Cub Tracks goes to extras

Here at CUB TRACKS NEWS AND NOTES™, we like to keep things brief on the principle that it makes us appear wise. Unless we feel a rant. But we don’t mind a little informing with the entertaining.

And so we regret to inform you that Lorenzo Cain happened. Twice. The Cubs will have to take two out of three against the Brewers at Milwaukee next week in order to even up the season series.

They sure made it interesting, though. This team is in the best shape of their lives, and they don’t have any quit in them.

.500 doesn’t mean ‘panic.’ But the Cubs are going to have to find some bats that have hits in them. I wonder if Matt Szczur has any on hand that they can borrow...

Also, we officially hate the man-on-second-in-extras rule. It makes us use gamethread 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.)

• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): How looming labor conflict influences Cubs extension talks. “... ownership has been exposed during the pandemic for prioritizing land-grabs, development, capital growth and, consequently, over-extended debt over team-building ...”
• Maddie Lee (NBC Sports Chicago*): How Adbert Alzolay recovered from shaky start to 2021 debut. “Sometimes finding your rhythm is important,” Cubs manager David Ross said.
• Tony Andracki (Marquee Sports Network*): The Cubs couldn’t have hoped for a better start from Kimbrel. “His presence on the mound, throwing strikes, being really aggressive with the heater — that’s Craig Kimbrel,” Ian Happ said.
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): ‘Enough is enough’: Chicago Cubs manager David Ross responds after Willson Contreras is hit for a 2nd time this series by the Milwaukee Brewers. “Contreras has been hit by a pitch 11 times by Brewers pitchers in his career.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): 1 hit vs. Crew: Too early to gauge Cubs’ bats? “Five games is far too soon to draw any real conclusions about any aspect of a ballclub.” Evan Altman considers one-hit wonders.
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Fergie Jenkins to get statue outside Wrigley. “It just brings a smile to your face,” Jenkins said on Tuesday. Steve Greenberg checks in on this.
• Jon Greenberg (The Athletic {$}): Why did three Cubs executives go to the South Side of Chicago to teach kids about baseball? “Well, it started in 2016 when a restless Theo Epstein wrote an email to his colleagues.”
• Phil Rosenthal (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Chicago Cubs’ Marquee Sports Network is now streaming on fuboTV, a week after a carriage agreement was announced. “Negotiations with rival streaming services, such as Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV, continue.”

Food for thought:

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