Cub Tracks calls Saul

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.

There was supposed to be baseball this weekend. Major League Baseball, spring version, somewhere. But nooooo.

That was outvoted or something. It’s lawyers all the way down, as has been previously noted (that’s why this picture isn’t from the famous March cold open, but from a completely different episode).

So here we are, awaiting developments. I’m in the best shape of my life (round is a shape) and am all dressed up (pants instead of sweats) and ready to go. At least to the couch, where there’s a better view.

But, again, no.

Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Maybe it’ll take someone crookeder than the owners.

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.

“They never wanted to start on time... “ — Willson Contreras.

The owners, in Jason Heyward’s estimation, “know the amount of games we need to play in order to profit” and “view the first month of the season as debt.”

A Cub was spotted!

• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): MLB delivers another blow to Wrigleyville businesses. “How the hell does it look like it’s affecting us?” the owner said. “We’re closed.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Players may try to leverage RSN Rebates as owners seek to protect asset class, even break union. “... an owner’s true goal is not necessarily accumulating annual profits, but in owning an asset that generates tremendous revenue while appreciating at a high rate.”
• Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Cubs players are livid as Major League Baseball wastes yet another opportunity. “It is also difficult to look at this labor situation and not connect all these different dots to the Cubs.” Brett Taylor has more. RJ Anderson adds on.
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): ‘We need a CBA that reflects the way teams are functioning’: Chicago Cubs union rep Ian Happ sounds off on the MLB lockout. “Happ attended three days of the negotiations in person, a valuable experience for the 27-year-old in his third year as the Cubs’ union player rep...”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Patrick Wisdom is the latest Chicago Cubs player to speak out. “Start doing the math, and you’ll quickly realize that even for this player who was among the more fortunate, it couldn’t have been easy.”
• Ed Leiser (Sports Mockery*): Remember these guys? Can the Cubs count on this trio again? “There is always hope. The Cubs may need plenty of it in 2022 and Wisdom, Schwindel, or Ortega may provide some.”
• Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Caleb Kilian, the Cubs pitching prospect from the Kris Bryant trade, is well-positioned to make a post-lockout impact. “I think it’s a combo of figuring out my mechanics and growing into my body,” Kilian said of the velocity jump in his fastball.

• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): ‘Explosive’ Crow-Armstrong at full strength after shoulder surgery. “He’s so explosive, which is a great thing, right?” Rachel Folden said. Ryan Sikes writes this up, too.

“I think the biggest difference with Pete this year,” said Justin Stone, the Cubs’ director of hitting, “is he might have the biggest exit velocity jump of anyone we have in camp. He’s just way more physical. He’s healthy. That’s going to make a big difference.”

• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times*): ‘A lot of eyeballs on him’: Cubs’ Cristian Hernández embracing lofty expectations. “You see his potential, not only physically — he’s really gifted in the infield, and he hits the ball really hard, and all those things are true,” said Folden.

• Ryan O’Rourke (Cubbies Crib*): 3 Cubs legends that must be featured in MLB The Show 22. “... this year’s release will reach more players than ever.”

Cubs birthdays: Dick Errickson, Jim Gleeson, Doug Bird, Kyle Schwarber, Nick Madrigal. Also notable: Sam Thompson 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.