Bill Bevens and Joe DiMaggio after Game 4 of the World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers, Oct. 3, 1947. (AP Photo/John Lindsay, File)

The Rundown: Titanic World Series Commences Tonight, Cubs Focused on Hot Stove Season, Bowden Drops Free Agent Predictions

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterOctober 25, 2024

“Say after me…It’s no better to be safe than sorry.” — a-ha, Take On Me

I know a lot of fans are against a Yankees-Dodgers World Series, but I’m not. I think it’s great for baseball, and besides, election headlines and the possibility of parole for the Menendez brothers aren’t compelling enough for me to turn my back on America’s pastime. I’m neither fascist nor communist, but I am and always will be a fan of baseball, a capitalist-leaning socialist sport if ever one existed. Truth be told, I’m as big a Bears fan as I am a diehard for the Cubs, but even the NFL takes a backseat in the Canter household this week and next.

The ghosts of Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella, Gil Hodges, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Zack Wheat, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Catfish Hunter, Thurman Munson, Don Drysdale, and yes, Fernando Valenzuela, will be on the hearts and minds of baseball fans coast to coast. The list of former Yankees and Dodgers greats is nearly endless, a veritable wing of its own in baseball’s Hall of Fame. The two franchises should be the model to which both Chicago baseball clubs strive: What Chicagoan wouldn’t kill or die for perennial 90-win seasons and an occasional Cubs-White Sox Fall Classic?

Sadly, both teams and their fans are more focused on Hot Stove Season and next year’s draft than seeing baseball played on the game’s preeminent stage. Those individuals see the World Series as the penultimate event ahead of free agency and an endless stream of trade speculation. There isn’t much skin in the game for fans of either Chicago franchise unless you’re rooting for Anthony Rizzo and against the Dodgers’ deep pocketbooks and agile financial wherewithal. I’m rooting for the Yankees because they’re the freaking Yankees. They embody baseball whether you love them or hate them.

I’d rather see the game’s winningest franchise play in the National League than the Dodgers and Mets. The American League can have the Padres and Cardinals, too, for that matter. Perhaps Rob Manfred will do me that favor when the league expands to 32 teams. I’d much prefer four divisions of eight teams based on market size, though I doubt the league owners see any benefit to that type of restructuring.

The World Series is the topic at hand, however, and I’ve got New York winning in six games. I’d love to see a sweep so we can get to the start of baseball’s five-month flea market, but both squads are too good for either to get dropped in four straight. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy every minute of a series played by two teams who annually put winning above everything else. If baseball is indeed a copycat sport, perhaps the Cubs will take notice and build a juggernaut of their own. They won’t, but what’s the sense of being a Cub fan if we can’t cling to our dreams, no matter how heartbreaking the outcome?

Cubs News & Notes

Odds & Sods

Tom Ricketts can capitalize on this with a Wrigley Field Safe Space brought to you by ADT. Gotta think in terms of revenues and patio furniture.

Ball Four

Jim Bowden of The Athletic dropped a detailed look at free agency ($) that includes the top 45 available players plus their likely contracts and destinations. The Cubs were listed twice, and it’s a huge yawnfest at best. Bowden wrote that Cody Bellinger and reliever Blake Treinen are the best fits for Chicago’s North Side Baseballers. Bowden predicts Bellinger will get four years and $112 million, while Treinen is expected to fetch $17 million on a two-year deal. The 36-year-old missed most of 2022 and all of 2023 with a torn capsule in his right shoulder. He has been dominant this season, but allow me to defer to the disaster that was Brandon Morrow.

I’d love to do a deep dive on Bowden’s thesis but I’ll refrain. I’ll instead steal a page from Evan Altman’s recent article and give you my four offseason predictions.

