It’s silly season in more than one place. In this place, we talk about baseball. Let’s stick to that.
Here’s Cub Tracks News and Notes, your every-other-day-except-on-weekends escape from the humdrum. 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 on this page as sarcasm font. (In the comments section, use @ before and after your remarks @ to produce sarcasm font.)
“I think we can absolutely contend. I definitely think we need more arms. But, we’re talking about volume of arms.” — Tommy Hottovy
- The Athletic {$}: NL Central’s decline: Roundtable report on MLB’s cost-cutting division. “The roots of the hit to those teams’ revenues isn’t hard to decipher.”
- Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): Why Cubs might take step back, win NL Central again anyway. “I really believe that we will compete in this division.”
- Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): 4 New Year’s resolutions for the Chicago Cubs, including adding to the rotation and outfield and settling arbitration cases. “... there’s plenty of room for improvement...”
- Eno Sarris (The Athletic {$}): Why missing in-game video meant a poor season for Christian Yelich (and others). “The best use of in-game video for most hitters is the ability to affirm or deny what they saw or felt,” said independent professional hitting instructor Matt Lisle. Javier Baez, for one.
- Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Pitching Coach Tommy Hottovy confirms Cubs going quantity over quality for 2021 rotation. “... it’s clear Jed Hoyer’s plan involves conscripting as many inexpensive arms as possible to wage a war of attrition.”
- Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Cubs mentioned as a possible suitor for rehabbing closer Ken Giles. “... you can see how Giles would make some sense.” Also, Patrick Wisdom re-signed.
- Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation*): Report out of L.A. has Dodgers eyeing Kris Bryant trade if no new deal with Justin Turner. “... the Dodgers don’t want to commit more than two years to a 36-year-old third baseman...”
- Matt Snyder (CBS Sports*): Potential landing spots for Cubs stars: Bryant to NL East; Anthony Rizzo joins rising AL squad. “If the Cubs decide to keep wheeling and dealing this offseason, where might those names end up calling home?”
- Ryan Davis (Cubs Insider*): Trying to make sense of Sammy Sosa’s floundering HOF odds. “The point is that we simply don’t know when these guys starting using PEDs.”
Food for Thought:
It's the first time the bizarre engine has been tested. https://t.co/iw0x0Iq0bg
— Futurism (@futurism) January 6, 2021
Negative calorie foods don't exist, and these biologists have the flaming lizard poop to prove it https://t.co/uYSyJab5ra pic.twitter.com/yqNGeRMgqN
— Popular Science (@PopSci) January 6, 2021
"Now we can detect structure, more like listening to nice chords being played on the piano." https://t.co/SptxwHUVC1
— Futurism (@futurism) January 6, 2021