Cub Tracks gets on board

Happy Hallowe’en! Salubrious Samhain! All aboard that hell-bound train!

Outside-the-boxcar thinking has gotten us this far: Cub Tracks is now a two-timer. The commentary, suppositions, and outright perfidy can be found on the other page. Here we have only yesterday’s news, today, and not much of it, but let’s (gamethread word) rock it...

...as always * means autoplay on™ (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome).

Today in baseball history:

• 1931 - The Cardinals release right-hander Burleigh Grimes, the last legal spitballer. Ol' Stubblebeard will finish his 19-year Hall of Fame career with a 270-212 record along with an ERA of 3.53.
• 1960 - The Giants trade infielder Andre Rodgers to Milwaukee for Alvin Dark. San Francisco obtains their former team captain not to be a player, but rather to be the team's new manager for the upcoming season.

• 1967 - San Francisco Giant Mike McCormick, the league leader with 22 victories, is the NL Cy Young Award winner. It is the first year that pitchers are honored in each league.
• 1972 - Gaylord Perry (24-16,1.92) of the Indians edges the White Sox’ Wilbur Wood (24-17, 2.51) for the American League Cy Young Award.
• 1973 - Tom Seaver wins the NL Cy Young Award, the first time the honor has gone to a pitcher with fewer than 20 wins. Seaver was 19-10 and led the league in ERA (2.08) and strikeouts (251).
• 1979 - Baltimore Orioles star Mike Flanagan (23-9, 3.08) wins the Cy Young Award, easily outdistancing the New York Yankees’ Tommy John (21-9, 2.97).
• 2005 - On Halloween night, former Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein, on the night of his resignation, eludes the media parked outside Fenway Park disguised in a gorilla suit.

• 2011 - Although offered approximately $4.5 million for a three-year extension, four times the amount of his previous salary, Theo Epstein decides to leave the Red Sox.
• 2011 - Tony La Russa retires.
• 2014 - The Cubs dismissed manager Rick Renteria, who, according to GM Theo Epstein, "deserved to come back for another season". The availability of Joe Maddon, announced as the team's new skipper an hour after Renteria's dismissal, puts an end to the first-year skipper's managerial career in Chicago.
• In case you forgot:

• Happy birthday: Dee Fondy, Paul Zuvella, Fred McGriff, and Steve Trachsel
• RIP former New York Yankee George Halas

Cubs news and notes:

• This is happening — The Cubs World Series Win! [VIDEO]
• Dan Cahill (Chicago Sun-Times*): From Jose Canseco to J.J. Watt, everyone thinks MLB balls are juiced. Dan Haren, among others, throws shade. At 88.
• Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation): Mike Montgomery will probably still be a swing man in 2018, not a full-time starter. “According to Epstein, it’s not an indictment of Montgomery’s talent, it’s just a different use of it.”
• Brendan Miller (Cubs Insider): Chili Davis on high heat: Something the Cubs struggled against. “I think hitters need to adjust to the higher pitch, because that’s where the mistakes are.”

• Patrick Mooney (NBC Sports Chicago*): Where do Cubs go from here with Addison Russell and Javier Baez? “If the Cubs don’t have a Starlin Castro-level shortstop controversy, they will have some interesting discussions...”
• Todd Johnson (Cubs Insider): Revisiting upcoming Rule 5 draft, 40-man roster changes. “The Cubs have to turn in their 40-man roster by November 20...”
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): David Ross says 'hard to see' him replacing Dave Martinez as Cubs bench coach. "Hard to see me jumping back in," Ross wrote in a text message Sunday. "Was a little busy this year and never got real time off."
• Daryn Kagan: Morning phone call reveals unexpected revelation from his 91-year-old father. “Yes, that’s right,” his Dad said. “I remember it was a very big deal.”

Food for thought:

• Susan Milius (Science News): Scary as they are, few vampires have a backbone. Exoskeletons, yes. Why?
• Samantha Mathewson (Space.com): Halloween Treat: NASA releases a playlist of the universe's spooky sounds. “The playlist includes sounds from several missions to worlds such as Jupiter, Saturn and other celestial bodies in the outer solar system.”
• The science of fright: Why we love to be scared. “...some of the main chemicals that contribute to the “fight or flight” response are also involved in other positive emotional states, such as happiness and excitement.”

Thanks for reading, and Happy Hallowe’en!