When Jon Lester signed with the Washington Nationals on a deal that will pay him just $2 million in 2021, and then a deferred signing bonus of $3 million in 2023, it was clear that the Chicago Cubs could have had him back on a very affordable deal.
And while it may have seemed, then, a logical conclusion that the Cubs just didn’t want Lester back and instead wanted to give those innings to youngsters or reclamation projects, the reality is that the Cubs did want Lester back. So, you can really only conclude that money is so tight that whatever offer the Cubs made to Lester was a joke. Say what you will about that being the fate that awaits one of the most important players in Chicago Cubs history, who himself wanted one more go with the Cubs.
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There are people who find pleasure in their sports misery. We used to call them Cubs fans, but then the team won the 2016 World Series and a new, almost unrecognizable species emerged one that was joyful, cocky and expectant of success.
The older generations, the ones that had been through decades of baseball hell with the franchise, wore that newfound success like a fur coat, glad for its warmth but still not quite sure who they were looking at when they caught sight of themselves in the mirror.
It’s why the pain the Cubs are doling out now to its fan base feels so familiar and, dare I say it, comfortable. Chicago still wears its Cubs angst well.
Movers and Shakers
Easter Chu Shing is the new Deputy Director General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). Chu Shing has worked with SPREP for the past 10 years, originally as the Biodiversity Adviser and then as Director of Environmental Monitoring and Governance.
Zed Seselja is Australia’s new Minister for International Development and the Pacific. He replaces
Alex Hawke, who has been promoted to the more senior cabinet role of Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs.
New Caledonia s SLN nickel company has a new CEO,
Guillaume Verschaeve, who will have the challenging task of restructuring operations to avoid insolvency. He replaces Colin McGibbon, who was in the role less than a year.
Steelers will have the 24th overall pick pittsburghstar.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from pittsburghstar.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.