Cub Tracks plates it up

If you read the lowbrow and monobrow ‘papers’, Kris Bryant, Javier Baez and Kyle Schwarber are already gone, and Yu Darvish is right on their heels. We try for at least middlebrow, where we consider such options, but fail to set the team on fire, too. C’est plus ca change, c’est plus ca blah blah blah. Book me a passage to Bangkok, and don’t step on the grass, Sam. No rush.

Here at Cub Tracks News and Notes, we are winding up the fifth year of the reign under Duane (and closing in on the eighth anniversary overall) and also it’s almost my birthday. I’m not super-sentimental about such things but that’s an anniversary, too. 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 on this page as sarcasm font. (In the comments section, use @ before and after your remarks @ to produce sarcasm font.)

• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): MLB Teams need to know what the rules will be for 2021, and soon. “All that stuff is just so very up in the air right now.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Inbox: Should Cubs bring back Jon Lester? “... exploring a way to keep him on a team-friendly salary makes sense.” Evan Altman considers this.
• Tony Andracki (Marquee Sports Network*): State of the Cubs: Catcher. “The Cubs are in arguably the most enviable spot in baseball in regards to the catching position.” Shortstop here.
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Has time run out on Kyle Schwarber? Will Ian Happ move to left field? 6 questions about Chicago Cubs outfielders heading into 2021. “... the eighth in a series of a position-by-position analyses of the Chicago Cubs...” Mike McGraw considers this.
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Documentary about major-league scouts is dedicated to Gary Hughes, the former Chicago Cubs scout who died last month. ““Scouting for Diamonds: The Invisible Heroes of Baseball,” will be dedicated to Hughes.”
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): 8 reasons to watch the World Series, even if you don’t really care about either team. “Some things in life need no explanation.”

Not so much content today. Maybe watch this:

• Cubs birthdays: Marty Sullivan, Skel Roach, Jigger Statz, Leon Brinkopf. Also notable: Mickey Mantle HOF, Juan Marichal HOF.

Food for thought: