Cubs played two yesterday. They play again today. The following words result from those games and the people and systems that enable them. We have actual baseball again, you know.
"Work? I never worked a day in my life. I always loved what I was doing, had a passion for it." ~ Baseball legend Ernie Banks #MLB #Cubs #MondayMotivation pic.twitter.com/8xDRAfcPpS
— Baseball by BSmile (@BSmile) February 25, 2019
I read all this stuff and then massage it until the narrative emerges from the medium, at which point I attempt to nail it down. Which hammer I use determines how it all works out. Today I used a small ball-peen hammer. The content reflects that delicate blunt instrument.
Yeah, we got jokes. But, given that I became an editor to make a long story short, I’ll take my own advice and cut to the chaser.
Remember, the opinions shared in the articles quoted on this page are not necessarily those of Cub Tracks, Bleed Cubbie Blue, or SB Nation, and are here presented without further comment. 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).
Report: Cubs Checked on Harper, Still Longshots at Best https://t.co/boDPfmyLGH #Cubs Insider
— Cubs Insider (@realcubsinsider) February 26, 2019
- Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Dodgers’ 11th-hour pursuit of Bryce Harper should have Cubs worried about their championship window closing. ““Sometimes real life is simply too much,” ESPN reporter Pedro Gomez tweeted.”
- Larry Hawley (WGN-TV): Joe Maddon praises Cubs’ focus, ‘openness’ during spring training. “...they’re so easy to interact with right now and that’s the part I’m really enjoying,” said Maddon.
- Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): 5 takeaways from Cubs spring training: Jon Lester scoffs at proposed changes; David Bote could return Wednesday after beaning. “I think we need to get over the whole mindset of changing the pace of play, as opposed to the product on the field,” Lester said.
- Rick Morrissey (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Cubs, Kris Bryant are looking for motivation in all the wrong places. “One person’s motivation is another person’s rolled eyes.”
- Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Cubs are pulling out all the stops — including some old hitting drills of Joe Maddon’s — to resurrect their offense. “These guys are good,” Maddon said. “KB has been an MVP already. Javy almost was one, (Rizzo) should be in the (MVP) running every year. Albert Almora, Kyle Schwarber and all these other guys are ascending.”
- Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Veteran Lester focused on maintaining success. “He wants to make every start and keep throwing until Cubs manager Joe Maddon pries the ball from his fingers.” Jesse Rogers has more about this subject. So does Tim Stebbins.
- Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Yu Darvish feeling much better this year, velocity is strong, pitch mix could change. “...I think it’s perfectly reasonable to expect big things this year from the talented righty.”
- Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Letters from camp: Darvish gets into the swing of things while Addison Russell missteps. “I’m working on my arm swing,” Darvish said. “I’m always late, so I’m trying to be quicker.”
- Gordon Wittenmyer (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Cubs’ Tyler Chatwood doesn’t want to be traded even as only path to starting job. “My job is just to go out there and pitch and show these guys I’m back to what I was and feeling good, and then make the decision tough on them,” Chatwood said.
- Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Maddon simulating 115 MPH pitches to promote ‘Opportunity Hitting’. “This is actually something the skipper did as a hitting instructor in the Angels organization 30 years ago...”
- Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Cubs taking cautious approach with Bote. “Bote projects to open the season as a utility man for the Cubs.”
- Dan Santaromita (NBC Sports Chicago*): Suspended Russell makes spring training debut. “It felt great, to get the clay underneath my cleats,” Russell said.
- Chris Cwik (Big League Stew*): Bryant vents about service-time manipulation: ‘It’s awful’. Proceeds from the premises first seen in a Sahadev Sharma article {$}. “I feel like the common-sense approach to this whole thing is that both sides sees that it needs to change,” Bryant said.
- Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Kyle Schwarber returns to his old squatty batting stance: ‘I’ve just got to get back to being myself’. “I’m going to go back to being simple. Squat, put the foot down and go hit.” Bruce Miles has more words on this subject.
- Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Almora gives Cubs options at top of lineup. “That’s just going to be based on opportunity,” Maddon said of Almora’s playing time.
Cubs birthdays:
Food for thought:
Astronomers found a stream of thousands of stars hiding in the Milky Way https://t.co/frCpjuWnon pic.twitter.com/sfhd8nT5QB
— Popular Science (@PopSci) February 26, 2019
A magma chamber’s existence may be a blow to the purported lake’s habitability. https://t.co/inWifoble5
— Science News (@ScienceNews) February 25, 2019
5 reasons you shouldn't take cloud cover for granted https://t.co/0Hu7KAvPlX
— Popular Science (@PopSci) February 25, 2019