OK...hang on. This is getting like Epstein on Welcome Back Kotter.

When LaStella returns,....Mike Montgomery will be on bereavement for the death of his ...[insert punch-line here]

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Proud to be UNVERIFIED.

..."out" pitch?

Cubs "Got Nowhwere" In Extension Talks With Kris Bryant

The Cubs made an effort to lock up National League MVP Kris Bryant on a long-term extension this offseason but “got nowhere” in their efforts, Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated reports. Verducci notes that the Cubs made efforts to lock up several of their young players, in fact, though they weren’t able to push any of them over the finish line. Chicago’s lone offseason extension was a one-year extension for excellent setup man Pedro Strop — a nice move for the club but not the sort of franchise-altering move that a long-term pact for Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, Addison Russell or any of the team’s other young talents would have been.

Bryant’s agent, Scott Boras, has a reputation for eschewing contract extensions and pushing his clients toward free agency — long-term deals for Carlos Gonzalez with the Rockies and Stephen Strasburg with the Nationals notwithstanding — though he spoke to Verducci at length about that perception and about extensions in general.

“My first rule [on extension offers] is that I tell the player, ‘Do not look at the team as if they’re trying to steal you. They’ve made the decision that is the right decision. The question is, What is the investment worth? What is the value?'” Boras explains to Verducci. In the case of Bryant, Boras adds that he was on the same page with Cubs president of baseball operations in terms of Bryant’s fit on the team but not when it came to appropriately valuing that fit.

Perhaps most interesting in the column is that Boras paints Epstein as somewhat of a tough negotiator. While Boras doesn’t indicate any ill will toward the iconic executive, he suggests to Verducci that there was never much progress when discussing Jacoby Ellsbury during Epstein’s days as GM of the Red Sox, where Ellsbury starred for the first seven seasons of his career. Ellsbury went year-to-year through the arbitration process and ultimately signed with the Yankees on a seven-year, $153MM contract as a free agent.

“Theo does not settle on certain things,” says Boras. “He offers a very limited range. You’ve got to give up an option year, a free agent year and he can move you whenever he wants to move you.”



Well, you're not going to be able to keep everybody.

That will ultimately be the heartbreak for Cub fans. Cub fans get attached like no other fans. Doesn't matter which ones but not all of them will stay.

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Elections have consequences.

Bryant will stay with the Cubs. They'll offer the most money when it's time.

yeah I am sure after all those years of losing that losing a couple players will be the ultimate heartbreak for them.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Cubs will pay who they want when they want in time. They owe none of these guys nothing for past or future performance. Rizzo signed his deal early because he did not truly believe he might see a bigger payday. Now the rest of them will. Cubs will let it play out and sign who the deem worthy at the time. I agree with this 100%.

Is he related to the Cubs' Pedro Strop?

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You know me like that.

Len Kasper just passed along the news that Chris Bosio will not be with the team this week due to personal reasons.

Shit, this rotation is taking on water to begin with

Its because he's pissed about the 12 games!!

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Hmmmm...Interesting timing as related to the link / story below. I didn't really hear anything as to the "why" he wasn't on the trip...but I thought I heard a comment from one of the announcers over the weekend that he (Bosio) was feeling much better. Did the Cubs put him on a timeout?

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/cubs-officials-reportedly-infuriated-by-pitching-coachs-comments-on-eric-thames/

Two weeks ago Brewers first baseman Eric Thames went on a rampage at Wrigley Field, going 6 for 11 with three doubles and a home run in the three-game series against the Cubs. Thames has been a monster early on.

Thames homered for the fifth straight game in the series opener against the Cubs, and soon after the game Cubs pitching coach Chris Bosio came very close to accusing Thames of using performance-enhancing drugs. Here's what Bosio told a local radio show (transcript via Big League Stew):

"Well, the bottom line is [Thames] has hit the ball and we gotta figure out a way to get around [it]. All that other stuff, I'll let other people worry about. But he's doing stuff that I haven't seen done for a long time.

"You start thinking about Ken Griffey Jr., Manny Ramirez when he went to the Dodgers, Barry Bonds … You're talking about some of the greatest players to ever play this game. So, yeah, it's probably a 'head-scratcher' because nobody knows who this guy is. And when he was here before, his body has changed. But, like I said, I'll leave that to everyone else and we're just gonna try to worry about how to pitch him better and get him out."

Comparing Thames to Manny and Bonds, two former players with well-known PED connections, and saying "his body has changed" is not the best way to praise one of the hottest players in the league after a month of play. It's almost as if he accused him of doing some shady stuff it without actually saying it.

Cubs officials, according to ESPN's Buster Olney, were "infuriated" with Bosio after those comments. "It's just the wrong thing to do," said one person with the team. Keep in mind the Cubs were in Thames' shoes last year, when Stephen A. Smith accused Jake Arrieta of using PEDs. Bosio should know better.

Thames did not shoot back at Bosio or the Cubs. He took the high road and said he has " plenty of blood and urine " for random drug tests. Thames, by the way, has been tested plenty already this season, including three times in the last 11 days according to Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel.

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Proud to be UNVERIFIED.

Yeah wtf. He should've just said he was talented and left it at that.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

It has more to do with the Cubs being roided to all hell. They don't want people asking questions about Kris Bryant's adult acne or Jake Arrieta's pilates any more than they are already.

Too bad Strop didn't give a steroids hot take.

I don't know if I'm kissing Nat King Cole over here

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

He would still blow.

Go kill yourself. Now. Thanks.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Be careful what you ask for dolphin.

An unbiased person who has never applied for a job in a Theo administration was on the Score this weekend and said Happ is ranked higher than Moncada in his rankings

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Does this unbiased person who has never applied for a job in a Theo administrationh have a name that rhymes with 'moose divine'?

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Did Babe Ruth get sent down yet?

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

Jacob May was sent to Charlotte after last night's game

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No. He was a legit or as legit as an adult can be who spends his every waking hour observing the athletic movements of 18-21year old males

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Heard that interview. He said Happ is the better hitter today but not near the athlete Moncada is for whatever that's worth. Said they both strike out a ton. Was it a Baseball America writer? Can't remember.