Despite an offseason of trade rumors, Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant is rested and ready for whatever this season brings.
Whether he’s with Cubs or traded, slugger won’t let anything faze him
Kris Bryant began most mornings at spring training last year answering questions from a halfdozen or so reporters, some standing in line at his locker for interviews.
It started on the first day of camp when manager David Ross hinted Bryant might be the new leadoff man and continued almost every day for several weeks, whether the subject was labor negotiations, free agency, the Cubs’ lack of spending, the impending birth of his son or any number of subjects.
At one point a Cubs employee suggested the media give Bryant a break.
“You’re wearing him out,” he said. “It’s only spring training.”
Bryant didn’t seem to mind and never turned down a request to talk.
But then spring training abruptly ended March 13 because of COVID-19 , and when the regular season kicked off in the summer, access to players was limited to Zoom calls. Bryant was spared the daily interrogations, so no one could wear him out during the shortened 60-game season.
But nothing went as planned. Bryant disappointed in the leadoff spot, suffered a left wrist injury early on and had through the worst season of his six-year career. By the end of September, he was so flustered by the constant criticism on social media and talk radio he made his famous declaration: “I don’t give a (bleep).”
It was the first time most of us had heard him curse, so he repeated it for us for emphasis.
“Heavy,” Ross said afterward. “For Kris Bryant to say, ‘I don’t give a (bleep),’ that’s a powerful statement. That makes me smile.”
Fast-forward five months. Bryant is back in Mesa, Ariz., and appears to be back in his comfort zone.
There are still lingering questions to be answered about his hitting, and concerns over COVID-19 remain part of every spring training camp as the nation gradually gets access to vaccines.
But another offseason of dealing with trade rumors is behind him, and having his infant son, Kyler, around to play with after work helps keep the focus on the more important things in life.
“I’m feeling a little, I don’t want to say normal, but way better than last year,” Bryant said Friday during an in-game interview with Marquee Sports Network’s Elise Menaker. “We know what to expect now, we know how to keep ourselves safe. … It’s just nice to see people in the stands and cheering us on.
“It feels like spring training now, as best as we can. I’m really happy to see what I’m seeing now and just really trying to enjoy it. Whatever happens this year happens. We’re ready to embrace anything.”
Bryant credited President Jed Hoyer for dealing with him honestly about the possibility of being traded.
“Maybe I’ve been waiting for that a little bit the last couple years,” he said. “Not saying that I deserve it or any of that, but it’s just really nice to hear the guy in charge easing my mind a little, because at the end of the day I am human and I hear some of the things all there and all of the rumors.
“It’s nice to know that I’m a Chicago Cub right now.”
The operative words are “right now.”
Bryant realizes it might be temporary. If agent Scott Boras can’t get an agreement on an extension before the July 31 trade deadline, there’s little chance he’ll remain a Cub, no matter where they are in the standings.
Even Bryant’s biggest supporters know Hoyer must do what’s best for the organization, and if Bryant has a rebound season in the first half he should be the most valuable trade chip on the roster. But if he gets through spring training without being dealt, Bryant probably will be around at least half the season, because blockbuster trades seldom happen in April and May.
Still, they do happen in spring training, and one of the biggest deals in franchise history occurred at the end of spring in 1984, when general manager Dallas Green acquired outfielders Gary Matthews and Bob Dernier from the Philadelphia Phillies in a five-player deal.
Matthews and Dernier not only helped turn around the franchise, but the ‘84 Cubs are credited by real estate experts for turning the relatively run-down Wrigleyville neighborhood into a hot spot.
The rest is history. Wrigley Field became a destination that many prominent players wanted to call home, and from Andre Dawson to Alfonso Soriano to Jon Lester, several big-name free agents readily accepted the challenge of coming to the North Side to try to end the curse.
“Every player should be a Cub for one year,” former first baseman Eric Karros said in 2003, a statement that resonates to this day.
Bryant, Lester and their 2016 teammates actually got the job done, so their place in Cubs history is secure. But nothing is guaranteed in this game. Lester was left unsigned after last season, and Jake Arrieta discovered when he signed a threeyear, $75 million deal with the Phillies the grass is not always greener elsewhere, no matter the wheelbarrow full of money.
If this indeed is Bryant’s last year in Chicago, at least he’s embracing everything about it, including the nasty weather that lies ahead.
“Cold Aprils in Chicago with the wind in our face,” he said on the Marquee broadcast. “Just got to get through those months and it’s smooth sailing from there. That’s what makes Chicago Chicago.”
Surviving is what it’s all about in Chicago. It looks like he has that part down.
A night after they admittedly played sloppy and still beat the Blackhawks, the Tampa Bay Lightning got a taste of how the Hawks felt.
The Lightning outshot and outhustled the Hawks Friday night, but somehow the Hawks rallied to a tie twice, fought through a wild third period and overtime and pulled off a 4-3 upset thanks to rookie Philipp Kurashev’s shootout goal.
“What does (announcer) John Forslund say? ‘That’s hockey, baby?’ “Lightning coach Jon Cooper asked. “That’s hockey.
“I’d say for two-thirds of the game (Thursday) night they were better than us. It’s probably worked out the way it should’ve in reverse order (Friday).”
Hawks coach Jeremy Colliton said the Lighting “came out hard. They were much harder on the puck. A lot of pressure on us. Their forecheck was heavy. They’ve got some great players. It was a challenge for us and I don’t think we reached the level we were at last night.
“At the same time we showed a resiliency and an ability to bounce back. We go down 2-0 and we find a way to crawl back into the game. They go up 3-2, we find a way to manufacture a goal. A couple late kills late in the third and in overtime.
“Guys just paying the price and doing little things that allow you a chance to win game.”
Goaltender Malcolm Subban shook off two first-period goals and turned in a spectacular performance: 39 saves on 42 shots.
“Subby was fantastic for us all night,” Colliton said.
Alex DeBrincat scored twice and Dominik Kubalik knotted the score in the third to send the game to overtime.
During the shootout, Kurashev lifted a shot over Curtis McElhinney while Subban shut down all attempts.
“We didn’t really play that well, but we’re happy (that) we just found a way,” Colliton said. “And that’s what good teams do. That’s what they did the night before.
“We probably deserved to win, they probably deserved tonight. But we stayed with it, stayed in it, found a way to survive.”
The Hawks hold onto fourth place in the Central with 31 points — three behind the Lightning, though with three more games played.
“No doubt, they’re a top team,” Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. “Every team in our division, they can beat you any night you’re not on your toes and playing the right way. Chicago, has great ‘D’-core that can really skate and move the puck, and obviously some high-flying forwards.”
Here are three takeaways from the game.
Brent Seabrook gave the Hawks an emotional lift: Three-time Stanley Cup champion Brent Seabrook announced his retirement earlier Friday, saying his hip problems made it impossible to continue playing.
Friday night, he sat in the United Center suite and was feted with a video tribute during a first-period timeout.
“You saw in the video he scored a lot of key goals for the Hawks,” DeBrincat said. “He’s a legend here.”
As inspiring as that likely was at the time the Hawks needed a boost, Seabrook also imparted some wisdom in the locker room after the game.
“Brent was in there. He had a nice little speech for us,” DeBrincat said. “It’s good to hear from him.
“Probably a very emotional day for him and
a lot of guys in the room. It was good we got the win and he can be proud of us and we’ve just got to keep going.
“It definitely meant something to the guys for Seabs. Kaner had some great words after the game for Seabs, and Seabs was great too. Those guys, they’ve won together and there’s a deep connection and they both care deeply about the Blackhawks and having success. It meant a lot to the guys.”
That applies not just to the teammates he played several seasons with but the next generation of Hawks as well.
“This win was for him,” defenseman Adam Boqvist said.
Malcolm Subban upped his play — and his
‘celly’ game: Subban has had a shutout this season, but this arguably was as fine a performance as any this season.
Subban and the Hawks defense withstood a penalty kill with about five minutes remaining in the third and a late Lightning surge with about two minutes remaining in regulation. The attack on the net — on both sides — only ramped up during the 3-on-3 overtime.
“Overtime and third period too, just some unbelievable blocks by our guys,” Subban said of the Hawks’ 25 blocks. “It goes a long way. If you want to win you’ve got to block shots.
Helped me out a lot.”
During the shootout, Subban denied Victor Hedman, Brayden Point and finally Steven Stamkos on a do-or-die attempt.
Afterward, Subban let out a shout, pumped his arms and pointed his stick to the ceiling in celebration.
“I like to ‘celly’ after shootout wins,” he said. “Showing some emotion is not bad. I like that one, that one was for the fans.”
That was one whiplash of an overtime:
The numbers say the Lighting took five shots on goal and the Hawks took four. But the numbers don’t adequately capture how the teams traded frantic odd-man rushes, with masterful stops by both Subban and McElhinney.
“That’s what three-on-three can bring about,” the Lightning’s Ondrej Palat said. “You just hope that one of those odd mans and those breakaways goes in for you.”
Cooper said it’s hard to pull back on players’ instinct to attack in those situations, even though it leaves you vulnerable.
“When the guys get an odd-man rush, it’s usually where it starts because if you miss on your chance it’s probably coming back the other way because you’re committed with at least two players,” Cooper said.