Opening Day: Hit Pause On Your KB Rumors For At Least A Few Weeks

Enough with the KB rumors and trade gossip mongering already. Look, I've tried to to "woosah" and channel my rapidly growing inner-Howard Beale but I'm mad as hell and I'm just not going to take it anymore. As one of Kris Bryant's former high school coaches at Bonanza and someone who has spoken with KB and the Bryant family about this, ad nauseam, I'm up to Gheorghe Mureșan's "here" with the trade rumors and the constant vitriol directed towards the 2016 MVP. Whether it's radio personalities blatantly making up phantom contract offers "well north of $200 million" or, like today, when baseball writer Jon Morosi openly admitted that, if the Cubs struggle, he's going to crank up his trade deadline rumor mill and say KB may be traded to the Padres, I'm done with it. Just shut the hell up. Seriously. Zip it, meat. At least for now. Let us enjoy the return of baseball for a few days before you jump into your click bait. We've waited long enough for baseball and we don't need this right now. Cubs fans are focused on the season starting and, especially now that the Cubs — barring a massive implosion that would necessitate blowing the whole roster up — are prepped to open today at the Friendly Confines against the cheeseturd beer bums from Milwaukee, we want to enjoy the ride for a bit. I'll be honest and forthcoming, especially if you've never taken the time to listen to the Pinwheel & Ivy Podcast or follow me on Twitter, I'm a helicopter soccer mom when it comes to Kris. Same as I am with another former player, friend-of-the-show Chasen Shreve, who made the final New York Mets roster yesterday as well. But, regardless, I'm also a fifth generation Cubs fan as far back as my great grandpa sitting behind home plate and keeping score in the "Babe Ruth Called Shot" game (yes, I still have the scorecard). Let me say this loud enough for those in the back who keep entertaining the KB rumors:

There is no better player to build your franchise around than Kristopher Lee Bryant.

I've been coaching in one of the greatest cities in America for baseball prospects the last half-century for almost 20 years. I've coached against Bryce Harper (we held him hitless), Joey Gallo (dude hit a line drive that took my iPad out of my hands as I tutored a bench player on our stat software), and even Tommy Pham (underrated in his own HS program but saw him four or five times a year in our division). I've spoken to other coaches about their experiences with all of them. KB isn't some PR creation. He isn't a fame seeker. He isn't all talk and no go. He's a baseball savant, someone who loves the game as much as oxygen. Kris is a student of the game, a quality human being who will never find himself embarrassing the franchise with idiotic antics on or off-the-field drama, and someone with a near-photographic memory when it comes to both the pitches he sees and the mistakes he makes. The kid has always been a "three steps forward and one step back" kind of player. He evolves and he takes it seriously. More importantly, he is the perfect teammate in the mold of Ryne Sandberg — speak softly and carry a big stick. Also, he is on pace to break the Cubs all-time home run record and his career stats through five years are better than almost all of the beloved all-time greats except he brought a World Series title to Clark and Addison, and they didn't. So there's that... Truth be told, if I had a dollar for every time he told me or people I trust that he, since Day One, loves being a Chicago Cub, the organization, the fan base and how he has no reason to not want to retire a Cub, I'd have a Mike Trout-like bank account. It's almost to the point where KB has said it enough and, if you can't comprehend how badly he wants to spend his career in Chicago and how integral he is to their success, you might wanna just pull your lip over your head and swallow real hard.

When adidas brought him his new shoe for the first time in late winter in 2018 while we were working his camp at Bonanza, I'll never forget his voice calling me over from the soft toss area with a "Hey, Fidds, you're a Cubs fan. Come check these out." Why? Because he knows I dealt with almost five years of him busting my chops for being a Cubs fan while his Red Sox were winning multiple World Series titles. He genuinely wanted to know what Chicago Cubs fans would think of his shoes. He also knew my love of the Cubs was what made me the optimist I am today, which I'm sure is a small fraction of why he loves the Chicago Cubs and their fans so deeply. He has seen this with every Cubs fan in his life (yo, Brett Jaekle). As Cubs fans, especially before 2016, we have always been a strange but loyal breed. Long-suffering but eternally optimistic. This appeals to a man who understands he plays a game where 7-of-10 failures makes you an All-Star. And Cubs fans have been good to KB, until recently. Maybe it's because he's not flashy and begging for the spotlight like so many other athletes. Maybe it's the result of him rarely showing emotion because he understand the game isn't like football or basketball where your emotions can actually carry you (sorry, that's what we always preached). For whatever reason, the National League MVP of the first Cubs team to win a World Series since 1908 is a glutton for uncalled for punishment, especially from the meatball portion of the fan base. Same circumstances for even-keeled players like Kyle Hendricks, who is also underestimated and under-appreciated despite being one of the game's best at his position. So, when radio show hosts spout "unnamed sources" (***cough cough, Crane Kenney), or when Morosi openly admits he's going to crank his "rumor mill," I can't help but turn into a giant ball of fury. Whether it's the baseless trade rumors or the flat-out false report that KB turned down a contract offer "well north of $200 million," I lose my religion. What can I say? KB rumors trigger me.

So, as we roll out of bed today for Opening Day 2020, like Pee-Wee Herman at the beginning of "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure," can we give the trade rumors a rest and enjoy real baseball for at least a few weeks before we return to the click bait and shenanigans? If Cubs fans want the best from KB, let the kid play. Shut your mouth. Enjoy the ride. Maybe it's the helicopter soccer mom in me, but pay the man and enjoy drama-free leadership and performance for the next six to eight years then go from there because, if not, these Miss Cleo prognostications will become self-fulfilling and the Cubs will return to the Lovable Loser status once again. Until then, shut your yappers, take a shot of Malort, pound an Old Pyle, and enjoy the strangest season in baseball history. It's going to be a fun ride and, when it's all said and done, Cubs fans will be happy with the result because the Chicago Cubs are far better with KB than without.