Cub Tracks’ gone fission

Just a little Seattle meatloaf before heading home. I dunno what that loaf would consist of but it’s unlikely to be topped with catsup, given the area’s piscatorial pursuits... but is it still meat loaf if it’s made of salmon? And can you get hooked on it?

Inquiring minds want to know.

The Cubs’ line looks better daily — enjoy the feeling while it lasts, Cubs fans! These are the good old days. It’s better for the Cubs-Cardinals rivalry that St. Louis is playing well. Admit it, Rick Morrissey.

Anyway, today’s a day off from Cubs baseball while we anticipate the weekend series with the St. Louis Cardinals, who have a three-game lead as of this writing. Here’s today’s Cubs News and Notes, to fill some of the time. As always, * means autoplay on, or annoying ads, or both (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome).

The Cubs’ plan is for Addison Russell to accrue a workload in the Minors similar what players get during Spring Training before determining whether he’s ready to join the Major League club. Typically, big leaguers get around 50 at-bats before Opening Day. Russell has had 20. He also had 34 at-bats over 12 Cactus League games and hit .382/.395/.529, but he was out of action almost a full month before joining Iowa on the restricted list.

“We wanted to make sure that he’s ready for when the time comes,” manager Joe Maddon said. “He hasn’t had the benefit of a real Spring Training yet, so we just thought more games and more at-bats would benefit him and us. ... But there’s not a real urgent need for him right now. I think we’re better off letting him continue to go through Spring Training.” — Daniel Kramer.

“The decision to option him is clearly a baseball decision,” Epstein said. “I don’t want that to be misconstrued. Of course, there are other considerations. By indicating a willingness to bring him back to the big leagues when he’s ready from a baseball standpoint, that doesn’t mean that he’s sort of at the finish line of his work off the field. I said the other day and I stand by it, there’s really no finish line. It’s a long-term process of the work he’s putting in to grow as a person.” — Sahadev Sharma {$}.

• ESPN: Jon Lester discusses the win [VIDEO].
• Daniel Kramer (MLB.com*):Brandon Morrow could remain out until July. “The right-handed reliever received a Synvisc injection on Monday and will be shut down from throwing for two to three weeks, Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said Tuesday.”
• Gordon Wittenmyer (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Will closer Brandon Morrow throw another pitch for the Cubs? “... we’re hopeful that he’ll help us [this summer],’’ said Epstein. More on this subject from Ryan Thomure (Cubs Insider).
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Anthony Rizzo went deep, capping off a very good first month of the season. “... that 130 wRC+ mark is actually five points better than last year.”
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Former Cubs prospect Daniel Vogelbach displays an appetite for hitting with the Mariners. Those guys gave me an opportunity at 18 years old to live out my dream, and I couldn’t be more thankful for that,” said Vogelbach.
• Daniel Kramer (MLB.com*): Kris Bryant returning to form, making ‘hot outs’. “I feel like I’ve never hit the ball harder,” Bryant said. More Bryant from Evan Altman. Still more from Brett Taylor.
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Looking back on the 2011 draft that changed the Cubs with Javier Báez, Daniel Vogelbach, Dillon Maples. “It was the final year of the Jim Hendry regime...”
• Barry M. Bloom (Forbes* {$}): Joe Maddon could go the way of the condor, but he’s the best manager in Chicago Cubs history. “... 400 wins is 400 wins no matter how you cut it.”
• Marc Carig (The Athletic {$}): ‘Baseball was my goal’: Why ‘Jeopardy!’ champion James Holzhauer first saw himself in a MLB front office. “Holzhauer traces his love for baseball back to his childhood, growing up near Chicago...”
• Cubs birthdays: Larry Cheney, Bill Piercy, Gale Staley, Keith Moreland, Jose Ascanio, . Also notable: Eddie Collins (HoF).

Today in Cubs history (from BBRef):

• 1917 - At Wrigley Field, Fred Toney of the Cincinnati Reds and Hippo Vaughn of the Chicago Cubs pitch a double no-hitter for nine innings, but the Reds win, 1 - 0, on two hits in the top of the 10th. Jim Thorpe drives in the winning run, scored by Larry Kopf, and Toney retires three Cubs in the bottom half of the inning, completing the fourth ten-inning no-hitter to date.
• 1956 - At Wrigley Field, the New York Giants (25) and Chicago Cubs (23) set a major league record with 48 players on the field in a 17-inning marathon finally won by the visiting Giants, 6 - 5. The two teams combine to intentionally walk 11 batters, also a record, with the Cubs contributing seven of the free passes. Losing pitcher Jim Brosnan chips in with four walks, all intentional. Cubs third baseman Don Hoak is not one of the strollers, as he sets a National League record with six strikeouts, all against different pitchers, while Ernie Banks, Willie Mays and Wes Westrum are twice walked intentionally. Whitey Lockman starts in left field, switches to first base, returns to LF, and finishes at 1B. Ex-Giant Monte Irvin is 0 for 5 against five pitchers. The game is six minutes shy of the 5:19 record set by the Dodgers-Bees in 20 innings in 1940.
• 1976 - Jose Cardenal goes 6 for 7 with four RBI, including a double and a home run, as the Cubs defeat the Giants, 6 - 5, in the 14-inning first game of a doubleheader.
• 2000 - In Kerry Wood’s comeback game following surgery, the fireballer sets down the Houston Astros for six innings, allowing three hits and one run. The Chicago Cubs make it easy for Wood, scoring 10 runs in the first five innings. Wood helps himself with one of three Cubs home runs.

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading. Chicken Butt says hey.