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The Rundown: Cubs Update 40-Man, Flaherty Checks Many Boxes in Hoyer’s Pursuit of Pitching, Mets Favored to Sign Soto

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterNovember 20, 2024

Believe it or not, Saturday Night Live turned 50 this year, and the original cast had me with the controversial word association skit (trigger warning) between Chevy Chase and Richard Pryor. Paul Mooney wrote the skit, which was notable because of Mooney’s hatred for Lorne Michaels and Pryor’s real-life disdain for Chase. The sketch has been cited in academic works on racism and is ranked as the 10th-best SNL sketch of all time by Rolling Stone Magazine. The parody is anti-racist in much the same way 1974’s “Blazing Saddles” was, though younger viewers may see it differently.

Do you know what else turns 50 this year? The Rubik’s Cube, Dungeons & Dragons, and Bailey’s Irish Cream. 1974 was also the year the Cubs dismantled the remnants of the infamous ’69 squad. Fergie Jenkins was traded to the Rangers for Bill Madlock and Vic Harris; Glenn Beckert was traded to the Padres for Jerry Morales; and Ron Santo was shipped to the White Sox for Steve Stone, Steve Swisher, and Ken Frailing. The Cubs subsequently traded Billy Williams to the A’s after the ’74 season, netting a return of Manny Trillo, Darold Knowles, and Bob Locker.

Linda Ronstadt released Heart Like a Wheel that year, an underrated gem. Let’s listen while continuing with today’s Rundown.

Cubs News & Notes

Odds & Sods

I’ll take Fake News for $500, Alex. The $400 million perk in Arby’s credit is the obvious indicator. The Mets are going to sign Juan Soto in my humble opinion, so I’ll watch in glorious anticipation of the impending implosion.

  1. Soto gets his record deal.
  2. New York badly underperforms.
  3. Mets fans quickly turn on the young outfielder.
  4. Soto is eventually traded, with the club eating most of the money.
  5. Bobby Bonilla returns to the pole position of New York’s highest-paid outfielders.

Central Intelligence

Wednesday Stove

The Astros and Rays intend to heavily pursue Pivetta, though the Cubs, Braves, and Orioles can’t be ruled out.

John Heyman of the NY Post believes the Mets and Blue Jays are Soto’s likeliest suitors.

The Mets announced on Tuesday that they’ve acquired outfielder Jose Siri from the Rays for reliever Eric Orze.

Alex Bregman wants a lot of money, which could drastically slow the pace of this winter’s free-agent market.

Stephen Vogt was named AL Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Ex-MLB All-Star Jonathan Lucroy revealed he is receiving hate mail after sharing his conservative views on social media.

Zack Wheeler is one of the favorites to win the NL Cy Young Award, but he’s built a strong case for inclusion in the Baseball Hall of Fame once he retires.

Extra Innings

Caissie is inching closer to the bigs, though I think a world exists where Caissie and Soto both lead Chicago’s next great team. Hoyer and I do not think alike, however.

Moses Supposes His Toes are Roses

I am making my acting debut today in an independent film called “My Brother’s Mustache.” It’s set in 1974 and I play a conservative single father of two boys, one of whom is sexually abused by his teacher. We are filming today and tomorrow on Milwaukee’s East side and I have six scenes. I will be sporting a mustache, in case you’re wondering. I also get to drive a Volvo 200-series station wagon and wear polyester.

Hollywood will undoubtedly ask me to reboot the “Die Hard” franchise once this film is finished. Yippie-kay-ay.

They Said It

  • “My perspective is that you get all the resources you can over to your baseball guys and let them allocate them. Obviously, there are some players out there with 13-year contracts. We don’t have any of them at the moment, but some teams do that and some teams’ general managers think that’s a good use of resources. Some teams try to allocate their resources in a way that you get more for that and a little less exposure to long-term contracts. But ultimately it’s really the baseball department’s decision what they want to do with their resources.” – Tom Ricketts
  • “[Owen’s] moved up very steadily, rung after rung, at a very young age. He’s kind of gone one after another and proved himself at every level. He’s still a prospect, but he’s a really good, young prospect, and he’s done it at every level at a young age.” – Hoyer
  • “I feel like it wasn’t as if you look at what [Paredes] did and it was a blanket negative. On the road, he was a really good player. He was probably even better than the player we expected. I just expect him to come in and play well. He has a track record. He’s a really good hitter, he controls the zone.” – Hoyer

Wednesday Walk-Up Song

Speaking of songs that turn 50 this year…

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterNovember 20, 2024
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