’s been really, really good for Addison going forward.”

The learning curve of this

I'm more or less paraphrasing others on Twitter, but I'd like to think "[t]he learning curve" associated with "don't abuse people" is pretty short for most people.

I don't really see the need to be flippant about it. Learning to constructively control one's emotions is very difficult for a lot of people.

Addison is growing and understanding the responsibilities of his team, his league, his city.

"After gaining a full understanding of the situation, I have concluded it's in the best interest of my family to accept MLB's proposed resolution of this matter," Russell said in a statement released by his attorneys Wednesday. "I wish my ex-wife well and hope we can live in peace for the benefit of our child."

No. Just no. There are no special behavioral expectations by the Cubs, the National League/MLB, or Chicago.