Cub Tracks springs eternal

There’s always hope. Bring on the robot umps.

1. A robot ump may not misidentify a thrown ball or, through misidentification, allow a strike to be called a ball, or conversely, a ball to be called a strike. A robot ump must make the objectively correct call. No human must come to harm as a result of the call.

2. A robot ump must objectively and correctly interpret the strike zone in all dimensions except where such interpretation would conflict with the First Law. The length, breadth, and depth of the zone must always be under consideration.

3. A robot ump must make the objectively correct call as long as such a determination does not conflict with the First or Second Law. This includes all matters not directly addressed by the First or Second Laws.

Here’s today’s episode of Cubs News and Notes, the only links column that really matters. 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.

• Jim O’Donnell (Daily Herald {$}): The Cubs, Sinclair Broadcasting and Comcast — did Ricketts have a PR death wish? “... the high-level disharmonic will play itself out in due course, whenever that may be.”
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago* {$}): Theo Epstein and the ‘three masters’ Cubs are trying to serve this offseason. “It’s difficult, it’s not impossible.”
• Rick Morrissey (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Baseball’s biggest challenge is how to harness and control evolving technology. “... as ugly as the scandal might be, the cheating part isn’t even baseball’s biggest problem.”
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): The Cubs swear they aren’t ‘whistling past the graveyard’ as they head into the 2020 season. “If you’re looking for a negative mindset, that’s not gonna be me,” David Ross said.
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): With new arms and new rules, the Cubs face the unknown with their revamped bullpen. “They hope the versatility of those relievers will help the team adapt...”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Cubs plan to convert Rule 5 Pick Jerrick Suiter to pitcher or two-way player. “Suiter’s got an insane 11 assists over his last 270 innings in right field and 25 assists over 1,610 total outfield innings.”
• Bruce Levine (670 The Score): Leadoff, center field still sore spots for Cubs. “Without a traditional leadoff man, the Cubs are again mulling their options.”
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): The Kris Bryant saga drags on — but with Nolan Arenado off the market, the pieces of the puzzle might be falling into place. “... Bryant is the best option for teams seeking to upgrade at the position in the next three weeks.”
• Adam Berry (MLB.com*): Corner-infield stars abound in NL Central. “... many of them serve as the face of their franchise.”
• Todd Johnson (Cubs Insider*): Cubs starting to litter prospect lists again, land 3 on BA’s Top 100. “...Brailyn Marquez (lefty pitchers), Miguel Amaya (catchers), and Nico Hoerner (shortstop) were all relatively obvious choices for their respective lists.”
• Joe Posnanski (The Athletic {$}): The Baseball 100: No. 65, Ernie Banks. “It’s a beautiful day for a ballgame. Let’s play two.”
• Cubs birthdays: Bill Bowman, Joey Amalfitano, Don Nottebart, Dick Burwell, Jeff Samardzija, Addison Russell.

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading.