Cub Tracks takes another hack

simCubs win!

Our ersatz team defeated the simPhillies 7-2 in a game that wasn’t really that close. The Professor (5-0) stayed busy stranding castaways on the islands and got the hook in the sixth having thrown somewhere around a hundred pitches and having surrendered a single run on a Bryce Harper cannonball in the top of the fifth.

By then, Willson Contreras (4) and Kris Bryant (4) had bombed the left-field seats. Steven Souza Jr, pinch-hitting, drove in a run with a single and Kyle Schwarber (5) made his own deposit into the left-field bleachers. Jean Segura doubled in a compensation run in the ninth but that was all she wrote and then she sang ‘the end’ a minute or two after that when Harper lined out to his buddy KB.

Newcomer Jesus Luzardo got into the game for an inning, and gave up a couple of loud outs, but outs they were, and he escaped unscathed in his Cubs debut.

Kyle Ryan was sent down before the game, and Justin Steele was put on waivers to remove him from the 40-man roster to make room for Johan Camargo, who is destined to take the place of Daniel Descalso in your mythology. Camargo is a versatile player with below-average speed but a good glove and great arm and the ability to play all infield and corner outfield spots. Nico Hoerner, having a fine year at Iowa, and Ian Miller, likewise, were also considered, but they’re more known quantities.

Ryan was heard to mutter imprecations, and he vows to be back as soon as possible. Hendricks now has the smol furry spheres, in case you wanted to know. Steele is likely to clear waivers and will be sent to Triple-A Iowa.

The Cubs, behind Jose Quintana (0-1, 7.40) play the Phillies and old friend Jake Arrieta (1-2, 5.26) today in the series clincher, vying for the magical loaf of meat. Al will have more information about that 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.

• Kate Thayer (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Cubs Charities donates iPads to keep UIC hospital patients connected to families. “Some are already in use, throughout the hospital, not just in COVID-19 units, Dr. Terry Vanden Hoek said.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Massive NFL Draft ratings bode well for viewership of MLB games in empty ballparks. “Now it’s up to Rob Manfred and his team ...”
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Yu Darvish donates profits from YouTube channel to honor late brother-in-law. “Half the money will go to the National Cancer Center and the other to NPO Little Ones, which supports single mothers in Japan, according to the report.”
• Steve Greenberg (Chicago Sun-Times*): When baseball resumes, Cubs’ Hendricks will enact a simple plan: Be better than ever. “That’s the plan.”
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Building Cubs’ all-time 26-man roster: from Banks to Bryant: Slideshow.
• Cubs birthdays: Fritz Clausen, Irv Higginbotham, Hack Wilson HOF, Ron Northey, Bob Zick, Curt Wilkerson, Kosuke Fukudome.

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading! Stay safe please!