Cub Tracks Presents A Tale Of Two Kyles

Here's the latest from around the web.

From Comcast SportsNet Chicago:

• What does Joe Maddon think of the words "pressure" and "scrutiny" being used to describe the Cubs? "Absolutely love it."
• Tony Andracki writes that the Cubs will be counting on Kyle Hendricks to give the team quality outings as it makes its push toward a playoff spot.
• And then there's the other Kyle, Mr. Schwarber, whose development is mirroring that of the Cubs this season. If you can believe this, it was this time last year that Kyle Schwarber won the Hitter of the Week award... at High-A Daytona.
• The Cubs have re-acquired Emilio Bonifacio after having been released from the White Sox. So for those of you who remember your trades, that means that the Cubs ended up acquiring Victor Caratini from the Braves for... absolutely nothing. Other than a bag of money.
• In case you haven't seen the latest Sports Illustrated regional cover... well, it's pretty awesome.

From Cubs.com:

• Starlin Castro credits his 3-for-4 night on Tuesday to an adjustment that he made in the batter's box after working with hitting coach John Mallee.
• What did Pedro Strop think of his high-stepping routine after seeing it on replay? "I didn't know it was going to be that funny."

From ESPN Chicago:

• David Schoenfield takes a deeper look inside the numbers behind Kyle Schwarber's 12 home runs.
• Jesse Rogers looks at why the Cubs' hot stretch will -- or won't -- last.
• [VIDEO] Ernesto Jerez, Candy Maldonado, and Luis Alfredo Alvarez discuss why the Cubs are the hottest team in baseball right now. In English and in Spanish.
• This article is definitely worth the time: Kevin Van Valkenburg writes about the long journey this season for Javier Baez.

From CBS Chicago:

• David Ross was placed on the family medical emergency list on Wednesday. Matt Szczur was recalled from Iowa. Again.
• Mark Grote recently sat down with Jason McLeod to discuss some of the up-and-coming prospects in the minors.
• It's been a while since a story about the dilemma of starting Jon Lester or Jake Arrieta in a potential Wild Card game. Chris Emma writes that the Cubs can't go wrong with either of them.
• Tim Baffoe writes that anyone who hates fun will need to take a pass on hopping on the Cubs bandwagon this season. And he has multitudes of GIFs to prove why that's the case.

From the Chicago Tribune:

• Mark Gonzales dives into this week's Tribune Cubs mailbag.
• Theo Epstein said that "it's good to sneak up on people" in regards to the Cubs' playoff push this season. Paul Sullivan looks back at the Cubs' previous sneak attacks in the past 30 years.
• Steve Rosenbloom writes that Jake Arrieta should be in the conversation for the Cy Young award this season, with Arrieta's numbers doing plenty of talking for him.
• The biggest challenge for the remainder of the season isn't the Giants or Pirates, writes David Haugh. Instead, it's keeping the burden of increased expectations from limiting the players' performance.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

• Dexter Fowler got a day off on Wednesday after two days of getting hit with baseballs in the hand and the shin. He'll be evaluated again on Thursday.
• Starlin Castro on the changes he's been through in the past few weeks: "Sometimes these kind of moments make you stronger."
• Joe Maddon will be hosting the Ringside at Ravenswood Event Center boxing charity event on September 2.
• What to do in San Francisco before the game starts? For Jon Lester and Kris Bryant, they decided to take a tour of Alcatraz.
• As for Anthony Rizzo, it's not much different than being in Chicago... just find the local Chipotle.
• The Cubs have moved to the South Side. Or at least ESPN thought so.
• Need a late pass so that you can watch the West Coast games? Cubs Twitter can help with that.

From the Daily Herald:

• There could be some more rotation tweaking coming up to get Jake Arrieta a start in both of the Cubs' remaining series against the Cardinals.
• Mike North confesses that he was wrong about the Cubs. And apparently there are two new guys in the rotation named Jason Hammill and John Lester.

From Cubs Den:

• In case you've been wondering why there hasn't been much from Cubs Den lately, John Arguello is currently in the hospital recovering from a staph infection. Get well soon, John!

From Bleacher Nation:

• The percentages keep on climbing: After Tuesday's win, the Cubs are now at a 97 percent chance of making the playoffs.
• Justin Grimm has definitely been one of the Cubs' most valuable relievers. Luis Medina looks at some of the numbers behind his success this season.
• [VIDEO] Remember the TV show "Perfect Strangers"? Here's what the opening montage looks like, Cubs-style.

From Cubs Insider:

• This is pretty cool. It's the history of every Major League Baseball team's logo over the past 140 years... all boiled down into 47 seconds.

Miscellaneous:

• The good folks at Five Thirty Eight present the happiest and saddest fan bases in baseball, as told by Reddit.

Today's food for thought:

• It was almost 36 years ago that a Miami military academy had a discussion of hypnotism and the supernatural in a science class. And the results were... not good.
• For those of you who think you've seen everything, here's a drawing of a guinea pig on a skateboard. From 1899.