Cub Tracks’ home plate

I’m gonna see if I can’t get up to see a game this spring. My trusty little Nissan loves the 100-mile trip to Phoenix metro and I can afford it if I skip Doordash a couple of times and actually cook. If not I’ll shoot for July 16, when the Cubs play the Diamondbacks. Doordash is a hard habit to break.

Watched my first game of the year and the Cubs delivered, while I was working on this listicle. I was expecting things to be early-spring sloppy but even the lesser-known players were on their game. Got to credit the Cubs’ coaching staff for that. I’d like to know that the pitching will be like that all year, into the bargain (except for Brandon Workman and Jason Adam). The bats had a little life too. There was some LOUD contact.

The Mariners were not (seemingly) fundamentally sound and were tossing the rock around a bit. Their staff could not have been too happy. Scott Servais’ delivery sounded a little, eh, sharp, in the first part of his interview. Jason Benetti is a pro, though, and cleaned that up right away, and Servais was allowed to wax enthusiastic about his young pledges, which was much better and got him philosophical.

The broadcast was basically enjoyable, with good moments during interviews with Boog Sciambi and Jason Heyward, and of course it all means nothing in the great scheme of things but feels nice anyway, like Michael Hermosillo’s later tater. The Cubs still haven’t lost.

Here’s Cub Tracks News and Notes, made fresh the way you like it. 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.)

RIP Joe Altobelli. Best of luck to Jon Lester, who is having thyroid surgery.

Cubs manager David Ross, on Javier Báez, Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant heading into their walk years: “I’m OK with them being a little selfish this year. Sometimes you gotta take care of yourself and get your numbers, and if they get their numbers, I think we’re gonna be just fine. These guys know what they’ve done together.” — Alden Gonzalez, ESPN.

• CBS2 Chicago*: Mayor Lori Lightfoot expects Cubs and White Sox can have fans in the stands at some point this season; ‘I think they’ve come up with very good plans’. “... when we are ready, we will announce what the future will look like for the potential spectators in the stands,” Lightfoot said.”
• Jesse Rogers (ESPN*): Return of the white flag trade? How Cubs are setting themselves up for a difficult July dilemma. “Half of the likely Opening Day roster will be free agents come November.”
• Maddie Lee (NBC Sports Chicago*): Ross not La Russa: Cubs manager defends short innings rule. “At the end of the day, these are exhibition games,” Ross said on a Zoom press conference Wednesday.
• Mark Sheldon (MLB.com*): Breaking down the NL Central rotations. “... all five clubs in the division have at least one question mark as Spring Training rolls on.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Cubs eager to see more from Adbert Alzolay. “... his place in the pitching puzzle remains to be seen.” Evan Altman checks in on this. Russell Dorsey adds on.
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Dillon Maples displayed decidedly different mechanics in spring debut. “Could this be what unlocks his potential?”
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Shelby Miller, once one of the best young pitchers in baseball, has a shot at helping the Chicago Cubs this year in a versatile role. “Whatever my role is, I’m always going to try to be a guy who can adapt to any situation,” Miller said Tuesday. Russell Dorsey elaborates.
• Tony Andracki (Marquee Sports Network*): Pedro Strop feels like he’s ‘home’ with Cubs. “That’s what I consider the Cubs — my home. … I don’t have any words to describe how happy I am right now.”
• Mike Petriello (MLB.com*): Is Cubs’ new hitting approach a good thing? “Lineup has biggest projected K% improvement.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Ross has no doubt who’ll lead off for Cubs. “... the switch-hitting Ian Happ ... earned the leadoff job last season and will remain there come Opening Day.”
• Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation*): Things may have just changed for Nico Hoerner, the Chicago Cubs, and second base in 2021. “... his developmental path is always top-of-mind.” Tony Andracki talks Hoerner.
• Russell Dorsey (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): David Bote bringing a level head to the Cubs’ second-base competition. ‘‘Who doesn’t love a good competition?’’ Bote said.
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): How Joc Pederson made a pitch to the Cubs and bet on himself as a free agent. “Pederson said he turned down multiyear offers elsewhere.”
• Marquee Sports Network*: Jon ‘Boog’ Sciambi makes Marquee Sports Network broadcast debut as Cubs defeat Royals. “We had a great time. It was nice to be back calling a baseball game at the ballpark,” Sciambi said after the game.
• Phil Rosenthal (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Boog Sciambi made his Chicago Cubs TV debut for Marquee Sports Network. Here’s how he did. “... everyone should have liked Sciambi, who was every bit as good as expected when hired to succeed Kasper.”

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading!