Cub Tracks seven and seven is

Love, that’s what it is. Love.

Javier Baez is special. I’ve been on the Javy train for a long time. Javy Javy’d a couple of times during the game, as he always does. It’d be a shame if we had never gotten to experience these moments. Gordon Wittenmyer has a very nice article below, on how Javy almost left baseball behind. “You’ve got to enjoy life,” he says at the end.

How you do that is up to you. Baseball and writing and guitar and weed are how I do it. YMMV. Those things helped me to ameliorate the pain of a very bad day when my year-old kitten died and a fibro flare reached 8 out of 10 and took away all of my spoons. I love me some Javy, and some Anthony Rizzo, and I regard Joe Maddon as a kindred spirit, a thoughtful iconoclast.

But enough about me. We’re all here to celebrate the men of October, or to argue about why they won’t get there. I have the feeling it’ll get better. Or perhaps I overate at the brunch buffet.

This is the Golden Age of Cubs baseball, after all. And, while it’s Sunday and the good stuff is kind of thin on the ground, there’s some quality work from our usual cast, in 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.

• Andrew Seligman (AP via Daily Herald* {$}): Epstein: Plenty of blame to go around for Cubs’ struggles. “I see us as in it together,” Epstein said.
• Cam Ellis (NBC Sports Chicago*): The Cubs know that they’ll enjoy the time off during the All-Star break. What comes after that is a mystery. “We just need to win these ballgames and go into the break and clear our minds a little bit,” Willson Contreras said.
• Tommy Birch (Des Moines Register* {$}): Adbert Alzolay says the Chicago Cubs have ‘some plans for me in the second half’. “When the Cubs sent Alzolay back to Iowa, the pitcher returned with some nice gifts, including a wealth of experience and assurances he will be back in the major leagues this season.”
• Gordon Wittenmyer (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): How close the Cubs came to losing Javy Baez and why he plays the game the way he does. “I think having fun out there is one of the biggest things I can do,” said Baez.
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Cubs missing Ben Zobrist’s ‘great example’ in lineup. “We need for the other team to get us out in the strike zone,” Maddon said, “and not be so amenable and permitting them to get us out outside of the strike zone.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Ian Happ had a huge game and may finally be on a little roll. “... it’s fair to at least start paying attention to whether the many adjustments to Happ’s approach and swing – the very reason he was sent back to AAA to open the season – are finally taking hold.”
• Phil Thompson (Chicago Tribune* {$}): 5 things to know about new Cubs sensation Robel Garcia, including his playoff heroics and his Anthony Rizzo connection. “Fans and folks in baseball circles marvel as much at his backstory as they do his potential.”
• Cubs birthdays: Willard Mains, George Moriarty, Billy Herman (HoF). Also notable: Satchel Paige (HoF).

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading. Enjoy in moderation.