Those guys just have to get matching Brooks Brothers suits. Who?
*denotes autoplaying videos and/or other annoyances.
Out here in the fields:
- Tony Andracki (CSN Chicago*): Despite crowded outfield, Cubs think Jorge Soler can hit reset button in 2016. Soler will move to left primarily, where he will have to compete with Kyle Schwarber for playing time.
- Bruce Levine (CBS Chicago*): Jorge Soler unfazed by Dexter Fowler addition. "I really cannot worry about my playing time," Soler said through translator -coach Frank Font. "I will get my opportunity and chance. I will do my job and try to help the team."
- Carrie Muskat (MLB.com): Cubs say consistency key for Jorge Soler to succeed. The Cubs are hoping that Soler can play every day the way he did in the postseason.
- Gordon Wittenmyer (Chicago Sun-Times): No more 'lazy' plays: Jorge Soler plans to bring playoff focus to the season. "There was a lot of focus in the games in the playoffs," Soler said through Frank Font. "During the season I got out of my mind when I failed [at the plate], and I got a little lazy defensively. During the playoffs I had more focus on my at-bats, more focus on my defense."
- Tom Verducci (MLB.com): Joe Maddon discusses Schwarber, additions. [VIDEO]
- Jesse Rogers (ESPN): Ben Zobrist answers fans' Twitter questions. "The 2016 debut of the Cubs' player mailbag series."
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Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune): Aaron Brooks forms bond with Aaron Brooks.
I get so many @Thirty2zero tweets cuz they think I'm you! I don't see the resemblance bro! Haha
— Aaron Brooks (@aaronbrooksCHC) February 19, 2016
I fight for my meals:
- Bruce Levine (CBS Chicago*): White Sox offered Dexter Fowler a two-year deal. The Sox submitted more than the $17 million the Cubs ultimately gave Fowler to return to the North Side.
- Tim Baffoe (CBS Chicago*): In landing Dexter Fowler, the Cubs have luck on their side now, too. "Maybe some spite came into play here or maybe it’s some political thriller double-timing. Either way, the Cubs accidentally benefit."
- Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Dex ed: A short(ish) course on how Dexter Fowler's addition impacts the Cubs outfield and beyond. Math skills notwithstanding, Fowler's arrival has a ripple effect. "Load up early and see which of these guys can really play."
- Doug Glanville (The New York Times): Baseball's first threshold. Forty-plus players, 25 slots. The math is not friendly.
- Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): This week's moves and the composition of the bench -- Shane Victorino? Tommy La Stella? Matt Szczur? The problem is going to be the size and composition of the bench. It's a good problem to have.
- Rob Ogden (Chicago Sun-Times): Adam Wainwright says Wrigley Field is his favorite place to play. Good. Let's trade them Jason Hammel and Dan Vogelbach for him. Do it now. The Cardinals won’t get their first taste of the Cubs until April 18 in St. Louis, but Wainwright said they can already feel the "Cub love."
I get my back into my living.
- Tony Andracki (CSN Chicago*): Cubs adjust following MLB's new rules on "neighborhood play". Joe Maddon doesn't see it as a major adjustment on the Cubs' part.
- Sports Mockery: Chicago Cubs hype video leaves chills down your spine. [VIDEO]
- Tony Andracki (CSN Chicago*): Who is Aaron Brooks? "Between Dexter Fowler's arrival and Shane Victorino's signing, Brooks - who shares the same name as the Bulls' backup point guard - has flown under the radar with the Cubs after coming over from the Oakland A's."
- Jesse Rogers (ESPN): Travis Wood, Kyle Hendricks to open Cactus League play. No word on when the Cubs' top starters will make their spring debuts.
- Jared Wyllys (Cubs Den): The Cubs as a destination team. "I try really hard to resist hyperbole..."
- Carrie Muskat (MLB.com): Broken windshield goes to Cubs charity auction. "The souvenir, which was to be put in a protective case, will be auctioned March 25 at a Cubs Wives event."
- Rob Ogden (Chicago Sun-Times): Ben Zobrist admits he was a Cardinals fan as a kid. "I never went to Wrigley until I became a player. I was a Cardinals fan," he said.
- Bruce Miles (Daily Herald): Jason Heyward wowing Chicago Cubs with ability, smarts. Thursday's train comes back around to the depot.
- Luis Medina (Bleacher Nation): The Cubs don't have a traditional fallback closer option for Hector Rondon. "One thing missing from the pitching staff that reported to camp last week was an additional late-inning reliever with experience closing out games."
- Jeff Sullivan (Fangraphs): The Cubs addressed their last big question. Analysis of the Coghlan, Fowler, Brooks moves.
- USA Today: Veteran Ben Zobrist expected to help the Cubs play small ball. Thinking big by thinking small. Steve Martin would no doubt approve.
Food for thought:
- Beth Geiger (Science News): 3.5 billion years ago, oceans were cool, not hot. Contravening a school of thought and not seeming very fishy.
- Karl Etters (Tallahassee Democrat): Science and music come together at MagLab. The smile of 8-year-old Daniel Petes of Valdosta, Georgia, grew as he watched a jumbo marshmallow expand inside of a vacuum and then shrink to half its original size as the air pressure was reintroduced. "This place is awesome," Petes said. "It’s fun to be able to play with everything."
- Ron Cowen (Science News): Reactor data hint at existence of fourth neutrino. Ok, let's get really small.
"I still exist." -- Scott Carey.
"They're all wasted." -- Pete Townshend.