Cub Tracks sheds some light

Well, THAT was fun. One-hitters are a particular favorite of mine. None of this clogging-the-bases nonsense. What? What did you think I was talking about? Baseball isn’t that progressive. Even the Rockies don’t keep a stash in their dugout, Bud.

MLB.tv got through the whole game without missing a pitch. No buffering, no rebooting. That was special, too. Good way to spend time on a Saturday, and now there’s meatloaf for Sunday dinner. Maybe some gravy, too, if things keep going this way. That’s not gonna harsh my mellow. Neither is this oldie but moldie that I saw on TV when I was 14.

Here are a few reads to go with your Sabbath. We don’t have a lot today, as the news tends to be repetitive — as always * means autoplay on, or annoying ads, or both (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome).

Cubs News and Notes:

“We’ve been playing good baseball these last 15 games. We still don’t have the whole team hot. We just have to keep it going. As well as we play defense, good defense for our pitchers, I think that’s what wins games, playing perfect defense. Hits are going to come.” — Javier Baez

• Chicago Tribune* {$}: From Joyce Carol Oates to ‘Caddyshack’ and the Cubs, Printers Row Lit Fest hit a thoughtful groove. “Cubs fans filed into Jones College Prep Saturday to see David Ross...”
• Teddy Greenstein (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Mike Brey and Joe Maddon keeping it loose at Wrigley Field. “ ‘Loosest Coach In America’ meets the loosest manager in the game. Great to be back at Wrigley!’”
• Carrie Muskat (MLB.com*): Cubs win 4th straight after Jon Lester 1-hits Bucs. “It’s been very impressive and very necessary,” Maddon said of Lester’s recent success. “We needed that from him today.”
• Bruce Miles (Daily Herald {$}): Bullpen depth paying off for Chicago Cubs. “The Cubs opened the season with an eight-man bullpen, but they’ve essentially gotten the benefit of having 12 relievers this season.”
• Vinnie Duber (NBC Sports Chicago*): +Drew Smyly could be option for Cubs in 2018. “With each time, I feel a little less and less hesitation,” Smyly said Friday.
• Carrie Muskat (MLB.com*): Maddon liking the look of Bryant as leading man. “Overall, Cubs leadoff batters have combined to hit .287 this season, tops in the National League. Bryant was the team’s eighth leadoff man.”
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Bryant wants to get a little more pop in his swing as he tries to end his mini-slump. “My expectations for myself are extremely high,” Bryant said.

Food For Thought:

• Lisa Grossman (Science News): Curiosity finds that Mars’ methane changes with the seasons. “The rover also discovered more signs of organic molecules.”
• Rhett Allain (Wired* {$}): The many shades of bad physics. “...the bad physics in movies offers a great opportunity.”
• Chris Mahon (Outer Places): How humans caused climate change on the moon...and why we can’t stop it. “...some detective work from a Texas Tech team revealed what was causing the strange heating effect: albedo.”

Thanks for reading.