Cub Tracks 2022-step

Welcome to today’s episode of Cub Tracks news and notes™. Here we have material from current beat writers, bloggers, and the occasional in-house habitué, moonlighting. These pieces center around #Cubs, #MiLB, and #MLB baseball.

Photo by Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images

Here’s a progress report on the CBA negotiations:

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Happy New Year?

Let’s dance!

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). #IStandWithThePlayers.

• Alexander Patt (Cubbies Crib*): How do Steamer projections like the current Cubs roster? “Steamer will probably sell some of these guys a tad short...”
• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): Caissie at the bat: Cubs’ Yu Darvish trade one year later. “I don’t really try to pay attention to social media because that can get in the way of a lot of things,” Caissie said. “But I do carry a little bit of chip on my shoulder because it’s like, ‘I got traded for Darvish, and this is why.’ Brett Taylor had thoughts about this.
• Jake Misener (Cubbies Crib*): 3 players that could be moved before the trade deadline. “... the trade market never really got rolling prior to the lockout.”
• Jared Wyllys (Forbes* {$}): Three players poised for a 2022 breakout for the Chicago Cubs. “The Cubs will have almost nowhere to go but up in 2022.”
• Todd Johnson (Cubs Insider*): Cubs Organizational Breakdown, Pt. 7: Hard-throwing right-handed relievers now flood system. “... relievers dominated Cubs pitching headlines in 2021.”
• Tony Andracki (Marquee Sports Network*): Fergie Jenkins recalls his best All-Star Game memory. “Imagine being a 24-year-old in your second big-league season and having to face a gauntlet of Hall of Famers.”
• Jeff Eisenberg (Yahoo Sports*): Team owner’s act of generosity leaves staff ‘speechless,’ in tears. “On his final day as principal owner of the Iowa Cubs, Michael Gartner surprised his staff with an unforgettable goodbye gift.” MLB.com’s version. Bleacher Nation’s thoughts. This was reported in our last edition but has deservedly grown some legs.

Cubs birthdays: Hugh Nicol, Ned Garvin, Tom Downey, Hack Miller, Teddy Kearns, Ethan Allen, Randy Bobb, Roberto Rivera. Also notable: Tim Keefe HOF, Hank Greenberg HOF.

Food for Thought:

Thanks for reading. Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the opinions of writers whose work is linked in this series of articles. We try to present a balanced view, and let the facts speak for themselves.