Cub Tracks Gets Exercised

Because it just makes sense to be damned with faint praise on a Sunday morning.

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The Cubs are not the Golden State Warriors. But they just might be close. https://t.co/jWDeq8GegK

— Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) May 12, 2016

Raise your eyebrows for fun and profit.

• Jerry Green (The Detroit News): Fred Merkle's "blunder" to blame for Cubs 1908 title. Cuz you totally can't really say what they called it here. We'll just call it "the most flagrant gaffe in the sport’s preciously documented history."
• Bruce Miles (Daily Herald): Cubs give up on Jorge Soler? "That's absurd. I think this is where he belongs," Theo Epstein said.
• Paul Skrbina (Chicago Tribune*): Addison Russell performing as Mr. Clutch for Cubs. "It never gets old," Russell said of his clutch hits.
• Carrie Muskat (MLB.com): Addison Russell tapping into home run power. "When you have the chance to stand by the cage and watch him hit, the sound of the ball and how far it goes indicates a lot of power," Joe Maddon said. "You shake his hand and he has huge hands, and they're very strong. ... You can absolutely project power with him."
• John Sickels (Minor League Ball): MLB Rookie Report: Carl Edwards, Jr., RHP, Chicago Cubs. "The pre-season view of Edwards hasn't changed: he still has very impressive stuff and he still needs to sharpen his command."
• Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation): Baseball polls: Fans say No to the DH, Yes to the bat flip. Yes. That's right. On the other hand, 56% of fans approve of doing/performing the wave at sporting events. Those people should not be allowed in.
• Evan Massey (Forbes): Chicago Cubs should aggressively pursue Ryan Braun trade. Yes. Because it's not enough to hate players on other teams. We should just import them. Hello, Milton. Hi, Dave. Is that bat still made of swiss cheese?
• Dan Symborski (ESPN-Insider-$): These Cubs could be history in the making. "...not every season features a team that ends up performing at a level where you need to compare them to the greatest teams of yesteryear."

Chin-ups and chin-wags.

• Jesse Rogers (ESPN): Miguel Montero on Jake Arrieta's 11 Ks: "I call them Hall of Fame pitches. Not much you can do with them, and they’re strikes," he opined.
• Carrie Muskat (MLB.com) Jake Arrieta wins 18th consecutive decision. Arrieta is the fifth pitcher in the modern era with at least 18 consecutive winning decisions in the regular season.
• Luke Norris (Sports Mockery): Jake Arrieta's numbers against the Pirates are staggering. "I don’t mind," said Jake, talking about the Pirates seeing so much of him. "They’ve got the tape. They’ve had the tape. They’ve got plenty of tape. They’ve still got to hit it."
• Tony Andracki (CSN Chicago*): Why Cubs opted to keep three catchers. Whether it's forgoing batting practice or hitting the pitcher eighth, the Cubs manager doesn't play anything "by the book."
• Bruce Miles (Daily Herald): For David Ross, having fun with Cubs never gets old. "...let's not forget the old man."
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Watch: Albert Almora walks off the Iowa Cubs -- he's having a great year so far. His ISO is the highest of his career and he’s still not striking out.
• Fox Sports San Diego*: Theo Epstein talks about beginning his career in San Diego [VIDEO]
• Justin Breen (DNAinfo): Why gulls love Wrigley Field, especially after 4 pm. "The leftover hotdogs, Cracker Jacks, peanuts and so forth are perfect junk food for gulls."

Preaching to the choir.

• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Walk and roll all night: Cubs offense driven by drastically improved approach. Simple. "If you walk more and strike out less, chances are you’re going to have a better offense."
• Steve Greenberg (Chicago Sun-Times): The target: Cubs vs. Pirates. "...the Pirates are, essentially, shooting for second place in the N.L. Central and another wild-card spot."
• Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation): Addison Russell's transformation, and maybe his transcendance , is happening right now. "Russell has made a change in his approach and so far, the results have been stellar."
• Ryan Ferguson (Cubs Insider): The strange allure of championship droughts and what it means for Cubs fans. "Once the champagne dries and the memorabilia is stuffed in a drawer, what would the Cubs look and feel like?"
• Erik Mauro (Cubbies Crib): Three reasons why the Cubs are better than 2015. Starts with additions and sums it all up. Headline not grammatically challenged or anything. Article ok.
• John Harper (NY Daily News): If Theo Epstein leads Cubs to World Series title since 1908, he'll be the greatest baseball executive of all time. "If Theo wins the championship," says Peter Gammons, the venerable baseball writer and long-time friend of Epstein’s, "I’ve told him he should have a plane waiting at Midway (Airport) to take him straight to the Hall of Fame."
• Tyler Kepner (The NY Times): Cubs raise echoes of a century ago. "Welcome to the bold new era of baseball’s best team, which does not care that it is also the most historically tortured. The Cubs, as their T-shirts say, embrace the target."
• George Castle (Illinois Chronicle): Ben Zobrist family loving Chicago. "Blood is thicker than water or old-time team loyalties."
• Mary Schmich (Chicago Tribune): Joe Maddon is everyone's dream boss. "Imagine the American workplace full of bosses like him, propelled by his kind of freewheeling spirit, unafraid to wear tie-dye, unembarrassed to say groovy, driving around in shaggin' wagons and letting the employees know that sometimes they gotta let it all hang out."

Food for thought:

• Andrew Pollack (The NY Times): Scientists talk privately about creating a synthetic human genome. While the project is still in the idea phase, it was discussed at a closed-door meeting on Tuesday at Harvard Medical School in Boston.
• Mitch Leslie (Science): First eukaryotes found without a normal cellular power supply. "We now know that eukaryotes can live happily without any remnant of the mitochondria." See article for clarification.
  
• Napier Lopez (The Next Web): Computer science class fails to notice that their TA was an AI chatbot. "...what about what AI can teach us?"
  

We already have meatloaf. And taters. Let's get some gravy.