Cub Tracks misses Yu

“I’m sorry...” said Brandon Palmer. “I thought that was gonna be one of those games that bites you on the ass, but in the end, it wasn’t. Nice at-bat by David Bote, who is clutch. One of the most clutch in the league. Just ask Matt Vasgersian.”

The Cubs swept the Pirates, but I gotta tell you, for a team that’s 21-10, they worry me. Part of it is that they don’t play Pittsburgh again for months, and part of it is that they seem besieged by weird things like the barrage of dink hits that the Bucs had yesterday and Rizzo getting tagged out while Plesac is applauding the scoring opportunity. Another part is that Brandon Palmer has the quickest hook I’ve ever seen. It’s enough to drive a person sane, I tell you.

Kyle Hendricks (5-0, 1.73) faces Madison Bumgarner (2-1, 3.38) and the 10-20 D-Backs at Chase Field. 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.

• Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): A letter from the future: What will Opening Day 2022 be like for the Cubs? “The marketing department channeled the late Ernie Banks with its slogan: “Starting Anew in ’22.””
• Daryl van Schouwen (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Cubs, White Sox disclose ticket refund plans. “Major League Baseball cleared teams to offer refunds for games postponed by the coronavirus Wednesday.” Brett Taylor offers thoughts. Jordan Bastian explains options.
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): No matter which plan MLB uses, we need more coronavirus testing before the games can resume. “... as long as MLB keeps floating new ideas, I suppose we should be happy.”
• Ken Rosenthal (The Athletic {$}): An inside look at the possibilities, and risks, of an MLB restart. “... the league will continue gathering information and likely wait as long as possible to present a proposal for the players association.”
• Jayson Stark (The Athletic {$}): It’s time for players to take ownership of the game. “And make sure everyone knows you own it.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Yu Darvish is a Very Good Dude. “Darvish has leveraged his considerable social media stardom into some real world good.”
• 670 The Score: Jason Heyward believes Cubs can handle ‘Last Dance’ vibe. Includes interview.
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Revisiting the hit that helped end Cubs’ drought. “The images are now forever burned into baseball history.” Also, Top 5 Left Fielders.
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Reports of MiLB’s demise have been exaggerated, though maybe just a little. “... it’s highly unlikely there would be any firm decisions made on the minors prior to getting things sorted out at the highest level.”
• Bob Goldsborough (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Ex-Cubs bench coach Brandon Hyde lists Evanston home — with a backyard covered in Wrigley Field sod — for $899,000. “It’s an amazing house to raise a family and for hosting others,” Hyde said.
• Cubs birthdays: Charley Jones, Tony Murray, Jumbo Brown, Bob Hendley, Joe Strain.

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading!