USA TODAY International Edition
Cubs’ inevitable sell- off may be upon us
PHOENIX – Cubs manager David Ross, who just said goodbye to outfielder Joc Pederson and is bracing himself for more painful departures, is not going to sugarcoat it.
It stinks.
The end of the Chicago franchise’s glorious era is over.
The Cubs, who won the 2016 World Series, three division titles and reached the postseason in five of the past six seasons, are waving the white flag.
Really, they surrendered before the season started when they gave away Yu Darvish and non- tendered Kyle Schwarber to save money, but when the Cubs played over their heads for three months, they had no choice but to wait.
Now, reality is setting in and the selloff begins.
Virtually everyone is up for sale. Kris Bryant, the National League MVP of the 2016 season and a free agent at the season’s conclusion, will be the
biggest star out the door.
The Mets and Cubs have engaged in serious talks, but the Giants lurk as well, knowing they’ll have plenty of money to be a suitor for his services this winter.
The biggest return will be for closer Craig Kimbrel, who not only is pitching the best he has in years and has invaluable postseason experience, but he also has a $ 16 million club option for 2022.
One rival general manager says he’d be shocked if Kimbrel is not traded to the Giants or the Phillies. Still, don’t count out the Astros.
There could be plenty of others gone, too, like starter Zach Davies and reliever Andrew Chafin and Ryan Tepera.
“Being a seller, when you lose your friends,” first baseman Anthony Rizzo says, “it sucks. With Joc going, it heats up and intensifies everything. … All the reports and rumors flying from now until then, you probably could put a full scrapbook together and see the roller coaster that it’s going to take everyone on.”
Rizzo is also a free agent at the end of the season, but the Cubs are hoping to sign him to an extension before he hits the market.
Ross, who was a catcher on that championship 2016 team, hitting a home run in Game 7, is well familiar with the pain.
He was on the 2013 Red Sox team that won the World Series championship.
He was also on the 2014 Red Sox team that traded away ace Jon Lester, veteran starter John Lackey, reliever Andrew Miller and outfielder Jonny Gomes at the deadline.
“Yeah, it was tough on me,” says Ross, particularly with the departure of Lester, one of his closest friends.
Now, Ross is about to endure the anguish again, this time as manager.
He met with his players in Phoenix before they began the second half of the season against the Diamondbacks, told them to keep their focus, ignore the trade talk, try not to think about free agency and thanked them.
“I think there’s a real positive that can be taken from the core group here,” Ross said. “Those guys have created championship expectations here.”
The Cubs were expected to begin a dynasty in Chicago back in 2015, and although they ended their 108- year World Series drought and were a perennial playoff team, they never won another World Series, pennant or even a single playoff game after the 2017 season.
Now, the run is over. The championship core will be stripped away and sold for parts, hoping that the rebuild can be short and sweet.
“I don’t think baseball allows you to sit back and mourn,” Ross says, “or have thoughts about, ‘ Oh, woe is me.’ If you do that in baseball, you’re going to be left behind. I think when you’re in baseball as long as you have to be to be at this level, you learn to keep pushing forward. Whether that is disingenuous or selfish or don’t have empathy, that’s what this game creates, you have to keep moving forward.
“There’s just not a lot of time for sadness in this game. You can’t hang your head very long or this game will swallow you up.”
So, feel free, Ross says, to celebrate the Cubs’ greatest stretch since 1906 to 1910 when they won two World Series and four pennants. It was a magnificent run, forever shedding the “Lovable Losers” title.
“The core group that’s been together here, winning championships here, winning divisions, putting up big- time numbers, and championship baseball here from the time they’ve been here,” Ross says, “is a huge positive. They should wear it with a huge badge of honor and appreciate themselves for what they’ve created here.”
Still, the organization can look to what the first- place Red Sox have accomplished this season – 18 months since trading Mookie Betts, who led the team to a title in 2018.
“Life,” in the words of Cubs President Jed Hoyer, “comes at you fast.”
The little field of dreams
It is a quaint little town, River Falls, Wisconsin, encompassing 6.6 square miles of land with a population of 15,000. It has just one high school. One middle school.
But, oh, one gorgeous ballpark. It’s the town’s pride and joy, the First National Bank of River Fields, and on Saturday, Hall of Famer Dave Winfield was in town for the ribbon- cutting ceremony celebrating the $ 850,000 funding for the installation of artificial turf. It was a grant provided by the Major League Baseball Players Association Youth Development Foundation and MLB.
It’s the largest grant from their youth development program, which enables 400 games to be played each summer at the $ 1.3 million ballpark.
When the field had just grass, they limited games to kids only 15 and older, but now, you name it, and everyone in town is using the field.
“It’s just incredible the difference it has made,” said Curt Bruns, who requested Winfield’s assistance as the fundraising chairman. “We may be a small town, but man do we love baseball.”
The town, located just 30 miles east of the Twins Cities, had their local hero, Tampa Bay reliever J. P. Feyereisen throw out a ceremonial first pitch during the All- Star break.
“We’re pretty darn proud around here,” Bruns said. “To have one of our own throw make the big leagues, and now for a Hall of Famer to come out, you can’t have a better week.”
Around the basepaths
● Happy birthday to the first lady of baseball, Rachel Robinson, on Monday. Robinson, the widow of the great Jackie Robinson, turns 99 on July 19. Rachel Robinson’s grace and dignity are an inspiration to us all.
● The Diamondbacks made history by drafting the first known Orthodox Jewish player in Jacob Steinmetz. A native of Woodmere, New York, Steinmetz will play during the Sabbath and on Jewish holidays but won’t ride in a car, bus, train or plane from sundown on Friday until sunset on Saturday.
The Diamondbacks say they will respect his religious beliefs and make sure his pitching schedule lines up as seamlessly as possible.
“He follows that strictly,” Diamondbacks scouting director Deric Ladnier said. “He’s very candid about it. We felt like the ability for us to make the adjustments for his schedule will be something that will probably be unique to this organization, but we felt like it was somebody we wanted in the organization.”
● Home, sweet home! The Blue Jays, who haven’t had a home game at the Rogers Centre in Toronto since Sept. 27, 2019, finally are returning 670 days later on July 30 after opening the year in Dunedin, Florida, and then playing in Buffalo, New York. They still won’t be permitted to sell more than 15,000 seats, but at least they finally are back where they belong.
● Kudos to the Giants for hiring Drew Robinson to be a mental health advocate after he officially retired as a player this weekend.
Robinson shot himself in the head and lost an eye in April 2020 in a failed attempt to end his life but made a courageous comeback, spending the past 2 months with Class AAA Sacramento ( California).
“I couldn’t be more excited to remain in the game that saved my life,” Robinson wrote on his Instagram account.
● An all- female broadcast crew will call a game for the first time in baseball history, Tuesday on YouTube when the Orioles and Rays play.
Melanie Newman, the Orioles radio play- by- play voice, will be doing the broadcast.
Sarah Langs of MLB. com will be the color analyst.
Alanna Rizzo of the MLB Network is doing the on- field reporting.
And Heidi Watney and Lauren Gardner of the MLB Network will do pre- and postgame shows.