January 25, 2016

Sun-Times, Can Cubs' Kyle Schwarber do more than hit – and how long will it matter? http://chicago.suntimes.com/baseball/7/71/1272600/can-cubs-kyle-schwarber-hit-long-will-matter

 Daily Herald, Imrem: DH needs to stay out of NL http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20160124/sports/160129369/

 Cubs.com, Bryant, Arrieta brave snow for BBWAA honors http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/162697684/kris-bryant-jake-arrieta-receive-bbwaa-awards

 Cubs.com, Whoo boy, it's Brickhouse's 100th birthday (Sunday) http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/162718020/jack-brickhouse-would-have-been-100-on-sunday

 CSNChicago.com, Adam Warren brings 'World Series or die' mentality from Yankees to Cubs http://www.csnchicago.com/cubs/adam-warren-brings-world-series-or-die-mentality-yankees-cubs

, New TV arrangement at forefront of Cubs' business decisions http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-tv-network-spt-0125-20160124-story.html

 Chicago Tribune, Change may be coming to , even if unnecessary and unwanted http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-dh-for-nl-sullivan-baseball-spt-0124-20160123- story.html

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Chicago Sun-Times Can Cubs' Kyle Schwarber do more than hit – and how long will it matter? By Gordon Wittenmyer

After Cubs Convention, Kyle Schwarber headed back to Tampa, Fla., to continue an intense off-season conditioning program the Cubs hope will help transform him into an adequate enough major-league left fielder to keep his powerful bat in the lineup most days this season.

Meanwhile four hours down the road in Coral Gables, Fla., baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, speaking to media during quarterly owners’ meetings, suggested the possibility of an even better way to keep Schwarber’s bat in the Cubs’ lineup:

Adding the to the National League – an idea often floated casually but rarely considered a realistic possibility by MLB powers, until now.

“Twenty years ago, when you talked to National League owners about the DH, you’d think you were talking some sort of heretical comment,” Manfred, the second-year commissioner, said Thursday. “But we have a newer group.

There has been turnover, and I think our owners in general have demonstrated a willingness to change the game in ways that we think would be good for fans, always respecting the history and traditions of the sport.”

The comments came less than a week after Cardinals general manager – whose team owner, Bill DeWitt Jr., is one of the most powerful owners in MLB – suggested momentum could be shifting toward the DH. And they came as baseball prepares to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement that would take effect in 2017.

The players union has long supported the DH in both leagues, along with the presumably bigger contracts for those added lineup regulars. And with offensive numbers across baseball in recent seasons lower than at any time since the early 70s, the competitive climate is similar to when the DH was added in the AL in 1973.

The Cubs already are considered by some the favorites to win the this year, and to ride their wave of impressive young hitters through a lengthy run at contending.

To be able to accommodate one more hitter in their lineup – one who could better handle Schwarber’s would-be position in the field – could make the DH a boon for the Cubs like no other team.

“Obviously, we’re a team that has a lot of bats, and having another position to put one of those bats wouldn’t be a bad thing,” general manager said. “But this is more of an idea that’s being bandied about right now [by others]. Certainly, there’s no planning going on right now. Our planning is about improving [Schwarber’s] defense in left field, and getting him reps at if we can do that. If that changes we’ll adjust.”

Schwarber, who debuted last June during a week of interleague games with the DH, has been working this week at The Performance Compound in Tampa, a training facility that specializes in sport-specific programs for professional athletes.

He’s also been doing yoga this off-season, he said, to increase flexibility. And he’s worked on footwork and routes in the outfield.

“I’m focusing on just getting a better first step, being more explosive, getting more flexible, being agile, things like that,” said Schwarber, who looks the part of the all-state linebacker he was in high school.

Schwarber, who was drafted as a catcher, is especially raw behind the plate. But he is sneaky fast and athletic enough to suggest competence in left with experience, something he already has been trying to enhance by picking the brain of Gold Glove newcomer .

