Cub Tracks’ cuddly as a cactus

Welcome to today’s edition of Cub Tracks news and notes™, a greatest-hits collection of Chicago-style beat writers and bloggers, ground from #Cubs, #MiLB, and #MLB baseball, overheated, steeped in writers’ tears, and then cold-brewed overnight for maximum flavor.

Yule pardon me, I pray, if I soft-pedal the Xmas stuff today. Tomorrow, perhaps not. But for the present... the Cubs do have shiny new toys under the tree, and the writers talk about them some, and our friends at Bleacher Nation are ringing in some changes, too.

I’d be in on Trevor Bauer, if that needs to be known. I don’t have any strong feelings pro or con, except that he has tweeted some dumb things. But dumb’s not a bug anymore, it’s a feature, and one man’s dumb is often another man’s epiphany.

Maybe his heart can grow two sizes larger, Cindy Lou Who ;)

Oh I sleigh me.

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• Mike McGraw (Daily Herald* {$}): Have the Cubs made a philosophical shift in team-building? “The notion like this is exactly how we’re going to build it and pigeonhole players around that, I don’t think that’s the right way to do things,” Hoyer said Wednesday...
• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times*): Cubs bring back lefty Drew Smyly on two-year deal. “Smyly was clear during the season how much he enjoyed his time with the Cubs.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib*): Chicago Cubs must stay clear of starting pitcher Trevor Bauer. “For a team that prides itself on its family culture and values, the Cubs need to stay clear of Bauer.”
• Bruce Levine (670theScore): Anthony Rizzo helped nudge Jameson Taillon to sign with Cubs in free agency. “ He had great things to say, and he obviously (still) means a lot to the Cubs organization.”
• Andy Martinez (Marquee Sports Network*): How Carter Hawkins and Jon Lester helped sell Dansby Swanson on the Cubs. “I left that conversation feeling better than going into it, honestly,” Swanson said.
• Chris Gilligan (Fangraphs*): Musical Catchers: Barnhart gets two years with Cubs. “Between free agency and the trade market, over a third of the league’s teams have added to their catcher mix this offseason...”
• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): What Nico Hoerner says about Dansby Swanson signing. “You add a dynamic player like that to any team, you’re gonna get a lot better,” Hoerner said.
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Why Cubs’ defense looks ‘pretty special’ after Swanson move. “To me, you’re only as good as your four defenders in the middle.”
• Jon Greenberg (The Athletic {$}): Is Dansby Swanson ready to be ‘The Man’ for the Cubs? “The guy’s the No. 1 pick of the draft and he gets traded to his hometown team, I think he’s dealt with a lot of pressure,” Cubs president Jed Hoyer said.
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): This Cub is ready to lead Japan’s outfield at Classic. “... there’s no doubt that he’s the No. 1 outfielder in Japan, and we really want him to play on this team,” said Team Japan manager Hideki Kuriyama.
• Michael Brakebill (Cubbies Crib*): Three DFA’s to keep the roster at 40 players. ‘tis the season.
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Just a dude who writes about baseball. “Long story short?”

Food for Thought:

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the opinions of writers whose work is linked to in this series of articles. Thanks for reading, and Happy Holidays!