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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. Bear in mind that we do not necessarily endorse the points of view presented by the writers whose work we share. We do make every reasonable attempt to be evenhanded in our presentation, with an emphasis on the factual.

It’s been an interesting week, eh? First, Tuesday’s rollercoaster moment, with the win but Nico’s hammie, and then last night’s effort. The Pirates are not a good team, but they have some good players, and I’d class them officially as “pesky”.

Kris Bryant is really something. Like the mega-Ben Zobrist or Mark DeRosa, playing all the spots, making it all seem smooth, and bringing that bat. Boy, I hope the Cubs can keep him. I like him best in an outfield corner. Bet his legs agree.

The rain petered out, Trevor Williams found his footing against his old team, and the Cubs will go for the sweep today. The Cardinals beat the White Sox so the Cubs didn’t gain any ground, but they did get Pittsburgh meatloaf, which likely comes with pierogi.

And how about Giovanny Gallegos’ hat? Nice.

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“It may be one of those seasons where [being] the healthiest group on the backside of this whole thing is the real competitive advantage in the whole scheme of what we’re going through,” Cubs manager David Ross said.

• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): Pain management: The new competitive metric for Cubs, MLB. “It does seem like that,” said Ross.
• Josh Frydman, Rick Tarsitano, Larry Hawley (WGN Sports*): Nothing will stop Trevor Williams’ dad from seeing him pitch for Cubs. “Richard Williams grew up on the South Side, taking the L to Wrigley as a teenager.”
• Maddie Lee (NBC Sports Chicago*): How Cubs bucked bad reputation for pitching development. “Craig Breslow and Casey Jacobson, James Ogden, and all the coaches, they’ve done a terrific job and really tried to change the way we think about pitching development, and pitch development, in particular,” Jed Hoyer said.
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic{$}): As Cubs’ injuries mount, Willson Contreras’ ‘irreplaceable’ contributions come into sharper focus. “Contreras’ value is hard to overstate.”
• Russell Dorsey (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Nico Hoerner leaves game with strained left hamstring. “Hoerner injured the hamstring while trying to beat out a bunt in the fifth inning of the Cubs’ 4-3 victory” (Tuesday).
• Colleen Kane (Chicago Tribune*{$}): 3 things we heard from the Chicago Cubs, including Kris Bryant’s outfield enjoyment and a Willson Contreras update. “... he (Bryant) brings four gloves on the road with him...”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): After injuries forced Kris Bryant to OF, even more injuries may force him back to 3B. “... maybe Bryant can just play two positions at once.”
• Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation*): Joc Pederson’s offense, mustache improving. “... Pederson shouldn’t change a thing right now...” Jordan Horrobin (MLB.com*) doubles up.
• Rick Telander (Chicago Sun-Times*{$}): Cubs have a vexing vaccine problem. “Some players are creating their own competitive disadvantage because they refuse to take one for the team.”
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cubs’ David Ross’ top moment with Joe West is history lesson. “There’s no wavering when you’re around Joe,” Ross said.
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): The South Bend Cubs just got into a full-on, benches-clearing brawl – just total chaos. “It’s rare enough to see any kind of on-field fighting in the minors, but this was on another level.”
• AP via Sun-Times*{$}: New Era apparently pulls ‘Local Market’ baseball caps after online ridicule. “The caps were lampooned as tacky, generic and at times inaccurate.”

Food for thought:

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