Cub Tracks’ ‘stitious and suspicious

Happy Hallowe’en!

Well, the 2019 season is finally over. The ghosts of the 1981 and 2004 Montreal Expo seasons have finally been laid to rest. There is no rejoicing in Astro City. Not this year.

Congratulations to the winners! Well-done indeed. And now we have important Cub stuff to discuss.

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.

• Jessica Boddy (Popular Science*:): Baseball’s black magic: How psychology, math, and culture created a curse-ridden sport. “... one Cubs fan dissects the strange science behind her team’s superstitions.”
• Andi Cruz Vanecek (Cubs Den*): Current state of Cubs Fan emotions. “The last day of the 2019 season came a bit too early for me.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Cubs tight-lipped on payroll plans in 2020. “As an organization, we’re not talking about payroll or luxury tax at all,” Theo Epstein said. Brett Taylor says to watch what they do.
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Tom Ricketts hints at further limiting payroll, says ‘You can’t really buy teams’. “... the correlation between spending and winning is not nearly as strong as we’d like it to be.” As according to Patrick Mooney {$}.
• David Haugh (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Hiring David Ross as their new manager can’t be the biggest offseason change for the Cubs. “... the biggest question of the offseason is whether Cubs President Theo Epstein recognizes the need to overhaul the roster...”
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): ‘Here we go, baby’: Inside the interview where Ross landed the Cubs’ manager job. “We put it to him,” Epstein said. “He dominated that day.” Sahadev Sharma covers the press conference. Patrick Mooney talks to Ryan Dempster.
• Steve Greenberg (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Cubs’ Ross — a transformational manager? — aiming for ‘multiple championships’. ‘‘I understand now, as the head of this, I’m representing all those guys,’’ Ross said.
• Tony Andracki (NBC Sports Chicago*): Now that Ross is in the manager’s chair, Cubs turn their attention to coaching staff. “The clock is ticking for the Cubs if they’re going to make any outside hires — and to let the current coaches know where they stand.”
• NBC Sports Chicago: Ross prepared for extra scrutiny from Cubs fans as manager [VIDEO].
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Cubs Q&A: Could a Kris Bryant trade pave the way for Anthony Rendon? Will Ross pick his own coaches? “There’s too much idle time...” Gonzales also addresses pace-of-play issues.
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Decisions loom for Cubs on 7 players, including Anthony Rizzo and Jose Quintana, with 2020 team options. “Eight players can become free agents the day after the World Series ends.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Japanese leadoff man Shogo Akiyama reportedly prioritizing a contract with an MLB team. “Per a report from the Japan Times.”
• Will Leitch (MLB.com*): Top 10 free-agent deals of the decade. Two Cubs are on this list.
• Cubs birthdays: Dee Fondy, Fred McGriff, Steve Trachsel, Alex Hinshaw, Tony Kemp.

• 1995 - Retired second baseman Ryne Sandberg announces that he will return to the major leagues in 1996. The ten-time All-Star signs a one-year contract to play for the Chicago Cubs.
• 2018 - Hall of Famer Willie McCovey, one of the greatest stars in the history of the San Francisco Giants, dies at age 80. He won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1959 and the MVP Award in 1969.

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading.