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It's an emotion-filled day here at CT, apparently.
From Comcast SportsNet
- Starlin Castro trusts himself again.
- Patrick Mooney continues his "be more Gordo" quest by advocating for the Cubs to make Jason Hammel a building block. Sigh.
- Aramis Ramirez says he doesn't miss rebuilding with the Cubs. Apparently he's been asleep for most of his time with the Brewers.
- Matt Garza suggests Jeff Samardzija "pitch his way out of it." This has been interpreted in multiple ways.
- The Cubs say they understand Junior Lake's frustrations. But do they understand he's almost assuredly not a starting caliber OF?
- Jose Veras wants to start over when he gets off the DL. Oh, if only.
From Cubs Den
- Junior Lake has to find the strike zone. This seems unlikely to me. I don't know why you would ever throw him anything but a breaking ball on the outer half (or further).
- If you think outside the box (I hate that phrase), maybe the Cubs should be "buyers" this season. Though I'm not sure using Carlos Gonzalez builds the strongest case, as he's been a much discussed player.
- Another poor start is hiding the development of a core for the Cubs.
From Cubs.com
- Shark has been pure quality, but he has nothing to show for it.
- Neil Ramirez' major league debut went well. And some current and future family members were there to see.
From ESPNChicago.com
- Jesse Rogers argues that Luis Valbuena deserves his playing time.
- David Schoenfield explains why it is silly for Matt Garza to say the Cubs cost him 30 wins. It was probably facetious, but Matt's not good at math.
- Does Jeff Samardzija's hot start change the Cubs' plans for the right-hander?
From the Chicago Tribune
- Neil Ramirez is trying to keep emotions in check.
- Wesley Wright has been better. So there's that.
- A man who worked on the Wrigley Field grounds crew in 1971 confesses that he accidentally damaged the ivy, which didn't grow back for more than a decade.
From the Chicago Sun-Times
- Gordo considers the Cubs an Alcatraz that former players are glad they've escaped from.
Miscellaneous
- FiveThirtyEight tackled the subject of who are the most disciplined hitters in the game. Turns out 2002 Moises Alou was the most disciplined hitter they found. Gotta say... I'm awfully surprised to see no Cubs on the worst decision maker list, though Starlin Castro made that list among active players. The upside? There are still a lot of effective hitters on that "worst" list.
Today's food for thought
- A solar eclipse will look like a ring of fire today in parts of the world.
- Here's the blue-green sunset view from Mars.
- This video of a photographer's experience with a leopard seal was awesome. I had no idea those seals were so big.