SUNDAY/FUNDAY II
SATURDAY, IN THE PARK, CHICAGO THOUGHT IT WAS THE 4TH OF JULY
OH, WHAT A NIGHT FOR CHICAGO
In a two-hour span last night, this happened:
If Alex Bregman to the Cubs for a five-year and $175 MM (with $70 MM deferred) was on your Bingo card, please let me invest in your bingo playing. This off-season has been dominated by the belief that the Yankees would re-sign Cody Bellinger and the Red Sox would re-sign Alex Bregman. Yesterday, according to Buster Olney, the Yankees admitted to being at an impasse with Bellinger in contract negotiations and are now operating under the assumption that Bellinger is going to sign elsewhere. And now Bregman signed with the Cubs.
The Cubs, who just made a big deal to acquire pitcher Edward Cabrera, now have an infield of Michael Busch at first, Nico Hoerner at second, and Dansby Swanson at shortstop. They also have Matt Shaw as a backup at third and second (and DH), and the time to develop and get ready to take over for Hoerner as he enters his walk year.
Losing Bregman would not be as big a deal for Boston if his acquisition last year hadn’t cost them Rafael Devers, who will be 29 all next season and was under a long-term contract. Once again, the Red Sox gave Bob Lobel another former BoSox to ask his signature question, “Why can’t we get players like that?” when they first alienated Devers and then dumped him to recoup the money they had committed to him. Now, Lobie has two players to track on his podcast.
The Cubs may not have made a great deal in signing the almost 32-year-old Bregman to a five-year deal, but Boston made a bad deal in letting him get away. Marcelo Mayer may prove to be more than an adequate replacement for Bregman this coming season. In three or four seasons, he certainly will be. However, just yesterday, Boston’s uber-super-prospect Roman Anthony told reporters, “I would love to have him back. I love Breggy. He was a huge part of my success and a lot of the young guys, and not only the young guys but many of the guys in the clubhouse.”
So today, Ken Rosenthal points out that the Sox will turn their lonely eyes to Bo Bichette to play third and back up Trevor Story at short. They still don’t have a second base solution, and the worst move they could make would be to move Ceddanne Rafaela, a natural shortstop, to second. He is the best defensive center fielder in baseball. Putting him at second is asking Yo-Yo Ma to play the clarinet in your band.
Besides Bichette, Eugenio Suarez is out there, as are some other players, but let me remind you: the Red Sox are the only team in baseball this season not to sign a free agent. That’s not hyperbole, that’s analytics.
HEY, THIS ISN’T FUNNY
I try to make Sundays fun for readers, but I’m really concerned about the WBC. As in, should we be concerned about ICE and the World Baseball Classic? The Trump regime's thug police force seems to have little or no restraint put upon them. Apparently, they can go wherever they please, do whatever (and I mean “whatever”) they want, lie about the rationale, and then just get away with it.
The 2026 WBC will be held from March 5-17, 2026, with games taking place in Miami, Florida; Houston, Texas; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Tokyo, Japan. The semifinals and finals will take place at loanDepot Park in Miami, in Florida, a state overseen by Ron DeSantis, a far-right governor well-known for being hostile to immigrant and Latino communities (and anyone else who is not a straight white male). He will have no trouble permitting ICE to set up shop in the parking lots and checking green cards at the loanDepot Park entryways. I have slightly less of a concern about San Juan, because Trump’s history of tweets seems to indicate that he does not consider that P.R. is part of the United States (as in: Puerto Rican local elected officials “only take from USA.”).
So far, there is no organized effort to boycott the WBC. The participation by the Cuban and Venezuelan teams is like a pop-up to short (up in the air). There are numerous, unrelated calls to boycott the 2026 FIFA World Cup (soccer) due to obvious political issues, but the ball used in Billy-Ball has 108 stitches, and that is my interest, not some ball that you endlessly kick around.
The WBC is a great event, in large part because of the passionate fan base. I just hope our King Midas-in-reverse president doesn’t ruin it.
AND NOW FOR SOME FUN (FINALLY?)
TAKE ME TO THE RIVERS
I was listening to the latest episode of Tim Kurkjian’s podcast, IS THIS A GREAT GAME, OR WHAT?, that he does with his son, Jeff (each Tuesday during the offseason), and I distinctly remember a Bucky Dent mention.
DID YOU KNOW?
The bat Dent used to homer over the Monster against Mike Torrez in the famous 1978 playoff game between the Yankees and the Red Sox wasn’t his own. Bucky was the number nine hitter in that game, and his teammate Mickey Rivers, the leadoff batter, was in the on-deck circle. You might recall that before the fateful homer, Dent fouled a ball off his ankle, and the game was delayed. During that delay, Mickey noticed that the bat Dent had been using was cracked. Rivers sent the bat boy over to Dent with one of his own bats, a Max 44 model, telling him, “Tell him [Dent] there are lots of hits in it. He’ll get a home run.” On the next pitch, Dent homered.
Take a look:
That got me thinking about Rivers.
Mickey Rivers is doing fine. He is retired in Florida, still very much alive, and splits his time between horse racing, golf, and the baseball nostalgia circuit. Mick the Quick played in the majors from 1970 to 1984 with the California Angels, New York Yankees, and Texas Rangers. He was a lifetime .295 hitter who had 1660 hits, 61 home runs, 267 stolen bases, and 499 RBI in 15 seasons. He hit .308 in 29 postseason games, including .455 in the 1978 ALCS and .333 in the 1978 World Series.
Mickey was a good ballplayer, but he was no Yogi Berra. On the other hand, when you read some of the things Mickey said, you could say he was a Yogi Berra.
NINE TO KNOW: A Mickey Rivers Quote Sampler
“My goals are to hit .300, score 100 runs, and stay injury-prone.”
On playing left field for the first time: “I felt alone out there, like I was on a desert island. I felt like Gilligan.”
“The first thing you do when you get out to center field is put up your finger and check the wind-chill factor.”
On his relationship with George Steinbrenner and Billy Martin: “Me and George and Billy are two of a kind.”
“I might have to commute. You know, left field, DH, wherever.
On playing in Texas after growing up in Florida: “I was brought up in Florida, so there isn’t much difference between playing there and playing here. The climax are about the same.”
On the weather: “Man, it was tough. The wind was blowing about 100 degrees.”
“I don’t like to lose. I don’t care where it is.
“What was the name of that dog on ‘Rin Tin Tin’?”
FROM THE NEW YORKER
ON THIS DATE QUIZ
On January 11, 2000, Carlton Fisk, in his second year of eligibility, and Tony Perez, on his ninth try, were elected to the Hall of Fame.
Tony was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame in 1998 and had his #24 retired by the club in 2000.
Pudge had his uniform numbers retired by two teams. What were the paired teams and the paired numbers?
DEALING WITH AFFORDABILITY
We have a new set of reduced rates for Billy-Ball. Since we have a president determined to help the top 1% of the top 1%, I’m setting a precedent by lowering subscription rates for 2026. Now, if you are in a financial situation where you are being aided through a Trump largesse, it would be very kind of you to give away a few hundred subscriptions to Billy-Ball.
