Cub Tracks’ greasy kid stuff

It was a Happy Halloween for this reporter, who kept his edibles to himself and handed out jello shots. Wait, what? Yeah — we haven’t had any trick-or-treaters for years. Dios de la Muerte is more the style where I live. I made Black Sambuca and Cointreau jello shots in honor of the day and shared them with my neighbors before we performed our rituals watched Svengoolie’s feature presentation.

Nobody in their right mind is gonna give their edibles to kids. Let them get their own — those things are expensive. Hopefully you also enjoyed the thinning of the veil responsibly. The path we tread is thorny, and through no fault of our own — we planted ivy.

But enough of this questionable ‘wisdom’ — let’s get on with the subject at hand. Here at Cub Tracks News and Notes, we are closing in on our eighth anniversary overall. 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.)

• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Cubs exercise Rizzo’s 2021 contract option. Not that it was in doubt but it’s official. Mark Gonzales confirms.
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Farewell, Daniel Descalso, we hardly knew ye. An elegy of sorts for the ghost in the clubhouse. “He’ll receive a $1 million parting gift ...” Jesse Rogers talks about both. Patrick Mooney {$} tops it all off.
• Michael Ernst (Cubs Den*): Offseason Player Overview: Kyle Schwarber. “The inconsistency and low batting averages returned.”
• Russell Dorsey (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Top three areas the Cubs need to address in free agency. “With Tyler Chatwood and Jose Quintana officially free agents and Lester’s future uncertain, it leaves a lot of innings to fill in the Cubs’ rotation.”
• Marquee Sports Network*: Cubs Weekly Podcast: Offseason preview. Cole Wright is joined by Bruce Levine and Tony Andracki.
• Keith Law’s Top 40 free agents of the MLB offseason (The Athletic {$}): “This list doesn’t include potential non-tenders, or other international free agents whose status isn’t yet clear.” Jurickson Profar really interests me and could be affordable.
• Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation*): So, uh, now that Kolten Wong is a Free Agent. “... we’re still going to have this conversation, because we have to.”
• Cubs birthdays: Fred Demarais, Snapper Kennedy, Earl Blackburn, Larry French, Lefty York, Clint Compton, Miguel Dilone, Anthony Bass. Also notable: Bid McPhee HOF.

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading!