Cub Tracks lays an egg

The lumber yard was apparently closed when the Cubs went to visit and they subbed dry spaghetti noddles with weak sauce. That’s the only way I can describe the offensive output Monday at Wrigley. It was so bad that a ball that Jason Heyward whacked off the top of the outfield wall went for a single. Plus the broadcast went sideways and I couldn’t holler loud enough to get it working properly.

It just wasn’t the Cubs’ day, and the Professor is tagged with a loss as a result. There weren’t any Cubs highlights.

Before the game, Max Fried had been in Brandon Palmer’s office, explaining that he wasn’t unhappy overall, but that he wasn’t pleased with being in the bullpen. The door was open, so I sidled over.

“Max, you need to pitch better,” said Palmer. “I love the effort, and you come to play every day, but you’re letting your frustration show when things don’t go your way, and every outing has at least two or three pitches with too much plate, and they’re getting whacked.”

After giving up a grand slam to Lorenzo Cain, I don’t imagine that Fried was too surprised to learn that he’d be back in the rotation. In Iowa. Jesus Luzardo takes his place.

Steven Souza, Jr will also ride the bus, to keep him company, and speedy defensive-minded outfielder Ian Miller will accompany Luzardo. Miller and Nico Hoerner had been 1-2 in the Iowa order — the I-Cubs are 26-6. Brennan Davis was moved to Triple-A to take Miller’s place and will lead off. Souza will take over left field against lefthanders and take his chances on other appearances. Josh Phegley is hitting .410 with 8 HR and 26 RBI for the Iowa Cubs. I don’t think he’ll be moved from the cleanup spot very soon.

Today’s game will feature Jose Quintana (1-1, 4.89), who has been doing much better, thank you, against Adrian Houser (2-2, 3.89). Houser is solid if not spectacular and the Cubs will need the good wood to defeat him.

Al will have more information about that 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.

Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ is using his love of coffee to help raise money for COVID-19 relief charities.

The 25-year-old Happ is partnering with Connect Roasters for Quarantine Coffee. It costs $15 per bag, and $3 from every sale goes to virus-related causes.

Happ calls himself a “coffee connoisseur” and says Quarantine Coffee is for everyone “searching for the perfect morning cup.”

Happ is keeping busy while he waits for word on the major league season, which has been delayed by the pandemic. He has been living with three other players from the Cubs organization in a house in Arizona. The group has been posting videos of its daily activities and doing a podcast. — AP

While we don’t want to advertise, here’s some information from Brenna Byrne (an account coordinator for the Uproar PR Agency), following up on Mark Gonzales’ article about the hitting tech the Cubs (specifically Kris Bryant) are using, from the last Cub Tracks. It’s pretty cool stuff:

Rapsodo gives players access to instant feedback, allowing them to better understand and see changes they need to make in their pitch/swing. The Hitting 2.0 Monitor gives players and coaches access to more immediate and accurate data, so the athlete can tweak and improve training regimens. Players and coaches are able to review a pitch or hit from 30 seconds ago on the field, or three years ago, and examine all aspects to replicate or alter with Cloud 2.0. This feature allows for instant storage on the cloud and immediate review on a connective device; including launch angle, spin axis, launch angle and more.

This is what the interface looks like:

Check out the jacket:

Cubs: Javier Báez, SS:

A strong argument that he is the coolest player in the game. If an alien came to Earth and you needed to explain to them why baseball is so fun, having them watch Báez play a game would be an excellent place to start. — Will Leitch.

• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Pros and cons of MLB’s proposed plan for baseball returning in July, from regional schedules to expanded playoffs. “... the plan consists of about 82 games beginning in early July.” Evan Altman has a few words about this. Brett Taylor does as well.
• Ken Rosenthal (The Athletic {$}): What players with underlying health concerns say about a possible return. “... the players only will push forward with the 2020 season if they are assured the league will take every measure to keep them safe.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Watch: Cubs OF Ian Miller explains intense style that earned invite to leave local Little League. “... if there was any doubt this guy was meant to be a Chicago Cub, he spells his name backwards.”
• Tim Brown (Yahoo Sports*): Chicago’s rooftop homer ball remains in the hands of the fan who grabbed it 20 years ago. “Rick Frohock jumped to his feet, charged through a gap between the seats and emerged with the only baseball ever to land on that rooftop during a game.”
• Cubs birthdays: Harry Truby, Casey Hageman, Alex McCarthy, Hank Borowy, Norm Gigon, Mark Clark, Blake Lalli. Also notable: Yogi Berra HOF

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading!