Cub Tracks Flies North

I'm tickled to bring you news of the spring. This is because I'm a bird-brain. If I fly overhead, you'll probably need an umbrella. And a scraper. Because I'm full of it.

Catching worms:

• Joe Morgan (Cubs Prospect Watch): The Chicago Cubs catching conundrum. Alliteration is back in a big way. "The Chicago Cubs have four legitimate catching options heading into the 2016 season..." Do tell.
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): The downside of winning: not all aspects of Cubs baseball get better with success. "With last season’s success, however, the Cubs have moved from art-house indie flick to full-blown summer blockbuster."
• John Baker (MLB Trade Rumors): Spring Training Eve. "For many players, report day is like Christmas in February. For others, Spring Training can be a source of great anxiety."
• Rob Ogden (Chicago Sun-Times): The Yankees just threw some major shade at the Cubs on Twitter. Oh noes!!!! Not teh Twitterz!!! We can haz the high road?
• Ryan Blake (Baseball Essential): Is a Kris Bryant sophomore slump looming? I say thee nay, nay-sayer. Ni! Ni! Ni! The legend of the blue-eyed phenom is only beginning. Don't let that rumor develop wings.
  

Fishing for answers:

• Thomas Kohs (isportsweb): Why Kyle Hendricks is important. "The key to the Cubs pitching staff next season could very well be Kyle Hendricks."
• Patrick Mooney (CSN Chicago): Cubs had to think big to keep up with the National League elite. "The dynamics of the National League this year will mean that it will take a lot of wins to make the playoffs," general manager Jed Hoyer said. "We know that."  [annoying random video]
• Bruce Levine (CBS Chicago): Long-term deal still makes sense for Jake Arrieta, Cubs. Greinke was 32 after his walk year. You do the math.
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune): Jake Arrieta preparing for heavy workload, but Cubs would be fine with less. "Sometimes more isn't better," recalled Jim Schlossnagle, Arrieta's coach at TCU.
• Kyle Thele (Chicago Sun-Times): Don't worry, Cubs fans, John Baker isn't going to beat up Jake Arrieta. As if. No jujitsu to see here. Keep on moving.
• Kazuto Yamazaki (Wrigleyville-Baseball Prospectus):  Hello again, old ginger friend: What might Matt Murton be for the Cubs? Thoughts about Murton's possible role.

Birds of a feather:

• Jesse Rogers (ESPN): Jason Heyward is just one of the guys now. Not in the Joyce Hyser sense, but in the belonging sense. Heyward can live up to expectations by simply being a solid baseball player.
• David Schoenfield (ESPN): Ten most exciting hitter-pitcher confrontations to watch. The Cubs rate a couple of mentions.
• Jared Wyllys (Cubs Den): The 2016 Cubs offense, according to PECOTA. Crunchy numbers. With little raspberries, Captain.
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Trying to find a realistic Jake Arrieta extension is not easy, but I'll try. Counter-arguments for Bruce Levine article.
• John Arguello (Cubs Den): A first glimpse of spring: a small gallery of center fielders. Quail travel in a covey. Crows are murder. Centerfielders must be a clutch.

Preening:

• Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation): Cubs project to be one of the most improved teams by contact rate. Analysis of Fangraphs article by Jeff Sullivan. See what you think.
• Chicago Cubs Online: Cubs to embrace the target, embrace expectations. Group hug! Okay, okay, okay. Joe Maddon wants his players to focus on the day and have fun playing baseball.
• Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation): Jed Hoyer speaks: Starting pitcher health, Javier Baez, Chris Coghlan, Kyle Schwarber, more. Examining an article from a couple of days ago.
• 2016 Fantasy Preview: Chicago Cubs (MLB.com).
• Chicago Cubs Online: Cubs vintage TV commercials. Jody, Jody, Jody...

Food for thought:

• Experience Science: Count birds from your backyard. Bird-watchers worldwide will flock to parks and backyards this Presidents’ Day weekend to record the winter whereabouts of millions of birds.
  
• Don't blame winter for that bleak mood. Winter doesn’t deserve its dour reputation as the season of depression, scientists say. It isn't winter. It's lack of baseball.
• Do animals feel empathy? It isn't that animals are like us. We are like animals. This is because we are animals.

"Remember, you can catch more flies with sh*t than you can with honey." -- Heckle and Jeckle.