Cub Tracks’ static discharge

Oh good. The Winter Meetings are over. Wasn’t that fun? So many new players!

Oh, wait. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. We’re all victims of circumstance.

Damn. When do we start making up stuff in order to have content? The only earthshaking news is from Atlanta.

Here’s today’s Cubs News and Notes. As always * means autoplay on, or annoying ads, or both (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome).

• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Joe Maddon dealing with millennial Cubs? There’s a book for that. “adapt your management style” Patrick Mooney {$} adds on.
• Tony Andracki (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cubs ‘unlikely’ to leave Las Vegas with a new player. “...there’s not much time left to make some waves for the Cubs or the rest of the league.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Report: Cubs planning to add two ‘not high end’ relievers once market plays out. “...until the situation with Bryce Harper is finally resolved on way or the other, the Cubs really don’t know exactly what their appetite is for other additions.”
• Tony Andracki (NBC Sports Chicago*): Harper, Scott Boras and the Cubs: Attempting to read between the lines. That was last week. DO try to keep up. “You do not want other teams knowing that you’re interested in a generational player,” Scott Boras said Wednesday about market for Harper.
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Will smaller changes lead to big improvements for the Cubs in 2019? “...the Cubs pro scouting department is undergoing a reshuffling as well.”
• Tony Andracki (NBC Sports Chicago*): Where do Javy Baez and Anthony Rizzo fit in Cubs leadership equation? “...please don’t take it the wrong way that we think there’s some deficiency with our position players. We have incredible guys and a lot of character there and some leaders — they’re just continuing to grow into it,” said Theo Epstein. Sahadev Sharma {$} adds on.
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Cubs braced for ‘best division in baseball’. “When the other team’s timing goes up, someone else is coming down. We just don’t have the teams coming down in this division,” said Jed Hoyer.

Food for thought: