Cub Tracks’ lede’s off

I’m not going to dance around the truth — each run scored felt like a touchdown. These are tough times, Cub fans. I see lots of you out on that ledge already, doing the can’t look away conga.

The McAndrew line™ looms. Everybody limbo.

Here at CUB TRACKS NEWS AND NOTES™, we like to keep things brief on the principle that it makes us appear wise. We don’t always, but we like to. Sometimes a picture is a thousand words. Sometimes the caption speaks louder than a thousand words.

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.)

“A guy like Alec Mills, you could look back at the end of the year and say a guy like him is going to be like the MVP of our pitching staff.” — Tommy Hottovy.

• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): Hottovy: COVID-19 outbreak reminder ‘how real’ threat remains. “With the amount of time that we all spend together in the locker room, and traveling, it just shows you how quickly something can get off the rails,” Hottovy said.
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): As COVID-19 uncertainties cause the Chicago Cubs to juggle their roster, President Jed Hoyer says ‘every day is sort of a new challenge’. “Twice-daily testing has become the stats I’m looking at right now,” Hoyer said Wednesday.
• Tony Andracki (Marquee Sports Network*): As COVID affects clubhouse, Cubs maintain cautious approach. “If you have a headache, if you have a runny nose, if you have body aches, if you have just about anything going on that would or could be one of the 10 COVID symptoms, we’re going to err on the side of caution,” David Ross said.
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Cubs ‘wait and see’ after Hendricks scratch. “Ross said it was a “wait and see” situation, when asked if Hendricks might also need to be placed on the COVID-19-related injured list out of caution.”
• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): Pedro Strop on return to mound for Cubs: ‘I got goosebumps’. “It feels amazing,” said Strop.
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Spinner Fella: Justin Steele posts Elite Statcast Numbers in MLB debut. “Steele’s elite-level stuff has been somewhat obscured by spotty health and the fact that he doesn’t throw 100 mph.”
• Maddie Lee (NBC Sports Chicago*): Behind the scenes of Steele’s unexpected debut. “I was just smiling the whole way,” Steele said Tuesday of the drive, “just thinking back on all the years I’ve worked so hard to get here.”
• Matt Snyder (CBS Sports*): Why the Cubs’ awful offense could trigger full rebuild if downward trend continues this summer. “A Wrigleyville fire sale is becoming increasingly more likely as the 2021 season unfolds.”
• Jordan Bastian, Adam McCalvy (MLB.com*): Cubs-Crew tensions rise over HBPs. Willson got sweet revenge but this probably isn’t over.
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Contreras on Brewers fans: ‘It feels good to shut them up’. It’s a real rivalry.
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}: Chicago Cubs look to take the series vs. the Milwaukee Brewers after another wild game between the rivals: ‘I think they picked the wrong guy to throw at’.
• Bernie Pleskoff (Forbes* {$}): Chicago Cubs face big decisions around impending free agents Baez, Bryant And Rizzo. “It remains to be seen if the Cubs want to sign any or all of the three.”
• Phil Rosenthal (Chicago Tribune* {$}): After 10 seasons away, Paul Friedman is again the Chicago Cubs’ Wrigley Field PA announcer — but only for a month. “Friedman said he feels “really relaxed and really confident” slipping back into his old role at Cubs games.”
• Jayson Stark (The Athletic {$}): Moving the mound, the ‘Double Hook’ — what MLB and the Atlantic League are trying out next. “So why should a Dodgers fan or a Cubs fan or a Twins fan pay attention to anything that happens in the Atlantic League?”
• Jonathan Gordon (Law and Sport {$}): Baseball’s anti-trust exemption: Is it time for a change? “While other professional sport leagues have a few antitrust exemptions, none of them are exempt to the degree that professional baseball is.”

Food for Thought: