Cub Tracks’ springs eternal

Stop me if you’ve heard this one. A man walks into training camp. Warm fuzzies all around. In the gorgeous mid-70s in central and southern Arizona, Pedro Strop and his hat are in the mix. Everything looks Jake. Optimism abounds. The moment should be preserved, laminated, even. It’s so perfect.

The man pays an exorbitant sum, receives his chit. Produces identification, gets adult refreshments, takes his seat, fifteen feet from the third-base coach. Soon enough, the entertainment begins, amid the smell of new-mown grass, the ball thwacking into the glove with regularity, the click! of a well-stroked drive, the grunts as fielders heave the rock into play.

He observes the veterans, the big dogs, conserving energy, knowing that they’ll only be in for a couple of innings, smooth, confident. They’re always in the right place. They’ve seen this movie before.

He turns to the nearest fan and shouts “I just flew in from Vegas... what do we call this #@%$&/ team?”

“The %&@#%$ Cubs,” comes the answer.

The hungry minor-leaguers come in, dropping the ball, throwing it around the yard. A gopher ball with runners on, and a pitchers’ duel turns into a slugfest. “Boy, are my arms tired,” remarks the third base coach.

He groans, turns to the nearest fan and shouts “What do we call this #@%$&/ team?”

“The aristocrats,” comes the answer. Remember, it’s not the size of the dog in the fight.

Here’s Cub Tracks News and Notes, the only listicle you’ll need. 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.)

• Kari Steele (ABC15*): REVERSE ATM! Cubs use new technology for cashless transactions at Spring Training concessions. “The card can be used for food, beverages, and merchandise at the team store.”
• Steve Greenberg (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): With Cubs, White Sox back to playing games, can we try to leave the last year behind us? “... maybe it’s better to look at these spring games and the coming season they prophesy not as a continuation of the same dark strangeness, but rather as a new chapter.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Report: The plan is to have some fans at Wrigley Field on Opening Day. “There will be pod seating and very limited capacity and masking requirements...” Evan Altman addresses this also.
• Russell Dorsey (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Willson Contreras unbothered by being included in Cubs’ offseason trade rumors. “I’m in a spot where those types of things don’t bother me,” he said.
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Contreras on framing: ‘Now what are they going to say?’. “Last year, I put my focus on it and you saw what I was able to do with the pitch framing,” he said. “[My improvement] makes me feel good.”
• Russell Dorsey (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Javy Baez confident he can return to form for Cubs with difficult 2020 season in the rearview. “... it wouldn’t be crazy to call Javy Baez the Cubs’ spark plug.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Báez: ‘Obviously, I want to stay here’. “I don’t want to play for another team.” Meghan Montemurro offers remarks. Tony Andracki has words. Patrick Mooney tops it off {$}.
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Beat Writer pulls clever troll job as Cubs trade Zach Bryant to Red Sox. “This completes the deal from last season that saw lefty Josh Osich traded from Boston to Chicago.”
• Russell Dorsey (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Joc Pederson trying to shake platoon label in fresh start with the Cubs. “Pederson has a career .576 OPS against left-handed pitching, but the Cubs are going to give him a chance to play everyday.” Jordan Bastian covers this as well.
• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): How Cubs cost-cut their way to landing a big free agent. “The work that he’s been putting in now, you can see he wants to try and seize that opportunity,” Cubs hitting coach Anthony Iapoce said.
• Ben Lindbergh (Fangraphs*): Effectively Wild Episode 1661: Season Preview Series: Nationals and Cubs. Podcast episode.

Food for Thought:

Thanks for reading.