Category: Baseball

Today’s Reflections

Hey, everyone! Glad to be back. I again appreciate Al, Ashley and Josh for stepping to the plate for me.

I was on a cruise that had blues performers, like Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo as a duo (TajMo), plus some that I wasn’t familiar with. I’ll pause the old blues and fairly unknown performers I come across and work on presenting some of the best that I saw on the cruise for a while. These performers would have graced these pages eventually, but why wait?

OF COURSE, PCA and the Cubs got Platinum gloves. PCA All-MLB Team. Hank Aaron Award winner. Good to see. And looking forward to the MVP announcement.

It looks like a normal November out on the market — who’s available, who is the best fit for the Cubs, the Cubs suddenly are/aren’t pursuing a player. But by the first of December, things might get kind of crazy, so I’m looking forward to that. I’m ready for an interesting November (and hopefully there’s no lock-out at all).

Sorry if I post an article on a subject that has been beaten to death as I catch up from being out. Hopefully it will at least be from a different perspective.

I appreciate your reading.

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9.8 WAR | 45 HR | 41 SB@Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong put together a ridiculous 2026 campaign, worthy of an All-MLB First Team selection! pic.twitter.com/5WiEfltJme

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 12, 2026

Pete Crow-Armstrong is the 2026 National League Hank Aaron Award winner!

The Hank Aaron Awards recognize the most outstanding offensive performers in each league ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/979G4YbDYj

— MLB (@MLB) November 12, 2026

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Free Agency/Trade Stories — Pitching

• Clay Snowden (Just Baseball): Top Landing Spots for Free Agent Bryan Abreu. “Chicago has prioritized bringing in veteran bullpen arms via free agency and trade over the past year, and I think Abreu would headline that list.”

• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Dustin May As a Big-Velocity Option for the Chicago Cubs? “May doesn’t necessarily have the pitch profiles the Cubs look for, but he does miss bats when he’s at his best, and he does have a history of strong groundball rates before the last two seasons. He also throws a wide variety of pitches, and the Cubs may appreciate having that foundation with which to work off of.“

• Tyler Edmunds (OnTapSportsNet): If the Cubs Aren’t Going After Tarik Skubal, Freddy Peralta Makes Too Much Sense. “If the Cubs aren’t willing to spend $400 million on Tarik Skubal, there’s another starting pitcher who could make a whole lot of sense in Chicago.”

• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Patrick Sandoval Reportedly Drawing Considerable Interest, and I Could See the Cubs Involved. “The rest of the numbers suggest a guy who was probably better than those results, and who, perhaps another year clear of surgery could be very good again. He is just 30 years old, after all, and the velocity came back.”

• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): With No Money Committed to Pitching Beyond 2027, Cubs Seeking Holistic Improvement. “Jed Hoyer will lead a more holistic approach to improving a pitching staff that has underperformed for years on end.”

• Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): Cubs Free-Agent Starting Pitching Target: Trevor Rogers. “There’s no mystery about the identity of the top left-handed starting pitcher on this winter’s free-agent market. Should the Cubs balk at Tarik Skubal’s asking price, however, there is an exciting alternative.”

• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Kaima Taira the “Perfect” Move for the Cubs, Even Though You May Not Love the Rationale. “The Cubs desperately need pitching and want some high-octane stuff … but they aren’t going to spend at the top of the market, thus they accept more risk in signing Kaima Taira.”

• John Bastian (MLB.com): Here’s how Cubs are handling the bullpen this offseason. “The Cubs entered this offseason with a better foundation in place for the 2027 relief corps. While the bullpen will need some addressing, there are returning pieces that drop that segment of the roster lower on the list of priorities.”

• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): About That Whole Convert-Adrian-Morejon-to-Starter Thing? He Might Not Actually Want to Do That. “Operating on the faulty assumption that pretty much any pitcher who has converted to relief from starting would love, if given the opportunity, to return to starting, a lot of folks got out over their skis on the shape of Adrian Morejon’s free agency.”

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Free Agency/Trade Stories — Batting

• Zoe Grossman (Chicago Cubs On SI): Should Cubs Pivot to A New Japanese Star with Seiya Suzuki All But Gone? “An intriguing name represents a possible replacement for the major hole Seiya Suzuki could leave.”

• Randy Holt (Bleacher Nation): Could Cubs and Padres Link Up on Catcher Trade? “The Cubs have a need behind the plate. The Padres have more catchers than they need. Is there a trade fit between the two parties?”

• Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): Should the Cubs Be in the Ty France Sweepstakes? “Unsurprisingly, there are already several teams showing interest in free-agent first baseman Ty France. In the wake of a disappointing season by their incumbent first baseman, should the Cubs be one of those clubs?”

• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Cubs Rumors: Three Established Starters, Out on Top Free Agents, Reunions with Happ? Kelly? More. “It’s just incredibly disappointing that Tarik Skubal is right there, the PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT pitcher for this team at this time, but the Cubs are just like “Nah” … right away. I may not be “surprised” by their reluctance to get the best guy available, but I’m every bit as disappointed.“

• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): As Cubs chase pitching, how would they approach potentially replacing a third of their lineup? “The Cubs are focused on pitching improvements, but they could lose a third of their lineup to free agency. Here are their plans for internal replacements should all those hitters get new gigs elsewhere.”

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Assorted Stories:

• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Almost No Offers Coming Yet for Players in Free Agency? One Report Indicates That’s the Case. “Jon Heyman just dropped an eye-catching report in the New York Post about MLB agents saying that, contrary to the baseball-wide hopes for a hot and active pre-lockout period, the offers right now are unreasonable.”

• Brock Beauchamp (Diamond Centric): 2026-27 MLB Offseason Trade Candidates: Top Targets Ranked. “Though his future is more likely as a second-division regular than as a star, Pedro Ramírez is a positive contributor already. If squeezed out of a somewhat ossified Cubs positional corps, he would bring back a solid arm, at least.”

Cubs manager Craig Counsell received one second-place vote for NL Manager of the Year pic.twitter.com/17Csl8WaNQ

— Jacob Zanolla (@jacobzanolla) November 11, 2026

• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Cubs Name Ben Martin New Farm Director. “Most Cubs fans aren’t very familiar with Ben Martin, and those who are probably know his name from the story about how he helped Alex Bregman out of that nasty slump

Food For Thought:

Henry St. Claire Fredericks Jr. (born May 17, 1942), better known by his stage name Taj Mahal, is an American blues musician. He plays the guitar, piano, banjo, harmonica, and many other instruments along with singing and whistling, often incorporating elements of world music into his work. Mahal was born Henry St. Claire Fredericks Jr. on May 17, 1942, in Harlem, New York.^[4] Growing up in Springfield, Massachusetts, he was raised in a musical environment: his mother was a member of a local gospel choir and his father, Henry Saint Claire Fredericks Sr., was an Afro-Caribbean jazz arranger and piano player.

Early in childhood he recognized the stark differences between the popular music of his day and the music that was played in his home. He also became interested in jazz, enjoying the works of musicians such as Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk and Milt Jackson. When Henry Jr. was eleven years old, his father was killed in an accident at his construction company. Henry Jr’s mother remarried, and his stepfather owned a guitar which he began using at the age of 13 or 14. His first lessons were from a new neighbor from North Carolina of his own age who played acoustic blues guitar. Henry chose his stage name, Taj Mahal, from dreams he had about Mahatma Gandhi, India, and social tolerance. Mahal moved to Santa Monica, California, in 1964 and formed Rising Sons with fellow blues rock musician Ry Cooder. Jesse Ed Davis, a Kiowa native from Oklahoma, joined Taj Mahal and played guitar and piano on Mahal’s first four albums. The group was one of the first interracial bands of the period, which may have hampered their commercial viability.

Mahal stayed with Columbia for his solo career, releasing the self-titled Taj Mahal and The Natch’l Blues in 1968. His track “Statesboro Blues” was featured on side 2 of the very successful Columbia/CBS sampler album, The Rock Machine Turns You On, giving a huge early impetus to his career. His work of the 1970s was especially important, in that his releases began incorporating West Indian and Caribbean music, jazz and reggae into the mix. Stalled in his career, he decided to move to Kauaʻi, Hawaii in 1981 and soon formed the Hula Blues Band. In the 1990s, he was on the Private Music label, releasing albums full of blues, pop, R&B and rock. He did collaborative works both with Eric Clapton and Etta James. In the late 1990s or early 2000s, Mahal moved to Berkeley, California, where he still lives and occasionally records today.

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Kevin Roosevelt Moore (born October 3, 1951), known as Keb’ Mo’, is an American blues musician. He is a singer, guitarist and songwriter, living in Nashville, Tennessee. He has been described as “a living link to the seminal Delta blues that travelled up the Mississippi River and across the expanse of America.” From early on, Keb’ Mo’s parents, who were from Louisiana and Texas, instilled in him a great appreciation for the blues and gospel music. By adolescence, he was an accomplished guitarist. Keb’ Mo’ started his musical career playing the steel drums in a calypso band. He moved on to play in a variety of blues and backup bands throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Keb’ Mo’s first gold record was received for a song, “Git Fiddler”, which he co-wrote with Papa John Creach on Jefferson Starship‘s Red Octopus.^[3]Red Octopus hit number one on the Billboard 200 in 1975.

Keb’ Mo’s debut, Rainmaker, was released on Chocolate City Records, a subsidiary of Casablanca Records, in 1980. He was further immersed in the blues with his long stint in the Whodunit Band, headed by Bobby “Blue” Bland producer Monk Higgins. Moore jammed with Albert Collins and Big Joe Turner and emerged as an inheritor of a guarded tradition and as a genuine original. In 1994, Keb’ Mo’ released his self-titled album, Keb’ Mo’, which featured two Robert Johnson classics, “Come On In My Kitchen” and “Kind Hearted Woman Blues“.

In early 2014, he was nominated for three Grammy Awards, including Best Americana Album (BLUESAmericana) and Best American Roots Performance (“The Old Me Better”). Keb’ Mo’s 15th solo studio album in 2022, Good to Be…, was his most recent No. 1 Blues album in the U.S.

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.

As if they really needed to, the Royals have denounced any notion that Bobby Witt Jr. will be traded

“He’s not going anywhere,” Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said Tuesday. “Bobby’s a Royal. He’s not going anywhere.” This season, Witt drew some interest from other teams ahead of the 2026 Major League Baseball trade deadline. The Boston Red Sox reportedly inquired about Witt’s availability — via Alex Speier of The Boston Globe. The Royals maintained their stance. Witt is viewed as a franchise cornerstone and Picollo doubled down on that notion at the meetings.

Here is how the Royals plan to bolster their bullpen

The top guys are clearly David Bednar, Adrian Morejon and Rasiel Iglesias. They will command big salaries and could be outside the Royals’ price range. Both Bednar and Morejon received qualifying offers from their respective teams. They have until Nov. 17 at 3 p.m. Central to make a decision. This season, the qualifying offer is one year worth $23.15 million. It’s unlikely the Royals will make a significant push for those relievers. Instead, the club could build its bullpen with a sum-of-its-parts approach.

Bobby Witt Jr. was announced for the third time, as a First Team All-MLB selection.

For the third consecutive year, Bobby Witt Jr. was named shortstop on the All-MLB First Team during Wednesday night’s 2026 MLB Awards presented by MGM Rewards from The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

With the honor, Witt became the first shortstop to earn three All-MLB First Team selections since the awards were introduced in 2019.

The All-MLB Team recognizes the top players at each position across the Major Leagues, with selections based solely on their regular-season performances. Fan voting accounted for 50 percent of the results, while a panel of media members, broadcasters, former players and other baseball officials determined the other half.

Witt also became the first 3-time winner of the Heart & Hustle Award

Bobby Witt Jr.’s impact is all-encompassing, and it isn’t limited to what he does on the field.

The Royals shortstop was named the 2026 Heart & Hustle Award winner by the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association (MLBPAA), becoming the first player to receive the honor three times since it was established in 2005.

“That’s the ultimate goal, to go out there and play every day for your teammates and the fans and for your family,” Witt said while receiving the honor at the MLB Awards presented by MGM Rewards. “I just play the game as hard as I can and I’m going to try to do it for as long as I can.”

Witt, 26, had already joined Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, who won in 2006 and ’07, as the only players to earn the award twice. Now, he stands alone with three consecutive wins.

Matthew Swigonski of Kings of Kauffman listed some potential Carlos Estévez replacements

Could the Royals get some outfield help from the Phillies? Brian Burrows of Kings of Kauffman talks about it

Yirsandy Rodríguez of Royals Keep talks about four starting pitching options for the Royals in free agency

Here is a full list of MLB’s first and second All-MLB teams.

Milwaukee Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski and New York Yankees phenom Cam Schlittler won the Cy Young award last night

Yordan Alvarez and Pete Crow-Armstrong were named the 2026 Hank Aaron Award winners last night as well

Colton Cowser’s game-ending home run robbery was named the Premier Play of Year

Yordan Alvarez also won the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award last night

Alvarez also won Comeback Player of the Year (What can’t he win? Because he will probably be MVP too.) Zack Wheeler of the Phillies also won it

Here is your song of the day: I’m Still Standing by Elton John

In case you missed it, Jake and I talked to Derrick Goold earlier in the week on the podcast, which was very informative in many ways and you should listen to it if you haven’t. One of the takeaways from the podcast was that from Goold’s knowledgable position, the Cardinals are not going to judge their progress by wins and losses in 2027. He effectively said they do not care about wins next year. They care about development, they care about the future, but wins will not be the metric in which they judge how the season goes.

This was disappointing to hear. He did make the point that most people seem to perceive the 2026 team as better than the 2025 team even though it won less games. I think that’s more of an expectations thing and that the team seemed to be moving forward based on why they were good. Also, fans might perceive it that way, but I don’t think there is a very good argument that the 2026 team was actually better. They didn’t get worse (it was a one-win difference) after trading Sonny Gray, Brendan Donovan, and Nolan Arenado. That was big and showed the Cardinals were closer than we thought.

Or at least, I was hoping that was the takeaway. Doesn’t appear to have been the takeaway the Cardinals are choosing to take from the 2026 season. I’ve made this comparison before and it probably won’t be the last time I make it. The Cardinals are in a remarkably similar position to the 2015 Cubs, which obviously doesn’t mean they need to behave exactly like them, but they should have a similar attitude.

You’re googling the 2015 Cubs and seeing they won a lot of games. 97 of them in fact. They weren’t supposed to. The 2014 Cubs won 73 games. If Chaim Bloom was in charge of the Cubs then, there is no way the 2015 Cubs would win 97 games and they probably don’t win the World Series in 2016. After the 73 win season, Theo Epstein realized the Cubs had a lot of prospects arriving soon, and instead of waiting for them to prove themselves, he added prematurely, which ended up not being premature at all.

He signed Jon Lester, Jason Motte, Jason Hammel, and David Ross, and also traded for Dexter Fowler. The Cardinals don’t need a backup catcher and they’ll probably sign someone like Motte, coming off a bad season. I’m also not asking for the Cardinals to sign Tarik Skubal (I doubt Bloom has permission to even attempt it) or even sign a pitcher to a 7-year deal. It’s more the idea behind what the Cubs did than their specific moves that the Cardinals should replicate. Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber and Addison Russell hadn’t yet debuted, but would make important contributions to the 2015 squad. Javier Baez had debuted, but 2016 would be the season he would arrive. Willson Contreras also debuted for the 2016 team and was immediately a great hitter.

None of these players had proven anything before the 2015 season. The 2014 Cubs weren’t good, but both Anthony Rizzo and Jake Arrieta become core players and Kyle Hendricks surprised with 13 great starts. So they added to Arrieta and Hendricks with Hammel and Lester. Arrieta ended up being otherworldly that year, which is obviously going to significantly help you beat expectations, but Lester had a 5 win season too.

Let’s compare it to the Cardinals’ situation. They are missing an Arietta, although they do have their fair share of potential aces who are going to debut in 2026: Liam Doyle, Jurrangelo Cjintje, and Tanner Fraklin. Question defensive stats if you want but signs point to JJ Wetherholt being a star already. There’s your Rizzo. Joshua Baez and Leonardo Bernal have had their taste. Rainiel Rodriguez would probably be a guarantee to debut if the Cardinals were attempting to win next season. The prospects are close! Very close in fact.

In addition, the Cardinals will definitely have more prospects than they can use. Wetherholt is locked in at 2B, and right now that’s the only guarantee for the infield. Jack Gurevitch, Jesus Baez, Deniel Ortiz, Blaze Jordan will have to force out Masyn Winn and Alec Burleson if only one of them gets 3B, and a decent chance Rainiel Rodriguez will end up playing either 1B or 3B at least part of the time. Right behind those guys is Yairo Padilla and Sebastian Dos Santos. In the outfield, you have Josiah Ragsdale and Tai Peete with a farther away group in Trevor Condon and Alex Frias (amongst many other mediocre prospects like Won-Bin Cho). They’re going to be entering an outfield already covered by Joshua Baez and Jordan Walker. We already need to trade catchers. I will need to make this a two-parter if I was forced to name all the pitchers.

People are getting traded at some point. You don’t need to wait to make them prove they aren’t the future before you do it. Yeah it’s risky of course. But prospects usually don’t work out, and more importantly perhaps, even if they do, you usually don’t regret trading them. You remember all the ones you do regret, which makes you have a distorted view of how often you actually regret trading prospects. If you are trading for a legitimately great player, it’s almost always a smart move to trade prospects (Marcell Ozuna was not a legitimately great player if you want to bring up that trade)

I’m still not really asking for a big move – though I would appreciate one such as trading for Gunnar Henderson. Just try to improve the 2027 team. Care about winning. At least put the Cardinals in the position where the playoffs seems like a possibility and not a pipe dream. If you are someone who believes the Cardinals can make the playoffs with the roster they have, imagine how good they could really be if 3B and CF weren’t black holes.

So we’re already good enough and we can’t block Jesus Baez or Tai Peete does not make sense to me as an argument because neither of those players will impact the 2026 team, so feel free to get a one-year solution to that problem. I have no problem with that. If either of those guys are absolutely destroying AAA and need to be called up, you’ll find playing time for them. Injuries happen or you could just trade your one-year solutions. There are ways to do this that don’t involve signing Dexter Fowler to 5 years.

On the flipside, if you think making any moves would be foolish because this team isn’t close, fine, then trade anyone you can trade. If you believe improving CF and/or 3B is a complete waste of time, because any move we make won’t result in the playoffs, you got to pivot in the other direction. You don’t think the team is close? Got to trade Alec Burleson then. Trade Andre Pallante for sure.

If you’re in between these two viewpoints, like myself, and think of the Cardinals as somewhere between a 75 and 80 win team, with young, emerging players who could easily outperform that projection, then I think getting a Henderson or a Steven Kwan or even a Luis Robert is worthwhile, because now you’re increasing your chances of of being a playoff team. I want to improve CF or 3B specifically because Baez or Bernal or Quinn Mathews or one of the stud prospects who will start the year in Memphis can change the timeline and if multiple players do have that kind of season, 90 or more wins is on the table.

I honestly find this most confusing because Bloom and company have stressed that they don’t want to give a specific date on the timeline, which I totally understand, but if you aren’t behaving any differently than if the Cardinals just won 70 games last season, it kind of feels like you have a set timeline you’re sticking to? Part of why I’m advocating for this is that I look at the roster and there honestly aren’t that many holes and the bar to improve 3B and CF and the bullpen is just not high at all.

On the positive side of that interview, Goold did expect the Cardinals to be creative in their pitching usage as a response to the likely innings limit of Cooper Hjerpe, Tekoah Roby, and Richard Fitts, plus the gradual integration of the arm talent in Memphis that hasn’t debuted. That’s kind of an easy way to improve the bullpen: just use starters for multiple innings in relief.

Third base was replacement level last year and CF was not a whole lot better than that. We’re shedding Nolan Gorman and Victor Scott (maybe), but a good portion of the PAs are going to be taken by the same players. And players who, based on scouting and projections, don’t really have upside. Are we not getting a CF in front of Church because he might get 2 WAR? Fourth outfielders still play a whole lot, and if Church really does improve, we would get the benefit of the CF the Cardinals acquire AND a very good fourth outfielder. At least Blaze hasn’t really been given a legitimate chance, even if I don’t think he has the defensive chops to play 3B (yes I know what his OAA was in a very small sample)

Last point: trying to win in 2027 will have two very positive downstream effects. First, it will make fans want to go to games. Famously, Bill Dewitt III said that if fans don’t come to the ballpark, they won’t spend. Well, if you don’t try to win, fans won’t come to the ballpark. It’s not exactly a winning message to say “listen we don’t actually care about wins right now, but we still want your money.” Secondly, it signals to free agents that the Cardinals are trying to win, which is kind of how the Cardinals can get players to come here in the first place. I see it all the time. “Why would x player want to come here?” Well they think they can win here. That’s not a selling point if you don’t do anything. It might not have an effect this offseason, but it could convince a player next offseason.

In short, even if it’s minor, one-year improvements, please try to improve the 2027 team so that the Cardinals increase their odds of making the playoffs, because I don’t think the Cardinals are far off and I want to watch a winning team again.

Movie corner

Sorry still reading Crime and Punishment. In case I didn’t pick a divisive enough main topic, here’s a divisive movie opinion: Heat isn’t that good. Yes, the 1995 movie Heat is… fine. It has some great scenes. It has a lot of subplots I don’t care about in a movie that has zero business being near three hours. Do people really care about Al Pacino and Robert Deniro’s significant others in this movie? I don’t know if it’s because Michael Mann can’t write romance, but the only relationship I actually bought was Ashley Judd and Val Kilmer, which has a very good ending. Yes I am only using the actor and not the character names because I don’t remember the character’s names and this is just faster.

I like Deniro’s ending in concept, but in practice, Amy Brenneman isn’t even a character, she’s there so that Deniro is tempted to abandon his lifestyle. When she makes her decision, she makes it because that’s what the movie needs, but it doesn’t seem very believable to me. And the movie also needed to speed run through Pacino’s relationship to make its point, where it seemed like we saw them go from the honeymoon stage to the disillusioned stage in like a couple weeks?

And can we talk about Al Pacino’s performance? I can’t believe this performance is in a movie we are supposed to take seriously. He would fit right in if he was dropped onto the set of Face/Off. But that movie knows it’s dumb. Heat is very serious. I know Pacino says it’s because he thought his character would be doing cocaine. No, Al, it’s because you were doing a lot of cocaine. If the movie wanted us to think he was on cocaine, believe me, we would have seen it because Mann certainly didn’t cut anything else.

Man I could rant for days about this movie, but also why the hell was there a shoe-horned serial killer in this movie? What a weird choice! Robert Deniro doesn’t even know about that! It’s completely irrelevant. His actions at the beginning of the movie already get us to root for him to die, it was just so unnecessary. Positives: a few great scenes, every character actor in the 90s was in this thing so you know non-Pacino division this is some good acting. (Although Mykelti Williamson does take a cue from Pacino and is more over the top than he usually is)

Houston has had its share of fan favorites who returned to take the reins long after their playing days were over.  Remember when Clyde Drexler coached the Cougars in the late 1990’s? Clyde “The Glide” was transformed into Clyde “The Slide” as the losses mounted week after week. He finished with a mark of 19-39.    

The Texans brought back DeMeco Ryans and the jury is still out. If the playoffs started today, the Jaguars would be AFC South Champions for the second consecutive season.       

The Astros are once again putting their faith in a former player, but will the bet on familiarity be enough?  This time, turning to Brad Ausmus, who called Houston home for two stints and a 3x Gold Glove recipient behind the plate. It’s a formula that’s worked before. Larry Dierker won four divisional titles in five seasons. Phil Garner led Houston to their first ever World Series appearance. Even Art Howe had things trending in the right direction, winning 85 games during the 1993 campaign. The Astros have largely been the exception to the general rule.    

Being an elite player on the field doesn’t automatically give you the leadership or tactical planning required in the dugout. Historically the “greatest” players of the game, often fall flat on their faces. Ted Williams went 54-100 as Rangers manager in 1972, finishing 6th in the A.L. West. Pete Rose managed the Reds for five seasons and never reached the post season. Alan Trammell was historically bad in Motown. The 2003 Tigers posted a record of 43-119, at one point that season, dropping 15 in a row. Frank Robinson managed various clubs for portions of 16 seasons and never saw October.

This, of course, isn’t exclusive to diamond greats. Magic Johnson lost 5 of his first 6 games as Lakers head coach and a few weeks later was gone. He was coach for all of 45 days. Bart Starr coached the Packers for 9 seasons and never returned Green Bay to the prominence. Instead of “Title Town” it became “Losing Town”. The list is never-ending.     

Houston has bet on its own before. Three gold gloves say he knows the game, now let’s see if he can teach it.  

LAS VEGAS – To make a point about why a salary cap was not only unnecessary but also detrimental to baseball, the sport’s most influential agent offered the example of a team that went “from the outhouse of bankruptcy to the penthouse of world championships.”

The Dodgers have often been cited as a reason there should be restrictions on how much franchises should be able to spend on players, but Scott Boras claimed the opposite was true.

In Boras’ view, they are a credit to baseball’s current free-market system.

The Dodgers were taken into bankruptcy in 2011 by their owner at the time, Frank McCourt. The following year, they were sold to Guggenheim Baseball Management for a then-record $2.15 billion.

Fueled by record spending, the Dodgers quickly reclaimed their place as one of the league’s signature franchises. 

Under their current owners, they have acquired a number of the sport’s most popular players, including Shohei Ohtani.

They have reached the playoffs in each of the last 14 years.

They have won the World Series three times in the last seven seasons.

“The revenues of this system and their ownership from bankruptcy to near billion in revenues should be a model for what freedoms do to allow a process, capital, intellect, hiring of executives, all of that culminates in something that has been dramatically beneficial to the league,” Boras said.

In what has become a General Managers’ Meetings tradition, Boras addresses reporters in large part to drum up interest in his clients who are free agents. He did some of that on Wednesday, as he represents the market’s No. 1 player in Tarik Skubal.

However, Boras also devoted plenty of time addressing the push by franchise owners to implement a salary cap. Fervent opposition by the players’ union is expected to result in a prolonged work stoppage that should start on Dec. 1, when the current collective-bargaining agreement expires.

The Dodgers were mentioned several times.

“Fans are telling you they love competitiveness and they love owner genius,” Boras said. “When you’re in a market where your franchise is bankrupt, and you attract owners that have the wherewithal to come in and correct what’s going on to make their franchise competitive, to have new ideas, to do all those things, this is why we want to keep our doors open, so that the next idea, the next generation of owners, has the freedom to come here.”

In other words, the Dodgers couldn’t have done what they’ve done if a salary cap were in place.

Of course, that’s also the argument made by salary-cap advocates, who say the Dodgers’ market size provides them with an unfair advantage because they can generate more revenue than the majority of other teams.

Which was why Boras also mentioned the San Diego Padres, who were purchased by a group that included the late Peter Seidler for $800 million in 2012.

“We’ve seen what Peter Seidler did in San Diego, a market that is wholly held by everyone to be a small market,” Boras said.

Seidler invested heavily in the team’s roster. They have reached the playoffs in five of the last seven years, and the market has responded. The Padres, who drew 2.2 million fans in 2021, have drawn more than three million fans in each of the last four seasons.

The Padres were sold for a record $3.9 billion this year.

Boras posited that a system without a salary cap results in a greater variety of team-building philosophies throughout the game.

“These are the things that fans enjoy, that everyone enjoys, that the mystery of the game is so complete, where we have a diverse approach to championship play,” he said.

1920
As a response to the Black Sox scandal that saw members of the White Sox throw the World Series in 1919, baseball owners unanimously elected Kenesaw Mountain Landis as the first baseball commissioner. Landis, a White Sox fan, took the job while insisting that he be given final authority over the players and owners.

Despite the acquittal of the Black Sox of any wrongdoing by a Chicago jury on Aug. 2, 1921, Landis banned all eight players from the game, permanently, in a statement made the very next day, August 3.

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1959
He helped lead the White Sox to their first pennant in 40 years, and because of his contributions on the field and in the clubhouse Nellie Fox became the first member of the franchise to be named American League MVP. 

Fox hit .306 that year with 191 hits, 34 doubles, 70 RBIs and 71 walks (as compared to only 13 strikeouts!) Fox also led the league in putouts, assists, total chances and fielding percentage for all second basemen. He also was named to the All-Star team. 

Nellie got 16 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America, and beat out teammate Luis Aparicio, 295-255. Pitcher Early Wynn, who’d win the Cy Young that season, finished third — giving the Sox the top three spots in the final voting.

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1980
Two years removed from a career-saving stint with the White Sox that saw him leaving Chicago as the first two-time free agent in MLB history, Steve Stone capped off the season of his career by winning the AL Cy Young for Baltimore. Stone had already transformed his pitching approach via meditation and art of pitching/prep by the end of 1979. But in 1980, he leaned hard into his killer curveball, upping usage to more than 50% and willingly risking injury: “I knew it would ruin my arm. But one year of 25-7 is worth five of 15-15.”

Stone won 25 games, at one point won 14 in a row, and whittled his ERA to 3.23. His only career All-Star appearance was marked by three perfect innings.

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1987
Richard Dotson headlined a five-player trade with the Yankees that also sent away fellow righthander Scott Nielsen and brought back outfielder Dan Pasqua, catcher Mark Salas and reliever Steve Rosenberg. It was the third White Sox-Yankees trade of 1987 and the eight transaction between the two teams since 1984.

To that end, Nielsen had been dealt to the White Sox in January 1987.

Overall, the trade was pretty much a zero save for the contributions of Pasqua to the White Sox (7.7 WAR over 630 games, slightly better than average), which while not overwhelming was the only significant production for any of the five involved in this swap.

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1993
Prominent draft disappointment Courtney Hawkins was born, in Corpus Christi, Texas. The White Sox made Hawkins the No. 13 overall pick in the 2012 draft, the first high-schooler they’d used a first round pick on in 11 years. He showed immediate promise, slashing .284/.324/.480 with eight homers over 59 games in rookie, Low-A and High-A ball. Things quickly plateaued and stalled for Hawkins, however, as over six-plus years in the White Sox system he never moved past Double-A ball.

Four years after leaving the White Sox, Hawkins dominated indy ball, hitting 48 home runs in 127 games for the Lexington Legends of the Atlantic League — more than any player in the minors that year, affiliated ball or otherwise.

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2020
It was a very strange baseball season, but one thing that didn’t change was the excellence of White Sox first baseman José Abreu. From start to finish of the abbreviated, 60-game season, the big slugger produced and because of that was named the American League MVP by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Abreu finished with 374 total points, beating out Cleveland’s José Ramírez. Abreu became the fourth White Sox MVP, joining Nellie Fox (1959), Dick Allen (1972) and Frank Thomas (1993-94).

Abreu’s 60 RBIs over 60 games led the AL for a second consecutive season. He finished second with 19 home runs, and fourth with a .317 batting average. He also ranked fifth with a .987 OPS, and was the only AL player to rank in the Top 5 in hits (76, first), RBIs, slugging percentage (.617, first), extra-base hits (34, first), total bases (148, first), home runs, average and OPS. A highlight of his season was six home runs in a three-game series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, including four straight over two games.

Rays President, Baseball Operations Erik Neander was named Major League Baseball’s 2026 Executive of the Year during the annual General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas. Neander, who also earned the accolade in 2019, joined the Milwaukee Brewers Matt Arnold as the award’s only multi-time recipients since its inception in 2018. The winner is decided by a vote of executives from all 30 teams prior to the start of the postseason.

“I am both humbled and honored to be recognized by Major League Baseball and the executives who voted on the award,” Neander said. “This recognition deserves to be shared across our entire staff, as well as the players who left it all on the field. It’s our collective commitment that allows something like this to be possible. Our pursuit of a World Series is only heightened by our recent experience. We will be relentless in our efforts to bring a championship to the fans of Tampa Bay.”

The Rays finished the 2026 regular season with a 98-64 record, earning the No. 1 seed in the American League (AL) for the fourth time in franchise history (2020-21, 2010) while capturing their fifth AL East title (also: 2008). They swept the New York Yankees in the American League (AL) Division Series (3-0) and defeated the Cleveland Guardians, 4-2, in the AL Championship Series to make the third World Series appearance in franchise history, joining 2020 and 2008. The club’s 106 combined wins between the regular season and postseason surpassed 2008 (105) for the most in franchise history.

From the conclusion of last offseason through the beginning of 2026 spring training, Neander and his group added 12 new players to the Rays 40-man roster and completed 16 offseason trades involving nearly 40 players, including a trio of three-team deals. Before spring training, he signed left-handed pitcher Cam Booser, right-handed pitcher Nick Martinez, and outfielder Cedric Mullins in free agency and traded for outfielders Victor Mesa Jr. and Ryan Vilade — all five players made the Rays World Series roster. Ahead of the trade deadline, Neander acquired catcher Liam Hicks, AL Championship Series Most Valuable Player right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta, and right-handed pitcher Tyler Wells, each of whom made key contributions during the Rays postseason run.

Every player on the Rays current 40-man roster has been acquired since Neander was appointed the club’s top-ranking baseball official, including 26 via trade. Additionally, the Rays farm system was rated No. 1 in the game by Baseball America in the publication’s most recent update in August, with seven Tampa Bay prospects ranked among the top 100 in baseball, highlighted by outfielder Theo Gillen (No. 5) and infielder Grady Emerson (No. 13).

The Rays have made the postseason six times during Neander’s 10 seasons at the helm (2017-26), with the club’s .557 winning percentage (846-672) in that span ranking third in the AL behind the Houston Astros (.585) and Yankees (.581). The Rays six postseason appearances since 2019 are sixth most in the majors, and they are one of three franchises to appear in multiple World Series since 2020 along with the Astros (two) and Los Angeles Dodgers (three).

A Virginia Tech graduate, Neander joined the Rays in January 2007 as a baseball operations intern and was hired full-time in October 2007. He was named senior vice president of baseball operations and general manager on Nov. 4, 2016, and promoted to president, baseball operations on Sept. 8, 2021. The Oneonta, N.Y. native is the eighth-longest-tenured head baseball operations executive with his current team by hiring date in the majors behind New York-AL’s Brian Cashman (Feb. 3, 1998), San Diego’s A.J. Preller (Aug. 6, 2014), Los Angeles-NL’s Andrew Friedman (Oct. 14, 2014), Toronto’s Mark Shapiro (Aug. 31, 2015), Seattle’s Jerry Dipoto (Sept. 28, 2015), Cleveland’s Chris Antonetti (Oct. 6, 2015), and Arizona’s Mike Hazen (Oct. 16, 2016)

Hello, friends.

There are now 132 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day 2027. Or at least that’s what’s on the schedule. The owners are going to put the schedule in doubt in a few weeks when they initiate a lockout of the players.

In the news this week is a trickle of things coming out of the GM Meetings. Usually this event is a low-key affair with little media attention. However, with the looming lockout likely to wipe out next month’s winter meetings, many of the usual suspects in all areas of the game are beefing up their presence at these meetings. That includes agent Scott Boras, who showed up yesterday and did his usual court session where he makes a lot of puns and brow-beats teams who act too cheap to sign good players.

Ordinary years see contacts during the GM Meetings credited later as having laid the groundwork for signings or trades that are made weeks or even months later. This year, there won’t be months later, so if anything started to come together because of the meetings, we’ll see that happening over the next three weeks. Or more specifically the next 20 days, because that’s when the lockout will hit.

Will the Orioles do anything major before then? We can’t know until it happens! That’s a source of anxiety in the fanbase, including myself. On one hand, Mike Elias has to know that he’s got work to do going into next year, and he should be well aware that he isn’t going to have a big opportunity to fix the problems after the lockout ends. On the other hand, he’s a weird guy who tries to do things that he thinks are because he’s so smart and they end up looking pretty stupid both as they are breaking news and in the way that they work out.

The MVP award winners will be announced tonight. Maybe Pete Alonso will get a couple of tenth place votes or something like that. He probably deserves a couple.

Orioles stuff you might have missed

We are into the time of the offseason where diligent daily readers of Bird Droppings may see repeated links. Sorry! It’s not going to get better in December.

How dry humor from David Rubenstein became an MLB lockout talking point (The Baltimore Banner)
Rubes’s deadpan comments from last month keep coming back around with the labor situation being what it is.

Boras thinks Orioles will stay aggressive in pursuing free agents (Baltimore Baseball)
Boras has said nice things about the Orioles even in years where they don’t end up signing any of his major clients. One particular name brought up among the Boras clients in this year’s class is outfielder Randy Arozarena.

More potential Orioles free agent targets (Steve on Baseball)
Subscription required to see the full list on this Substack. Steve Melewski is looking particularly at starting pitchers here.

Elias on trade buzz: Core players ‘very unlikely’ to be dealt (Orioles.com)
He can say whatever he wants about it, but after Adley Rutschman got traded, I don’t think anybody is too precious to be traded and really we never know when Elias might have an idea that he can sidegrade or improve the present while also stocking for the future.

Two under-the-radar Orioles pitching prospects to keep an eye on (Orioles On The Verge)
If getting excited about high draft picks is just too mundane for you, maybe you’re ready to dive in on an 11th round pick and an undrafted free agent from this year’s class.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Today in 1980, Orioles pitcher Steve Stone was named the AL Cy Young award winner after a season where he posted a 3.23 ERA while throwing 250.2 innings over 37 starts. The franchise’s most recent winner of the award likely benefited from leading the league with 25 wins, which gave him a slight edge in a less-thoughtful era of voting over Oakland’s Mike Norris, who pitched substantially better that season.

To no one’s surprise, no Orioles received any votes on this year’s Cy Young ballots. Former Oriole Bryan Baker received one fifth place vote, giving him an official placement of tied for eighth place.

For the first time this year, the BBWAA gave out Reliever of the Year awards in each league. No Orioles relievers got any votes for that either. Baker finished in third place in that balloting.

There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2025 pitcher Charlie Morton, 2005 outfielder Sammy Sosa, and 1955 pitcher Don Johnson.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: Revolutionary War naval ally Louis Antoine de Bougainville (1729), women’s rights activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815), Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-sen (1866), actress Grace Kelly (1929), actor Ryan Gosling (1980), and actress Anne Hathaway (1982).

On this day in history…

In 1918, following the previous day’s armistice, the empire of Austria-Hungary dissolved and Austria proclaimed itself a republic. The new government immediately was subject to an attempted coup by Communists in the country.

In 1954, the immigration processing station at Ellis Island, New York ended its service after bringing over 12 million immigrants into the Port of New York dating back to 1892.

In 1969, news of the My Lai Massacre by American forces in Vietnam – committed the previous March – broke in the United States after having been uncovered by journalist Seymour Hersh.

In 1980, Voyager I reached its closest point to Saturn and photographed the planet’s rings, the first images ever transmitted to Earth from Saturn. The farthest human-made object from Earth, Voyager I is projected to reach a distance of one light-day from Earth in six days.

**

And that’s the way it is in Birdland on November 12. Have a safe Thursday.

After William Contreras claimed the top spot in our 2026 MVBrewers rankings, we’re back with the No. 2 spot, which goes to second baseman Brice Turang. Turang was just barely edged by Contreras in our voting for the No. 1 spot, and he instead falls to No. 2, where he received 56.8% of the 111 total votes (63 votes), easily beating Jacob Misiorowski (28 votes), Aaron Ashby (nine votes), Jackson Chourio (eight votes), and Jake Bauers (three votes).

Turang, who turns 27 next weekend, continues to get better every year. In his fourth major league season, he hit .268/.366/.450 with 21 homers, 19 steals, 37 doubles, 100 RBIs, and 102 runs scored across 151 games. He already picked up his second career Gold Glove after totaling 2.9 defensive WAR, second best in the majors behind only Tampa Bay’s Taylor Walls, and he figures to be a leading candidate for a Silver Slugger as well, though those aren’t announced until next week.

Beyond his strong regular season, Turang was also a valuable piece in the playoffs, even if he wasn’t quite as flashy as guys like Contreras. Across 13 games, he turned in a respectable .261/.404/.413 line with a homer, four doubles, four RBIs, nine runs, and a team-high 11 walks.

Turang’s 7.3 bWAR ranked third in the majors, behind only Pete Crow-Armstrong and Cristopher Sánchez, while his 5.9 fWAR put him ninth in the majors.

All of that means he’ll finish in the top three in NL MVP voting, as he was named a finalist last week. While Crow-Armstrong is a certainty to win the award, Turang could very well edge out Shohei Ohtani for second place, but we’ll have to wait until tonight to know for sure.

Looking at Turang’s Baseball Savant page, it’s clear that he’s a young star for Milwaukee. He ranks in the 98th percentile in fielding run value, including the 99th percentile in range with 19 outs above average.

While he hasn’t come close to his 50 steals from two years ago, he’s still an above-average baserunner, and he’s only gotten better at the plate, ranking in the 87th percentile in batting run value. That includes an 80th percentile xwOBA, a 90th percentile launch angle sweet-spot rate, an 80th percentile chase rate, and a 93rd percentile walk rate, all of which are exemplary of the Brewers’ style of baseball.

Turang has come a long way from being one of the worst hitters in the league in his rookie season (he ranked in the bottom 5% in exit velocity, xSLG, wOBA, xwOBA, and hard-hit rate). We’ll see if he can maintain his progression in his age-27 season next year.

We’ll continue these rankings on Monday with our No. 3 player. To weigh in on the voting, visit The Feed (note: the poll will be posted Thursday morning).

1. William Contreras (2.9 bWAR, 3.0 fWAR)
2. Brice Turang (7.3 bWAR, 5.9 fWAR)

Today is the last day of the MLB general managers meetings in Las Vegas, marking the last major checkpoint before the anticipated lockout coming the evening of December 1st. Perhaps we’ll see some sort of flurry of activity as teams try to get some shopping done before the freeze.

On to the links.

Phillies News:

• Matt Gelb gives his latest about what he’s hearing for the Phillies after Dave Dombrowski outlined the team’s plans at the GM meetings. ($)
• Cristopher Sánchez finished second in the Cy Young voting for the second straight season, while Jesús Luzardo finished fifth
• The Phillies have multiple needs and therefore have to place a priority order. Where does the bullpen rank among that list?

MLB News:

• The Astros have reportedly hired Yankees bench coach and former Tigers manager Brad Ausmus for their open managerial spot.
• More on the year end award winners, as the Cy Young Awards and Reliever of the Year Awards were given out last night.
• Speaking of the Tigers, they have reportedly agreed to a one-year deal with reliever Emilio Pagan.
• This offseason will be anything but normal as we head closer to a lockout. So how are MLB executives trying to navigate the uncertain timeline as they look to accomplish their offseason to-do list? ($)
• We finally have an answer for one of the biggest burning questions of the postseason: would the ball Ty France hit that clanged into the roof of Milwaukee’s American Family Field been a home run if the roof was open?

The Yankees had a moment to celebrate last night, as Cam Schlittler was officially crowned the AL Cy Young Award winner for 2026. Schlittler was the heavy favorite after a dominant end to what was a historic campaign, and the only real question was whether he would win it unanimously or not, and in the end he did. It’s the third time that a Yankee has unanimously won the Cy Young, Schlittler joining Ron Guidry in 1978 and Gerrit Cole in 2023. That he’s done so in his second season (and his first full season) in The Show is a remarkable feat, and it’ll be a treat to watch Cam in this rotation for years to come. Hopefully, next year’s offense does him better and both he and the Yankees can rack up some more wins.

We’ve got plenty to cover as award season continues to roll on, with the MVP announcement coming in later tonight. Before that though, Josh starts our day off with his thoughts on why the owners are so uniformly in pursuit of a salary cap and John delivers a report card for Max Fried fresh off his second season in pinstripes. Andrew goes into the history books with Carl Mays and the tragic highlight of his career on his birthday, and then Peter will discuss the ways that Cam Schlittler proved his skepticism wrong after the newly-minted Cy Young’s cup of coffee in 2025.

Questions/Prompts:

1. With Schlittler heading the staff entering next year, who do you expect to be the team’s No. 2 pitcher?

2. Who ya got winning AL MVP tonight? How about NL MVP?

The Pittsburgh Pirates extended a qualifying offer to second baseman Brandon Lowe, who has until November 17 to make a decision on that offer. He’s been projected to garner anywhere from a $45 million contract to a $150 million contract in free-agency. Although it would be in the Pirates’ best interest to resign Lowe, they may need to be thinking about their second and third options in case they can’t strike a deal with their best power threat.

Jazz Chisolm has emerged as a possible signing for the Pirates, and in a free-agency class full of second basemen, he is certainly the most unique. Chisolm is coming off of a difficult year with the New York Yankees where he was inconsistent and disruptive. However, it’s been made very clear that Chisholm will be looking to get out of New York, and maybe a more down to earth city like Pittsburgh is exactly what he needs. He’d fit into the young core well as a versatile defender who can play second and third, and adds another left-handed bat to the lineup.

Just Baseball’s Top Landing Spots for Jazz Chisholm Jr. pic.twitter.com/VTJVUFF0lD

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) November 10, 2026

Would Chisolm be too expensive though? Of all the players that will be mentioned he certainly has the potential to have the highest price tag, unless Pittsburgh can get him for a conservative prove-it type of contract.

Another possible option could be acquired from the cross state rival Philadelphia Phillies, as Luis Arraez is a pending free-agent. Arraez is a three-time batting champion and is as consistent as they come at the plate. It should be a priority for Pittsburgh to remain aggressive in creating a powerful lineup, especially after they completely transformed their offense for the better last winter. With Arraez you get a player who has experience at the big league level and can hit to all fields. He finished 2026 hitting .310/.345/.764 and had 64 RBIs.

One of the problems with this crop of possible replacements for Lowe is that there really isn’t anyone that can match the kind of power that he brings to the plate. As great as Arraez is, his six homers in 2026 is a major downgrade from Lowe’s 35.

In the Integration Era, Luis Arraez is 1 of 6 players to hit at least .290 in each of his first 8 seasons!

For the second consecutive year, Arraez hits free agency as one of the top available bats 💪 pic.twitter.com/t2h9nrhdWY

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) November 11, 2026

Jeff McNeil could serve as more of a bridge player if the Pirates were to sign him. At 35-years-old McNeil could be signed on a short term deal, and could give the Pirates a solid option at second while they continue to develop prospect line Termarr Johnson for a more longterm solution. Despite his age, McNeil still played in 144 games for the Athletics in 2026 and put up solid numbers. He maintained an above average .264 hitting percentage and had a .985 fielding percentage at second base. Although he doesn’t offer a long term solution for the Pirates, he does give them a solid contributor and leader in the locker room if Lowe departs.

There are of course several in house options that the Pirates could turn to as well. Nick Gonzales feels like one of the obvious first choices. Gonzales played primarily at third base in 2026 following the departure of Ke’Bryan Hayes, but has made most of his appearances at second base during his stint in Pittsburgh. He could certainly slide back over to the other side of the infield, but that of course leaves another vacant spot at third. With that being said, it’d be surprising if the Pirates did not pursue another third baseman this winter.

Jared Triolo is another option that the Pirates have in house and can get an affordable deal done with. Triolo is by far one of the most versatile defenders in baseball and is certainly capable of being an everyday second baseman for Pittsburgh. However, Triolo has largely been a liability at the plate. The beauty of what Lowe provided to the Pirates in 2026 was the dynamic power he brought on offense, and that’s a rare kind of pop for the position. Triolo just cannot match that kind of production.

Brandon Lowe earns All-MLB Second Team honors‼️ pic.twitter.com/v1P06aVWWu

— SleeperPirates (@SleeperPirates) November 12, 2026

The Pirates should exhaust all efforts to bring back Lowe, but it’s going to be easier said than done after the incredible season he just had and the money he’s likely to command. Although there really isn’t anyone that can match that kind of power at the plate, there are several second basemen in free-agency that could be suitable replacements if Lowe doesn’t resign with Pittsburgh.

We’ve reached the end of the week here at BCB After Dark: the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in and sit with us for a while. Get out of the fall chill. We can check your coat for you. We still have a few tables available. The hostess can seat you now. Bring your own beverage.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

Last night I asked you what the Cubs should do at catcher in 2027. A clear majority of 62 percent of you want the Cubs to re-sign Casey Kelly. Another 22 percent think the Cubs should let Kelly walk and go with Miguel Amaya and Owen Ayers as their catching tandem.

Here’s the part with the music and the movies. You’re free to join us there.

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Tonight in honor of Veteran’s Day, we have the United States Air Force’s Airmen of Note, the official jazz band of the USAF. Also the best jazz big band your tax dollars can buy. I can’t think of many better things to spend that money on than a jazz band, personally.

This is “Hunting Wabbits,” a tribute to Looney Tunes written by Gordon Goodwin, who joins the Airmen of Note on the piano.

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I don’t actually have a film to tell you about tonight. Sorry about that. So instead I’ll throw the floor open to you.

Since it’s Veteran’s Day, I’m asking you for your favorite war/military films. I doesn’t necessarily have to be about war. It can be a story of returning veterans like The Best Years of Our Lives. Or it could be a film just about life in the military like Private Benjamin. Or you could go the more traditional route like Saving Private Ryan or Patton.

Since Veteran’s Day started as Armistice Day, I’m going to recommend three World War I films. As you might guess, it’s hard to find many movies that glorify that conflict. All three of these are pretty anti-war.

The first is the Lewis Milestone-directed original adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front. I’ve seen the 2022 German version by director Edward Berger, and the 1930 version is a lot better. I’m really not sure why the 2022 version got so much praise. It’s not bad, per se, but adding that dry history lesson about the armistice talks (which also makes the Germans look like the victims in the war) and cutting out some key events from the book to make room was a pretty terrible decision. The 1930 version is in the public domain now, so you have no excuse to have not seen it already.

Another is director Jean Renoir’s 1937 film La Grande Illusion, which is French for exactly what you think it means. It features two terrific performances from Jean Gabin and Marcel Dialo. I’ve been clear before that I consider Gabin to be one of the greatest actors of the 20th Century. La Grande Illusion is about war, of course, but it’s also about so many other things.

Finally, no list of great World War I films would be complete without Stanley Kubrick’s 1957 masterpiece Paths of Glory, starring Kirk Douglas. That this film is loosely based on a true story makes it all the more horrifying. French soldiers who are sentenced to die by firing squad to serve as an example/scapegoat for a botched attack that should never have been ordered in the first place.

I’m not saying those three are my three favorite War/Military films, but I can guarantee were I to make up a list of the best such films, all three of them would be on it. So would Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove and quite likely his Full Metal Jacket.

So tell us what your favorite war/military movies?

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Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.

I’m going to assume that Pete Crow-Armstrong is going to win the National League MVP Award later today. When you look at all the awards he has already won, the only question is whether or not it will be unanimous. I believe that it will be. Shohei Ohtani not having thrown a pitch after July 3 and his late-season fade means his contributions come up far short of PCA’s. Brice Turang had a fantastic season, but he’s going to have to be content with a World Series ring. I think the only way the award isn’t unanimous is if a voter votes against Crow-Armstrong out of spite.

When PCA wins later today, it will be the 13th time that a Cubs player has won the MVP Award and Crow-Armstrong will bee the 12th Cub to win the award. Ernie Banks won the MVP Award twice, of course, taking home the honor in both 1958 and 1959.

The winners were

1911—Frank Schulte

1929—Rogers Hornsby

1930—Hack Wilson

1935—Gabby Hartnett

1945—Phil Cavarretta

1952—Hank Sauer

1958—Ernie Banks

1959—Ernie Banks

1984—Ryne Sandberg

1987—Andre Dawson

2016—Kris Bryant

2026—Pete Crow-Armstrong (we assume)

So among those 12 seasons, which one is the best?

Here we run into some problems as our silly polling software only allows for six choices.

So I’m going to have to eliminate six of those seasons. First, because I don’t want Ernie Banks to be two of the choices, I’m eliminating his 1958 season. Banks had a higher bWAR in 1959, but that’s mostly because his defense rated out better that year. Best in the league, in fact. But I’m extremely dubious of all defensive evaluations done decades after the fact. But in truth, Banks’ 1958 and 1959 seasons are almost identical. The first season has a few more home runs and a little higher slugging. The 1959 season had a better on-base percentage and a lot more RBI, if you care about that. You could pick either year, but I’ll go with 1959 today. Maybe he would have won the Platinum Glove in 1959 if it existed. But if you think 1958 was better, just vote for 1959.

Next, Schulte is out. Schulte hit 21 home runs that year which is quite an accomplishment in the Deadball Era. He led the league in slugging percentage and OPS+. But the game in 1911 is so different that I can’t see how we can make a fair comparison.

The next player I’m eliminating is Cavaretta, who put up his numbers against mostly inferior wartime rosters. Yes, the soldiers started to return to lineups in July and August, but most of the season were against some of the worst competition ever fielded in the major leagues.

Sauer is out. He had a good year in 1952, winning the home run and RBI titles, but you’d be hard-pressed to find many people even back then who thought Hank Sauer was the best player in the league. He won the award on a three-way split in the vote where he got eight first-place votes, Philadelphia’s Robin Roberts got seven first-place votes and Brooklyn reliever Joe Black got eight-first place votes. Roberts or Stan Musial probably should have won the award.

Now come the hard choices. I’m sorry Andre, but you’re out. The decision to award the MVP to Andre Dawson in 1987 has been criticized for a few reasons. One, the Cubs were a last-place team and how valuable is a player on a last-place team? Second, recent understandings of the game have shown that while the 49 home runs Dawson hit that year were indeed very valuable, his pedestrian .328 on-base percentage wasn’t, nor were his creaky knees in right field. Dawson won the MVP that year, in part, because of the narrative of collusion and the blank check he had to give to the Cubs in order to get the team to sign him.

Finally, Gabby Hartnett is out. It came down to Hartnett versus Hack Wilson and while clearly Hartnett was the better player over the course of his career, Wilson hit a National League record 56 home runs, a record that would stand until 1998. His 191 RBI is still the major league record. That 177 OPS+ from Wilson is just too hard to ignore.

So the six players you can vote for in the “Greatest Cub MVP of All-Time Are as follows. Remember, OPS+ and WAR are adjusted for the era and environment the player competed in.

1929: Rogers Hornsby. .380/.459/.679. 39 HR. 149 RBI. 178 OPS+ 10.6 bWAR.

1930: Hack Wilson. .356/.454/.723. 56 HR. 191 RBI. 177 OPS+ 7.4 bWAR.

1959 (or ‘58): Ernie Banks. .304/.374/.596. 45 HR. 143 RBI. 156 OPS+ 10.2 bWAR.

1984: Ryne Sandberg. .324/.367/.520. 19 HR. (19 3B) 85 RBI. 32 SB. 140 OPS+. Gold Glove. 8.5 bWAR.

2016: Kris Bryant. .292/.385/.554. 39 HR. 102 RBI. 146 OPS+ 7.3 bWAR. Won World Series.

2026: Pete Crow-Armstrong. .280/.372/.570. 45 HR. 107 RBI. 41 SB. 156 OPS+. 9.8 bWAR. Platinum Glove.

So which one of these would you say is the Most Valuable Cubs’ Most Valuable? You don’t have to only use the numbers I provided here. You can use whatever criteria you want.

Thanks for stopping by tonight and all week. Stay warm out there. Please get home safely. Tell your friends about us. Leave us five stars. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again next week for more BCB After Dark.

Chris Sale finished third in the NL Cy Young voting, but could have plausibly finished first, given more innings (assuming the same production level). Sale continues his incredibly stretch in a Braves’ uniform as a late career renaissance driven primarily by good health, in contrast to his last number of years in Boston. Here’s hoping it can continue for another few years in the twilight of his Hall of Fame career.

Braves News

Chris Sale finished top 3 in Cy Young voting, coming up short of Jacob Misiorowski and Cristopher Sanchez.

Raisel Iglesias somewhat bizarrely finished fifth in NL Reliever of the Year, while Didier Fuentes and Dylan Lee also collected votes.

We continued our annual player reviews series with a look at Luke Williams’ 2026.

MLB News

Cam Schlittler won the AL Cy Young, with Jacob Misiorowski winning on the NL side.

Ryan Jeffers rejected the Twins’ qualifying offer.

Braves’ legend and reliever Chris Martin announced his retirement from baseball.

The Astros named Brad Ausmus their next manager.

MLB.com: In what should come as a surprise to nobody, Yankees ace Cam Schlittler won the 2026 American League Cy Young Award. Courtesy of an AL-leading 1.95 ERA, which ranks third in franchise history, he became the seventh Yankee to receive the honor, and the first since Gerrit Cole in 2023. Moreover, he was the unanimous selection, having broken away from his main competition, Dylan Cease, with a dominant finish to the season.

MLB Trade Rumors | Charlie Wright: As has been the case frequently in recent years, the Yankees head into the offseason looking for an upgrade at third base, as the most recent attempt to gain stability at the position, Ryan McMahon, struggled mightily both at the plate and in the field in 2026. To that end, the Yankees appear to have interest in former Phillies infielder Alec Bohm. A batter with a career OPS+ of 101, Bohm struggled mightily in his contract year, posting a .249/.315/.383 slash line (87 OPS+); unfortunately, in a week year at the position, he might just represent the closest thing to a sure thing — at least, on the free agent market.

NJ.com | Randy Miller: Speaking to reporters at the GM Meetings, Brian Cashman all but confirmed that the team will not be bringing back Jazz Chisholm Jr., listing Anthony Volpe, José Caballero, and Max Schuemann as options at the keystone next year. While he did not explicitly say the team had no interest in bringing him back, and in fact went very much out of his way to praise Chisholm’s ability on the field, work ethic, and character as a person, he did lump him in with Harrison Bader, Luis Severino, and Gleyber Torres — players who had lackluster contract seasons and who were, ultimately, not pursued in free agency.

New York Post | Greg Joyce: The Yankees staff will have quite the shakeup next season, as bench coach Brad Ausmus has been hired to be the next manager of the Houston Astros. The former catcher, who has spent the last three years in the Yankees’ dugout as Aaron Boone’s right hand man, had interviewed for both of Houston’s recent vacancies (GM and manager), and will now officially return to the organization he spent ten years with as a player.

The Athletic | Brendan Kuty: (subscription required) Ausmus will not be the only person departing the organization: earlier in the day, it was reported that hitting coach James Rowson had accepted a job as “offensive coordinator” with the San Francisco Giants. Soon after, The Athletic reported that Aaron Bates, who had served as co-hitting coach with the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2023, had emerged as an early favorite for the job within the baseball community.