Cub Tracks Parties And Prepares For What's Next

Here's the latest from around the web.

From Comcast SportsNet Chicago:

• Patrick Mooney writes that the Cubs are baseball's biggest party right now. And then there's one of my favorite descriptions of Joe Maddon so far: A mad-scientist manager who loves giving the middle finger to unwritten rules.
• Game 4 was a dream day for Javier Baez, whose homer in the second inning may have been the biggest at-bat of his career.
• The state of the Cubs, according to Jake Arrieta: "We're a scary team to play. Nobody wants to play us right now."
• John Cusack agrees with Arrieta's statement: "It doesn't matter who these guys face."
• Meanwhile, Eddie Vedder is just speechless.
• The bullpen was a huge factor in the Cubs' success against the Cardinals, walking only one batter while striking out 21 in just over 14 innings of work.
• The Cardinals saw the Cubs' momentum building over the course of the season, writes JJ Stankevitz.
• There was plenty of reaction on Twitter after the Cubs' victory on Tuesday.
• Remember that kid who got Arrieta's likeness shaved into his hair? Turns out that he got to show it off to Arrieta himself after the Game 4 victory. That's pretty cool.

From Cubs.com:

• Tom Ricketts, who described his emotions as "more nervous than cool" while watching Game 4, feels that the Cubs are "going to run the table" through the remainder of the postseason.
• Theo Epstein, on the homer by Javier Baez in Game 4: "That was very 2015 Cubs."
• Joe Maddon, on the city of Chicago: "They're putting their trust in me and us to do this, and this is what's happening right now. That's pretty rewarding."
• Tuesday's win was a huge event for the fans, who have never had a chance to celebrate a postseason series victory at Wrigley Field until now.
• Here are some sights and sounds from around the park after the Game 4 victory.
• And here are some facts and figures from Game 4.
• And here are some of the top GIFs from Game 4, including the wide-eyed Cubs fan that made its way around the internet like wildfire.
• After Game 4 was over, the Cubs paid compliments to the Cardinals for a hard-fought series.
• Who's going to start Game 1 of the NL Championship Series? No one knows for sure yet, but Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta will both be ready if their name is called.
• Did Kyle Schwarber call his mammoth shot off of Kevin Siegrist in Game 4? Well... maybe.
• Were the Cubs actually celebrating their clinching victory all game long? According to Cut4, well... maybe.

From ESPN Chicago:

• The ball that Kyle Schwarber deposited onto the top of the right-field video board has officially received its Plexiglas treatment for the remainder of the postseason.
• Jon Greenberg looks at the Cubs' performance in the NLDS and writes that this year's team has done things that past teams would never do and that pretty soon, no one will be talking about the teams from the past.
• Jayson Stark writes about the clinching game and how the earth shook the night that Chicago finally toasted a moment that had been 100 years in the making.
• The Cubs hit nine home runs at Wrigley Field in their two games against the Cardinals. By comparison, the Cardinals had allowed only 63 homers on the road in the entire 2015 season.
• Given the choice of the Dodgers or the Mets, who should the Cubs want to play? Jesse Rogers examines the options.
• Rogers also looks at some early things to know about the upcoming NLCS.
• The Cubs are going to win the World Series. At least according to Bears' defensive coordinator Vic Fangio: "It's in the bag, don't even worry about it."
• While still not yet official, Chris Bosio is leaning toward Jon Lester as the Game 1 starter in the NLCS "because it's his turn."

From CBS Chicago:

• More reaction from Tom Ricketts on Tuesday's Game 4 win: "My heart stopped six or seven times during the game."
• [VIDEO] Apparently Eddie Vedder wasn't truly speechless; when asked about this year's team, his response: "They're really effing good."
• As the Cubs advance to the NLCS, people will try to sell fans what the 2015 Cubs are all about, writes Laurence Holmes, who adds that fans don't need to be sold anything.
• Matt Spiegel was at Wrigley Field all day on Tuesday and sums everything up with one simple theme: Deserved rewards.
• Dan Bernstein compares the Cubs to a computer that has finished rebooting after being turned off and back on again.
• Chris Emma writes that the Cubs are doing something truly special, perhaps even a feat well worth a lifetime of waiting.
• For those of you who have always wanted to see Anthony Rizzo in an umbrella hat, your wish has been granted.

From the Chicago Tribune:

• David Haugh reflects on the series win on Tuesday and writes that it feels like only the beginning.
• Whatever else may happen in the playoffs, fans will always have the victory over the rival Cardinals, which is exactly what Theo Epstein does according to Steve Rosenbloom.
• What does Paul Sullivan think of the Cubs beating the Cardinals to move to the NLCS? Simply put: That's Cub.
• Sullivan also writes that a lot of the credit for the Cubs' current position goes to Chris Bosio, who believes that the best stuff is still coming.
• There's also the development of Kyle Schwarber, Javier Baez, and Jorge Soler, who hitting coach John Mallee says "knew how the guys were getting them out, and they've learned how to make adjustments."
• Want the best deal for NLCS tickets? Root for the Dodgers. You have to get yourself to Los Angeles to make it worth it, though.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

• Theo Epstein on the Cubs' current position: "This will always be a special time no matter what happens."
• Curt Schilling on the Cubs' future: "They could set themselves up to kind of be the [New England] Patriots for the next 10, 15 years."
• Rick Morrissey writes that the talk of the Cubs' young players not knowing any better isn't accurate; instead, he believes that they're perfectly aware of what they're doing and that's why they're heading to the NLCS.
• Morrissey also writes that this year's team is a relentless and oblivious one -- oblivious to the past, that is -- that's having a dream season.
• Rick Telander wonders just how many dragons were slain in the Cubs' series victory over the Cardinals.
• Kyle Schwarber has inked a deal with cap company New Era through the 2017 season.
• On the list of things you should not do while Kyle Schwarber is at bat: Check the messages on your phone.

From the Daily Herald:

• Bruce Miles gives his list of winners within the organization as the Cubs continue their playoff run.
• Barry Rozner writes that the Cubs are a runaway train that takes apart any team that dares to get near the tracks.
• Rozner also writes about Ryne Sandberg's return to Wrigley Field on Monday to throw out the first pitch, a moment that Sandberg called "very emotional... lot of goose bumps."

Miscellaneous:

• This is beyond cool.  There were six homers hit by the Cubs on Monday night, setting a new MLB record for most home runs hit in a single postseason game by one team. Jeff Passan caught up with each of the six people that caught those home runs.
• Adam Kilgore looks at the impact that Manny Ramirez continues to have on the Cubs' hitters.

Today's food for thought:

• What's the best way to make it to Mars? Researchers at MIT say it would be much easier to do if a way could be found to use the Moon as a refueling station.
• New data from the Hubble Space Telescope has allowed scientists at NASA to update their maps of Jupiter. And they've also gotten some really cool high-definition shots of the planet as well.