Cub Tracks exercises caution

The simCubs will open a nine-game homestand with a three-game series against the NL West-leading simSan Diego Padres at sim Wrigley Field.

The simPadres are led by Chris Paddack, who is not scheduled to pitch during this series, and their 13-8 record illustrates that they are a quality squad, and that the simCubs might have trouble handling them. Their best player is Tommy Pham, with Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis, Jr right behind him. Closer Kirby Yates is also very good and makes the most of his opportunities.

Right-hander Dinelson Lamet will toe the rubber for the Friars. He sports a 2-0 record, with 28 Ks in 28⅔ innings, a 2.20 ERA, and a 1.22 WHIP. He has walked 14 batters and has given up 3 home runs so far this year out of his 21 hits allowed. Lamet is highly rated though his lifetime 12-14 record, 4.46 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 210 innings do not indicate that he’s anything special as a hurler. His breaking ball is pretty good and is often his out pitch. He throws both four-seam and two-seam fastballs, a curve and a slider.

Lamet will be opposed by Jose Quintana and his 9.19 ERA and 1.91 WHIP. Q has averaged a K an inning in his 15⅓ innings and has lost only one game. On the other hand, he hasn’t won any, and hasn’t pitched well enough to. He has given up 25 hits, 16 earned runs and a whopping 7 round-trippers. On the plus side he has only walked five batters. He is somehow 26-22 as a Cub, though roundly reviled because he was traded for good players. Q throws a four-seam FB, a curve, a change, a sinker and a slider according to the game. This is the last year of Q’s contract.

Al will have more information about the upcoming sim game in the game post at 2:30 p.m. CT, for our 3 p.m. start. I’ll drop the specific URL to the contest in the game thread, but you can lurk at the BCB Media Center and catch it there as well. All past games and highlights reels are available there too, if you want the full #simCubs experience.

And now, 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.

• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Cubs hope for ‘last dance’ that may never happen. “Outside of the Dodgers, who traded a cadre of young talent for one year of Mookie Betts, the Cubs are among the teams that have the most to lose in a lost season.”
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Cubs Q&A: Is Ben Zobrist retired? How would the Cubs fare in a Florida-Arizona split? Any Marquee Sports updates? “Trying to accomplish this while attempting to finalize a regular schedule and limiting large groups of traveling parties and security staffers to hotels and ballparks is a daunting task.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): The ugly economics of playing baseball in empty stadiums. ... “how much lost revenue are you really even offsetting? Against how much public health risk?”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): MLB’s immediate future could include furloughs and pay cuts, long-term economic impact on game will last years. “... it’s hard to believe a large number of billion-dollar organizations would be unable to write checks for more than a few weeks.” Refers to Ken Rosenthal article {$}.
• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): Why mental challenges for Cubs as big as physical during baseball shutdown. “There are a lot of unique challenges right now because the tools that are normally available to offseason athletes are not available,” said Dr. Michele Kerulis.
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cubs legend Greg Maddux’s pitching philosophy: ‘It’s not a speed contest’. “I always relied on locating fastball and changing speeds when [I] had to. That was my way.”
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cubs give Kris Bryant’s son a special shoutout on Wrigley Field marquee. “Not many people can say the same thing. Good for you, Baby Bryant.”
• Ken Schultz (Outsports): When Ryne Sandberg made me proudest. “... there are few better realizations in the world than to look at the player who gave you so much joy as a fan and recognize, “You chose well.””
• Cubs birthdays: Lefty Weinert, Bill Faul, Les Lancaster.

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading!