Cub Tracks Makes No Guarantees

I hope that everyone had a very happy and safe Fourth of July. And for those who spent their evening at Wrigley Field, I hope that the fireworks show there was a fun one.

From Comcast SportsNet Chicago:

• The Cubs are still having their offensive struggles, leading Joe Maddon to quote Winston Churchill: "If you're going through hell, keep going."
• There are no guarantees of the Cubs making a major splash at the trading deadline, writes Tony Andracki.
• As for Jake Arrieta's thoughts on the Cubs and their chances: "We can beat anybody."
• Patrick Mooney examines the balance of power between Maddon and Theo Epstein in more detail.
• Even though Jon Lester has an all-business vibe about him, he still enjoys the things that Maddon does to lighten up the clubhouse.
• Players around the league like Maddon a lot as a manager as well, voting him the best players manager in baseball according to an ESPN poll.
• In case you missed Friday's game, the Cubs finally used the video board to show Harry Caray singing the seventh inning stretch. And it was awesome.

From Cubs.com:

• The starters for the All-Star Game will be announced on Sunday, with the full rosters to be announced the day after.
• Jake Arrieta on his career since coming to the Cubs from Baltimore: "It's like night and day."
• For those of you in Chicago who were fans of Hot Doug's and were sad to see it close, you'll be happy to know that it's back at Wrigley Field as part of the new concessions in the bleachers.

From ESPN Chicago:

• Jesse Rogers takes a look back at the deal that happened one year ago that brought Addison Russell to the Cubs.
• Rogers also writes that Joe Maddon may not have a role player that he likes more than Jonathan Herrera.
• [AUDIO] Kyle Hendricks sat down with Rogers to discuss his performance last week and the Cubs' month of June.

From CBS Chicago:

• If you were at Friday's Grateful Dead concert, there's a chance that you may have seen Joe Maddon there. And if you're going on Sunday you might just see Theo Epstein.
• Mark Grote looks back at the most important catch in the career of Mike Baxter -- and it may have also been his most painful.

From the Chicago Tribune:

• While the Cubs may be in the thick of postseason contention, Theo Epstein and Joe Maddon are still looking for things to happen.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

• Joe Maddon doesn't want to have a situation arise like the one in Anaheim (or Los Angeles of Anaheim, I guess?) with Mike Scioscia and the Angels front office. As Maddon puts it: "I believe in checks and balances."
• As for a Cubs closer, Maddon still doesn't want to declare one.
• Rick Morrissey writes that if he could be anybody in his next life -- or even in this one -- he wants to be Theo Epstein. And then the article gets... uh... interesting. In a Morrissey kind of way.

From Bleacher Nation:

• There's a new backup catcher temporarily in town as Taylor Teagarden is coming up from Triple-A Iowa to replace David Ross, who was placed on the seven-day disabled list with a concussion.
• Brett Taylor looks at the Cubs' recent acquisition of Clayton Richard as a cause for concern when it comes to the rotation.
• Along that line, it appears that the Cubs were one of four teams scouting Scott Kazmir during his start on Friday.

From Cubs Insider:

• Last week wasn't a good week on the bases for the Mets' Daniel Murphy when Anthony Rizzo was involved in the plays.
• Should Jon Lester use his curveball more often?

Miscellaneous:

• Not necessarily Cubs-related but still a neat story, as Matt Spiegel reflects on how the game of baseball still brings his entire family together.
• The same is true for Evan Altman, who recently took a trip to Tennessee with his son to catch a Smokies game and left with a wonderful experience.

Today's food for thought:

• Hey, look! It's a moon! AND a space station!
• What exactly is a terrestrial planet?
• And finally, it's a sad day for lovers of bubble wrap: A replacement product is coming... and it doesn't pop.