Tucker to CubsCon, Rosier Projection, Old Friend, Strange But True, and Other Cubs Bullets ...Middle East

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Tucker to CubsCon, Rosier Projection, Old Friend, Strange But True, and Other Cubs Bullets

Off to visit my brother and his family in Texas for the weekend, and taking the two big kids with me. Should be a very nice time, and I particularly look forward to the “eff it, I’m on vacation” attitude at lunch and dinner that accompanies such a trip. Need to find out if there’s a good donut place near us …

New Cub Kyle Tucker is confirmed to be attending the 2025 Cubs Convention, which is January 17-19 in Chicago:

CONFIRMED ☑️Come give Kyle a warm welcome to the city! See you there: t.co/sty4G5J1H6 pic.twitter.com/dnTXALoYIy

    — Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) December 26, 2024 The only question now: who receives the louder and rowdier ovation at the Opening Ceremonies, Tucker or Sammy Sosa? I think it’s gonna be Sosa, but I also think it’s gonna be close. Speaking of Tucker, since we just talked about how strangely low ZiPS is on Tucker in 2025, I thought I’d at least offer a positive counterweight: Steamer projects Tucker at a whopping .277/.367/.504/142 wRC+ slash line, with 31 homers, and 4.9 WAR over 150 games. That wRC+ is the 10th highest in baseball projected by Steamer, tied with Bobby Witt Jr. and Bryce Harper, and is 21 points higher than the next-best projected Cub, Seiya Suzuki. Old friend P.J. Higgins is headed to play in Puerto Rico:

    Los Criollos firman al utility P.J. HigginsEl nuevo integrante aporta versatilidad y experiencia al roster de los Criollos, con la capacidad de desempeñarse tanto en el cuadro interior como en la receptoría.Detalles: t.co/EVjRmhpLQ3 pic.twitter.com/QyTx9PwBIx

    — Criollos de Caguas 2️⃣1️⃣? (@CriollosCaguas) December 26, 2024 Higgins, 31, spent the 2024 season at Triple-A for the Reds (he did not hit particularly well), after being a Cubs depth catching option for most of the preceding three years. Now a free agent again, the Cubs could always look at a reunion, but I tend to think the Cubs are already set with their depth veteran catching option in Carlos Perez, who’ll catch at Iowa with Moises Ballesteros and possibly Pablo Aliendo or Casey Opitz. The first part of Jayson Stark’s annual Strange But True piece is out at The Athletic, and it’s a must-read every year. I don’t even know what bits to spotlight because it’s all fun. The section on the White Sox’s historic season, of course, had a whole lot going on. For example: “The Phillies won their 41st game on May 31. The White Sox won their 41st on the last day of the season … 121 days later!” Another brilliant example: “Only three other teams in the history of this sport reached 84 under — and it’s been a while: Those 1899 Spiders finished 114 under (20-134). … Kirtley Baker’s 1890 Pittsburgh Alleghenys finished 90 under (23-113). … And Toad Ramsey’s 1889 Louisville Colonels finished at exactly 84 under (27-111). Always great to walk with legends like those outfits.” I will at this point remind you that it took a couple late miracles for the Cubs to beat the White Sox in their two June head-to-head games this year, and then they won the other two games by a combined three runs. It was very, very difficult to lose to the White Sox this season. I haven’t had a chance yet to read part two of Stark’s piece, but it’s out this morning:

    It’s part 2 of my Strange But True Feats of 2024!The most mind-blowing hitting, pitching feats of the year — plus the 5 most ridiculous games t.co/jIHw4SnSKl

    — Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) December 27, 2024 I actually didn’t know this:

    Ezequiel Tovar set all-time MLB single season records in 2024 with 1,576 swings and 528 whiffs and those are not typos. pic.twitter.com/nDBc42GERZ

    — Codify (@CodifyBaseball) December 26, 2024 Tovar whiffed at nearly 20% of the pitches he saw this year, which led baseball by a healthy chunk, and yet he nevertheless managed to keep his strikeout rate under 30%, and his slash line at a solid .269/.295/.469/95 wRC+. Together with his exceptional defense at shortstop, he wound up worth nearly 4 wins! From a guy who set a whiffs record! Also, this was just his age-22 season, so you might still project improvement from Tovar.

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    The, uh, Bears did not win again:

    [image or embed]

    — Bleacher Nation Bears (@bn-bears.bsky.social) December 26, 2024 at 11:31 PM

    Bears fans did not enjoy that game ? pic.twitter.com/nOCwQv6E9L

    — Marquee Bears (@BearsMarquee) December 27, 2024

    In the event that the Bears decide to move on from the GM who built this mess, @funkycoldluis.bsky.social has rounded up a handful of candidates who might be worth considering. www.bleachernation.com/bears/2024/1…[image or embed]

    — Bleacher Nation Bears (@bn-bears.bsky.social) December 26, 2024 at 11:48 PM

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