“This kid is unbelievably athletic,” Cubs bench coach said during Cubs Convention. “He comes up to me all the time and says, `Hey, let me steal, let me steal.’ I say, `Relax, baby steps.’

“But this guy is a team player. He’ll do anything we ask him to do. OF course, he wants to do both. He thinks he can catch and play the outfield.”

As much raw power as Rookie of the Year has, Schwarber’s tape-measure shots from the left side into the river in Pittsburgh and onto the right-field video board in October inspire visions of a bat that could become the most feared in a lineup teeming with strong, young hitters.

But getting him full-time at-bats could be mad-scientist manager ’s biggest trick of the 2016 season, between matchups, left field and catching assignments that will go nowhere near the vicinity of top-three rotation horses , or .

“I feel right now I have to get better at both positions, for me to continue on, to help this team win,” Schwarber said. “Whatever it is, whatever they want me to do, I’m all in, I’m all for it.”

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Daily Herald Imrem: DH needs to stay out of NL By Mike Imrem

Uh-oh, better hide all the women, children and baseball traditionalists indoors.

Trouble is a-brewin' again.

Reports last week indicated that the designated hitter is threatening to come to a National League ballpark near you.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred dropped a hint and raised a trial balloon: NL owners might be weakening in their distaste for the DH.

Two things are assumed about the news.

First, slugger Kyle Schwarber is the player who would benefit the most if the NL adopted the DH rule.

Second, Schwarber is the player who would dislike it the most if the NL adopted the same DH rule that the AL has had since 1973.

OK, maybe each of those is more a guess than a fact.

First, maybe other players in would be more suited than Schwarber to be designated hitters.

Second, maybe Schwarber would prefer becoming a one-dimensional player who could spend most of a game in the clubhouse smoking cigarettes, chowing down on doughnuts and phoning his stock broker.

Under the DH rule, Schwarber would be out of sight except for those 4 at-bats and 15 minutes -- that long only if he reached base at least once -- he would be on the field.

But the impression that Schwarber left us with after his 2015 rookie season was that he is the kind of athlete who would want to be more than a 15-minutes-of-fame-per-game kind of guy.

All of which magnifies one of the many problems with the designated hitter rule: The DH turns select players -- whether they like it or not -- into half-athletes.

Baseball players have a hard enough time being categorized with players in football, basketball and hockey.

Some look like big tubs of guts on the mound. Some left fielders look like they haven't moved a muscle all season. Some second basemen look like they could use a bowl of steroids for breakfast.

Seriously, sometimes some baseball players are more like golfers who can perform with a little bit of a belly after pouring a big bit of beer into themselves the night before.

But for a century or so, even those baseball players had to figure out how to play both sides of the ball if they wanted to be big-leaguers.

As great as some Hall of Famers were as hitters, before the DH they had to play a position on defense to be more than a pinch hitter at an advanced age.

If they were , or third basemen, they might have moved to first base to prolong their careers.

Then the instituted the designated hitter in 1973 and, say, a Frank Thomas was allowed to become one-sided.

Thomas could have continued to be a full-time first baseman. But he declined out of fear of embarrassing himself in the field, and the DH gave him a way out.

Schwarber -- a big, stocky, powerful man built like a linebacker -- doesn't seem to be similarly inclined.

For now, Schwarber is working his rock-solid butt off to earn the privilege of cracking the Cubs' lineup as a catcher or left fielder.

Schwarber is a good enough athlete with a good enough work ethic to eventually succeed on defense.

My goodness, what a shame it would be if Schwarber in his early 20s was converted to designated hitter.

It would be like telling Elton John that he can sing but he might as well stop practicing on the piano.

Better that the American League ditch the designated hitter rule than the National League adopt it.

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Cubs.com Bryant, Arrieta brave snow for BBWAA honors By Chad Thornburg

The Cubs were among the most decorated teams last season, becoming the first club since the 2001 Mariners to win three of the four Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards.

Two of those award recipients -- National League Rookie of the Year Kris Bryant and NL Award winner Jake Arrieta -- were at the New York Hilton on Saturday night for the Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards presented by Esurance to accept their hardware.

NL Manager of the Year Joe Maddon was unable to make it to New York for the ceremony due to the weather, which forced BBWAA to scale down the annual public event to a private ceremony.

"It really is an honor," Bryant said while accepting his honor. "There's a lot of guys deserving of this award, and a lot of them were on my team."

Arrieta enjoyed the best season of his career in 2015, going 22-6 with a 1.77 ERA. He was nearly unhittable in the second half of the season, going 12-1 with an ERA of 0.75 in 15 starts after the All-Star break, including two shutouts and an Aug. 30 no-hitter at . His second-half ERA was the lowest since the All-Star Game began in 1933.

In his acceptance speech, the 29-year-old right-hander offered family anecdotes, talked of his early-career struggles with the Orioles and thanked the Cubs for the opportunity to reach his potential.

"A lot of early struggles, a lot of difficult moments, but those times of failure, as everybody on this stage knows, are the times you really learn the most about yourself as a person and as a player," Arrieta said. "I'm very thankful to both organizations, Baltimore and Chicago, for all the opportunities they were able to give me."

Bryant was a unanimous NL Rookie of the Year selection after batting .275/.369/.488 in his debut season. He led all rookies with 99 RBIs, 31 doubles and 87 runs scored. His 26 home runs were tied with the Dodgers' Joc Pederson for most among rookies.

Bryant also joined Hall of Famer Ted Williams as the only players in Major League history to record at least 26 homers, 99 RBIs, 31 doubles, 97 runs and 77 walks in his rookie season.

"I've had some time this offseason to kind of sit back and look back on the season and how fun and exciting it was," Bryant said. "I can honestly say it was the best year of my life. My dream of becoming a professional Major Leaguer came true, and to not just become a Major Leaguer, but to play well and play well for my team and make it to the playoffs. So many good things came our way."

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Cubs.com Whoo boy, it's Brickhouse's 100th birthday (Sunday) By Carrie Muskat

CHICAGO -- He was the voice of the Cubs for generations of fans, and his trademark "Hey-hey!" is part of 's history, emblazoned on the foul poles. Sunday would've been 's 100th birthday.

Brickhouse handled the play-by-play coverage of the Cubs games on WGN-TV from 1948-81, and received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983. In his acceptance speech in Cooperstown, Brickhouse said he felt "like a man who is 60 feet, 6 inches tall."

Brickhouse, who also broadcast and White Sox games, was inducted into the American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame in 1985.

Current Cubs television play-by-play broadcaster acknowledged Brickhouse's birthday on Twitter: "Happy 100th this wknd to the man who started it all on WGN: Jack Brickhouse, b. Jan. 24, 1916. Jack passed away in 1998 but with us in spirit."

Although the Cubs never made it to the World Series, Brickhouse covered World Series games for NBC television. His voice is on the audio track of the famous Willie Mays catch in Game 1 of the game at the Polo Grounds.

"He was a remarkable human being," Jack Rosenberg, longtime sports editor at WGN Radio and TV, said in the book, "A Century of Wrigley Field: The Official History of the Friendly Confines."

"It didn't matter whether it was the first inning or the eighth," Rosenberg said, "the enthusiasm was always the same."

WGN Radio's Pat Hughes paid tribute to both Brickhouse and Cubs legendary broadcaster Harry Caray in a call in 1998 when connected on his 65th blast that season. Hughes' call: "Deep drive to center, all the way back, and gone! Number 65! and hey-hey for Harry and Jack!"

Hughes told Chicago Magazine that it was his way of connecting with the two broadcast legends. Caray had died earlier that year.

"A tip of the cap, saying, 'I loved you guys and I know you would have loved this, and here's a moment for you,'" Hughes said.

