Cub Tracks walks it off

“Whose turn is it tomorrow?” —Jim Deshaies”

Sometimes it gets old having to deal with the sideshows that come with the circus always being in town. The Cubs aren’t yet in Yankees/Oakland A’s territory yet, let alone the North Dallas Forty-Five, but there always something there to remind me that this ain’t my sainted grampa’s Cubs. Or are they? He had Hack Wilson and guys like that in his past. Hell, grampa worked part-time as a bagman. He used to take me on his rounds.

Just think if there had been 24/7 paparazzo coverage of Wilson, let alone the Babe or that old Georgia Peach. Cap Anson, anyone? The lot of them would talk themselves out of jobs faster than you can say Jimmy the Greek. Or Al Campanis, for that matter.

Wow, that got dark in a hurry. But the point remains — this is not pointless drama, nor is it new. “The human drama of athletic competition,” remember? Racial issues and bad actors have ever been part of the story of America’s pastime. But still we aspire to a higher ideal.

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).

• Patrick Redford (Deadspin): Cubs fan using “OK” hand gesture behind Doug Glanville gets banned indefinitely. “The team added that they will not release the name of the fan to the public.” Madeleine Kenney also has words. Patrick Mooney {$} tops it off.
• Steve DelVecchio (Larry Brown Sports): Jon Lester wants MLB to admit if balls are juiced. “To this point, Major League Baseball has not admitted anything.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): 2nd straight walk-off HR: This Cub takes turn. “Kyle Hendricks turned in eight efficient innings and gave up one unearned run, leading the way to the team’s ninth win in 10 games.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): With Pedro Strop on IL, Cubs ‘pen is ‘wild, wild west’. “I’m not going in with any preconceived ideas except: ‘Who are our guys for tonight?” said Joe Maddon. Tony Andracki has a second opinion.
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Win or lose, a reliable closer remains the surging Cubs’ biggest need. “With October baseball being the only goal, the need was clear then as it is now.”
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Addison Russell returns to boos at Wrigley Field while the Cubs deal with yet another off-the-field crisis. “I can only tell the truth and tell it the way I know how to tell it,” said Russell. Matt Snyder chimes in. Jordan Bastian elaborates. Jesse Rogers amplifies. Jon Greenberg {$} asks if he’s changed.
• Tony Andracki (NBC Sports Chicago*): What’s going on with Ben Zobrist? “There is no timetable for his return and the Cubs won’t divulge details about the off-field issue.”
• Brendan Miller (Cubs Insider): Kris Bryant’s walk-off homer means scouts may need to rethink approach against him. “... pitchers were trying to get him out by throwing up-and-in fastballs with two strikes.”
• ESPN: Jason Heyward discusses his walk-off homer [VIDEO].
• Danielle Braff (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Joe Maddon meditates, and the Cubs have a mental skills coach: How the team uses mindfulness and encourages kids to do the same. “All the guys will give you the points of reference of what they do to get back into the moment,” Maddon said.
• Cubs birthdays: Gus Krock, Josh Reilly, Tommy Clarke, Billy Jurges, Sam Mejias, Laddie Renfroe, Dillon Maples. Also notable: Tony Gwynn (HoF).

Food for thought: