Cub Tracks stays the course

Gosh, how we’ve grown. Here at Cub Tracks, we are winding up the fifth year of the reign under Duane (and closing in on the eighth anniversary overall) with two weeks of relatively serious speculations about the future of the team and the game, coupled with a relative few serious articles from bloggers and beats alike. In fact most of the beats seem to be on vacation, and there’s very little to write about in the gray areas of the extended silly season after that miniaturized and very silly Cubs postseason and a regular season fitted with tensions more suited to Colosseums and Stadia than Parks and Fields.

The Romans would have loved it. They’d have been thumbing stuff down with abandon and introducing lions into the mix. That should only be done with golf. Or my relatives.

Can you imagine golf, with lions? I can. Or tackle golf. Sorry if you like golf. Well, sorta. But I’m sure you get the point. We’ll use Paper Lions, if we have to. For this and other grave matters, here’s Cub Tracks 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.

• Chris Kamka (NBC Sports Chicago*): 10 most amazing Cubs stats and facts from the 2020 MLB season. “The fact the Cubs got through all of those games (plus two more in the postseason) without a positive test for COVID-19 is probably one of the most unusual occurrences in a very unusual season.”
• Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Cubs trade chips: Who will be on the block this offseason? “This isn’t a teardown where the Cubs will lose 100 games next season and hope to be a playoff contender again five years from now.”
• Maddie Lee (NBC Sports Chicago*): 3 roster holes Theo Epstein, Cubs need to address this offseason. “Simply hoping for a better outcome moving forward, doesn’t seem like a thoughtful approach ...”
• Marquee Sports Network*: Top Cubs Moments of 2020: Yu Darvish’s run at the Cy Young.
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Is Craig Kimbrel now a compelling trade piece for the Cubs? “At $16 million for 2021, Kimbrel’s salary is at the top of the market for impact closers even in a normal financial environment.” Mark Gonzales also asks this question.
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): How much did Willson Contreras improve defensively? 4 questions about Chicago Cubs catchers. “... the third in a series of position-by-position analyses ...”
• Mike McGraw (Daily Herald* {$}): Should Cubs stay out of Nico Hoerner’s way at second base? “The Cubs’ minor-league system doesn’t appear to have any position prospects ready for the big leagues ...”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Overture, Schmoverture, Why are we still talking about Kris Bryant extension that never was? “... because we’ve little else to do but speculate ...”

• Cubs birthdays: Don Carlsen, Bill Henry, Don Robertson, Juan Cruz. Also notable: Jim Palmer HOF.

SimNews:

Yu Darvish and Kwang-Hyun Kim duel at 11 a.m. CT at Chavez Ravine. The Dodgers lead the NLCS 3-1. Hopefully there’s more baseball after that. All game video and related material is available commercial-free, 24/7, at the BCB Media Center.

Food for Thought:

Thanks for reading.