Cub Tracks wasn’t overheard in Mayfair

But Brandon Palmer was. His hair was perfect. In his head, we think he might still be there. He missed the interview, preferring to stay in his office with the door closed and take delivery of a crate of limes and ice. Unless I miss my guess, he’s viewing the proceedings with a gimlet eye. That would explain some of his decisions, like arbitrarily dropping Johan Camargo from the lineup the other day. Poor, poor pitiful Johan. It’s a good thing he’s not an excitable boy.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the simCubs dropped the opener to the simBoSox but there’s still hope for meatloaf. You can’t win them all, and the team is still 54-22, which ain’t so bad.

Ian Happ got things close with a ninth-inning two-run blast, but the club fell two runs short of victory. Yu Darvish pitched very well but gets a no-decision. Alec Mills takes the loss, his first, after allowing solo shots by Andrew Benintendi and JD Martinez in the seventh. Alex Verdugo added on in the ninth, and that was the winning margin.

Kyle Hendricks and his veteran experience will take the hill against Marcus Walden and his youthful exuberance. Walden is not having his best year, and perhaps the simCubs can take advantage of that. Al will have more about the game in the game post at 2:30 p.m. 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 also catch past games and game videos, if you want the full #simCubs experience. This might or might not solve the current impasse:

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.

• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago* {$}): MLB looks worse each day as virus bears down on plans to restart sports. “... MLB reportedly is considering shutting down all spring facilities in the wake of the news.”
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Cubs examining return-to-play protocols after outbreak at Phillies’ complex. “It can’t be all about the money.”
• Brendan Miller (Cubs Insider* {$}): Watch: Yu Darvish reveals new pitch he calls “Supreme”. “... looks like a Kyle Hendricks changeup thrown 15 mph faster.”
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Shawon Dunston, a former Chicago Cubs No. 1 pick, knows all about high hopes — and he has advice for Ed Howard, the latest shortstop wunderkind in town. “Now I know why Dunston was picked ahead of Gooden,” Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog told reporters in 1987. “He’s got a better arm.”
• Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation): The Cubs haven’t seen anything like 2nd-rounder Burl Carraway in 10+ years. “It’s a gamble of a pick – there’s no doubt about that – but I love the risk, because I’m dying for the upside.” Evan Altman has more on Cubs draft picks.
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Luke Little eager to show his heat is no fluke. “Little knows the work is just getting started with the Cubs, too.”
• Maddie Lee (NBC Sports Chicago*): Theo Epstein, Ken Williams explain how MLB operations leaders united behind BLM. “The two executives joined ‘MLB Tonight: A Conversation’ on Friday ...” Maddie Lee has more.
• Andrew Baggarly and more (The Athletic {$}): Control people: A look at MLB’s 30 owners and power brokers. “... it’s these 30 combined voices who ultimately determine how hard a line to draw, what level of operational losses are tolerable amid a pandemic, and what if any compromise the league is willing to make.”
• Cubs birthdays: Jim Delahanty, Rip Hagerman, Art Schult, Cuno Barragan, Ray Newman, Gary Varsho, Paul Bako, Kevin Gregg, Cole Gillespie.

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading.