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Caution: mini rant ahead.
From Comcast SportsNet
- Amidst the misery, Starlin Castro and Anthony Rizzo are thriving. This is an important development, not a moral victory.
- It's been a strange start for the Cubs, Carlos Villanueva in particular.
- The jury is out on Mike Olt. Cue the "free Mike Olt" brigade.
From Cubs Den
- So what's wrong with Jose Veras? Where do you want to start?
From Cubs.com
- Wrigley Field is all prepped for Wednesday's birthday celebration.
- Ricky Renteria hopes Jose Veras can win back the closer's role. That sure seems unlikely.
From ESPNChicago.com
- Jesse Rogers wrote something stupid. He's, apparently, surprised at the way playing time has been distributed. For instance, he seems shocked that Ryan Sweeney has started 9 of 17 games (as of this article). Really? Really?!?! You're surprised that a left-handed outfielder signed to a two year contract has started just over half the games? Really? That's surprising? I understand the cries of "play the kids!!!" I do. But nobody should be surprised that in the first three weeks of the season, that the Cubs have generally gone with platoons with a roster... built to platoon. When the Cubs are "officially" eliminated (late May, or so), there will still be plenty of time for the "kids" to play (basically) every day.
- Starlin Castro will answer mailbag questions, so submit yours.
- Jake Arrieta's return will give more meaning to games. Jesse apparently feels games started by Carlos Villanueva are meaningless.
- Mike Olt's overall stats are mixed at best, but he's delivering on his power potential.
From the Chicago Tribune
- The Cubs won't make a 100-year-old fan "wait till next year."
- (Video) Ricky Renteria talks about clubhouse leadership.
- The Reds gave the Cubs a beating and a blueprint, all at the same time.
- The mini version of Wrigley Field in Freeport, Illinois, is a hit.
- Wrigley's birthday will include plenty of family fun.
From the Chicago Sun-Times
- The Reds gave the Cubs a lesson in timely hitting.
- What does Emilio Bonifacio give the Cubs? Another trade chip.
Today's food for thought
- Check out the Northern Lights over Alaska.
- Relevant for Chicago... here's how humans evolved to cope with city crowds.