Thursday morning, Cub Tracks flipped the bird before serving up a heapin’ helpin’ of hot air, breaking the laws of physics, and lingering over the tepid toaster oven and the CBA kerfuffle. The principals are still chinwagging over the fine print in the Collective Bargaining Agreement and chewing over the idea of actual change. Thursday is the deadline for agreement before talk of a lockout intensifies. It’s likely that backdrop that keeps the stuff on the hot stove from boiling over.
A couple of days of turkey salad, turkey hash, turkey croquet (with wickets), and turkey bowling, and here we are back at the main station. There’ll be a breakfast buffet of pumpkin pie, apple pie, mincemeat pie, and fresh hot coffee at many homes in the good old US of A. Feel free to partake while you peruse this edition of the tryptophan news.
Today, we have for you a few items of interest — most of the baseball media would seem to have taken the weekend off. The good thing is that some of the bloggers who usually do little but game analysis are on the job with good speculative articles. As always * means autoplay on (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome).
- John Sickels (Minor League Ball): Chicago Cubs Top 20 prospects for 2017. “...a blending of present performance and long-term potential.”
- Justin Breen (DNAinfo): Mystery woman in pink hat returns lost license, credit cards to Cubs fan. Edna Rojas-Dunbar is thankful to the mystery woman in the pink hat. Not the same story reported a few days ago.
- Jim Bowden (ESPN-Insider {$}): Are the Astros all-in? A status check for all 30 teams. Jim says nice things about the Cubs.
- Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Willson Contreras: multi-position rookie star, future stud catcher. The best offensive catcher in the league last year returns for another round.
- David Miniel (Cubbies Crib): Is it time to part ways with outfielder Matt Szczur? Szczur deserves a starting role somewhere.
- David Miniel (Cubbies Crib): Pierce Johnson could end up in ’17 starting rotation. Strange things would have to happen.
- Todd Johnson (Cubs Insider): Chesny Young leads a group of five interesting hitters to track in 2017. Actually, eleven. Who? Read on.
- Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Cubs’ non-pursuit of Brett Cecil further clarifies bullpen strategy. Is Boone Logan next?
- Jared Wyllys (Wrigleyville-Baseball Prospectus): Player Profile: Miguel Montero. “Montero will be sharing the catching duties with Contreras and potentially even Kyle Schwarber.”
- John Arguello (Cubs Den): Levine: Cubs have interest in Rockies CF Charlie Blackmon. Bruce Levine mentioned it on The Score. Makes a certain amount of sense.
- Neil (Chicago Cubs Online): Travis Jankowski on the Cubs radar. Levine must have had a list. You can listen to the show here.
- John Arguello (Cubs Den): Deal for Taijuan Walker gives indication pitcher sellers market; Jorge Soler for Drew Smyly? Plus notes on Ian Happ, Schwarber, and more.
- James Neveau (NBC Chicago): Cubs' Ben Zobrist cancels Bears game appearance at Soldier Field. Zobrist is under the weather.
- Joel Sherman (New York Post): Astros could be next season’s Cubs — and are spending like it. “...nothing is guaranteed in this sport, including winning,” A.J. Hinch said.
- Rick Morrissey (Chicago Sun-Times): The Cubs’ “curse” is gone, but there might be others to confront. “...a look at the possibly hexed among us and their chances of ending the misfortunes that have dogged them.”
- Rob Arthur (The Athletic): Are the Cubs a dynasty in the making? They’re designed to be BlackHawks-like and have repeat playoff appearances, hopefully leading to World Series victories.
- Bill Ballou (Worcester Telegram): Champion Chicago Cubs a tough team for Worcester's John Andreoli to crack. “It’s tough knowing that you‘ve got to wait your turn,” Andreoli said, “but at the same time it’s really rewarding being in a winning organization, a championship organization.
- David Hill (Call to the Pen): Chicago Cubs History: Ford Frick pays for Hack Wilson’s funeral. “Wilson had a short career by typical Hall of Fame standards...”
Food for Thought
- Science Daily: Theory that challenges Einstein's physics could soon be put to the test. “Scientists behind a theory that the speed of light is variable -- and not constant as Einstein suggested -- have made a prediction that could be tested.”
- Davide Castelvecchi (Science.com): Living cells bind silicon and carbon for the first time. “Silicon is all around us: after oxygen, it is the most abundant element in Earth’s crust. So why living beings never incorporate it into their biochemistry has long been a puzzle.”
- Science Friday: Celebrating Science With Silliness: The 2016 Ig Nobel Prizes. Celebrating work that “first makes you laugh, then makes you think.”
Cub Tracks might be in line for that. See you Tuesday for more thought-provoking silliness. Thanks for reading.