The Rundown Ultralite: Light Content Ahead, Big Hurt Big Mad at Sox, Boston & Chicago Make Pitching Trade

I don’t think I could have planned my upcoming conference any better, as the Cubs don’t figure to do much worth writing about over the course of the next three days. We’ll still bring you any salient news in the meantime, but it’ll probably be a bit quieter than usual around these parts until Thursday or so. That’s the only reason you’re getting this Sunday edition at all, even though it feels like I’m scrounging in the couch cushions for enough change to buy a pack of gum.

Before I knock out a few bullets of baseball news, I wanted to share something I realized last night. It’s hardly novel, and it’s probably something that had been kicking around in my subconscious for a while, but it clicked while watching kids take BP in the HitTrax cage at our travel facility last night. Numbers have power, particularly in a sport defined by them, but we have a tendency to take them for granted.

What I find so cool about all the metrics we have on exit velocity, spin rate, bat speed, and so forth is that they allow us to define what were once amorphous concepts akin to magic. We have the ability to know beyond a shadow of a doubt which pitcher throws the fastest or which ball was hit the hardest. And you know what? Knowing that doesn’t take any of the magic or joy away.

My son was hitting as part of a group of kids and he was resetting the max EV and distance with each round. Then he blasted a tank that caught the attention of a senior pitcher from a rival high school, who stopped what he was doing and watched the ball flight on the television in awe. It was just cool to see that reaction and those of others in the facility, though my son was upset that he fell two ticks shy of his 110 mph goal.

For context, the pitching machine was only at 42 mph from a short distance and they were hitting rubber BP balls that have a little more juice than regular baseballs. My point is that having those numbers and being able to put up new PRs by small fractions provides benchmarks and shows that the hard work is paying off. And contrary to what some may think, I firmly believe that having all this tech can actually make the game more fun when utilized properly.

At the end of the day, finding new ways to engage with and enjoy this sport we all love is important. We now return you to your regularly-scheduled program, which is far less Cubs-centric than usual.

• Frank Thomas expressed frustration with a post from the White Sox on X that celebrated Black History Month by highlighting momentous firsts for the organization. Guess who wasn’t mentioned. Kenny Williams was mentioned three times, and one of those was for being the second African-American GM to win the World Series. Harold Baines was recognized as the second African-American player to be drafted No. 1 overall, and Larry Doby was recognized as the second African-American manager in MLB History. So much for the list being about firsts, I guess.
• For those who don’t have X, here’s what Big Hurt said: I Guess the black player who made you rich over there and holds all your records is forgettable! Don’t worry I’m taking Receipts!
• At least 16 players have been denied insurance coverage to play in the WBC, with half of them hailing from Puerto Rico. That’s why they’re considering pulling out of the event.
• The Red Sox have indeed found a match with a Chicago team in a pitching trade, but it wasn’t the Cubs. The White Sox acquired veteran righty Jordan Hicks, righty prospect David Sandlin, and two players to be named later in exchange for righty prospect Gage Ziehl and a PTBNL. Boston is also sending $8 million to cover some of the remaining $25 million of Hicks’s contract.
• That offset was necessary because the $11 million AAV of his contract jumped to $12.5 million due to its backloaded nature. Average annual values update to what is remaining on the deal following a trade. Hicks also has up to $2 million in annual innings-pitched incentives, which will be easier to reach if he’s able to stay healthy and works in the rotation.
• Cubs fans remember Hicks best as a hard-throwing reliever whose fastball averaged over 100 mph for several seasons, but his velocity has dipped as he’s worked more frequently as a starter with the Giants and Red Sox. You may also remember back on May 5, 2018, when Hicks fired a 102 mph fastball that Kris Bryant foul-tipped into Yadier Molina‘s jewels. The catcher missed a month with a ruptured testicle, which is a far better excuse for being out of action than leaving to watch the basketball team he owned.
• And on that note, I think I’m going to watch Secret Mall Apartment.

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