Cub Tracks closes the store

First place again!

I enjoyed that the ESPN broadcast had a lot of space to it as Jon Sciambi often didn’t talk while a pitch was being delivered. Sciambi would introduce topics from time to time, and Eduardo Perez usually picked those up, with David Ross chiming in from time to time, but there was little happychat happening and I appreciated that.

There was enough happening on the field to keep my interest.

That WAS interference, though. Fortunately, Kyle Hendricks was able to wiggle off the hook and he and Miles Mikolas indulged in a good old fashioned pitchers’ duel, the kind I’ve always liked.

Lots of interesting umpiring, Arte Johnson. And ultimately a Cubs win, which Al will tell you all about, and a flurry of roster moves, covered on the front page yesterday. Nicholas Castellanos, Tony Kemp, Brad Wieck, and David Phelps all join the Cubs as Carl Edwards, Jr. heads to San Diego. Could all be decent pickups. Martin Maldonado, we hardly knew ye.

Ian Happ may be a decent pickup, too. I wish he could play a good second base, but center field has been a black hole, too. Even the ESPN guys knew that.

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.

“I don’t know why it’s funny to watch pitchers get hit.” — David Ross.

“I swear I don’t know,” Maddon said late Tuesday night when asked if the Cubs will add another hitter to jumpstart the offense. “The guys are hunkered down. We’ll look for the white smoke. If it appears, we’ll know something occurred. Otherwise, we’ll just keep going with what we got.” — Patrick Mooney.

• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): The Cubs made more moves at the trade deadline than their NL Central rivals. Now it’s time to win. “The Cubs didn’t make a major splash at the trade deadline, but they made a bigger ripple than their counterparts in the three-team race for the National League Central Division title.”
• Larry Hawley (WGN-TV): Hard-luck Hendricks ends July with a win as the Cubs top the Cardinals. “It’s the fifth time this season that Hendricks hasn’t allowed an earned run in a start in 2019, and he got just enough help from the offense to pick him up.”
• Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation): Yu Darvish (and his MLB-best cutter) deserve some serious love. “Darvish’s strikeout rate has crept all the way up to 27.6% while his walk rate is at an even 10.0%.”
• Phil Rogers (Forbes* {$}): Unable to develop their own pitchers, Cubs continue to import arms in midseason. “The Cubs have repeatedly invested in veteran relievers because they haven’t been able to develop bullpen arms from their farm system.”
• ESPN: David Phelps discusses his trade to the Cubs [VIDEO].
• NBC Sports: Jed Hoyer talks reasoning behind trading CJ Edwards [VIDEO].
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Cubs fans were waiting for the white smoke. Then Theo Epstein delivered Nicholas Castellanos. “... no one in the Central is going to pull away.” Tony Andracki takes his swings. Jordan Bastian stands in. Michael Cerami loads the bases. Jesse Rogers drives them in. Sports Illustrated gives the trade a grade. Mark Gonzales is also on the 25-man.
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Now would be a good time to appreciate Kris Bryant (and stop worrying about his future). “Bryant understands that no one is untouchable.”
• Cubs birthdays: Ed Gastfield, Harry Croft, Howard Freigau, Wayne Tyrone, Greg Gross, Brandon Kintzler.

Food for thought:

The robot umps are coming. Thanks for reading.