Cub Tracks and the new Yu

It’s a day off for the Cubs, following a splendid outing by Yu Darvish (and a couple of relievers) against the still-pretty-good Reds, who don’t look to be ready for the division crown this year, thank me very little. They are competitive, though. I did a double take when I saw Michael Lorenzen in center, but then I flashed on his career at Cal State-Fullerton and remembered that he’s basically a younger Jake Arrieta as far as conditioning and took it in stride just like Lorenzen took second base last night.

The Cubs have the playoff look to them again. Efficient pitching, timely hitting, good at-bats (mostly), contributions up and down the roster, etc, etc, etc. This is a streaky team and we may as well deal with that. The new Yu looks great.

Tomorrow we’ll have Cubs baseball, with the Padres coming into town. I still retain plenty of Padre-hate, which will buoy me through the weekend, and the Cubs can hopefully treat them like the cellar-dwellers they are, albeit only a few games under .500. San Diego has a few good players to watch no matter what, and they should be good games.

Stay cool if you can and stay hydrated no matter what. It’s going to be warmer there than here this weekend. And we Arizonans are used to this nonsense.

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). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views.

“He’s more of an animal on the mound,” Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo said of Darvish. “The grunting there in the sixth, reaching back when he needs it, being smart -- he’s got confidence in his fastball. It’s fun to play behind.”

That -- confidence -- was the buzzword used not only by Rizzo, but also by Maddon and Darvish.

”The more confident he is, the better off we are,” Rizzo said.

• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): ‘Mai Tai Guy’ defends himself after swiping home run ball from kids: ‘You know the rules here’. “I feel bad for the kids, but it looked a lot worse than it really was,” said Chris Sorley. Al will have more coverage of this, so I’ll only touch on it here.
• E. Jay Zarett (Sporting News*): Theo Epstein explains Cubs’ trade deadline strategy. “We want to win now, but we also want to rebuild the system, so it would take a special deal to sacrifice the very top of the farm system.” Taken partially from Patrick Mooney article {$}.
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): It’s only a week, but the Cubs’ strong start to the 2nd half alleviates some tension — for now. “It’s a great start to the second half for us, and we’ve got to keep it up,” said Rizzo.
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Cole Hamels’ rapid recovery could have him on track to return to the Cubs by the end of July. “Hamels threw 25 pitches at about 85 percent effort without any discomfort Wednesday in his first bullpen session...”
• Tony Andracki (NBC Sports Chicago*): Hamels, Alec Mills and the Cubs’ short-term rotation picture. “(Cubs’ pitching coach) Tommy Hottovy acknowledged a four-man rotation is the Cubs’ preference rather than keep Alec Mills in the rotation long-term, but there are many factors to consider.”
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): ‘I’m 120 percent right now’: Yu Darvish is finally in the zone and that’s great news for the Cubs. “Yu just keeps trending in the right direction,” manager Joe Maddon said. Jesse Rogers adds on. Jeff Arnold has more.
• Tony Andracki (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cubs could get another bullpen boost soon as Carl Edwards Jr. nears return. “CJ’s progressing well,” Hottovy said.
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): What does the Martín Maldonado trade really mean for Willson Contreras and Victor Caratini? “You can never have enough good catching, especially catching that is playoff-experienced and respected by veteran pitchers and coaches alike,” said Jed Hoyer. Ryan Thomure has thoughts. Dan Szymborski opines also.
• Elgin Rucker (KCCI.com): Humboldt’s Ashlyn Clark enjoys special day with the Chicago Cubs. “Clark was invited to Wrigley field to meet players, and throw out first pitch.”
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Former Cubs pitcher Ernie Broglio, who was part of the famous Lou Brock trade with the Cardinals, dies at 83. “Broglio had an undisclosed form of cancer.”
• David Syrek (Chicago Tribune*({$}): Takashi Murakami’s futuristic flowers are popping up alongside vintage Chicago Cubs logos on Friday — this time in the form of limited jerseys and hats. “The pieces will be for sale this weekend at ComplexCon, then, for a limited time in the Cubs Team Store at Wrigley Field...”
• Cubs birthdays: Larry Hoffman, Larry McLean. Also notable: Joe Torre (HoF).

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading.