Cub Tracks and the mistake by the lake

Home Run Derby. The format is way more extended than it needs to be but I guess that’s what the people want so they can see as many of the stars as possible. No Cubs in it. Zzzzz. That said, I picked Pete Alonso pregame, though only my cats heard. I did watch it all, or was in the room most of the time, anyway. I got to see Jessica Mendoza’s non-questions. “What were you, umm, wow? Hey, what about that?” She’s bad, I say, but then the announcing on the World vs. Cleveland game was so bad, I turned it off and listened to some live King Gizzard instead, while I was writing this. Much better for the earholes. Here you go. Enjoy!

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.

• Grey Papke (Larry Brown Sports*): Joe Maddon has interesting thoughts on size of baseballs. Cub Tracks regular Jared Wyllys broke this one. Papke has thoughts.
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Cubs optimistic as first half comes to close. “There is no denying the talent that is packed into the clubhouse for the Cubs, but the production to date has not matched the caliber of the names.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Front office not pinning blame for underachieving on Joe Maddon – which is fair, right? “... so long as the same concerns about performance results relative to talent persist, the front office will have only so many options for making significant change.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Cubs’ problem isn’t hitting poorly with RISP, it’s hitting less often with RISP. “... they’re not creating enough situations in the first place.”
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Same old problems continue to haunt the Cubs and there aren’t any easy solutions. “We show sometimes (we can) do it and sometimes we don’t,” Maddon said.
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Frame this: The myth about Willson Contreras and what really makes him an All-Star catcher. “... the Cubs lead the majors in called strike percentage (27.5).”
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Ex-Cub Tommy La Stella, out with a broken leg, thanks fans in Chicago for their All-Star support. “It’s difficult obviously,” La Stella said. “I wish I had an opportunity to be out there, but it’s OK.”
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Can the Cubs embody their inner Ben Zobrist until he returns? “We do miss him in the clubhouse,” Epstein said.
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Cubs All-Stars Javier Baez, Kris Bryant and Contreras return to the scene of the sublime. “It seems like a lifetime ago now, but Bryant, Baez and Contreras were all in the early stages of careers that would bring them widespread fame...”
• Vinnie Duber (NBC Sports Chicago*): Baez is changing the game, and yes, even the Brewers are loving it. “I love watching him play,” Mike Moustakas said.
• Jordan Bastian, Jake Crouse and Zachary Silver (MLB.com*): Bryant on sharing ASG moment with teammates. “It gets better every time,” Bryant, now a three-time All-Star, said Monday.
• Cam Ellis (NBC Sports Chicago*): Report: Cubs “will be among the teams interested” if Arizona Diamondbacks make OF David Peralta available. Ken Rosenthal broke that tidbit.
• Jon Greenberg (The Athletic {$}): 20 years ago, Ron Coomer was an All-Star. And his radio partner reminds him every day. “Every time Pat Hughes goes on the air for Cubs games, he refers to his partner as “former Cub and All-Star Ron Coomer.””
• Cubs birthdays: Jimmy Cooney, Dave Shean, Buck Herzog, Turner Barber, Gene Fodge, Willie Wilson, Miguel Montero.

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading.