Cub Tracks is kinda horse

Welcome to all David Ross, all the time. Didja see the new chalupa commercial? Dude looks like Ross. Isn’t, but bald, goatee, piercing baby blues. He’s everywhere!

Am pleased that I decided to watch the World Series after all... this is good baseball. Not so pleased about listening to John Smoltz, but I want to in case he says something worth quoting. Shot in the dark, anyway. Joe Buck is a nitwit but at least he can clearly articulate his ‘thoughts’. Smoltz knows pitching inside-out but his “why not this word?” style of speaking makes me nuts. It’s like he’s constantly saying ‘could of’ or ‘would of’ or ‘irregardless’. His whole speech pattern says “I don’t know where to put apostrophe’s”.

Jose Altuve, though. Man, I like that guy. He’s like Joe Morgan if Joe was a decent human. Just ridiculous skills and hardnosed as hell and obviously enjoying the challenge. Anthony Rendon is the other guy I really enjoy in this set of games. I like him better than KB, and I really really like Kris Bryant and will be sorry to see him go. He reunited with his Little League coach, that was pretty cool. That 2019 stat-line is pretty nice too.

That’s all I got. No jokes this time. Explaining the header pic and title. And.

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). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used here as sarcasm font.

Jayson Stark Talks to David Ross — from August 2018.

“... with all the information you have to decipher, I think there needs to be a lot more delegation than probably before. To be honest with you, I don’t think managers -- the newer-age managers -- have as much say as maybe the old-school managers in the day-to-day operations of what goes on. There’s probably a lot more collaboration with the front office and some more meetings with the research and development group. There’s a lot more that goes on.” — David Ross

• Reuters: MLB notebook: Cubs reportedly set to hire Ross as manager. As ably reported on the front page. Michael Ernst writes about it. Rick Morrissey offers his take. Jordan Bastian has some thoughts. Ryan Thomure makes his views known. Jesse Rogers builds bridges. Brett Taylor chimes in. Jon Greenberg {$} says a few syllables. Patrick Mooney {$} likewise. Jared Wyllys has a think. Bruce Levine is a groomsman. Mark Gonzales is no-nonsense. Paul Sullivan canvasses for fan reaction.
• Larry Hawley (WGN-9): Tony Andracki talks about the Cubs’ hiring of Ross on Sports Feed. “... as many expected, Ross is the Cubs’ choice to replace Joe Maddon...” Cubs Talk also has audio. Anthony Rizzo talks about Ross here.
• Tony Andracki (NBC Sports Chicago*): How will Cubs players respond to Ross as manager? “... he’s immensely popular inside the Cubs clubhouse among the core group of players.”
• Justin Terranova (NY Post*): Ross getting hired by Cubs as Joe Girardi’s managing options narrow. “... the Cubs are hiring another former catcher to take over their club.”
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cubs bench coach Mark Loretta reportedly interviews for Padres’ manager job. I bet he wants more than California grass.
• Connor Byrne (MLB Trade Rumors*): Trade Candidate: Jose Quintana. “Should the Cubs exercise his $11.5MM option (in lieu of a $1MM buyout) for next season?”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Inbox: Should the Cubs trade Willson Contreras? “If he were able to reach even an average level of framing results, Contreras’ value would go through the roof.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Chicago Cubs pegged as a possible Mookie Betts landing spot. John Tomase said so.
• Cubs birthdays: Ned Williamson, Eddie Stack, Jack Russell, Jim Brosnan, John Goetz, Rawly Eastwick, Bill Hayes. Also notable: Cuckoo Christensen.
• October 24, 1908

Billy Murray introduces the song “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”. The song was written by Albert Von Tizler & Jack Norworth.

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading.