Cub Tracks wants to believe

The profit motive is killing the game. Talking about baseball is fun. Talking about salaries is less fun. I’d honestly just as soon not know, Talking about money is boring, if your aim is to talk about baseball.

It’s not like I make this stuff up out of whole cloth — it’s part of the social fabric these days. The sunglasses monopoly is the corporate model, and the spin is in.

And as I’ve been employed previously as a statistician, I’ve had my fill of stats. I basically want to know how many, how far, how often. That’s real data. The rest is conjecture, like whether or not there are aliens.

I don’t much watch the NFL or NHL any more, and don’t give them my money. MLB is heading that way. I never did watch other major sports, except on Saturday afternoons. Probably I’m all alone on my island, but I just want to watch baseball. If I wanted endless dickering about funds, I’d watch Divorce Court. Or Scowly and Molder. Remember, reality is only a consensus away. Make it sew!

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 on this page as sarcasm font. (In the comments section, use @ before and after your remarks @ to produce sarcasm font.)

I miss this one every year. Sorry Jed, belated happy birthday

• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Cubs’ history of Winter Meetings splashes. “... here are five of the most notable Meetings maneuverings by Chicago over the years.”
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Chicago Cubs — and new boss Jed Hoyer — will try to address needs during this week’s virtual winter meetings amid much uncertainty about the 2021 season. “In an offseason filled with uncertainty, at least three definitive topics surround the Chicago Cubs as they enter this week’s virtual winter meetings.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Scott Boras talks turkey, says no MLB team lost money in 2020. “When you’re the thermometer, you’re not the turkey,” Boras told Bill Shaikin.
• Thomas Harrigan (MLB.com*): Cubs ace Darvish an All-MLB finalist. “Finalists for the 2020 All-MLB Team presented by CohnReznick were revealed Sunday...”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Seven Kris Bryant trade proposals tell you a lot about the market from the outside looking in. “... you’re going to see a boatload of speculation and evaluation and what-have-you ...” MLB.com has fits.
• Will Leitch (MLB.com*): 1 player on each club primed for big rebound. “The Cubs have many decisions to make this offseason, and how much of Javier Báez’ drop-off was real is one of the tougher things to figure out.”
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Jurickson Profar’s versatility, contact bat could be good fit for Cubs. “The switch-hitter posted career highs in average (.278), OBP (.343) and OPS+ (113) following a slow start ...”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Shortstop Ha-Seong Kim has been formally posted, teams have until January 1 to negotiate. “For a Cubs team looking to get younger and cheaper while also achieving greater balance in the lineup, Kim checks a lot of boxes.”
• NBC Sports Chicago*: Winter Meetings Podcast: Cubs VP of player development Matt Dorey.
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): The Chicago Cubs say Len Kasper’s replacement must be someone who fits their ‘culture.’ But with so much change at Wrigley Field, how is that defined? “There should be no shortage of qualified candidates to choose from ...”

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading.