Cub Tracks’ rock rolls back downhill

Here at CUB TRACKS NEWS AND NOTES™, we have news for you. There’s basically only one story:

Per ESPN Stats and Info, the Cubs joined the Giants (April 26, 1976) as the only teams in the past 50 seasons to score seven runs in the first inning, only to lose by seven or more runs. h/t Jordan Bastian.

You can see this game, if you like, as a microcosm of the Cubs’ season. Early promise leading to a late-season collapse is one of the hallmarks of this club, one that events since that glorious 2016 Championship have done little to dispel. It lends itself to sentiments like this, from the beginning of the second inning yesterday:

Tell me again how there’s no scrying in baseball. I would prefer that the train stay on the tracks, thank you very little, you gods of baseball, or powers-that-be, if you be. I do not own stock in the June swoon, but this is hard to bear. The Brewers just scored a touchdown and kicked the extra point and I’m going back to cleaning the den.

Al has full results and highlights in his recap. Now help me push this rock back up the hill.

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* {$}): Chicago Cubs squander a 7-0 lead in a 15-7 defeat to the Milwaukee Brewers that extends their losing streak to 6 games. “At some point, the Cubs front office will commit to an organizational direction.” Russell Dorsey concurs. Make that twice. Paul Sullivan says the direction changes daily. Jordan Bastian pitches in. Sahadev Sharma {$} closes the deal.
• Jeff Passan (ESPN+ {$}): MLB trade deadline preview: Stars who could move and the teams most likely to deal. “... the market is beginning to sort itself out. And that’s a perfect time to answer 20 questions about what’s next.”
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Baseball has a centuries-long conversation between the game and its fans. The Zoom era can’t end soon enough. “You don’t forget those kinds of moments.”
• Maddie Lee (NBC Sports Chicago*): Arrieta doesn’t ‘care to think about’ rotation job security. “Pitching 1 2/3 (innings), that’s the story right there,” he said.
• Maddie Lee (NBC Sports Chicago*): Kimbrel breaks silence: no sticky stuff, no problem. “Joe West looked at the hat, Kimbrel said, and told him he’d have to confiscate it for the mark. But if he could rub the spot off before taking the mound, he’d be good to go.”
• Tony Andracki (Marquee Sports Network*): Who is Taylor Gushue? Getting to know the Cubs’ newest backup catcher. “If the Cubs are hit with another injury at catcher, they might turn to the coaches to step up.”
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Despite a lineup filled with stars, the Cubs offense misses a pair of role players in Matt Duffy and Nico Hoerner. “Cubs hitting coach Anthony Iapoce put it best: “Nobody believes it because you can’t measure it.”
• Maddie Lee (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cubs’ Hoerner could return as soon as this weekend. “All good signs,” Ross said Wednesday. “He’s off today, play tomorrow, and then we’ll see where he’s at.”
• Tony Andracki (Marquee Sports Network*): Cubs prospects selected for Futures Game roster. “Outfielder Brennen Davis and pitcher Manuel Rodríguez were selected...”
• Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation*): Former Cubs executive and Mets GM Jared Porter placed on MLB’s Ineligible List. Grimy.

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading. Image by #Monteneggroll