Cub Tracks cries foul

Poor kid. Reports are that she’ll be okay. Albert Almora Jr and Kyle Schwarber and the Cubs stood tall. Classy, men.

Albert talks about it [ESPN VIDEO].

“It’s an awful moment,” Joe Maddon said. ”Albert is an emotional young man with children so that made it even more real to him. And I got it. I understood exactly what he was going through right there. I knew he needed somebody to walk up there.” — Dan Santaromita.

Cubs win but that incident overshadows the victory. Still... we’re here for the baseball. There are dozens of articles milking the misery. Let’s stay between the lines.

Oh damn. Albert went there.

“I want to put a net around the whole stadium,” he said.

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).

• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Why contact-oriented Cubs pitchers have been overmatched by the Astros. “... a reporter suggested that even pop flies were getting into the stands.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Jon Lester says he’s getting feel back, history shows he can bounce back in big way. “I’m just trying to execute pitches,” Lester said. “I’m trying to get back to the feel that I want.” Sahadev Sharma {$} pitches in.

• Richard Justice (MLB.com*): Hot Hendricks rewarded as Cubs set HR mark. “Kyle Hendricks gave the Cubs just what they needed on Wednesday.”
• Bryan Smith (Bleacher Nation): Iowa Cubs Righty Colin Rea is looking like a big leaguer again. “... seven shutout innings on just 73 pitches.”
• Tony Andracki (NBC Sports Chicago*): The Cubs are hitting the ball out of the park at an eye-popping pace. “Home runs are being hit at an absurd rate all across the board.”
• Jared Wyllys (Forbes*): The Cubs need to get defensive. “So far this year, the Cubs have just 8 runs saved, and that’s exactly middle of the pack.”
• Richard Justice (MLB.com*): At DH, Kris Bryant homers in return to lineup. “I felt good a lot sooner than I thought,” Bryant said before the game.
• Brendan MIller (Cubs Insider): David Bote’s minor mechanical adjustments yielding major results. “... he’s much, much quieter.”

• Jon Greenberg (The Athletic {$}): In Chicago, Bill Buckner’s legacy was simple: He was a professional hitter. Even before Matt Stairs.
• John Grochowski (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Sacrifice bunts, stolen bases falling victim to home runs. “Teams are less willing to invest in such outs than they used to be.”
• Cubs birthdays: Turk Lown, John Felske, Jay Loviglio, Scott Eyre, Jae Kuk Ryu, Jairo Asencio, Tony Campana. Also notable: Manny Ramirez, Amos Rusie (HoF)

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading.