The battle over Kris Bryant’s service time clock, which hasn’t even started yet, was just taken in a bit of a personal direction by Bryant’s agent, Scott Boras. While speaking with Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, Boras dragged out the Cubs’ history of losing as a reason to bring him up for Opening Day.
“The opiate of player control cannot supersede the greater importance of MLB’s integrity and brand, which says that this is where the best players play. You can’t have that,” Boras said in a phone interview with CBSSports.com. “Clearly, there’s an obligation to put the best players in the big leagues.”
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“They haven’t won for 100 years, and they should start trying to win today,” Boras said. “Cubs fans are paying the third-highest ticket prices. They are paying for the team to win today. They don’t pay to see the club do business.”
This is going to end so well. Boras bringing up the Cubs’ sad century of baseball won’t endear him to that fanbase in the slightest.
Imagine if the Cubs *do* break camp with Bryant heading north to Wrigley Field, and they struggle in the season’s first two weeks. They’ll have cost themselves a year of his control for nothing. And on the other side of the coin, if the Cubs DON’T name Bryant their Opening Day starter at third base and get off to a cold start, they’ll get slammed for the move.
If the Cubs don’t want any grief about their decision, there’s only one thing left to do – just win, baby.
