Cub Tracks was made for weekends

The simCubs dropped a winnable game by a score of 4-2 to the simReds Friday at simWrigley, repeatedly failing to launch in run-scoring situations and in fact not hitting the ball especially well, in a pattern we’ve come to know and love, where they flail at hittable pitches and swing at bad balls on 3-2. Meanwhile the Reds made the best of two consecutive opportunities after failing with the bases loaded once themselves, with ex-Cub Nick Castellanos delivering a run-scoring single and scoring on Eugenio Suarez’ towering blast to left. The Cubs scored a couple of runs late but they were too little, too late and the Reds went on to victory.

Today the Cubs try to recapture both momentum and the rights to the meatloaf. The seemingly ageless Jon Lester will be opposed by Sonny Gray. Al will have more 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.

“Baseball may have regained its ability to generate revenue over this last quarter-century. But you know what it has never regained? Its place in American culture. Its place in the American heart. Its place in the American soul.” — Jayson Stark.

• Doug Glanville (ESPN*): Here’s why I’d play this year — and why I wouldn’t. “... there is still a long bridge to cross between policy and reality...” Michael Cerami analyzes.
• Rick Morrissey (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): A sport to keep us going in dark times: full-contact MLB negotiations! “You can’t teach the kind of cluelessness that owners and players are exhibiting during the pandemic, which is the reason we’re all watching so wide-eyed.” Bob Nightengale offers his thoughts. Jayson Stark offers his {$}.
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Agent Scott Boras takes on Chicago Cubs owners in the battle over MLB’s proposed restart. And they respond: ‘We thank Mr. Boras for weighing in.’ “Boras told his players “the game can not be played without you”” Brett Taylor has more on the Cubs’ response. Evan Altman has words also.
• Adam Hoge (NBC Sports Chicago*): Major League Baseball swinging and missing on big opportunity. “... this was an opportunity for owners to regain the trust that has eroded over the last three years. Instead, that opportunity appears to be lost.”
• Chuck Garfien (NBC Sports Chicago*): MLB, players deeply divided with clock ticking: ‘It’s ugly right now’. “The owners have a long way to go,” one player said.
• Maddie Lee (NBC Sports Chicago*): How Cubs affiliates are tackling financial challenges of coronavirus pandemic. “The MiLB season hasn’t been officially cancelled, but it’s expected to be.”
• Manny Randhawa (MLB.com*): The best throwing arms in the NL Central. “Heyward’s top throw of 100.3 mph was the hardest-thrown ball by a Cubs fielder in ‘19, and he registered nine of the 10 hardest throws from the outfield last year for Chicago.”
• Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation): 2,500 Cubs fans polled and one thing was clear: They want Sammy Sosa back. Per Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney {$}.
• Evan F. Moore (Chicago Sun-Times*): Singer John Vincent lifts seniors’ spirits one ballad at a time via nursing home ‘concerts’. “Vincent, the National Anthem singer for the Cubs, performs hit songs from Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra, among others, to senior citizens — the people most susceptible to COVID-19.”
• 670 The Score: Theo Epstein offers Cubs experience for all in challenge. “Epstein is hosting “the ultimate Wrigley Field weekend” for COVID-19 relief.”
• Cubs birthdays: Turk Lown, Jay Loviglio, Scott Eyre, Jairo Asencio, Jae Kuk Ryu, Tony Campana. Also notable: Amos Rusie HOF, Manny Ramirez, Brett Phillips (simCub!)

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading.