There is not necessarily something magical about today versus yesterday. We’re on course as far as the pandemic is concerned, and there’s only one day left. That being said, I am there with everyone: I hope there will be a time when we can look back and see that 2021 was just the opposite of 2020.
• Yu Darvish talked to the media about his dealings with the Padres, and he got emotional, so I got emotional:
Cool unwritten moment on Darvish Zoom: @MLBBruceLevine thanks Darvish for being a class action in Chicago, and pleasant to deal with, and Darvish chokes and gets emotional about his time in Chicago, can not speak, says he will discuss the topic later.
– Scott Miller (@ScottMillerBbl) 31 December 2020
Darvish said many teammates said they were shocked by the trade. “I’m always grateful to be a puppy.”
– Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) 31 December 2020
Yu Darvish- “There are times I struggled with this (trade), but many fans in Chicago thanked me and my family on Twitter which made us feel very good”
– Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) 31 December 2020
• Darvish also pointed out why the trade was shocking from its perspective:
Darvish said the trade “shocked” him, but “not in a bad way”.
“Obviously I did not really think about trading with the coronavirus and the money the Cubs have. And they are a winning team too, so I thought we could compete.”– Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) 31 December 2020
• The Cubs kept their hair as part of the trade:
Darvish cut in his first availability in the media as a member of the Padres. pic.twitter.com/gSIUxU782J
– Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) 31 December 2020
• Meanwhile, the Padres also officially delivered Ha-Seong Kim on a $ 28 million four-year deal, with various incentives and a fifth-year mutual option. With the booking fee, the total cost to the Padres is about $ 33 million for a four-year commitment on one of the best players in the KBO, who is only 25 years old, and whose floor is probably a good defense. base running handyman. If the bat does not translate – which maybe not – then you have a border banker and he is overpaid. But if he becomes a GOOD banker, or even a regular player? It’s a dang steal.
• Patrick Mooney writes about Jed Hoyer’s decision not to add a GM at present, which I think is mainly about the pandemic, and wants to be able to do the process in a certain way, given the long-term interest (and the relatively stable nature) from the front office for now). But Mooney added this section, which was undoubtedly a non-zero consideration, and it makes me sick: ‘It’s not necessarily Hoyer’s decision, but to drop a GM’s salary can also be a measure of flexibility create within the budget for baseball operations. This money can instead be spent on, for example, a cheap free agent reliever. Theo Epstein was aware that he was paid like a player when he decided to retire as president of baseball operations, and worked with chairman Tom Ricketts on the succession plan promoted by Hoyer of GM. “Gross. But also spend it on a bounce-away-start-type pitcher (James Paxton? Corey Kluber? Garrett Richards?) Or a positional guy.
• It is good:
New Year’s Eve ball falls. pic.twitter.com/gxzW3vN4sf
– Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) 1 January 2021
• Two great promotions for college football if you want to get involved: you can get a 25-1 chance at the CFP semis at FanDuel, and you can also get +10 000 chances on any team to win everything at DraftKings.