Yesterday was one of those reminders that probability estimates are only that: we had a 10% chance of precipitation yesterday for just one hour of the day (and presumably something between 0% and 10% for other hours, but the app shows it only in increments of 10), but we wound up getting multiple hours of snow. At times, it was like a blizzard. There had been no indication in the forecast of anything like that, but it was at least minimally possible if this and that and that and that all came together in the atmosphere.
Sometimes the sub-10% thing happens! Because sub-10% does not equal zero! Good unintentional baseball reminder. And when it comes to the season, you want that unlikely sub-10% thing to be your loaded team MISSING the playoffs, rather than you meekly-built team MAKING the playoffs. That’s why, even if you look like a decent club on paper, you keep adding, adding, adding …
It’s IFA Day! Although not actually officially a “day,” the open of the International Free Agency period always winds up a “day” because so many of the biggest deals were agreed to long in advance. Thus, they get completed on the first day of the period’s open, which makes it feel like today is IFA Day. This year’s edition could be quite atypical for a number of teams, starting with the three finalists for Roki Sasaki (Dodgers, Padres, Blue Jays), who probably aren’t going to be able to finalize any of their big money deals. They may be looking to trade for IFA pool space – today’s the first day you can do that – and may let their committed prospects walk. That will tentacle out into other organizations, either because they are trading pool space or trying to poach prospects. Will that further bump other prospects or IFA pool funds around? We shall see. I wouldn’t really argue much about this list with respect to any Cubs omissions (I think Justin Steele is continuously underrated nationally, but he’s probably reasonably outside the top-ten), but really does highlight how few super-clear “aces” there are in the game:.@MLBNetwork’s #Top10RightNow list for starting pitchers is STACKED.What does your Top 10 list look like? pic.twitter.com/MP3gnfJ9My
— MLB (@MLB) January 15, 2025 I definitely don’t agree with the word “stacked” being used in this situation. There were just 12 starting pitchers who topped 4(!) WAR last year. It’s a bit of a down period at the spot overall, but still. Maybe it’s not the worst time in the world to load up on six, seven, eight decent starters, rather than going all out for one ace (who, in this era, is relatively less impactful?). Yeah, I still think about the miss on Jeremiah Estrada sometimes:Lowest FIP in 2024 (42+ innings pitched):1.40 Cade Smith (75⅓ IP)1.94 Griffin Jax (71 IP) ?2.07 Jeremiah Estrada (61 IP)2.09 Chris Sale (177⅔ IP)2.18 Mason Miller (65 IP)2.22 Emmanuel Clase (74⅓ IP)2.23 Aaron Bummer (55⅓ IP)2.29 Matt Strahm (62⅔ IP) t.co/qiCqx4dsmU
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) January 15, 2025 That is a wild one:Nick Castellanos says that Jose Iglesias deserved to win NL MVP over Shohei Ohtani“If you’re looking at the MVP as having the most weight on creating wins for your team, there’s no other player that has had that much weight as Jose Iglesias” pic.twitter.com/vifn4Btx5Z
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) January 13, 2025 DirecTV’s newly-announced skinny sports bundle will not carry Marquee or CHSN at launch, but will be available soon at an added price. That’s likely to be the way it is for all RSNs going forward longer-term (i.e., they’ll always be attached to some premium tier, if they can get carriage at all), especially now that they are available as a direct-to-consumer streamer separately. If you missed it and want to dream of spring:MLB Spring Training Dates Are Here and the Cubs Are the First Team to Report!
— Bleacher Nation (@bleachernation.bsky.social) 2025-01-14T21:10:06.219ZELSEWHERE AT BN: Check Out BN Fantasy | Subscribe to The BN Newsletter
Blackhawks youth and prospecting:#Blackhawks Players, Prospects Highlighted In New Under-23 Rankings t.co/JuHxdSdVly
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) January 14, 2025 A national look at the Bears’ coaching search:One National NFL Reporter's Perspective on the Bears' Coach Search Seems Awfully Telling t.co/6UsDYSHhjT pic.twitter.com/qmz9g9xRre
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) January 15, 2025 A slice of not fun:Well, that wasn’t very fun.Box Score & Player Grades: Pelicans 119, Bulls 113 – January 14, 2025 t.co/fDZtwQN4OR
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) January 15, 2025 Read More Details
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