Brickhouse, who started his broadcast career calling Bradley University basketball games at the age of 18, was behind the microphone for more than 5,000 baseball games in his career, including May 12, 1970, when Ernie Banks hit his 500th home run off Atlanta's Pat Jarvis.

"Jarvis fires away," Brickhouse starts. "That's a fly ball, deep to left, back, back -- that's it, that's it. Hey-hey! He did it. Ernie Banks got No. 500."

Other Brickhouse sayings included "Whoo boy," "For just a hot minute there" and "Oh, brother."

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CSNChicago.com Adam Warren brings 'World Series or die' mentality from Yankees to Cubs By Tony Andracki

Adam Warren hasn't thrown a pitch in a Cubs uniform yet, but he's already dreamed about what it would be like to win it all at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs felt they needed to get a young like Warren in return when they flipped to the at the winter meetings, the trade that opened the door to Chicago for and his championship pedigree.

Warren is used to great expectations after coming up with the Yankees and spending the last seven years in an organization with a "World Series or die" mentality shaped by those 27 titles.

"Absolutely," it would be special to win one here, Warren said during last weekend’s Cubs Convention. "I was asked the question if I'd dreamed about it and I said: 'I wouldn't be human if I hadn't.'

"But I hate to get ahead of myself. The team that's picked to win it at the beginning of the year always has a bad year, so we try not to fall into that trap. So we focus on spring training and then the one game in front of you.

"But, yeah, I've definitely pictured it. It'd be really neat for the team, the city, the fans who have been loyal through all these years. It's a fun thing to imagine. But at the same time, I don't want to get ahead of myself."

Warren was vacationing in St. Lucia in the Caribbean islands when he found out he was traded to the Cubs, noticing the news on the bottom line of a TV screen at a restaurant. Before the deal, he and his wife already had a conversation about how they could see themselves living in Chicago.

Warren said he didn't know anybody on the Cubs when he was first acquired, but he's excited to play for manager Joe Maddon and be part of this young core.

Warren also said he was told that he would get an opportunity to start. That probably means getting stretched out in spring training and being a swingman, at least for another season. The right-hander is 28 years old and under club control through the 2018 season.

"In talks, they said, 'We got you to be a starter. Whether or not it's this year, we'll see,'" Warren said. "But I think they're going to give me an opportunity in spring training to at least prove myself as a starter and see what happens.

"I'm not unhappy being in the bullpen. I'd rather start. But I've been in the bullpen for two full years in New York and loved it."

Warren proved he could handle The Bronx and compete in the American League East, making 127 career appearances out of the bullpen (3.05 ERA) and holding his own in 20 starts (7-6 record, 3.98 ERA and 1.28 WHIP).

"He's a high-character guy, a great teammate and a really amazing contributor, " Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said after completing the Castro trade. "It was a tough loss to lose him, but you have to give to get."

The Cubs appear to have a full five-man rotation in place with Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester, John Lackey, and Jason Hammel. Plus, the bullpen will be filled with other pitchers who have significant starting experience in Trevor Cahill, and Clayton Richard.

But the Cubs essentially had no major injury issues with their rotation last year and they don't expect that to continue. So Warren represents one of the multiple backup options in place.

"Obviously, I want to start," Warren said. "But I've pitched successfully out of the bullpen as well. This is a win-now mentality with this team, so it's whatever we got to do."

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Chicago Tribune New TV arrangement at forefront of Cubs' business decisions By Mark Gonzales

Telecasting nonstop programming from Kyle Schwarber's tape-measure home run to clicking his heels after victories is a vision that runs deep in the minds of Cubs executives.

"We look forward to the day we have the rights to start our own channel," Chairman Tom Ricketts said recently at the Cubs Convention.

But as profitably tempting as operating their own regional sports channel may be — as the Yankees can attest through the YES Network — there are many variables that have the Cubs keeping an open mind for 2020 when they can control television rights for their games.

"We're studying it to death to look at pros and cons and weigh the risks of launching on our own or launching with a partner," Crane Kenney, the Cubs' business president, said.

The Cubs have little doubt their next television contract will change the landscape, or become a ''paradigm shift," as , the Cubs' baseball president, described it 2014.

The structuring of contracts for free agents Jason Heyward and Ben Zobrist suggests the Cubs will have deeper financial pockets in 2019 and beyond, which also will allow them to retain talents such as Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber and in their arbitration years.

Without a 20-year, $1.5 billion contract with Fox Arizona, the Diamondbacks wouldn't have been able to sign marquee free-agent pitcher Zack Greinke to a record-setting six-year, $206.5 million contract in December to become a dark horse in the National League West.

And the Angels, with the backing of a 20-year, $3 billion local TV deal, were able to sign slugger Albert Pujols and left-hander C.J. Wilson to back-loaded contracts totaling $331.5 million.

"The money is still out there," media analyst Jeff Kagan said. "(The Cubs) brand is recognized around the country, and now they're viewed as winners."

But Kenney realizes that grossing millions of dollars that can bankroll the player payroll easily doesn't guarantee a new contract will be a success. Because of distribution issues, less than 40 percent of the Southern California audience has TV access to Dodgers games.

On a smaller level, the Mountain West Network, or "The Mtn.," as it was called, ceased broadcasting after six seasons because of numerous issues, including the lack of availability on Dish Network and the college conference's losing Utah, Brigham Young and Texas Christian. Those schools' defections affected the Salt Lake City and Dallas-Fort Worth markets.

And the Pacific-12 Network hasn't reached a deal with DirecTV to carry its football games for the last four seasons.

There are also start-up costs and hiring the right talent in all departments. The Diamondbacks considered starting their own network but elected to stick with Fox Arizona because of their trust in the production developed in previous seasons.

Kenney acknowledged that the Cubs are continuing to negotiate with Comcast SportsNet Chicago, in which they hold a 20 percent ownership stake. Two years ago, the Phillies and their local Comcast affiliate agreed to a 25-year, $2.5 billion contract.

"(But) as we have conversations, which are on-going with all sorts of partners, if somebody offers us something dramatically better, we'll of course look at it," Kenney said. "But what we control is the idea of launching our own network in 2019."

Kagan emphasized the importance of hiring the right people never has been greater in this era of innovation and technology, especially with viewers finding ways to shave their cable bills and opt for other viewing means, such as wireless television.

But the biggest decision, should the Cubs choose their own network, is selecting the right business partner. The YES Network has achieved success through the 80 percent ownership backing of 21st Century Fox. The Dodgers' 25-year, $8.35 billion contract is considered an anomaly because Time Warner has absorbed all the financial risks.

"All these deals you read about, whether it's St. Louis or Seattle with big equity pieces, they're running the risk of cord cutting or cord shaving no different than we are at Comcast SportsNet," Kenney said. "I sit on the board. We worry about it every quarter."

In addition, there are distribution fees that must reach a comfort level with the team, cable companies and viewers.

The Cubs don't have the historical success of the Yankees, whose channel produces shows such as "Yankee Classics" and "Yankeography" thanks to the 53 Hall of Fame players, managers and executives who have helped produce a major-league record 27 World Series championships.

The YES Network also televises games involving the NBA's Nets to fill its programming in the winter. The Cubs may look to find other means of programming should they elect to start their own channel but may need more help.

The increasingly popular Blackhawks have a marketing partnership with the White Sox and a 20 percent stake in CSN. Bulls and Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf controls 40 percent and CSN owns the remaining 20 percent.

And the quality of shows must satisfy the audience's needs. Time Warner cut three programs, including Dodger Clubhouse, last fall.

Kenney said the Cubs would need a two-year setup before televising games in 2020 if they choose to operate their own channel. But they won't be rushed into making a deal soon.

"Everything is an option," said Kenney, who recalled that CBS emerged as a dark horse to seize the Cubs' radio rights before the 2015 season.

"Maybe aside from changing (baseball) leadership, this is the biggest decision we'll have," Ricketts said. "So we have to get it right."

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Chicago Tribune Change may be coming to National League, even if unnecessary and unwanted By Paul Sullivan

The owners meetings ended Thursday in Coral Gables, Fla., with no discussions on bringing the designated hitter to the National League, but it's probably only a matter of time before it becomes a reality.

The knee-jerk reaction to Buster Posey's ankle ligament injury led to the rule change banning home plate collisions, so whenever a prominent pitcher injures himself batting or on the basepaths, it's just greasing the skids toward the adoption of the DH in the NL.

"Twenty years ago, when you talked to National League owners about the DH, you would think you were talking some sort of heretical comment," Commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday at the meetings. "But we have a newer group. There has been turnover. And our owners in general have demonstrated a willingness to change the game in ways that we think would be good for the fans, always respecting the history and traditions of the sport."

Manfred works for the owners, so he's supposed to say things like that. The days of the commissioner's office being independent ended when Fay Vincent was pushed out in 1992.

So when Manfred makes a comment like that, you can bet he's speaking on behalf of the many owners who want the change.

Speculation is the DH rule will be brought up during upcoming negotiations of the collective bargaining agreement, which expires after 2016. That means we could have a DH as soon as 2017, forever changing the way the game is played in the National League.

The Cubs obviously are looking forward to a DH, because they already are prepared for it.

"We have so many hitters coming, who wouldn't mind a DH and an extra lineup spot to get another bat in there?" Cubs President Theo Epstein said last week during a question-and-answer session at the Cubs Convention. "But it's above our paygrade. It's really an issue for the commissioner and the owners."

It may be above his paygrade, but when Epstein talks, Chairman Tom Ricketts listens, and he'd be the one pushing for the rules change.

Epstein grew up on American League baseball in Boston and won two world championships with the Red Sox, so it makes sense he wouldn't mind changing a National League tradition if it benefits the Cubs.

And there's no doubt it would benefit the Cubs now. because they have two potential DHs in Kyle Schwarber and , a couple of good young hitters who have yet to master the art of playing a corner outfield spot.

But for me, watching Jake Arrieta hit a home run was almost as fun as watching him pitch, and who can forget "Big Z" breaking the bat over his knees after striking out?

Baseball is too great a game to be ruined by a rules change, so if it happens we all will just have to deal with it.

But for some of us, the best part of National League baseball is the strategy. Watching manager Joe Maddon maneuver last year was a joy. In the American League there is much less need for it.

Baseball is a thinking person's game, after all, and even Maddon, who made his reputation in the AL with the Rays, has said repeatedly he is against adopting the DH in the NL.

"I think if you're a fan, you really want to get fans engaged, you'd like to believe the strategy of a National League game exceeds that of an American League game to the point where you should be able to capture some interest regarding building a new fan base," he said before a game last May. "So I'd prefer us to go all no DH as opposed to all DH, if it came down to that."

Of course, returning to the days of no DH in the American League never will happen. You would have to pry the DH's bat from the cold, dead hands of the players union.

So the only options are to stay the course or have everyone use the DH.

There's nothing wrong with having different rules in the two leagues. The late Marty Springstead once told me his idea of making the All-Star Game more interesting was ditching the rule that says winner gets home-field advantage in the World Series. Instead, Springstead suggested the winner be given the option of using its own league rules in every World Series game. In other words, if the NL teams wins, no DH, even in the American League team's ballpark. If the AL wins, the DH would be in play in every game.

Is that unfair? Perhaps, but how fair is it to give one league the home-field advantage based on an exhibition game during which the managers are trying to give everyone an at-bat?

Anyway, let's keep the DH in the AL, and let NL fans enjoy watching the game played the same way it was more than a century ago.

Progress is fine, but everything doesn't have to change.

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