The Rundown: Miggy and Maddon Bury the Hatchet, Sosa’s Weird Interview, Jimenez is a Beast
I generally enjoy bringing you some of my own commentary in these Rundowns, but burning the candle at both ends has got me feeling like 10 pounds of the Milwaukee Brewers’ 2017 outlook in a 5-pound bag. As such, this edition is going to fall more under the heading of content curation. Maybe that’s better, who knows.
From red-assed whine to red, red wine
Remember when the Cubs’ backup catcher expressed frustration with his role in the immediate wake of the team’s World Series parade? That was awesome. And that wasn’t the first time Miguel Montero had been critical of Joe Maddon, either.
Given the diminution of Miggy’s skills and the ascension of Willson Contreras, it’s obvious that the elder statesman is looking at even less playing time this season. In many situations, that would be a sure marker of potential clubhouse cancer. But not on this team.
Maddon and Montero sat down to dinner, with ol’ Hank White tagging along to provide a stoic presence of neutrality. They were able to clear the air and alleviate any tension, imagined or otherwise, which should really help Miggy to move forward with a clear conscience.
Ay Dios mio
In a rare interview with former Cubs employee Chuck Wasserstrom, Sammy Sosa likened his plight to that of Jesus and said that he might just fly a drone over Wrigley if he wants to visit sans invite. Those tidbits are taken out of context — but only slightly — and are just a small part the whole discourse, so I’d recommend checking it out.
Sosa has long been a polarizing figure and this recent development has done nothing to bring those to sides together. Same goes for Sosa and the Cubs. And since the team isn’t ready to lay down palm fronds and the former player isn’t willing to walk across Lake Michigan, we’ll probably have to wait a while for a reunion.
I’m in favor of bringing Sosa back into the fold at this point, mainly because I just don’t care about the situation — so much so that I’ve written about it twice! — enough to see it dragged out further. But I’ll probably forget about it next week.
Eloy Jimenez takes BP
Among all the other pics and vids from Tuesday at Sloan, this one stood out:
More news and notes
- Rob Manfred appears hell-bent on implementing rule changes at all costs
- The league and union have agreed to a dugout signal for intentional walks
- Frustrated by the union’s unwillingness to approve other changes, the commish and owners may proceed without agreement from players
- Matt Wieters signed with the Nats for two years, $21 million; seems like a bit much
- Our Mike Bryant interview series concluded with an explanation of how he worked with his son to widen his stance and eliminate his big step
- A later tip on a video of Kris Bryant in high school confirmed the old stance
- We may release a full version of the text and audio of the interview this weekend
