Cub Tracks’ weekend worriers

Welcome to today’s episode of Cub Tracks news and notes™. Here we have material from current beat writers, bloggers, and the occasional in-house habitué, moonlighting. These pieces center around #Cubs, #MiLB, and #MLB baseball.

The GM meetings are over, and nothing has been concluded. But there are new plot points. Jeff Passan has been deep in the muck, but you’ll need a sub to get the rest of the words. Not so with most of the others. They’re free to read, but still deep in the muck.

I brought my rake.

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. In the text body. It doesn’t work in the headlines).

• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Could MLB leverage lockout to mimic other sports’ more exciting Free Agency periods? “What the league might be planning ... is the intentional compressing of the free agency period with a lockout designed to last until mid-February.”
• Duane Pesice (Cubbies Crib*): For owners, what’s mine is mine – and yours is mine, too. “I thought negotiations were supposed to involve both sides agreeing to things eventually...”
• Marquee Sports Network*: Cubs Weekly Podcast: GM Meetings recap and interviews with Jed Hoyer and Carter Hawkins.
• Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Cubs notes from GM meetings: What they’re trying to build at Wrigley, breakout prospect Nelson Velazquez, more. “... “business as usual” only goes so far for the Cubs.”
• Bruce Levine (Marquee Sports Network*): ‘We have a lot of innings to cover’: How the Cubs are attacking the offseason after GM Meetings. “Hoyer and Hawkins will be talking this offseason at length with other clubs...”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Cubs’ new GM bonds on unplanned road trip. “Hawkins, front office take last-minute drive to GM Meetings.”
• Russell Dorsey (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Cubs moving forward with new front office finally in place. “I want to create a culture of winning and inclusion. I also want us to be excellent decision-makers and excellent player-developers,” Hoyer said Wednesday.
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Carter Hawkins navigates through his 1st general managers meetings with the Chicago Cubs: ‘We’re going to try to make the most of the opportunities’. “It seemed like a good idea until the transformer blew, and then I realized hoping to get a flight out wasn’t the best idea,” Hoyer said. “We actually had a good time.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): New Cubs Hitting Coach Greg Brown may have tools to fix broken offense. “Hitting coaches are hired to be fired...”
• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): Only two contenders in NL Central with Cubs going small. “... the Cardinals and the Brewers are the only two teams left standing in the division race.”
• Erik Mauro (Cubbies Crib*): Chicago Cubs are admittedly wary of lengthy, big-dollar contracts. “A team with World Series aspirations – or even a desire to compete at a high level – can usually be expected to court premier free agents.”
• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): How Cubs landed at center of key issue in CBA fight. “How many teams do you think are trying to win?”
• Lee Bosch (Marquee Sports Network*): Fall League Fridays: Nelson Velazquez continues to shine and a wild, 10-run comeback. “Velazquez has arguably been the best player in the league.”
• Jeff Parrott (South Bend Tribune* {$}): South Bend Cubs owner Andrew Berlin plans to add upper deck at Four Winds Field. “... an upper deck and more kitchen facilities, with work likely starting after the 2023 season.”

Food for Thought:

Thanks for reading.