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Happy birthday to my buddy Dave.
From Comcast SportsNet
- Mike Olt seems to be topic number one. Patrick Mooney wonders if Olt's future is now.
- Pitching Coach Chris Bosio is starting to see the plan come together.
- Jake Arrieta is making progress.
From Cubs Den
- Pitching is dominating the conversation for the top of the June draft.
- The Arizona Diamondbacks will scout Jeff Samardzija. Again.
- Second base is becoming a problem. But in a good way.
From Cubs.com
- Chris Rusin is not feeling any pressure when it comes to making the Cubs' rotation.
- Javier Baez is, officially, getting some work at second base.
- Despite generally struggling Tsuyoshi Wada is still in the mix for the rotation.
- A long-term view is helping Brett Jackson click.
From ESPNChicago.com
- Chris Bosio wants to keep his pitchers regular.
- Jesse Rogers looks at under the radar storylines for the team, including Jose Veras, Justin Ruggiano, and Eric Jokisch.
- Much to Al's chagrin, Kyle Hendricks was sent to minor league camp. But for how long?
- Javier Baez could find a home at second base.
From the Chicago Tribune
- Theo Epstein says team morale is fantastic.
- In an offseason move that got no headlines, the Cubs replaced their team psychologist.
- (Video) Javier Baez talks about playing second base.
- Mark Gonzalez answers a mailbag.
From the Chicago Sun-Times
- Chris Bosio thinks Carlos Villanueva is the wild card for the pitching staff.
- Gordo thinks Kris Bryant will be ready before the Cubs are. Really, it's just another Gordo piece where he assumes the only reason the team would keep Bryant in the minor leagues would be for financial reasons.
Miscellaneous
- This was discovered through something called a "FanShot." But Grantland takes on a profile of the Cubs. It's a really good read, particularly for little nuggets like the fact that every other NL Central division foe except the Cubs is entered into the "competitive balance" draft compensation pool.
Today's food for thought
- This is what atmospheric re-entry looks like from the ISS.
- This is water rolling uphill.