Cub Tracks Is A Day Late

In our previous episode, we dug in, applied pancake makeup, and ultimately observed the effects on quantum physics on our daily lives. Quite the journey for one small column.

Today we travel backward in time, look for the fifth columnist, remember Karl Rhodes, observe the day after Addison Russell’s birthday, and serve up some treats for stat nerds.

Read all about it — as always * means autoplay on (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome).

Today in baseball history (and more):

• 1939 - George Sisler, Eddie Collins, and Willie Keeler are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the BBWAA. Sisler set the major league record with 257 hits in 1920 and batted .420 in 1922 on his way to a .340 career average. Collins batted an even .333 for his career and stole 744 bases as a member of four world champions. Keeler, who "hit 'em where they ain't."

Articles:

• Jim Allen (Japan Times): Famed slugger Rhodes could face long road to Hall. Karl “Tuffy” Rhodes may have difficulty getting into Japan’s Baseball Hall of Fame. I bet Dwight Gooden would vote “No.”
• Jonathon Mayo (MLB.com): Ian Happ No. 2 on MLB Pipeline's Top 10 2B Prospects list. Only Yoan Moncada precedes him.
• Keith Law (ESPN-Insider {$}): 2017 prospect rankings: 100-81. Dylan Cease appears in this portion of the series.
• Jesse Rogers (ESPN*): Cubs' needs remain the same as offseason winds down. People that throw the ball.

• Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation): Surprisingly, Kyle Hendricks is only Cubs starter on one Top Ten Pitchers list. Mike Petriello’s list.
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): A delightfully nerdy undertaking: Using Cubs’ 2016 xBABIP to project 2017 regression. Formula for success?
• Tony Andracki (CSN Chicago*): Carl Edwards Jr. looks to follow in Mariano Rivera's footsteps. "I don't really get into trying to be like him. I just look more into how he goes about his business. That's something that I can control — how I go about my business,” said Edwards.
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Brett Anderson headed to Chicago, but why? Anderson tweeted about something.
• John Arguello (Cubs Den): Rosenthal: Brett Anderson to sign with Cubs. A Twitter-scrubbing we shall go.
• Matt Snyder (CBS Sports*): MLB Hot Stove Signings: Cubs reportedly lock up lefty Brett Anderson. Third column about the fifth or sixth man.
• Josh Timmers (Bleed Cubbie Blue): Cubs sign Brett Anderson. One more and we get the fifth column.
• Brendan Miller (Cubs Insider): Calling all stat nerds: introducing the swinging-strike Z-Score Calculator. “Whiffs aren’t just cool, they’re also indicative of how valuable a pitcher is or can be.”
• Jared Wyllys (Wrigleyville-Baseball Prospectus): The effect of Manny Ramirez in Iowa. “...outstanding teammate and an outstanding person,” said Marty Pevey.
• Sam Fels (Wrigleyville-Baseball Prospectus): Rotation to rotation – the injury cannon is here? “...you start to get the feeling that the Cubs are going to have to have a Plan B, and Plan C, and probably a Plan D when it comes to their rotation this season.”
• Martin Fenn (isportsweb): Grading the Chicago Cubs’ projected 2017 roster. See what you think.
• Adam H. McGinnis (Fansided): Remembering Ernie Banks two years after his death. “Few players in baseball history exemplify the love of the game quite like Ernie Banks did.”
• Barry Rozner (Daily Herald {$}): Chicago Cubs' Ross has big future as manager. “David Ross is a high-character guy who became the heart of the team.”
• Matt Lindner (Redeye Chicago): Jon Jay just trying to ride this Cubs wave. "I’m just here to play baseball," he said.
• Rick Baert (PI Online): Owner of Chicago Cubs breaks down factors for success at conference. Tom Ricketts took a swing at explaining to a room full of traders and brokers how what were once “lovable losers” became the 2016 World Series champions.

Food for thought:

• Rachel Lallensack (Science): Jet lag puts baseball players off their game. Northwestern University study confirms surmise.
• The Guardian: Fossils of wolf-sized otter unearthed in China. “Siamogale melilutra, which grew up to 2 metres long, frolicked in the country’s south-western wetlands about 6.2m years ago.” Why I otter...
• Emily Conover (Science News): Chemists strike gold, solve mystery about precious metal’s properties. Emily ruins alchemy.

That was the day that was. Thanks for reading. Smell you Thursday.