Cub Tracks’ sphere itself

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.

What you don’t get here is finely-reasoned analysis. I don’t have the space. Cub Tracks is like K-Tel, we do the hits. Lots of material featured here will show up on the front page, in other forms. Or in the comments, unattributed, because, sadly, not everyone reads this work. Sometimes we even repeat ourselves.

We’re not looking to break stories, though sometimes we do, at least for this venue. Cub Tracks is in the infotainment business. We read all the news, so you don’t have to, and, should there be a season, we watch all of every game so that we can be informed. We sample the zeitgeist, which is a little like Malört, only slightly more poisonous. Take it in small doses, like a schmear on a good bagel. Remember, reality is for people that can’t handle drugs. Thank you, Tom Waits.

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.

Via Reddit: 41-year-old Tsuyoshi Wada (former Chicago Cubs pitcher) still going strong pitching 5 shutout innings in a preseason game against the Chiba Lotte Marines [VIDEO].

• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Are Chicago Cubs season tickets still worth it after a disappointing season amid organizational change? Fans are divided. “... clearly fans are adjusting to a new era...”
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Ricketts family considering bid for Chelsea FC. More about this. Gordon Wittenmyer gets biblical.
• Alexander Patt (Cubbies Crib*): Mixed feelings toward the new Cubs DraftKings sportsbook. “This week the construction project began, the very same week MLB canceled games, and not everyone is happy about it.”
• Jake Misener (Cubbies Crib*): Nico Hoerner, Kyle Hendricks among players in Arizona. “Both guys have something to prove this year...”
• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times*): New offseason camp gives Cubs’ top prospects a head start on 2022. “The Cubs’ facilities remained a hub of activity through the offseason, offering instruction, athletic training, strength and conditioning, and room and board.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Cubs pitching prospect Kohl Franklin faced batters today for the first time in a year … and touched 99 MPH. “... Franklin doesn’t get a lot of prospect hype outside of hipster Cubs fan circles.” Maddie Lee adds on.
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Meet the promising young slugger the Cubs got for Yu Darvish. “It is easy to forget that Owen Caissie is still just 19 years old when engaging in conversation with the Cubs’ No. 9 prospect (per MLB Pipeline).”
• Todd Johnson (North Side Bound*): Prospects Live goes with 4 Cubs on their newest Top 100 list. “Prospects Live is the young upstart talent evaluation publication that has been turning heads the past three years with its in-depth coverage and analysis of MiLB prospects and the draft.”

Cubs birthdays: Jim Hughey, Toby Atwell, George Gerberman, Ryan Freel. Also notable: Jim Rice 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.