The road to the division championship, viewed as a cakewalk. I’m in the best shape of my life, given that round is a shape too. I’m into fitness whole cake into my mouth, and for further exercise, I’ll jump to conclusions...
“Who would want to play in St. Louis? Boring. So boring. I always get asked, ‘Where would you like to play? Where would you not like to play?’ St. Louis is on the list of places I don’t like to play. It is rough.” — Kris Bryant.
“All-stars, elite players and leaders of their teams do not speak bad about any city. There should be respect and you should play and compete with respect… Only stupid players and losers make comments like the ones made by Bryant and Dempster.” — Yadier Molina. #ceroRespectforthisstupidplayers
“Morans!” — Cub fans everywhere.
#Brewers sitting by, wearing division champ tees and nibbling cheese curds, while #Cardinals #Cubs ... pic.twitter.com/Aa5pwtxsGv
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) January 19, 2019
Molina responds angrily to trolling. News at eleven! I love that he’s so humorless. And that Bryant is so adept at the art. He got in Yadi’s head in seconds. So much laughter, which is good, considering how last week went. So much promise, battered down by waves and waves of fibro fog. Yay neuralgia. Don’t get older, you yutes...ah, but it’s Saturday night as I write this stuff, it’s bound to be 420 somewhere, and it’s almost Berwyn time, which means it’s time to lay down the Cub Tracks from orbit, as per usual.
You can’t Beat It, so ya just gotta...
Here’s today’s Cubs News and Notes, such as they are. As always * means autoplay on, or annoying ads, or both (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome).
Kris Bryant admits it has been difficult to answer for #Cubs teammate Addison Russell after Russell's personal wrongdoing. Bryant believes Russell needs to address the topic soon. "The only person that should answer those questions is him," Bryant says.https://t.co/bgNUth5Mlz pic.twitter.com/A79YfyxYde
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) January 19, 2019
Young fan asks Daniel Descalso which fan convention is better: Cubs or Cardinals?
— Tony Andracki (@TonyAndracki23) January 19, 2019
Descalso didn't even let him finish the question before he said: "This one."
- Gordon Wittenmyer (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Cubs’ Kris Bryant ignites heated smack-talk exchange with rival Cardinals. “Start stockpiling the fire extinguishers for that weekend series at Wrigley Field in May.”
- Barry Rozner (Daily Herald {$}): Frustration not a weight on Cubs’ Maddon. “The fan base is ready to burn down Wrigley Field.”
- Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Yu Darvish confident as return to mound nears. “‘If I’m healthy, I can do my job,’ veteran righty says at Cubs Convention.”
- ESPN: Kyle Schwarber discusses his off-season [AUDIO].
- NBC Sports Chicago*: Need for stability in Cubs lineup? [VIDEO].
- Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Jon Lester and Anthony Rizzo make surprise ‘appearances’ at Cubs Convention. “Lester has been golfing in Florida this week (with good friend John Lackey, one might add). Rizzo recently got married, but it is unclear if his absence is honeymoon related or not.”
- Cam Ellis (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cubs lay out what Addison Russell will need to do to return to the team. “I was engaged with Melissa Russell, the victim, who deserves our support every bit as much if not more than Addison given the circumstances,” Epstein added. Patrick Mooney {$} elaborates.
- Jon Greenberg (The Athletic {$}): It’s not gonna happen: Cubs would love to add Bryce Harper or Manny Machado, but they understand their reality. “With no cavalry coming to fix a “broken” offense, it’ll be on the young hitters to mature under their newest hitting coach Anthony Iapoce.”
- Sahadev Shama (The Athletic {$}): After a quiet winter, a healthy Bryant becomes key to Cubs’ 2019 success. “...I like our chances. I really do,” said Bryant.
- Cam Ellis (NBC Sports Chicago*): What new bench coach Mark Loretta brings to the 2019 Cubs. “It’s not about changing for me, it’s about growing. These guys need to take the next step and really understand what it takes for the long haul.”
- Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Cubs TV network expected to launch in 2020. “We’re involved in a multi-dimensional negotiation. It’s not just us and a partner. It’s us, our partner and multiple others, so there’s just some moving pieces. ... There might be other teams involved. Not local teams,” said Crane Kenney. Patrick Mooney {$} supplies more detail.
- Phil Rosenthal (Chicago Tribune* {$}): ‘It is amazing’: The miracle of the ‘69 Cubs is how much they’re beloved — even 50 years later. “That ballclub took the hearts of people,” said Randy Hundley.
Ski jumping at Wrigley Field, Chicago (January 1944) This should be an annual event! #MLB #Cubs #CubsCon #ChicagoSnow pic.twitter.com/kQnpx2Vt3J
— Baseball by BSmile (@BSmile) January 19, 2019
Food for thought:
An artist uses science, art and imagination to reconstruct the most famous Australopithecus, Lucy: https://t.co/FlIl8DkaBy pic.twitter.com/ZL78zCFyZd
— Discover Magazine (@DiscoverMag) January 20, 2019
Using new data from @NASA's @CassiniSaturn spacecraft, researchers believe they have solved a longstanding mystery of solar system science: the length of a day on #Saturn. It's 10 hours, 33 minutes and 38 seconds. | @ucsc https://t.co/2qeCbTzWtH pic.twitter.com/hpzTuk6UGa
— The SETI Institute (@SETIInstitute) January 19, 2019
New methods show single nerve cells in all their complexity. https://t.co/1aBmecaOBQ
— Science News (@ScienceNews) January 20, 2019