Cub Tracks gets ready for the trip

Hey! That was some fun, and now the Cubs can marinate in, I mean ruminate about, the 5-1 homestand, before taking on the Reds beginning tonight for the first of one of those road trips, one of the possibly-season-determining sojourns that we’ve grown used to at this time of year. It was good to see the ball disappear over the fence — A Tru-Link fence!

Think about it. We’ve grown used to getting to the playoffs. I try like hell not to take it for granted but I reiterate that these are the golden years of Cubs baseball. We’ll be flushed with Victory until the wheels come off...

And to think that was once a Bert Weinman Ford. That’s Bert Weinman, your TV Ford Man!

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. Melts in your mind, not in your hand. Mm-mm good.

• Wick Terrell (Red Reporter): The biggest Cincinnati Reds series in six years. “The Cubs are coming to town, and for once it actually matters.”
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Resurgent Ian Happ and Kyle Schwarber power the Cubs to a 10-1 win over the A’s. Now they head out on a 10-game trip looking to reverse their road woes. “Someone said to bring the white jerseys on the road,” Schwarber quipped Wednesday.
• Gordon Wittenmyer (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Jose Quintana savoring 7-start pizza roll for Cubs. “Must be the pizza.”
• 670 The Score: Cubs’ Brandon Morrow still has ‘a lot’ of boxes to check. “In terms of the realistic part of it, I think we’re all -- I think Jed (Hoyer) said it the best -- cautiously optimistic,” Tommy Hottovy said.
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Cubs feel they lucked out by signing Jonathan Lucroy. “The Cubs are only required to pay Lucroy a prorated portion of the MLB minimum salary.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Homer-happy Happ seizing 2nd chance for Cubs. “The way he’s swinging the bat right now,” Maddon said before the game, “I’m creatively trying to get him in the lineup and see how it plays.”
• Bruce Levine (670 The Score): Nicholas Castellanos fitting in well with Cubs. “I love the guy’s approach,” manager Joe Maddon said. Patrick Mooney wonders if Castellanos is the next big free agent signing {$}.
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Cubs will be monitoring Nico Hoerner’s at-bats for potential Arizona Fall League consideration. “Hoerner and pitcher Brailyn Marquez were the closest to being untouchable in the Cubs’ minor-league system at the trade deadline.”
• Peter Gammons (The Athletic {$}): Matt Murton’s path shows how one trade deadline deal can change a life forever. “It is amazing when I look back at where that deadline deal took my life,” says Murton.
• Phil Rosenthal (Chicago Tribune* {$}): U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth ask MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred for more data on ballpark fan injuries. “They said it is their understanding teams collected data on seating areas that are most vulnerable to injury from line-drive foul balls and flying bats.”
• Cubs birthdays: Cupid Childs, Chick Keating, Tot Pressnell, Ken Raffensberger, Vern Morgan, Vicente Amor, Ray Fontenot, Dave Meier, Chad Meyers, Anthony Rizzo.

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading.