Cub Tracks opens the door

The sim-Cubs scuttled any plans the sim-Pirates had to hoist the Jolly Roger over Wrigley Field in our Opening Day game, with Kyle Schwarber and Anthony Rizzo recording notable clouts and Javier Baez firing a couple of cannonballs in a game that the Cubs won going away, 11-3.

Jon Lester pitched well to earn the victory and Trevor Williams allowed some rather long fly balls to earn the loss. We’ll have the second game of the series at 3 p.m. CT today, with the game post coming up at 2:30 pm. Please join Al and me and a cast of tens as we present the second game of the home series, live from my PS4.

There is also real life, and for that part of life’s rich pageant, here’s Cub Tracks 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.

• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Kyle Hendricks among MLB’s best at working high fastball. “FanGraphs’ Jeff Zimmerman stumbled upon some findings...”
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Jon Lester’s soccer career and other things to know about Cubs left-hander. “He played a big part in the Cubs snapping their World Series drought, and even at 36 remains a durable, competitive starter...”
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Anthony Rizzo says to expect ‘crazy’ things when baseball comes back. But first, ‘invest in yourself.’ “He said players want to play as many games as possible, even if it means playing doubleheaders.” Matt Snyder adds on. Brett Taylor amplifies.
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Rizzo has no regrets over signing bargain extension in 2013. “I’ve had the freedom from 22, 23 years old to financially do whatever I want and play freely,” Rizzo said. He also understands about the end of the road for ‘the core’. And he writes essays for ESPN.
• Brendan Miller (Cubs Insider*): Top Cubs prospect Brennen Davis joins Cubs Related Podcast to discuss hitting development [AUDIO].
• AP via Chicago Sun-Times* {$}: Cubs’ Rachel Folden is a real barrier buster. “She is the Cubs’ lead hitting-lab tech and a coach for rookie-level Mesa.” Cubs Insider interviews Folden.
• Jon Greenberg (The Athletic {$}): Beer here? Not for Chicago’s baseball vendors, who are stuck riding the pine. “Vendors of all ages are trying to figure out what’s next.”
• Cubs birthdays: Big Jeff Pfeffer, John Herrnstein, Gonzalo Marquez. Also Peter Bourjos, who was almost a Cub.

Food for thought:

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