Cub Tracks and bird brains

“Nice of Laz Diaz to give the Cardinals that game,” he said archly. “Definitely an argument in favor of the robo-umps. I’d like to toast his ravioli. Decriminalize marinara!”

Or something like that. We wuz robbed! That logic is as impregnable as Norm Crosby’s wife used to be, and as inescapable as the conclusion that the Cubs neeeed (not a typo) bullpen help, as unassailable as a raft built by termites. Nothing to do with the offense ... wait ... so it’s not just Miles Mikolas?

Dating back to Sunday, the Cubs are 3-for-33 with runners in scoring position.

Boring.

“Do you like St. Louis?” a columnist asked Joe Maddon.

“I like Chicago a lot,” Maddon said, smiling.

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).

The signing of outfielder Carlos Gonzalez to a minor-league contract on Thursday was designed to give the Cubs more veteran flexibility while buying more time for Ian Happ at Iowa.

“He’s another left-handed hitter to utilize against a good right-handed pitcher,” Maddon said. “It’s obvious when he’s able to play and he’s here, it’s significant to start three lefties (in the outfield).” — Mark Gonzales.

• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Joe Maddon on terrible Ball 4 call: ‘That’s what kind of pisses me off’. “Dillon Maples did his job, striking out Bader with a full-count slider that was unquestionably in the strike zone by every objective measure.”
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): The Cubs will look to trade for bullpen help, but there are three intriguing in-house options to consider. No surprises here. Maples, Rowan Wick, Adbert Alzolay. Mark Gonzales is in on Adzolay.

• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Cubs are on a power surge, but it’s not paying off in the win column. ‘Home runs are great,” said Anthony Rizzo.
• Tony Andracki (NBC Sports Chicago*): Even the Cubs booed Kris Bryant as he stepped up to the plate in St. Louis. “Nobody can make fun of you if you make fun of yourself first, right?” Mark Gonzales joins the jeerleaders.
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Hey, looks like Ian Happ’s coming around in Iowa. “... he’s now hit four homers in his last 11 games and his other counting stats are looking quite a bit better as well.”
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): ‘I want to put a net around the whole stadium’: Could scary moment in Cubs-Astros game lead to needed change? “Jason Heyward didn’t hesitate when asked if there should be more netting as if the answer was obvious to him.” Ken Rosenthal concurs. Phil Rosenthal and Tim Bannon chime in. Trevor Rosenthal was unavailable for comment.
• Tony Andracki (NBC Sports Chicago*): Albert Almora Jr. on foul ball incident in Houston: ‘I hope this never happens again’. “I wish it wouldn’t have happened, but you take it in stride and move forward and hopefully all is well and she’s gonna make a full recovery.” Jesse Rogers adds on.

• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Maddon intrigued by CarGo’s Minor League deal. “Maddon said one benefit to adding Gonzalez is that it allows the Cubs to continue to monitor Ian Happ’s progress at Triple-A without worrying about needing to promote him before he’s deemed ready.” Jared Wyllys has words on this as well.
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Iowa Cubs already working to extend netting to the foul poles. Fair poles, but yeah. Good quick work.
• Bruce Levine (670 the Score): Alex Colome already drawing ample trade interest. “The Cubs and Phillies are among teams that have scouted Colome recently.”
• Cubs birthdays: George Decker, Bill Eagan, Harry McChesney, Joel Newkirk, Jim McKnight, Randy Hundley, Carlos Zambrano.

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading.