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Over or Under? 1.5 more trades for the Cubs prior to the July 31st trade deadline.
From Comcast SportsNet
- The Cubs say they don't believe the rumors they might deal Jeff Samardzija.
- Nate Schierholtz is ignoring rumors and continuing to swing a hot bat.
- The Cubs are seeing their pitching plan come into focus. Bonus: that link has a video of Chris Rusin talking about his fine outing.
- The Cubs are building a whole new identity.
- (Video, too) Cubs super prospect Javier Baez just keeps mashing homers. This homer was an opposite field bomb. Into the wind.
- Outfield prospect Matt Szczur is ready if the Cubs call. This link includes a video interview with Matt.
From Cubs Den
- The Cubs just might be cornering the market on power.
- The Cubs aren't shopping Jeff Samardzija. But when teams call, the Cubs say the offer has to at least start with a top pitching prospect.
From Cubs.com
- Earlier in his career, Chris Rusin got some advice from a pretty good source: Greg Maddux.
- Dale Sveum sees closer potential in recently acquired reliever Pedro Strop. And Strop will get his shot when Kevin Gregg gets dealt.
- There's a lot of power potential in newly acquired minor league pitcher Corey Black.
From ESPNChicago.com
- The Cubs pitching staff is ready to weather more changes.
- Nate Schierholtz is a man on fire.
- A successful trip brought the Cubs closer together.
From the Chicago Tribune
- Chris Rusin is trying to change minds while making the most of his opportunity.
- For the first time in a while, there may be a leadership void in the clubhouse.
- The Ricketts family is finally making an imprint on the Cubs.
From the Chicago Sun-Times
- Dale Sveum thinks the key to the post-sell-off lineup is Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro. Big surprise.
- The White Sox are taking a very different road to rebuilding than the Cubs.
- Lefty Chris Rusin is looking more like a keeper.
- The players are dreaming of .500.
From the Daily Herald
- Alfonso Soriano is a living emblem of the Cubs' failed possibilities.
- The Cubs have said some big good-byes, but also some intriguing hellos.
BONUS ARTICLES!
- The Hardball Times looks at the ups and downs of Alfonso Soriano's career.
- Fangraphs looks at newly acquired C.J. Edwards, who made a terrific debut for the Cubs' single-A Daytona affiliate this weekend. Several video clips are included. Give those a watch. If you listen carefully, you can hear the scouts calling out the MPH. It sounds like Edwards is sitting 91-92 a lo, the breaking ball looked sharp, he has pretty clean mechanics (though the article notes a possible issue with collapsing his back leg), and he strikes out a couple of well regarded prospects in Dante Bichette Jr. and David Dahl.
Today's food for thought
- A stuffed bobcat spooked four 'fraidy cats.
- You've heard of hybrid cars. How about hybrid animals like zonkeys, ligers, and pizzlies.
- Here are 7 gross wonders across America.