Cub Tracks’ spring surprise

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.

It’s good to have baseball to talk about.

Justin Steele looked good in his two-inning stint.

Alfonso Rivas went oppo for one run and Alexander Canario almost had another.

Jesse Chavez gave up some hard contact in his outing. Brennen Davis bailed him out though.

There was more. Al will tell you all about it in his recap, if you didn’t see the game.

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.

• Sean Holland (Cubs Insider*): Cubs signings demonstrate ‘Intelligent Spending’ Jed Hoyer promised. “With the right perspective, you can start to see how the Cubs are making strategic decisions now and could also spend when they get the right fit.”
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Why did ex-Cubs stars get their big contracts elsewhere? And how did those extension offers stand up in free agency? “We made offers to everyone that I believe will stand up exceptionally well.” – Jed Hoyer, July 30, 2021.
• Alexander Patt (Cubbies Crib*): Cubs fans can finally move on from the old and embrace a new era. “All four former members of the Chicago Cubs core have new homes.” Braulio Perez talks about this.
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): The first cut is the quickest: Cubs send out four prospects. “... although we are barely a week into Spring Training, the first batch of Cubs cuts have arrived.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Cardinals may be without Jack Flaherty and Alex Reyes for a long time. “... it might be an extended absence.”
• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Marcus Stroman efficient in first Cubs spring training start: ‘Good to get back out there’. “Stroman faced hitters for the first time since last year in a Cactus League game against the Giants.” Tim Stebbins writes it up.
• Dan Szymborski (Fangraphs*): Jonathan Villar joins the Cubs as their newest jack of all trades. “Versatility is one of those things that’s hard to put a precise figure on...”
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): How Yu Darvish helped the Cubs close the deal with Seiya Suzuki. “Darvish shared his honest opinion about the Cubs: You’re going to love it.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Suzuki signing brings excitement to Cubs’ clubhouse. “The Cubs have had their eyes on Suzuki for years...” David Ross talks about Suzuki [VIDEO].

Cubs birthdays: Emil Geiss, Johnny Butler, Clyde Shoun, Jim Willis, Manny Alexander. Also notable: Joe McGinnity 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.