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Here at CUB TRACKS NEWS AND NOTES™, we have news for you. The weather person says half a foot of rain came down in fifteen minutes this afternoon. I went out and danced in it. In sports, Alec Mills and Sonny Gray dueled some, with Mills staked to an early lead courtesy of Jason Heyward’s RBI double.
Two-out RBI double for J-Hey!#CubTogether pic.twitter.com/5x4ukO6RLp
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 3, 2021
Both pitchers were dealing, striking out hitters right and left-handed. Mills looked determined to Maddux until Nick Castellanos knocked him out with the second Reds hit of the day. That led to two runs, a Reds lead, and game-long drama, in which we fans waited for the Cubs to hit with a runner in scoring position (or for the Reds to widen the lead). Neither happened, and now the Cubs have lost seven straight. They were 0-5 with RISP.
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.)
Congratulations to @PatrickWisdom5, the NL Rookie of the Month!#CubTogether pic.twitter.com/z4sxJE4sce
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 2, 2021
- MLB.com: Injuries & Roster Moves: Hoerner rehabs. “ it’s a “possibility” that the infielder rejoins the Cubs at some point in the July 2-4 weekend series...”
- Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): So much more to discuss on the state of the Cubs’ buy-sell decision for the run-up to the trade deadline. “...selling is now as likely as ever...” Sahadev Sharma’s take {$}. Russell Dorsey weighs in.
- Russell Dorsey (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): It’s time for the Cubs to have a real conversation about Jake Arrieta. “I don’t know who we would replace him with.”
- Nick Selbe (Sports Illustrated*): Cubs’ Milwaukee meltdown should serve as a warning. “Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong for us lately,” Arrieta said.
- Anthony Castrovince (MLB.com*): Big trades and other bold July predictions. “The Cubs will acquire Kyle Gibson.”
- Steve Greenberg (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): The key to Cubs reliever Andrew Chafin’s career year? He just doesn’t give a [blank]. What’s a little high-leverage pressure, anyway? “My skin is so damn thick,” he says, “it doesn’t even matter.”
- Meghan Montemurro and Lamond Pope (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Chicago Cubs and White Sox position players are shut out in bid to start in the 2021 MLB All-Star Game. “Of the Cubs’ five finalists, Bryant likely has the best chance to be chosen as an All-Star reserve.”
- Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cubs: Why Kyle Schwarber looks like one that got away. “Think the Cubs could use that guy right now?”
Food for Thought:
"It's incredible. It's also incredibly dysfunctional."
— Futurism (@futurism) July 2, 2021
https://t.co/FLrkkNCufb
Glasses That Make Beer Taste Better https://t.co/MS9pO5Hl9B pic.twitter.com/7x5ga39aJh
— Popular Science (@PopSci) July 2, 2021
Is marijuana a performance-enhancing drug? The best evidence says no. https://t.co/y0cyXjWSIL pic.twitter.com/ICvpyvK3q1
— Popular Science (@PopSci) July 2, 2021