Just ask Dexter. Cubs go for meatloaf today.
Hey kid, hey you.. Bagging groceries like a champ, playing baseball just for the dream...That dream will come true one day. #toyoungDex
— Dexter Fowler (@DexterFowler) May 20, 2016
* autoplay warning.
Champagne wishes.
- Randy Holt (Beyond the Box Score): Addison Russell is emerging into an elite shortstop. "Russell is utilizing some late-2015 adjustments and still-improving approach as a springboard toward a career year in 2016."
- Patrick Mooney (CSN Chicago*): How Joe Maddon sees potential strike-zone issues impacting Cubs. "The competition committee reportedly took a step forward this week by agreeing to raise the lower part of the strike zone."
- Gordon Wittenmyer (Chicago Sun-Times): Pen is mightier issue for Joe Maddon than Cubs' quiet bats. I talk about how the first month of the season is about trying to figure out your bullpen," he said. "At this point, I feel pretty good about what I know about our group."
- Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation): Cubs playoff odds started high, somehow increased dramatically. Good became great.
- Matthew Trueblood (Wrigleyville-Baseball Prospectus): Rubbing Mud: The quarter-pole odds changes. Baseball isn't horse-racing.
Caviar dreams.
- Max McKinnon (Myrtle Beach Online): Ian Happ finding himself at home in the infield. "He’s getting better and better and, actually, he’s made a couple of plays that I was surprised with," Myrtle Beach Pelicans manager Buddy Bailey said. "You’d have thought he had played second base forever, and at a lot higher of a level."
- Luke Blaize (Bleacher Nation): Cubs minor league daily: Probably not Albert Almora time. "Jason Heyward left the game last night with an injury, and the collective mind of Cubs’ Twitter turned to one man: Albert Almora."
- Neil (Chicago Cubs Online): Eloy Jimenez goes yard for the third time in two games. One of the top prospects in the Cubs’ system has caught fire at the plate.
Upon a star.
- Jerry Burnes (Beyond the Box Score): Ben Zobrist is reinventing himself. "The standard-bearer of versatility is making an important late-career adjustment."
- Bruce Levine (CBS Chicago): Royals rave about former teammate Ben Zobrist, an asset to the Cubs this year. "He made a huge impact on our team and us winning," Ned Yost said.
- Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Ben Zobrist's splashdown the 115th homer to get wet on the fly. The first Cub to put a ball in the Cove: Corey Patterson on August 7, 2004.
- Jeff Samardzija knows Jake Arrieta's winning streak can roll into free agency. "Less than 18 months away from becoming a free agent, Arrieta is betting on himself, the same way Samardzija did, at a table with even higher stakes."
- Barry R. Bloom (MLB.com): Joe Maddon believes Jake Arrieta still has room for growth. "I'm telling you, there's another level we haven't seen yet this year," Maddon said. "His command has been off."
- Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): A few Jake Arrieta highlights and splash hit facts to bake your noodle. "...in the reigning NL Cy Young’s nine starts this season, the Cubs have a +58 run differential. That’s higher than any team in baseball has for the whole season."
Miscellaneous.
- Fox32 News: Gary Pressy celebrating 30 years as Cubs' organist. "He’s as much a part of Wrigley as anything else."
- CBS Sports: Crane Kenney: The biggest misconception on the outdoor plaza is that it's just a beer garden. "He pointed out it will also be instrumental in hosting farmer’s markets, family movie nights and being a venue for an ice rink, all in an attempt to be an entertainment destination year-round."
- Jesse Rogers (ESPN*): .Joe Maddon on Jorge Soler: "I saw a major-league baseball player out there." "I want to believe he understands what we're talking about," Maddon said. "He went out and did it. That's the kind of mental effort that can make him a superstar."
- Rick Eymer (MLB.com): Cubs confident Jason Heyward won't be out long. 3-5 days is the report.
- Chicago Tribune: New Hebru Brantley/Max Sansing mural in Wrigleyville. Photogallery.
- Neil (Chicago Cubs Online): Jason Heyward's numbers through 39 games in line with career.
If Jason Heyward's slow start is surprising you, it shouldn't; his yearly #'s thru 39 team games, per @baseball_ref: pic.twitter.com/fobbGD549t
— Russ La Croix (@RustyL27) May 20, 2016
Food for thought:
- Mackenzie Dawson (New York Post): Unraveling the secret science of falling in love. Humans like to think that we’re special — our rituals determined more by intellect than by pure animal instincts.
- Cari Nierenberg (LIve Science): The science of intuition: How to measure 'hunches' and 'gut feelings'. Researchers found evidence that people can use their intuition to make faster, more accurate and more confident decisions.
- Lindsey Kratochwill (Popular Science): World's largest solar plant catches fire.
Enjoy your day.