Cub Tracks keeps on truckin’

The simCubs took three out of four from the Reds and welcome the Baltimore Orioles to beautiful simWrigley. Yu Darvish didn’t pitch especially well, nor especially badly, but Brandon Palmer has a quick hook and Ryan Tepera ended up with the victory as Ian Happ delivered a clutch double after Willson Contreras had driven in the game-tying run with a double of his own. Exciting times at the old ballyard as the 2020 simCubs pursue the championship dream.

Lots of highlights!

And the simCubs are all over the leaderboards:

First place in our hearts and first place in the NL Central and the best record in the National League.

Kohl Stewart, winless on the season, will face Kyle Hendricks, whose 7 wins are second on the squad. The Orioles are bad, but they gave the Cubs all they could handle last time around. Don’t enumerate the poulet.

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.

• Steve Greenberg (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): This week in baseball? It’s kind of a big deal. “There may not be more than a handful of days left for major-league owners and players to reach an agreement on economic, health and safety issues before it’ll be too late to have a season.”
• Vinnie Duber (NBC Sports Chicago*): MLB could shrink season to 50 games if no deal reached with players. “... an MLB-imposed 50-game schedule would have its benefits from a health standpoint.”
• ESPN with Jeff Passan [Audio}.
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Union’s counter to MLB allows players to opt out of proposed 114-game season. “Financially speaking, MLB’s biggest incentive for the 2020 season is the national TV money brought in during the playoffs.” Evan Altman updates this. Brett Taylor has thoughts.
• Jeff Nelson (NBC Sports Chicago*): Ever wonder why Wrigley Field’s outfield walls are adorned with ivy? “The origins of the ivy go back almost 90 years.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Fan FAQ: Bastian fields questions about 2020. “... here are some general questions sent in by multiple fans in recent weeks and the latest on the Cubs’ approach and potential plans.”
• Cubs birthdays: Larry Jackson, Lee Gregory, Neifi Perez, Steve Rain.

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading.