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, two of which are suspended at the moment.
Major League Baseball is a black hole right now. Things accrete around the main disc, but there are no events on the horizon. The beat writers still are enjoying their buspersons’ holiday, which I suppose makes up for all those late nights watching bad baseball.
The rest of us ink-stained wretches soldier on. The minor leagues are in full operative mode and we have some of that material, to augment the fine offerings from Tim and Josh. Minor leaguers are fun.
We have an explanation for that dinner with Rizzo the other night:
Anthony Rizzo officially moved out of his Chicago apartment, where he lived for 7 years.
— Cubs Zone ™️ (@CubsZone) December 14, 2021
“Tried to hold it together, but as I was about to walk out, seeing it all empty, I took a moment to soak it all in, all the memories, all happy tears.”
via @thecompoundpod pic.twitter.com/q01qSCWt2L
Ok, it’s just a little misty in here . That was an awkward breakup at the very least. As long as things are awkward, let me add some poetry from the near future, translated from the Vogonese:
On the fourth day of Cubsmas, Jed Hoyer gave to me:
One starting pitcher
Two hitting coaches
Three glove-first fielders
Four bullpen arms
and a beer
We’ll pick that back up on Saturday. Now we’ll have an awkward pause.
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). #IStandWithThePlayers.
Is this up for sale!?
— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) December 13, 2021
Tremendous episode from our guy @ARizzo44 most frequent guest on @thecompoundpod presented by @ParceRum https://t.co/m214qd3hKs https://t.co/TcHEJyFw7l
— Ian Happ (@ihapp_1) December 14, 2021
- Jake Misener (Cubbies Crib*): 2022 will be a telling year for manager David Ross. “It’s safe to say Ross’ first two years as a big league manager have been… untraditional.”
- Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation*): Is the Cubs’ long-term payroll situation another reason to spend aggressively right now? “Let’s be even more generous for the sake of conversation and say we’re still not operating under normal circumstances.”
- Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Carlos Rodon still makes a lot of sense for the Chicago Cubs. “But, yes, there’s that “high-risk” part.” Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma discuss {$}.
- Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Heuer primed for key role in Cubs’ 2022 bullpen. “I see myself having a big role in this bullpen going forward, and that’s the only way I’d like it,” Heuer said.
- Eno Sarris (The Athletic {$}): Corbin Burnes’ cutter and the other best pitches in baseball in 2021. Just a brief Cub mention... which is exactly the problem.
- Richard Johnson (Cubbies Crib*): Who are the 5 best relievers in Chicago Cubs history? “The “five best” series concludes...”
- Tony Andracki (Marquee Sports Network*): When Cubs icons realized they belonged in the big leagues. “It took a little while,” Ryan Dempster said.
- Todd Johnson (Cubs Central): FanGraphs’ Top Cubs prospect list needs some explaining.
- Greg Zumach (North Side Bound): Exploring a challenge trade. “... organizations rarely make the intriguing prospect-for-prospect trade.”
- Todd Johnson (North Side Bound): Prospect profile: Cristian Hernandez’ 2022 to-do list is getting ready for the grind. “... he lived up to some of the hype surrounding him.”
- Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Max Bain joins viral deadlift trend, adds twist. “... a cadre of pitchers in the Cubs system has taken social media by storm with their ability to lift heavy weights.” Greg Huss interviews Bain.
- Mario Tirabassi (Bleacher Nation*): Report: Blackhawks hire consultant and reach out to Cubs as GM search continues. “... the Blackhawks have ... hired Mike Forde of Sportsology, a consulting firm that has helped numerous sports teams around the world find candidates for front office positions.”
Today in Cubs and MLB history:
- 1905 - The Cubs trade OF Jack McCarthy and Billy Maloney, 3B Doc Casey, and P Buttons Briggs to Brooklyn for Jimmy Sheckard, who will take over LF for the National League champions of the next three years.
- 1926 - Judge Landis is given a new seven-year term as commissioner with a raise to $65,000.
- 1976 - Court proceedings in Charlie Finley’s $10 million damage suit against Commissioner Bowie Kuhn begin in Chicago. At issue is Kuhn’s voiding of Finley’s attempted player sales last June. The proceedings will take 15 days, and the decision will take three months, but it will uphold the Commissioner’s authority to act “in the best interests of baseball.”
- 2002 - After being invited to the Dominican Republic by President Hipolito Mejia, Japanese home run king Sadaharu Oh meets one his favorite players, island resident Sammy Sosa. The Dominican outfielder, who was one homer shy of the coveted 500, will have to hit several hundred more to reach the mark of 868 set by the 62-year-old during his 22 seasons playing for the Yomiuri Giants.
- 2020 - In a groundbreaking decision, Major League Baseball grants major league status to the Negro Leagues for the period 1920-1948, meaning that statistics compiled by their players will now be part of the official baseball record. The decision affects seven leagues and some 3,400 players, including 35 Hall of Famers.
Cubs birthdays: Sammy Strang, Adolfo Phillips, Paul Noce, Tyler Chatwood,
Food for Thought:
— Futurism (@futurism) December 14, 2021
Thanks for reading. Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the opinions of writers whose work is linked in this series of articles. We try to present a balanced view, and let the facts speak for themselves.