Masters of the obvious
A year late, the Cubs are giving Christopher Morel first crack at third base.
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Michael Lombardi, a purported NFL expert1 who worked for a number of NFL teams, somehow got chummy with Bill Simmons and started a second career as a podcast host and guest is one of those guys who has memorized a few quotes and acts like because he can recite them he is an expert on leadership. And, amazingly, companies hire him to speak to their employees.
One of the quotes he gets occasionally right is from second century Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. “The secret to all victory lies in the organization of the non-obvious.”
So, why do I bring this up on the first full week of baseball spring training?
Because for the 2024 Cubs, the secret to all victory may just lie in the organization of the obvious.
Craig Counsell seems to grasp that. The day that Christopher Morel reported to spring training, Craig announced that the Cubs were going to attempt to stop employing the most athletic designated hitter in either league, and let Morel have first crack at filling their gaping void at third base.
The Cubs should have done this last year. After all, while Morel played every position in the minors except pitcher, catcher and first base, he played more games at third base than any other.
And yet, when it came time to give extra work to a player last offseason at third, did they pick Morel?
