Cub Tracks is Grrrrrreat!

The off-day is over. Bring on the Tigers!

News is sparse these days. It seems like half of the beat reporters we grew used to have disappeared, and the stories are all the same. Some of the blogs have the same content that BCB does. I do what I can to hunt things down, given my parameters. It doesn’t hurt that BCB has more good reportage than ever, with a crew of strong writers filing daily reports on everything Cub. We all do what we can, and I just want to say that we appreciate our audience, too.

Pardon me while I get the funk out.

Without you, we’re Ed Lynch. Some of you will get that. I know, I’m an old.

And now for the news — as always * means autoplay on, or annoying ads, or both (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome).

Cubs News and Notes:

“People are too hung up on winning. I can get off on a really good helmet throw.” — Bill Lee

“They used to let kids be in the dugout (he was a bat boy). They don’t do that anymore. It was being in the clubhouse with Sammy Sosa, Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, my favorite player, Matt Stairs. He’s one of those guys who pinch hit, come off the bench and just hit mammos (mammoth home runs), you know. That’s really hard to do and I understood that at a young age. I always respected him for it.” — Delino DeShields, Jr.

• Carrie Muskat (MLB.com*): Help push Cubs over top into ASG starting roles. “Baez, Rizzo, Bryant, Russell, Contreras within top 3 at respective positions in latest update.”
• Moshe Wilensky (Cubs Insider): How much salary can the Cubs acquire in trade without triggering luxury tax? “As of today that limit is $23 million. By the trade deadline, however, it will rise to $32.7 million.”
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Days off give Joe Maddon chance to reconfigure Cubs pitching rotation. “The Cubs have announced their rotation only through Wednesday.”
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Five years later, Pedro Strop is still the model of consistency for the Cubs. “...one of the best relievers to ever toe the rubber on the North Side.”

• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): After Cubs score 46 runs in 4 games, theories abound for reasons behind surging offense. “We’ve been the same offense for quite some time now,” Kyle Schwarber said. “Things happen. We’re just going to keep this going.”
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): How Chili Davis’ simple reminder helped set off Cubs’ offensive explosion. “...don’t try to do it all yourself.”
• Vince Lovergine (NBC Sports Chicago*): What day off? NL Player of the Week Javier Baez mentors local youth. “This is the future. It’s really important the parents bring their kids here. It’s important to teach these kids the right way.” Baez said.
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): The All-Star evolution of Javier Báez and Albert Almora Jr. “I think we’re getting better and better as days go by,” Almora said. “We’ll just keep going.”
• Ken Schultz (Wrigleyville-Baseball prospectus): Ian Happ, Jason Heyward, and tough defensive choices that shouldn’t be. “...when the Cubs’ outfield alignment includes Ian Happ, why doesn’t Joe Maddon swap Happ and Heyward’s positions so that his best defender can play center?”
• Brendan Miller (Cubs Insider): Happ’s evolving plate approach yielding big results. “...this is quite the rapid turnaround that we are watching.”
• Dionne Miller (ABC7 News): Wrigley Field becomes a wedding chapel for lifelong Cubs fans. “The Cubs have always been a special part of Amy and Garry’s story.”
• Joe Knowles (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Are you fan enough for the Hot Doug’s FireDog Pizza at Wrigley Field? “It’s a match made in heartburn heaven, and it’s back at Wrigley Field for a limited time. “

Food For Thought:

Thanks for reading.