Cub Tracks’ fission chips

5-2. Pederson SO w/bags jammed. Ouch.

At press time, the Cubs’ best starter is still doing the limbo, the team can’t hit a lick, and good teams are arriving. Their backs are against the wall — maybe this is how they like it? The Cubs need to show some signs of life soon, instead of floundering. There is water at the bottom of the ocean. Was 2016 once in a lifetime?

If they fail, will we start to see sell-by dates? Or is the time now? C’mon, throwing in the towel is perfectly in tune with the occasion. 42, right? Same as it ever was.

DON’T PANIC.

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.

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.)

• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): What prevented the Chicago Cubs’ recent COVID-19 situation from spiraling? A cautious approach and getting a number of Tier 1 personnel vaccinated, experts say. “We have to be ultimately conservative when it comes to guys just having a runny nose or a little stopped up and congested,” David Ross said Wednesday. “We have to really be careful and make sure we’re being diligent.”
• Jesse Rogers (ESPN*): Chicago Cubs manager Ross has ‘hard time understanding’ suspensions. “It’s a little confusing, to me, from my seat,” he said Friday, clearly annoyed. “I have a hard time understanding it.” What he said (from Marquee Sports Network).
• Jack Baer (Yahoo Sports*): Cubs pitcher, manager suspended after catcher Willson Contreras admits they threw at Brewers P. “Best of luck to Tepera explaining that away in his appeal.”

• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): Start the buses: It’s already go time for Cubs’ selloff. “... not even team president Jed Hoyer tries to hide behind the small-sample-size argument.”
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Too soon for Cubs to talk trade deadline? Or is Craig Kimbrel 2.0 a path toward next Gleyber Torres? “The market for rental closers probably won’t get that heated again this summer.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Kyle Hendricks still not officially on the rotation schedule, which has a big open question on Sunday. “Sunday is still listed as a TBA...”
• Russell Dorsey (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Cubs’ Hendricks feeling better after being scratched from start. “Hendricks tested negative for COVID-19 in the Cubs’ latest round of testing.”
• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): Why Ryan Tepera deserves an intentional MVP vote this year. “The bigger point is that Major League Baseball should have just left this one alone.”
• Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): How bad has the Cubs’ offense been? Even worse than you think. “We can’t live and die by the home run,” Ross said. “I know we’re built to slug, but we’re going to have to move the baseball a little bit better.”
• Ryan Thomure (Cubs Insider*): Whiffs in Zone contributing to tough start for Javier Báez. “Báez has never been known for his plate discipline.”
• Tony Andracki (Marquee Sports Network*): As Cubs sort out offense, Kris Bryant’s resurgence is a bright spot. “I don’t know where we’d be without Kris right now,” Ross said.
• Russell Dorsey (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Cubs’ Ian Happ using various platforms to make the business of baseball understandable for fans. “Happ is using his role as Cubs’ player rep and his podcast “The Compound” to bring fans behind the scenes...”
• Alex Shapiro (NBC Sports Chicago*): Jason Heyward donates game check for Jackie Robinson Day. “Dodgers pitcher David Price is also donating...”

Food for Thought:

Thanks for reading.