The Rundown: Baseball is Back, Cubs Grab First Win, Hoyer & Counsell Have Much to Prove, ChiSox Win Opener

“If I go, there will be trouble. If I stay it will be double.” – Shoud I Stay or Should I Go, The Clash.

The Cubs finally got a win on their 2025 Opening Day Tour and looked like the team we expected them to be. Things started slowly after the North Siders dropped two to the Dodgers in Tokyo and phoned in the remainder of their Cactus League games, but they dusted the Diamondbacks 10-6 Thursday night. Who knew that cutting Cody Poteet would be the move that saved Chicago’s season? The fun was short-lived as Arizona throttled Chicago’s North Side Baseballers 8-1 on Saturday evening.

Miguel Amaya plated five runners while pacing the Cubs in the series opener, while Ian Happ is still struggling to find social media love despite a 2-for-5 night from the leadoff spot that included a home run and three RBI. Nico Hoerner was in midseason form with a couple of great defensive plays and two hits. Arizona doesn’t inspire the distaste that teams like the Cardinals, Mets, and Brewers do, but they’ve had the Cubs’ number in the Jed Hoyer era. Winning the series might portend a better outcome in September and October. Both teams will assuredly be fighting for a playoff spot.

As a reminder, Poteet’s DFA doesn’t necessarily mean that the Cody Bellinger trade was nothing more than a salary dump. Although, failing to land Tanner Scott and Alex Bregman did signal an unwillingness to spend. The deal with the Yankees was always savings-related, and haggling with Kyle Tucker over $2.5 million ahead of his arbitration hearing was all the evidence we needed. However, if we’re being honest, circumstantial evidence has been prevalent since 2021.

Nobody knows what the future holds, but look for Jed Hoyer to raise his profile by leading the Cubs to the playoffs before walking away for a better position elsewhere in November. He’s got no chance of extending Tucker this winter, and he’s probably not going to want to carry that stigma for another five years unless Chicago wins the World Series. You may hate the trade, but Tucker and Matt Shaw give the Cubs a better chance of reaching the 2025 playoffs than Cody Bellinger and Isaac Paredes would have, and whether you want to believe it or not, Paredes would have also blocked Cam Smith. It is accurate, however, to say that future returns do not offer much in the way of a favorable outcome for the Cubs.

“I certainly think we’re a playoff-caliber team and so I think that does put a little more pressure on them.”

Jed Hoyer on if this season holds more importance than past seasons. pic.twitter.com/m6AOCuFOhP

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) March 28, 2025

It’s got to be tiring walking into the Winter Meetings with your secured Mastercard when your large market peers are armed with wheelbarrows of cash and American Express Platinum cards. Given the lack of annual funding he has available, I’m not a fan of Hoyer’s odd penchant for short-term deals. He should be striking hard and fast as if every year could be his last. Setting aside analytics and this winter’s efforts to the contrary, his financial constraints seem far too rooted in technical accounting standards to be the work of a talent evaluator.

Standardized accounting principles require that assets are recorded at their original cost, that the business is treated separately from its owners, and that the economic life of the business is divided into artificial timestamps. Does that sound familiar?  In Chicago’s front office, those principles prohibit long-term deals, deferred contracts, and artificially diminished AAVs.

That sounds more like the evil doings of Crane Kenney to me, who undoubtedly does the bidding of Tom Ricketts. Barring a very pleasant surprise, Hoyer could be nothing more than collateral damage by this time next year. At least he can freely walk away on his own accord if that’s what he wants.

Cubs/Diamondbacks News & Notes

• Chicago won Thursday night by successfully doing the little things the Diamondbacks are known for.
• Jameson Taillon did not look good at all in yesterday’s loss.
• The Cubs’ offense didn’t look any better.
• The Cubs are valued at $4.6 billion, according to Forbes. That’s a nice way to break even.
• Optimism remains high despite Chicago’s 0-2 start. “The hard part, I think, was just kind of having a week to sit on that, and everyone, candidly, was a little bit tired, a little bit irritable after the trip, so it wasn’t the most comfortable week,” Hoyer said.
• Craig Counsell has a lot to prove this year, too. It’s certainly not a make-or-break season, but Cubs fans should demand results.
• Hoerner showed no signs of rust from his offseason injury.
• An emphasis on playing smarter baseball was evident in yesterday’s win.
• Speed, timely hitting, and great defense will be the hallmarks of this year’s squad. All were on display in the win over Arizona.
• The Diamondbacks were upset that Nate Pearson and Porter Hodge threw up and in at Eugenio Suárez last night. Hodge struggled with command and threw a wild pitch in the same at-bat.
• Arizona has a fantastic rotation, one that could potentially be the best in baseball.
• The Cubs, on the other hand, have one of the league’s best outfields, one capable of earning three Gold Gloves.
• Marquee Network analyst Cliff Floyd believes Shaw’s leg kick will become less prominent as the season progresses.
• Deadspin believes the Cubs are overrated and will struggle to make the playoffs.
• Keep an eye on Jaxon Wiggins, Ben Cowles, and Juan Tomas if prospect watching is your thing.

Odds & Sods

It looks like somebody let Luis Severino pitch with a Wiffle Ball.

Luis Severino's CRAZY Backdoor Sweeper.

Over 2 Feet of Horizontal Break. pic.twitter.com/OjDCkugtoJ

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 28, 2025

Central Intelligence

• St. Louis (1-0): Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr, his son Bill III, and GM Jon Mozeliak were booed heavily by Cardinals fans on Thursday.
• Pittsburgh (0-1): The Pirates lost their opener thanks to poor defense and a leaky bullpen, despite a quality start by Paul Skenes.
• Cincinnati (0-1): Speaking of bad bullpens, the Reds squandered a two-run 9th-inning lead in their 6-4 loss to the Giants.
• Milwaukee (0-1): Outfielder Christian Yelich paid homage to late Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker by wearing a plaid leisure suit to Yankee Stadium.

How About That!

MLB has removed all references to DEI and diversity from its website.

Opening Day was not the big event it has been in previous years.

The Rays open their season today with an outdoor home game against the Rockies. Hurricane damage to the Trop is forcing Tampa Bay to play its home games at the Yankees’ minor league stadium.

The Blue Jays made a new contract offer to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., but the two sides are still not close to an agreement.

The Red Sox made it abundantly clear that Bregman is their starting third baseman. Rafael Devers will serve as Boston’s full-time DH.

Ichiro Suzuki has a little heat behind his fastball. His Opening Day ceremonial pitch might land him a bullpen job if he’s not too careful.

The White Sox are 1-0 after yesterday’s 8-1 win over the Angels. Break’em up!

Extra Innings

109.3 MPH with a launch angle of 21 degrees. That will make any baseball look like a frozen pea.

Happy Opening Day. pic.twitter.com/pGUhl1Pg0h

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 28, 2025

They Said It

• “The Dodgers can have some things go wrong. I feel like for us, we don’t have a lot of margin for error. We need guys to improve, we need to stay healthy, and we need to play clean baseball.” – Hoyer
• “I love Jed. He’s been awesome to me, and he’s been a part of building a lot of great teams that I’ve been a part of. So, yeah, I think we want to win for each other in this room, but I have nothing but respect for him, and I want to make sure that he stays here.” – Happ

Friday Walk-Up Song

I have one bit of advice for Hoyer if he walks away after this season…