Outside The Confines: We’ve got a new name

Welcome to Outside the Confines, the thrice-weekly post formerly known as MLB Bullets.

You may be asking yourself: “Ashley, why the name change after so long? Is this because you took over and you felt the need to shake things up?” Decidedly not!

We had a bit of an internal discussion recently about the name “MLB Bullets” that while the name seemed innocuous enough, given current events and a long-standing history of gun-related violence in America, that perhaps it was time to consider the secondary meaning of “Bullets” and make a change.

Of course the bullets in the title always referred to the bullet-point form list the links post took, but we felt that going forward it might be time for a change, and also wanted something that reflected that this is a Cubs blog after all.

Hence “Outside The Confines” which references, of course, the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field, and what’s going on outside Cubs news. (Shout-out to Danny Russell, the editor of our SB Nation Rays site DRaysBay for the idea.)

We hope you don’t mind the change, and I can promise you the sarcasm and abundance of Instagram and Twitter posts won’t be going anywhere.

• First, and perhaps most importantly, may I please introduce you to my new favorite minor league team?

• Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich share the hard truth that compromise between the MLB and MLBPA is the only way baseball can happen this season. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• If you are looking for some great baseball history, Marc Bona points to some great free programming that celebrates 100 years of Negro Leagues baseball.
• Mike Axisa tells us that the D-Backs owner is calling for a salary cap and revenue sharing.
• Want a sign to tell you what THE ONLY STORY YOU MUST READ in this list is? Well, here’s that sign. Daniel Brown introduces us to Tiger King. Yes, Tiger King, the former Indians draft pick and real person with that real name. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Davy Andrews and Roger Cormier continue the tremendous exploration of at-risk MiLB teams with their feature on the Great Falls Voyagers.
• Place your bets on which team this juicy gossip is about, as we dive into today’s draft.

• Joon Lee talked to Delino DeShields about his regrets over not kneeling in protest.
• Was Nolan Ryan selected in the first MLB draft? Jake Kaplan and Tim Britton investigate why there’s confusion over this. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Shoot your shot, kid.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.