Cub Tracks puts it on a line

It’s easy to feel the warm fuzzies after David Ross’ appointment as Cubs skipper. It’s potentially a very good thing, and certainly something that seems to have satisfied a goodly percentage of the Cubbie Blue Laundry Cult.

Once the press conference is over, though, we’ll be back to snafu territory, and I’m keeping that in mind as I view the once-lowly Astros playing in the Fall Classic for the second time in three years. There’s still considerable work to be done, and I’m sure that the Cubs’ brain-trust is also keeping that in mind as player re-signing and free agency hew ever closer. People helping people, right? Help the Cubs help themselves to an on-base machine with a pillow for a glove, a cheap backup contact hitter, and a couple of dependable power arms, o gods of baseball. Show them the way.

That Selena Gomez song is really terrible and annoying, don’t you think? Damn. Seven consecutive commercials? If I wanted to ‘experience amazing’ I’d watch Johnathon.

Anyway it isn’t an accident that Houston is there and the Cubs ain’t. Everyone and his heavy brother has held forth on the need for player development — I hardly think we need to get Little Walter on his soapbox right now to harp on it further. Let’s just hope TheoJed can get the Cubs back to the top of the lonely mountain.

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.

RIP Oscar Taveras.

October 27, 1924

Cubs trade Vic Aldridge, George Grantham & Al Niehaus to the Pirates for Charlie Grimm, Rabbit Maranville, & Wilbur Cooper.

Grantham will hit .300 in six seasons for Pittsburgh, while Grimm will play 11 seasons with Chicago, eventually becoming player-manager. In 1925, Maranville will be named a player-manager as well.

Grimm batted .364 in 37 World Series PA with the Cubs (1929, 1932). He played for the Cubs from 1926-1936 and managed the Cubs for another 13 seasons, including 3 NL Pennants and trips to the World Series (1932, 1935, 1945). His W/L % with the Cubs was .547 (946/782). (1,3)

• Steve Greenberg (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): If Cubs’ David Ross conquers these five challenges, he’ll manage just fine. “As a player, he was greater than the sum of his parts and helped make the team greater than the sum of its parts.”
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Ross’ mission hasn’t changed, from his college days to the big leagues to ‘Dancing with the Stars’: ‘You better do it right’. “He’s going to be perfect in that situation,” Joe Maddon said.
• Madeleine Kenney (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): How Ross went from thinking baseball was ‘boring’ to being Cubs manager. “... it didn’t take long for Theo Epstein to recognize the new Cubs manager as someone he’d want to hire someday.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Javier Báez has no shortage of El Mago moments. “The shortstop believes that the evolution of his game can be greatly attributed to the freedom Maddon gave Báez on the field as a young player.”
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): What Kris Bryant’s service-time grievance means for the Cubs, the union and Major League Baseball. “The Cubs and Bryant are at the center of a much bigger labor war between Major League Baseball and the players union.”
• Todd Johnson (Cubs Insider*): 10 Potential Headlines involving Cubs Prospects during 2020 season. “... the Cubs did not trade away any of their big-name prospects in deadline deals.”
• Cubs birthdays: Egyptian Healy, Chick Pedroes, Shad Barry, Del Rice, Ralph Kiner (HoF), Mike Lum.

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading. Melts in your mind, not in your hand.