The Rundown: Respect Bald Sheers Long Locks, Schwarber Makes a Nice Play
The annual Respect Bald fundraiser, a Joe Maddon brainchild, has become one of the must-see events (if you must see it, there’s video in that link) of the spring at Sloan Park, and this year’s was no exception. Rather than Maddon or stars like Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber taking center stage, though, minor leaguers Taylor Davis and Pierce Johnson stole the show.
Known as much for their flowing locks as anything, at least to a large segment of casual observers, Davis and Johnson were goaded into participating by the increasing ante from veteran teammates. Jason Heyward, Jake Arrieta, John Lackey, and Jon Lester, among others, threw in as much as $50,000 to convince the young guys to sit for the clippers.
In all, the Cubs reported a haul of $68,000 pledged to fight pediatric cancer.
Let’s cut to the chase … this year's #RespectBald event raised more than $68,000 for pediatric cancer support! #ThatsCub pic.twitter.com/NSIAt4DX5X
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 4, 2017
War Bear makes a play
I didn’t see it so I can’t comment from that perspective, but all the accounts I read told me Kyle Schwarber made a pretty nice play out in left. I’m also guessing more than one person watched breathlessly as the big left fielder tracked the ball just as Jon Jay was doing the same.
Kyle Schwarber just made a running catch in left center. Long run, avoided center fielder, made the grab. Nicely done.
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) March 4, 2017
I’ve been saying from the start — like, back when we knew Schwarber was coming up and was going to have to play left — that he’d be a decent outfielder. If he really can be merely passable out there it’ll be a huge boost to the Cubs moving forward. And what if he’s actually pretty good?
More news and notes
- Jim Bowden thinks the Cubs should trade for Billy Hamilton, which I believe is an insanely dumb idea; Hamilton is an intriguing player, though.
- Jeimer Candelario continued to open eyes with a 3-for-3 day that left him a home run short of the cycle. He’s a great kid and has a lot of potential, he just doesn’t have a place to play in Chicago, even with talk of him being a backup at the corners. It’d be a disservice to both Candelario and the Cubs to not allow him to make the most of his talent.
- Jason Heyward ran his hitless streak to 15, but did score a run and drew a bases-loaded walk.
