Cub Tracks’ road worriers

At least they won a game...but, unfortunately, the end of this season is reminding me of another famous Steve Goodman song. No, not The City of New Orleans...you know the one I mean. Unfortunately, as warm and fuzzy as the memories are, that’s what the WGN years mean to me. A LOT of losing. Yeah, that one.

I mean, the Cubs got swept by the doormats of the NL Central before tonight’s contest. I love that the players haven’t given up (counter to the prevailing narrative — there are jobs on the line, at the very least, and these are some of the most competitive human beings on the planet) — most of the games are close, even during the skein of losses. But you know they’re steering for shallow waters as the good ship Cub eases into port for the winter after this brief set-to against their ‘arch’ enemies, with two more games left on the schedule.

There’s hope for the future. There always is. But first we need to get through the present. 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. Italics are often used here as sarcasm font.

“I don’t anticipate us having any real big changes on the downside to our baseball spending going forward because of the network,” Crane Kenney.

“I’m not going to play hurt people. I’m not going to pitch guys that are over limits, based on what’s best for the Cubs, ever. So, the conclusion of my commentary yesterday was pretty much, ‘Understand these guys are hurt, so if you want to try to complain, go ahead and do that.’” — Joe Maddon

• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Theo Epstein indicates Marquee Network won’t have immediate impact on payroll. “The baseball decisions will be unrelated to any TV considerations,” Epstein explained. But Patrick Mooney is waiting for that Marquee Money {$}. Paul Sullivan opines.
• Ken Rosenthal (The Athletic {$}): When to move on from a manager? Lessons learned for the Cubs, who waited one year too long. “Of course, hindsight is 20-20.” Rosenthal has Joe heading West.
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Joe Maddon remains optimistic — even if his days as Cubs manager are numbered: ‘The future has not been decided yet. ... I’m feeling pretty good.’ “Our record is not good, and we’re not in the playoffs, but I’ve had a blast.” James Neveau looks at Maddon’s career.
• Travis Sawchik (Five Thirty-Eight): The Cardinals develop young pitchers. The Cubs don’t. Which team is going to the playoffs? “No team has been more productive in drafting pitchers than the Cardinals have been since 2012 — and few clubs have been worse than the Cubs.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Opt-out looming, Yu Darvish says Cubs ‘perfect for me’. My kids and my wife love Chicago, especially the kids. They only care about the Cubbies. So, I don’t think [I will opt out].” Tony Andracki echoes this. Mark Gonzales adds on. Steve Greenberg elaborates.
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Cole Hamels to start Saturday with an eye toward ‘20. “He...believes taking the mound on Saturday in St. Louis can also give other teams one last look at what he can offer.” Mark Gonzales has more of this.
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Jose Quintana hopes to return to the Cubs in 2020 after a rough September. “I want to stay here and keep playing for the Cubbies,” Quintana said. “I don’t know (about my future). Let’s go wait.”
• Gordon Wittenmyer (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Addison Russell reflects on growing up, possibly moving on from Cubs. ‘‘It’s nothing to take lightly,’’ he said.
• Tony Andracki (NBC Sports Chicago*): Kris Bryant’s assessment of his 2019 season. “It’s been a crazy, weird season for us.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Albert Almora climbs wall to take HR away from Yadi. “Don’t tell Almora the game doesn’t matter.”
• Cubs birthdays: Wilbur Good, Jim Brillheart, Hank Grampp, Dick Barrett, Dick Gernert, Joey Nation.

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading.