Cub Tracks fishes for blue chips

The simCubs have made it across the water to London and will be playing the two-game series in a famous venue from the past, the identity of which Al will reveal in just a few short hours.

I know, you’re near breathless with anticipation, and I’m not helping. But I am sworn to secrecy. If I tell you, I have to kill you, just like Smalls.

Al will have more about the series and today’s game in the game post at 2:30 CT, and then I’ll post the actual url to the stream at 3 p.m. CT. Or you can catch the game at the BCB Media Center and catch past games and game videos, 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.

“We think he’s got a chance to be a star,” said Dan Kantrovitz, the vice president of scouting for the Cubs, on a conference call with Chicago reporters.

• Ronald Blum (AP via Chicago Tribune* {$}): MLB’s latest offer to players: 80% of prorated salaries and a 72-game season. “Major League Baseball and its players are moving closer — to a deal or to Commissioner Rob Manfred ordering a shortened season without an agreement.” Evan Altman offers his opinion about the Sunday deadline.
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Jason Kipnis lends voice to growing chorus of players openly criticizing owners’ motives. “... the days of just shutting up and playing are long gone.”
• Theo Epstein on the Score [AUDIO].
• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): Theo Epstein: Cubs, MLB must be held accountable for promised changes, results. “That stuff doesn’t happen by accident,” he said. “These issues are institutionalized at this point; they’re systemic.” Mark Gonzales also has comments.
• Ian Happ on the Score [AUDIO].
• Ed Howard’s coach on the Score [AUDIO].
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Cubs outline plans after an ‘epic’ 2020 Draft. “Internally, we feel like it was a pretty epic Draft,” Dan Kantrovitz said. Mark Gonzales also has remarks. Evan Altman has thoughts as well.
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Ed Howard to Cubs: ‘I wanted to be a hometown kid’. “The way Kantrovitz explained it, the 18-year-old Howard was always Chicago’s top target at No. 16.” Jon Paul Morosi says Howard’s a winner. Patrick Mooney {$} concurs. More Mooney {$}. Sahadev Sharma, too {$}.
• Zach Braziller (NY Post*): Cubs’ wild draft pick Luke Little can throw 105 MPH. “He tallied 86 strikeouts versus 39 walks in 44 1/3 innings in two years at San Jacinto ...”
• Bryan Smith (Bleacher Nation): Deeper dive: Each of the Cubs Day 2 picks is loaded with upside. “I think, at some point over the last couple of years, the Cubs decided that they needed to place a higher value on upside ...”
• Mark Saxon (The Athletic {$}): A ‘Midwestern story’: Q&A with AJ Schnack, director of ‘Long Gone Summer’. “Because of what we’ve learned since 1998, it may be hard to remember how big a story this was, not just in baseball, but for the entire country.”
• Jeff Nelson (NBC Sports Chicago*): How Sammy Sosa remembers historic 1998 MLB season: ‘We brought baseball back’. Rick Morrissey has thoughts.
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Covering Sammy Sosa from afar, the Chicago Cubs slugger’s monster 1998 season was about more than just home runs. “... he filled the cavity on the lower-outside corner of the strike zone with the help of hitting coach Jeff Pentland.”
• Buster Olney (ESPN*): ‘I don’t feel cheated one bit’: Pitchers who gave up home runs to both McGwire and Sosa in ‘98 tell their tales. “With Sosa and McGwire, it was basically like they had a tee there and the barrel was there the whole time,” said Jim Parque.
• Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): A Cubs fan’s dilemma: How to root for the team without rooting for Florida Man. Yeah political but good points, I suppose. It’s something we’ve talked about here plenty.
• Cubs birthdays:

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading!