Cub Tracks’ pattern recognition

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.

I’m not an expert. I don’t take things absolutely literally. I read coffee grounds and salt crystals. But this has been obvious for more than a year... that baseball was going to have a hiccup, and I’m on record in black and white, having predicted that there would be little or no season in the middle of the last one. Evan Drellich tells his story, below.

That said, I used to do the society column for the free food. I’ll cover whatever there is, whatever Al directs me toward. I’m keen to watch Iowa, Tennessee, Myrtle Beach, South Bend. I do anyway.

You know what tipped me off? Revenue greed, meaning organized gambling being added to the menu. I find that offensive. But then I’d ban beer. I can’t stand drunks or gamblers, who are part of the same species and need help. Any other story would be flambuginous.

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. The powers that be have provided sarcasm font in the comments.

• Evan Drellich (The Athletic {$}): Opening Day never had a chance. “The daily volleys in negotiations, including the latest flurry of proposals on the sixth straight day of talks, have told the same story over and over.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Sometimes the most cynical take is also the correct one. “... the towel has been thrown in on a deal...” Evan Altman had similar thoughts. Tim Stebbins wrote it up, too. Jake Misener has remarks.
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): One potential question facing the Chicago Cubs once the MLB lockout ends: How will they use the DH spot? “Cubs manager David Ross said he sees two functions: a way to rest players or to add a potentially lethal hitter to the lineup.”
• Marquee Sports Network: Cubs Weekly Podcast: Prospect talk with VP of Player Development Jared Banner.
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): The latest on Cubs’ top prospects. “A lot of these guys have responded really well to the challenges we put in front of them. The sky’s the limit,” said Banner. Michael Brakebill has thoughts about this.
• Ethan Lee (Fansided*): Cubs rookie claps back at fan who thinks MLB players make too much money. “I was making less than my strength coach on first year 40 man.”
• Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): How Cubs prospect Owen Caissie put himself on the map and reacted to the Yu Darvish trade. “The best way I could describe Owen is as a student,” Lee Delfino said.
• Alexander Patt (Cubbies Crib*): Why Cubs fans should follow Myrtle Beach closely in 2022. “Their roster currently holds eight of the Cubs’ top-30 prospects...”
• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): ‘Risk’ and reward: Cubs’ Reginald Preciado showcasing versatility. “Switch-hitting prospect Reginald Preciado is honing his left-handed swing and trying out new infield positions in minicamp.”

Cubs birthdays (Feb 29): Bill Long, Gerardo Concepción.

Cubs birthdays (March 1): Paul Hines, Hank Wyse, Bob Usher, Doug Creek, Micah Hoffpauir, Trevor Cahill, Adbert Alzolay.

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.