Cub Tracks’ tools of the trade

Here at CUB TRACKS NEWS AND NOTES™, we have news for you. The Cubs dropped one to the Diamondbacks Saturday afternoon at steamy Wrigley Field, where it was 20 degrees warmer than Tucson. Strange days indeed.

Kind of a lackluster game, on balance, given the protracted rain delay in the bottom of the ninth. I imagine most of the TV audience checked out before the game concluded (I had Pat and Ron going — they spent a lot of time with Bruce Levine). The Sheriff had a rare bad day in front of all of those scouts, so maybe the Cubs can keep him. Not a ton of highlights, but still, this, his fifteenth to lead NL catchers:

And this was cool, though Alec Mills stayed true to his pattern otherwise:

And this fine defensive play by Patrick Wisdom:

Cub can go for the loaf today.

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.)

• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): One year after his managerial debut, David Ross is trying to right the ship for the Chicago Cubs. “He’s a player’s manager and focuses on the task at hand.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Rare misstep for Chafin, but KB, Tepera sharp. “... it is hard to ignore that trades are starting to happen around the league.” Tim Stebbins has some observations.
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Willson Contreras ejected, restrained by David Ross. “He’s a passionate player,” Ross said postgame. “I love his passion.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): A whole lotta scouts are coming to see the Cubs this weekend. “Here’s hoping the Cubs put on a good and healthy-looking show...”
• Mike Berardino (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Is this final ’stand for Cubs’ familiar faces? “Players on the trade block have a potential last hurrah before fans at the Friendly Confines.” Gordon Wittenmyer has words.
• Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Cubs prospect notes: Brennen Davis and baseball’s circle of life at the trade deadline. “... one Cubs staffer suggested putting a countdown clock near the center-field scoreboard.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Justin Steele almost ready to join late-season rotation in Chicago. “Through three Triple-A starts, he has gone 10.2 innings with a 0.85 ERA with 14 strikeouts and just one earned run allowed on three hits.”
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Amid Cubs’ trade deadline uncertainty, here are 3 young pitchers to watch the rest of the way. “With Adbert Alzolay, Alec Mills and Keegan Thompson, the Cubs and their fans have good reason to be optimistic.”
• Maddie Lee Maddie Lee(NBC Sports Chicago*): How Alzolay bridges Cubs’ present and post-deadline future. “... just as important to the Cubs’ “one day at a time” mentality as he is to their post-deadline future.”
• Brian Sandalow (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): As Matt Duffy knows and teammates could experience, trades part of life. “The Giants traded Duffy in 2016, and he could see current Cubs dealt away soon.” Tim Stebbins gets in on this.
• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): Bryant shows off keen ham-eye coordination for scouts. “I think there’s a lot of wait-and-see,” Ross said.
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Don’t hold your breath on Brailyn Márquez returning this season. “... maybe putting fewer miles on those high-performance tires will be better for him in the long run.”

Food for Thought:

Thanks for reading.