Cub Tracks gives it to Yu

The simCubs won their seventh in a row, 4-3 over David Price and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Yu Darvish had a good game, though he threw a ton of pitches and had to give way to a succession of relievers.

Timely hitting was the order of the day as several Cubs came up big when it counted and the relief corps held on for the win, though not without some anxious moments.

Today the simCubs come up against Alex Wood (4-1, 2.53), who is having a good season. But the Professor (6-0, 1.87) is having another great season and there’s no reason to suspect that this will end today.

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 Eno Sarris (The Athletic {$}): Bad salsa, optimism and The Process: How a KBO team is translating The Cubs Way. Training in Busan.
• Andy Martinez (Marquee Sports Network*): Javy Báez, José Berríos step up to help children in Puerto Rico. “Keeping (the kids) happy and on the right path is the most important thing for us,” Báez told reporters. Tim Stebbins has more.
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cubs’ Kyle Schwarber was a model college roommate, satirical video shows. “The video was clearly made in jest but serves as a good reminder for all you roommates out there.”
• Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation): This is an eye-popping scouting report on (expected Cubs IFA Signee) Cristian Hernandez. “...the 6’1″ 165lb free agent has “big power, a fast bat and advanced swing mechanics from the right side.””
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Salty Saltwell, a longtime Cubs executive and former general manager, dies at 96. “Saltwell’s death was confirmed by team historian Ed Hartig and was not related to the coronavirus.” Al will have more details on Saltwell's passing coming up at 8:30 a.m. CT.
• Cub birthdays: Tom Vickery, Lennie Merullo, Jim Kirby, Dave Gumpert.Also notable: Chief Bender HOF.

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading!