Why Should Kris Bryant Be On The Opening Day Roster?

Everyone knows Kris Bryant's story. Simply put, the kid is a freak. With a college player of the year award and minor league player of the year award under his belt, the power hitting third baseman is more than ready to take the field against the highest level of competition. But the talk around the league is whether or not Bryant will start the season at Wrigley. Of course if Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer keep him hanging around the minors until about April 17th, that gives them another year of control. That means they will trade out 9 days of his rookie season for one full year of service in his prime. According to Hoyer and Epstein, any decision to keep Bryant in the minors will be strictly baseball related. Obviously he is ready for the bigs so why not bring him up? But do not worry, I'm here to tell you why none of this matters.

Why Keep Starlin Castro?

Starlin Castro has been an easy target for criticism over the span of his five seasons in the majors. From his errant throws in the field to the baserunning blunders, Castro has started off his career with plenty to go on the blooper reel. But accompanying those miscues were plenty of stats to keep a numbers junky like me pleased. So today I am going to play part agent, part fan and explain why the shortstop should stay on the North Side for many years to come.

2015 Season Preview: Infielders

In a series of posts that will preview the 2015 season, I will focus today on the infielders. There are plenty to go around this spring and it will be a tough decision for Joe Maddon and Theo Epstein to decide on who is going to be in Chicago come April 5th. To start off, here is a list of every infielder attending Spring Training along with their age and position(s).

Coming Out of the Vines

I am brand new to the blogging experience, but I love to write, especially about sports and I got the tip from my family to start a blog. I figured this could be a medium in which I could express my opinions about the sports that I enjoy the most, baseball, and specifically the Chicago Cubs. 

I thought I would start off simple and just explain my passion for the beloved Cubbies and how I got to this point today. 

As much as it pains me to say it, I was not always this way. I started off my life as a member of the dark side. That is, the red side: a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals. But hey give me a break I was young and I learned quickly. By the age of about 8 I had changed my ways, and to the dismay of half of my family, I had become a true blue, a Cub fan. My love for the Cubs just grew stronger and stronger, even through tough times like the Steve Bartman game, the Sammy Sosa steroid scandal, and the many losing seasons. By the time high school came around for me, it was the tail-end of the Jim Hendry era in Chicago and Javier Baez was the big name in the farm system. Without much to look forward to on the big league squad, I took a liking to the minor leaguers. After attending a (then) Peoria Chiefs game, I researched more on the players I saw like Junior Lake, Josh Vitters, and Rock Shoulders. Guys like that got me really interested and once the Theo Epstein era began and the farm system really began to improve, my interest was sparked even more. 

It is now the Spring of 2015 and Cubs fans optimism is really hitting its peak. After years of learning the ins and outs of the Chicago Cubs organization, I am entirely invested in this team and craving a run in October. Out of the Vines is just a way for a huge Cubs fan to express my opinions about both the organization as well as other happenings throughout all of Major League Baseball.

This is Out of the Vines.