  1. Bellinger decides to forego his opt-out and stay with the Cubs for another season. Evan made a fine argument, but I don’t think the market Bellinger wants exists, and Jed Hoyer won’t find any decent offers in trade. The outfielder and his agent hold all the leverage here. The four-year deal suggested by Bowden seems a little rich for a player coming off of a down year statistically who had nary an offer last winter. Juan Soto and Anthony Santander will draw most of the demand and the bulk of the dollars.
  2. Hoyer has a chance to build an elite rotation and he’ll do it by adding one starter and extending Justin Steele. I’d love it if the Cubs could sign Rōki Sasaki, but my gut tells me that Max Fried will be this year’s big acquisition.
  3. The Cubs will trade Shaw and at least one other prospect to the A’s for Mason Miller. I like the idea of signing Carlos Estévez or Clay Holmes, but Miller is special. Shaw is blocked at every position he is capable of playing, including outfield. Cam Smith is the future at third base, while Swanson and Hoerner are too valuable to trade and Michael Busch is similarly locked in at first base. I’d give up Shaw and one of James Triantos, Kevin Alcántara, or Alexander Canario for Miller. A backend of (Mason) Miller, Tyson Miller, and Porter Hodge will help prevent those agonizing late-inning losses. Retaining Jorge López would be a master stroke by Hoyer, too. Triantos, by the way, reminds me so much of DJ LeMahieu in the early part of his career. The Cubs may eventually regret moving him if they do, especially if his power tool develops.
  4. Hoyer finds a way to acquire catcher Logan O’Hoppe from the Angels. It will cost him one of Ballesteros or Miguel Amaya and probably hard-throwing pitching prospect Michael Arias. O’Hoppe is considered an advanced defender for his age, has soft hands, good agility, and can hit for power. That package is very similar to William Contreras, who has thrived under Craig Counsell and Pat Murphy. Anaheim needs an outfielder, too, and Chicago has plenty. Brennen Davis needs a change of scenery and perhaps he could be included, though as a throw-in at best. He certainly doesn’t sweeten the deal at this point in his career.

Central Intelligence

World Series News & Notes

The Yankees and Dodgers have a spectacular World Series history, and Baseball America posted a wonderful analytic recap that is not paywall protected.

The favorites for league MVP awards — Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge — provide a marquee matchup in this year’s Fall Classic.

Judge vs. Ohtani is a dream matchup and a gift to all baseball fans. Let’s not forget about Soto, Mookie Betts, and my Darkhorse MVP candidate, Jazz Chisholm Jr.

Chisholm is the self-proclaimed current King of New York. His grandma was once dubbed the Queen of Softball.

A friendly reminder that today is Soto’s birthday, and he is only 26 years old.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said there is no chance that Ohtani will pitch against the Yankees.

A moment of silence, please, and thank you, for former Dodger great Valenzuela. The 63-year-old passed away earlier this week.

The ALCS and NLCS had their best television audiences since 2017.

Friday Stove

MLB is testing a system for challenging check swings. Let’s just play the games on PS5, shall we?

The Rangers’ top priority this winter is to get the team’s payroll beneath the $241 million CBT threshold. The departures of Nathan Eovaldi and David Robertson will save $27 million alone.

The White Sox are counting on four players from their minor league system to jumpstart the team’s turnaround. Chicago lost 121 games in 2024, but the organization has high hopes that Colson Montgomery, Noah Schultz, Edgar Quero, and Hagen Smith will contribute next season.

The Astros are expected to bring back free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman.

The Padres are expected to make their roster improvements this winter via their farm system.

Portland mayor Ted Wheeler continues to stump for MLB expansion to the city lovingly referred to as, er, Stumptown.

Manfred prefers that the Rays stay in Tampa Bay even if the Trop is unfit to host baseball games.

Extra Innings

Hoyer personally scouted Sasaki at the end of August and he’d look great in Cubby pinstripes if he gets posted.

Bear Facts

  1. The Bears enter play Sunday with a 4-2 record and nine consecutive home wins. That’s nice, but Chicago’s 3-16 record in away games under Matt Eberflus needs to be reversed immediately.
  2. The NFL trade deadline is November 5 and I’ve got my eye on two players the Bears should acquire: OL Walker Little and Edge rusher Za’Darius Smith.
  3. I’m sure we aren’t paid an affiliate fee but this Walter Payton jacket by Homage is sick AF. I wear XXL in case you are Christmas shopping for me. Holiday purchases are now allowed because I saw an Old Navy Christmas commercial last night while watching football.

They Said It

  • “[Slugging] is certainly something that was lacking this year. No one was hitting 30 homers and we didn’t have any player slugging at a high level. Seiya ended up Top 10 in the National League in OPS and top 20 in baseball. … I think sometimes we have to adjust numbers in our heads. He was a Top 10 guy in OPS in our league. I don’t think we think about it that way because the numbers aren’t .975 [leaguewide] – it’s more of a .850, .860 OPS [range].” – Hoyer

Friday Walk-Up Song

I usually post a YouTube video but this is too good not to share. Here here for the old dudes. We age like fine wine, yes?

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterOctober 25, 2024
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