Day Three of “Feeling Crappy” continues, unabated. Actually, I guess I do feel modestly better.

• Today is the reporting date for all position players at Chicago Cubs camp, and the first full squad workout is tomorrow. The only players not yet in camp, however, are Starlin Castro, Alfonso Soriano, Blake DeWitt and Jae-Hoon Ha.
• The big event of the day will be the “first annual” bunt tournament, complete with 64 seeded competitors (including Dale Sveum, who gets Kerry Wood in the first round – Wood calls the matchup “a layup”). Bruce Miles snapped a picture of the full bracket so you can see who is facing whom, if you’re so inclined.
• Some fluff on the man expected to be the Cubs’ first baseman for at least the first part of 2012, Bryan LaHair. A particularly nice quote from LaHair: ”It’s a good feeling [to get a chance to start]. I plan on working harder than I did before to keep it. I don’t want this to be a one-year thing, I want it to be more than one. I want to be part of something and build toward something. This is probably, right now, the best franchise in all of sports as far as wanting to win. This is the place to do it if you’re going to do it, so it’s definitely a great opportunity.”
• And then some fluff on the man hoping to take the Cubs’ first baseman job from LaHair, Anthony Rizzo. A quote from Rizzo: “[It's] ‘when’ not ‘if’ [we win a championship]. If you’re saying ‘if,’ who knows if it’s going to happen. You’re going to have to have that mindset that we’re going to do it and we’re going to win. Wherever I am I want to win every day and make the playoffs with that team and be an All-Star and go to the playoffs. That’s got to be the mindset from Game 1 to Game 162. No, I’m sorry, Game 173, or however many it takes.”
• Sveum is a fan of his veterans, calling Ryan Dempster, Kerry Wood, Matt Garza, and Geovany Soto “special human beings,” who have bought into turning things around.
• Brett Jackson used to work out with Jeremy Lin, apparently. Or, at least, in the same gym. Any excuse to talk about Lin, eh?
• John Gaub, a lefty hoping to make the Cubs’ pen out of Spring Training, is expected to resume workouts today, after missing some time with back spasms.
• The expectation remains that the addition of two more Wild Cards will happen this season.
• Finally, someone in Boston blows a gasket about getting “only” Chris Carpenter as compensation for Theo Epstein (one year of Epstein, a guy the writer admits needed to go). It’s good for a smile.
• A reminder about comments: we have a great commenting community, and I’m glad that we’re able to self-police without the heavy-handed implementation of a bunch of rules (though they do exist, as you can see in the Terms of Service at the bottom of the page). That said, there are a number of things that will never fly, and will get you bounced. All should be obvious to you – racism, sexism, homophobia, threats, excessive vulgarity (a little is fine), obvious trolling, etc.

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Chicago Cubs’ General Manager Jed Hoyer hopped onto Clubhouse Confidential on the MLB Network this evening for short phone interview, during which he touched on a few interesting subjects.

Jed spoke first, of course, about the Theo Epstein compensation issue, and once again conveyed that everyone’s glad to move on. While it’s unfortunate to lose “a good reliever,” getting Theo Epstein to lead the baseball department is a big deal.

The biggest challenge for Jed and Theo coming into a new situation in Chicago was, according to Jed, implementing the way you want to do things when there was already a system in place. It’s nice to have people who’ve been around for a while helping, but change is always hard.

Jed was asked about the Cubs’ offseason, including the trade for Anthony Rizzo (“we liked Cashner a ton, but felt like his upside was as a dominant reliever” so trading him for a big-time bat like Rizzo made sense), and the lack of big free agent moves. Jed explained, as we’ve heard before, that it wasn’t the right time for the Cubs to go “big game hunting,” and throw around a ton of money at free agents. The goal for now is to build up young talent first, and then, when the core is in place, the Cubs can add free agents to put them over the top.

Dale Sveum and his role vis a vis the front office was discussed at length, and Jed offered a great analogy when asked about Dale’s role in personnel decisions, as well as the front office’s role in game management decisions. Jed explained that it (paraphrasing) “makes no sense to have front office buy the groceries but have no input on how they’re used, just as it makes no sense to have a manager using the groceries, but having no input on what groceries we buy.” Jed believes that only a handful of managers act as an extension of the front office in terms of how to manage, but thinks Dale is special in that way. That’s why Dale also has input on personnel decisions.

The interview concluded with a discussion of the 2012 Cubs’ roster, and how it might change throughout the season. Jed, at first, started to say he hopes the guys that are here in Spring Training will be … and then he stopped, abruptly, pivoted, and said that the Cubs don’t quite have that foundation for sustained success yet. He was quick to say that the Cubs aren’t conceding the season, and anything could happen, but it was pretty clear that he was all but saying it’s likely the Cubs will make a few trades this year – ones designed to build toward the future.

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Ok, so yesterday’s conclusion to the Theo Epstein compensation drama wasn’t really the *last* time we’re going to talk about it. (Heck, it wasn’t even really the “conclusion,” as each side still has to come up with a player to be named later to send to the other side.) There are a number of reactions worth reviewing, including those from the men involved, as well as a handful of takes on who “won” the dispute. Unsurprisingly, there remain disagreements.

• First, from the man for whom the Cubs kinda just traded … four months after they hired him. ”I am relieved that this process is over and particularly pleased that the teams were able to reach agreement on their own without intervention from MLB,” Theo Epstein said via a prepared statement. “I truly hope and believe that this resolution will benefit both clubs, as well as Chris, who is an extremely talented reliever joining a great organization at a time when there’s some opportunity in the Major League bullpen.” I genuinely believe it would make Epstein very happy if Carpenter emerges as a contributor in the Red Sox’s pen, even if it might make us kick a rock or two.
• Cubs GM Jed Hoyer also shared his thoughts. ”The reason the Commissioner was potentially involved at any point was because there is such a lack of precedent,” Hoyer said. “It’s such an unusual move. I think both sides are very happy that he didn’t have to decide the matter and the two teams decided the matter themselves …. It wasn’t a guy we were hoping to give up. We knew there would be compensation and both sides deemed that fair …. Chris is a very good reliever and a difficult guy to lose. I think we all realized we would lose something of significant value when Theo came over here. I hope Chris has a lot of success over there. Obviously, the Cubs are excited about the new management team with Theo leading it. There was a price to be paid for that and that price is Chris and we all felt that was fair. He is talented and we wish him luck.” It’s funny to hear Jed speaking about knowing “we would lose something of significant value when Theo came over here,” given that Jed didn’t join the Cubs until several days after Epstein.
• Speaking of the Commissioner, you can bet he was thrilled he didn’t have to set a precedent and piss off two organizations in the process. ”I am pleased that the Cubs and the Red Sox have resolved this matter,” Bud Selig said via a prepared statement. “It has always been my preference that Clubs resolve matters like this amongst themselves, as they understand their unique circumstances better than anyone else could. Though the matter required time, both Clubs demonstrated professionalism throughout their discussions, and I appreciate their persistence in finding common ground.”
• Carpenter recognizes that he’s now a part of history (30 years from now, when the Las Vegas Rollers hire Beckett Hoyer away from the Boston Red Sox, who demand five top prospects, Rollers’ fans are going to be saying, “wait a minute! When the Cubs hired Theo Epstein, the Red Sox only got one 13th ranked prospect!” But then Red Sox fans will say that Rollers’ Business President Blaine Kennedy offered “massive” compensation … ). ”As soon as they called me into the coaches office, I kind of had a feeling about what was going on,” Carpenter said. “I can’t say anything bad – I appreciate everything the Cubs have done for me. It’s been a great organization over the past four years. I’m looking to going to Boston and helping them win now.”
• Cubs manager Dale Sveum on his now departed reliever: ”Unfortunately we lost a great arm in Chris. Fortunately for him, it came from a team that wanted him really, really, really bad. He’s going to fall into some competition over there to make the team, as well as he would’ve here. He gets to go to a great organization and a great city too. So that’s not a bad time to be traded for the first time.”
• Red Sox GM Ben Cherington, who’s already been unfairly maligned for “not getting enough,” according to a large swath of Red Sox fans, is doing his best to talk up the move. “We’ve scouted Chris since his amateur days at [Kent] State,’’ said Cherington. “We saw a lot last year, including the fall league. We felt he was making good adjustments there. We’re happy to have him, a young, power-arm reliever who can be a big league pitcher …. It’s easier to assign value to figure out what’s fair and not fair. In this case, it was tougher because it involved an executive and a friend. We can now move forward.’’ I continue to have a feeling that, with all respect due Cherington, he wasn’t one the driving this train from the Red Sox’s perspective.
• As for one particular of the trade, it sounds like the PTBNLs in the deal are merely a procedural inclusion (required to make this a player for player trade), and will not be anyone notable on either side. So, while the issue is not at a close, for all purposes that will plausibly impact us as fans, it is.
• Now for the pundit reactions. Dave Kaplan says swapping Carpenter for Epstein was “worth it,” which is, of course, very true. The more difficult question, however, is whether Carpenter was too much compensation, given how things played out. And, on that question, Phil Rogers says the Cubs were the big winner here, giving up less compensation than they probably should have, thanks to the Commissioner’s Office allowing Epstein to join the Cubs before compensation was determined. Bruce Levine, on the other hand, emphatically says Carpenter was way too much compensation. “Giving up a young pitcher such as Carpenter was too much in this case,” Levine writes. “A lower-level player and cash would have been proper compensation. There is no doubt that Epstein is a great talent, but as he said, he has never played one inning of organized baseball. Why should any team give up a player for a suit?” Levine’s position is that the compensation should always have only been cash. I’m not sure I agree with him there, but I do agree that, even though I previously guessed that Carpenter would be the compensation, giving up a high-upside, ML-ready reliever was probably a hair too much for one-year of a GM whom the Red Sox didn’t even want anymore (and on whom the Red Sox saved millions by making the deal).
• One other random reaction to the move: I’d think Jeff Samardzija’s chance to grab a rotation spot just got slightly more difficult. Carpenter was not expected to be a top setup guy in the pen for the Cubs, but it was definitely a possibility. Without that possibility, the chances that the Cubs will need Samardzija in the pen just went up a bit.

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Batting order discussions tend to bring two strong opinions about the discussion, itself: (1) batting order doesn’t matter, this is stupid; or (2) batting order is everything, and the Cubs keep losing games because of it.

And that’s before you even get into actually tussling about the batting order.

I reckon we’ll see these disputes play out over the next few weeks, because, when it comes to the Cubs’ batting order, there are a dozen reasonable permutations. Not because the Cubs have so many great options, you see.

Dale Sveum recently the discussed the issue, through the lens of where to bat Starlin Castro:

Sveum has plenty of options for Castro, including the leadoff spot, but doesn’t seem fixated on just one role for his young hitter.

“It’s an intriguing question, and a lot of lineups are going to be out by the way guys perform in spring training because right now going in we don’t have that bona fide leadoff, that bona fide third, fourth, fifth hitter, so we’ve got some guys that have had some success but not super at the big-league level,” Sveum said. …

“You can make numbers look any way you want but there’s always that decision to make with great hitters like [Castro],” Sveum said. “When do we put him in that three or four or five spot? It comes a time where you can’t just sit there all the time like he’s comfortable in the two spot and leave him there when we need him in other spots.”

For now, I don’t see how you can justify batting Castro anywhere other than one of the top three spots in the order, primarily because you want him getting the most at bats on your team. Eventually, Castro is going to develop into a middle of the order hitter, and so I can see the reason to bat him 3rd this year (his struggles there last season notwithstanding).

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I feel awful. Truly awful. Some stomach pain and generalized discomfort started creeping up on me in the afternoon yesterday, and, after two hours of sleep, I’ve read DEFCON awful. I’ll try not to puke in the middle of these Bullets.

• Bruce Levine and Doug Padilla chatted about the Cubs yesterday, with the notable bits including Bruce’s belief that the Cubs still have the inside track on Jorge Soler (who remains not a free agent), Bruce’s belief that the rotation will round out with Travis Wood in the 4-spot and Randy Wells, Chris Volstad and Jeff Samardzija battling for the 5-spot, Doug’s belief that Jason Jaramillo is probably going to win the back-up catcher job, Bruce’s belief that Bryan LaHair can’t handle defense in left field, and Bruce’s belief that the Cubs are still going to try and pick up another back-up infielder.
• Dale Sveum is hoping to wind up with at least two lefty pitchers in his bullpen, one of whom is very likely to be James Russell. The other lefty will come from a group including Scott Maine, John Gaub, Trever Miller, and the Cubs’ 2011 minor league pitcher of the year, Jeff Beliveau. Given how friendly Wrigley Field is to lefty hitters, and assuming the Cubs carry seven in their pen, I don’t think it would be out of the question for the Cubs to start out with three lefties there.
• The Cubs/Red Sox rivalry continues to build: the Red Sox recently gave the naming rights to their new Spring Training facility to jetBlue, but when you go to “www.jetbluepark.com,” you’re redirected to the New York Yankees’ home page. Why? Cubs fan Eric Engelman bought the domain last year, and now uses it to needle the Red Sox. Nicely done, Eric.
• Paul Maholm likes cupcakes and hyperbaric chambers.
• Details on the Cubs’ bunt tournament (featuring all players). It would be nice if Tony Campana could win, but apparently Kerry Wood is the early favorite. You know, the same Kerry Wood whose last plate appearance was in 2007.
• From the early returns, it sounds like we can tentatively expect to hear some odd, folksy statements from Sveum, who recently offered this one: ”Those last three outs are the biggest of the game and the three outs leading up to that are even bigger.” And the three before that are even bigger!
• My MLBullets at BCB – Bobby Abreu wants to be traded. But, like, where?

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Primarily, I want to thank you all for reading Bleacher Nation. The idea that there are a handful of folks out there who care what I have to say about the Cubs, and who find value in my provision of news/rumors/etc. is unspeakably gratifying. So, like, thanks. For realsies.

Secondarily, I want to remind you that, by reading the blog, you are ingesting approximately 70 to 85% of the Bleacher Nation content stream, which is probably adequate. If, however, you just can’t get enough Bleacher Nation, consider yourself reminded that it exists in at least three other places, consuming all of which will bring you up to that 100% plateau:

(1) The Message Board. The discussion there is both deeper and broader than is typically possible in the comments here. Also, it’s self-directed: you want to talk about Paul Maholm’s unnerving GO/FO ratio? You don’t have to wait for me to write about it, or awkwardly insert it into comments about Wrigley renovations because that’s all I’ve written about that day. Just start that conversation.

(2) Bleacher Nation on Twitter. I spend an inordinate amount of time on Twitter these days, and I keep the content Cubs-centric. When hot news breaks, Twitter is usually the first place it lands, before I’ve had a chance to do a full write-up. Today was a prime example – Theo compensation (and the imminency thereof) was discussed at length on Twitter before Chris Carpenter’s name was finally revealed.

(3) Bleacher Nation on Facebook. Like Twitter, if a big story is breaking, I usually give a head’s up on Facebook before writing it up here (though the nature of Facebook is such that there are fewer of those updates (I don’t want to overwhelm your news feed), but they usually have a fair bit more information in them than on Twitter (obviously updates on Twitter are limited in scope) – that’s all to say, following on both Facebook and Twitter is a good thing, not a redundant thing). There’s also some extra pictures and extended conversations on Facebook.

I should add that, in the near future, there are going to be a number of contests with “fabulous prizes” (gift certificates, tickets to Cubs games (including the auspicious chance to go to a game with me)), which will require to you to use one or all of these other BN locations. So, hey, why not get ahead of the curve?

Now: consume.

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Are we ready to turn the page? Discuss something else? I am.

Today, Baseball America finally released its top 100 prospects for 2012, and it more generous to the Cubs than previously-released 2012 top prospects lists. While the big three – Brett Jackson, Anthony Rizzo, and Javier Baez – all make an appearance, the Cubs pick up a fourth in outfielder Matt Szczur, on whom BA’s Jim Callis is higher than most others.

Jackson comes in at 32nd, which is becoming a near consensus spot for him. Rizzo is next at 47, and Baez is at 61.

Szczur is a surprise at 64, as he didn’t merit a ton of top 100 consideration from guys like Kevin Goldstein and Keith Law, each of whom is plenty down on Szczur for their own reasons. BA, however, calls it like they see it on the former Villanova football player:

“Exciting high-risk, high-reward talent who should take off with football in his rearview mirror.”

Swell.

Szczur, 22, is one of those incredibly athletic kids, who simply needs to show that he can play baseball at a high level. He struggled last year after a promotion to High-A Daytona, but it was a very, very long year for him – and it was his first away from football. Already on the 40-man roster thanks to a unique contract situation (required to sign him away from football), the Cubs would be happy to see Szczur progress rapidly. Even still, expecting to see him in 2012 in Chicago would be overly-optimistic.

Szczur will, obviously, be one of many prospects to watch this year. The Cubs’ superior depth, if not clear top-level talent, could make for a very exciting 2012 season, with a number of breakout stars.

Or, it could be one big kick in the crotch of injuries, ineffectiveness, and demotions. Such is the prospecting game.

(And, for those of you not entirely ready to turn the page on the Theo compensation drama, here’s one apropos slice: BA’s Jim Callis says Chris Carpenter, who was ranked 13th in the Cubs’ system by BA (higher in some rankings, lower in others), would be ranked somewhere in the teens in the Red Sox’s system.)

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Our four-month nightmare is finally, mostly, at a close.

Today, the Cubs and Red Sox decided – on their own – that the Cubs would send relief pitcher Chris Carpenter and a player to be named later to the Boston Red Sox as compensation for the Cubs hiring Theo Epstein back in October.

The Cubs will also get a PTBNL. Note that 2011 Draft picks can now be included in deals as PTBNLs, so it’s possible that’s what we’re looking at here. It’s also possible that the sides felt they were so close that they wanted to move on, and tie up loose ends later (that always works). (UPDATE: it sounds like both sides expect the PTBNL situation to be resolved by the end of Spring Training, so it isn’t going to involve any 2011 Draft picks.)

It sucks to lose Carpenter, who was expected to be an important part of the pen this year, but I suppose it could havebeen worse. The Red Sox, however, should be mighty happy – they just got a better prospect than Hector Trinidad.

It’s important to keep a proper perspective here.

First, and foremost: we don’t know everything. As much as this story has been reported (and re-reported, and regurgitated, and repackaged, and poured over), there are still a number of crucial details we may never know. What exactly did the Cubs (via Crane Kenney, we think) say to the Red Sox about a possible interview with Theo? How exactly did the chain of events play out? Did the Cubs ask about Theo as a GM, and then later decided to give him the Presidency? Were names ever exchanged? If so, how many? Which ones? Was there ever an allegation of tampering? Do the Cubs value Carpenter less than we think?

I could go on.

Secondly: the Cubs are paying for what they got, and not what Boston gave up. That is, of course, backwards, but this whole process has been backwards. The Cubs got a completely remade front office for at leave five years, and that’s the story Boston effectively sold to the media for months. Instead, the story should have been what Boston lost: one year of a disgruntled Theo Epstein, offset by the promotion of Ben Cherington and millions of dollars saved. The Boston front office, by way of the Boston media, “won” the public relations battle. And it probably got them a slightly better prospect than they otherwise would have gotten.

Thirdly: the Cubs were always operating at a surplus. I know it’s easy to look at this like, “the Cubs just lost a great prospect today for nothing.” But, really, it’s more like the credit line just got called. Compensation was always owed. This day, however far off it seemed every time someone said a decision was “coming soon,” was indeed always coming.

It’s not all bad news. The move conveniently opens up a 40-man roster spot so that the Cubs can officially add Cuban pitcher Gerardo Concepcion at their leisure.

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A couple years ago, a number of pitchers were in Chicago Cubs’ camp with the express purpose of battling for a spot at the back end of the Cubs’ rotation. One of those pitchers was Jeff Samardzija, then a rising star in the Cubs’ organization.

He pitched poorly, and didn’t land a spot in the rotation. From there, Samardzija bounced back and forth between the bigs and the minors, between starting and relieving, and didn’t really come into his own until the second half of last season. He pitched well enough in the first half, mind you, but in the second half – out of the pen – Samardzija was excellent.

Now he wants another chance to make the rotation, and the Cubs are going to give it to him. Together with Chris Volstad, Randy Wells, Travis Wood, Andy Sonnanstine, and Casey Coleman, Samardzija will be trying to grab one of just two open spots in the Cubs’ rotation. It will be a tough fight, but Samardzija isn’t thinking about heading back to the bullpen.

From ESPN:

When it was noted that if the rotation doesn’t pan out there is always a relief role available, Samardzija stopped the comment in its tracks.

“The worst question I’ve ever heard,” Samardzija said.

Never mind that a question had yet to be asked. What didn’t have to be asked was how seriously the right-hander is taking his latest opportunity at becoming a starter in the Cubs rotation as he heads into his sixth spring training with the club.

He’s been so serious about it that he has essentially been in his own version of spring training since November.

“I’ve been here for about four months now working out for just that with the understanding from last year that that’s where I want to be and that’s what I want to do,” he said. “It’s all that has been on my mind since the end of the season last year and I haven’t worked for anything but that.

“I don’t have too many hobbies right now, I don’t have too many things on the side, it’s mostly just baseball and that’s all I’m worried about.”

Samardzija says he now has a better appreciation for just how important Spring Training is for a guy who’s trying to win a rotation spot, so he wanted to make sure he was in mid-season form.

At the same time, and despite his “worst question ever” comment, it’s not as though Samardzija doesn’t recognize the bullpen is a possibility. When it comes down to it, Samardzija wants to do what’s best for the team.

“It’s about the team first,” Samardzija said. “When it comes down to breaking for the season, you’re going to do what’s best for the team. Personally, I have my own goals and where I feel like I want to be but as a team, when it comes down to Game 1, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is what your role is that they gave you that day and you go from there.”

As I mentioned in the Bullets yesterday, Samardzija cannot be an effective starter in the big leagues unless his command improves (as it did in the second half last year), and he is able to throw three pitches that can get big league hitters out. Coming out of the pen, you can succeed – even thrive – on two pitches. But when you have to face guys three or four times in a game, you need something more.

But letting Samardzija have another go at the rotation is probably the right move. His upside as a starter is quite high, even if the probability he reaches it is low.

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Bullets? Bullets:

• Chicago Cubs manager Dale Sveum sounds like a Bryan LaHair fan, which, I suppose, is what you’d expect. But it’s still nice to hear him say things like this about LaHair: “Sometimes guys can’t do certain things. But this kid obviously — the last two years and going to winter ball — has made some adjustments and has been tearing the cover off the ball no matter where he goes. He swung the bat pretty well when he came up in September last year. Some guys, whether something clicks with something swinging the bat or somebody tells them one little thing and all of a sudden it all comes together … unfortunately for some kids it comes a little bit later, but the fact of the matter is I think it’s clicked for him right now.”
• As noted in the comments yesterday, and as expected, Blake DeWitt has accepted his assignment to AAA Iowa (thus keeping his $1.1 million contract for this season). He’ll come to camp as a non-roster invite, and try to make the team, just as he would have if he were still on the 40-man roster.
• Grantland’s Jonah Keri previews the Cubs’ 2012 season. It’s a bit vanilla (what do you expect when a guy has to preview all 30 teams?), and one of the more optimistic Cubs previews you’ll see. Keri can see the Cubs staying in the race through mid-season, which I suppose I can, too, if a huge number of things break right for the team.
• The Trey McNutt article discussed last night (about Theo compensation) also had a few interesting, fluffy bits about McNutt as a prospect, coming back from a rough 2011 season.
• Ryan Dempster has been working hard to have a better 2012, partly in the hopes that he can stay with the Cubs after this season. Unless Dempster is willing to give a serious discount, as I’ve said before, I have a hard time seeing him back next year. If he pitches poorly this year, the Cubs probably won’t want him back. If he pitches very well, he’ll probably price himself out of the range the Cubs will want to spend on a mid/late-30s starter. I hope he pitches very well, and then does the discount thing, because I like Dempster.
• Yadier Molina, a quietly huge part of the Cardinals’ success over the past five years, isn’t planning on giving the Cardinals a home-town discount when he’s a free agent after this season. ”I don’t know about that,” Molina said of a discount. “Like I always say, I like the town and I like the city, but at the same time, I have to think about my family. You have to worry about your family like they worry about the team. This is business. If I get good money, I’ll take it. If not, I’ll go away.” Squeeze ‘em for every penny, Yadier.
• A *brilliant* read on the iconic ‘Simpsons’ episode, Homer at the Bat (the one with all the ballplayers), from Deadspin. (A buried nugget: the writers originally wanted Ryne Sandberg, not Steve Sax, to be the second baseman. That would have been swell, but we would have lost Chief Wiggum’s “you’re a long way from New York, Saxy boy” (or some similar iteration that my mind only mostly remembers).)
• Tomorrow is the last day you can vote for Cubs fan Brian Pasnik to get into the MLB Fan Cave. Let’s continue to do a good thing, and try and help him achieve his dream. Vote for Brian here.
• Many more great pictures of Spring Training from Tim at Boys of Spring. Brett Jackson no longer looks like a bad-ass caveman (he just looks boringly bad-ass).
• Luke Blaize from Cubbies Crib has been profiling every player on the Cubs’ 40-man roster (here’s one on Rafael Dolis). It’s quite a series, and worth a look.

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