Cub Tracks makes it interesting late

Welcome to your weekend, and today’s episode of Cub Tracks news and notes™, featuring material from current beat writers, bloggers, and the occasional in-house habitué, moonlighting. These pieces center around #Cubs, #MiLB, and #MLB baseball.

Saturday’s game was spent on the radio side, something I don’t do often, and this time no Pat (Zach Zaidman, who I don’t care for, stood in). It was the free game of the day on MLB.TV, but of course the contest was blacked out here in sunny Arizona. Le sigh. I like to watch. A pox on Sinclair and associated networks.

Not for the first time, nor, likely, the last, I wished that I could wish the powers-that-be in Major League Baseball into a cornfield, but life isn’t that good. Failing that, perhaps Chicxulub crater would do? I mean, it helped to put the capstone on the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. Surely it could put an end to the Manfred Man and other such abominations and usher in the Age of Spiritual Machines.

But we don’t know the future. There’s no scrying in baseball. If you think you can predict the course of events, you’re almost certainly wrong. Too many variables. Baseball can’t be caught in a single frame.

Not sure why Alfonso Rivas wasn’t in the starting lineup, but the Professor was in, with his personal catcher Yan Gomes. He struggled some as the game went on, according to Zach and Ron, the latter of which opined that he was “leaking out front.” I’m not gonna touch that line. But Gomes touched them all. Cubs could have used Rivas’ glove if not his bat. Hoerner’s glove, too.

Gomes had quite a game. The D-Backs fought back in the bottom of the ninth and made things interesting. Al has all of the details in his recap. Chorizo meatloaf on the line in the rubber game today.

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• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): What to make of Cubs’ opener in the desert. “I might pull some of my hair out tonight,” Drew Smyly said.
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Smyly reaches 10 years of MLB service time — something the Chicago Cubs pitcher doesn’t take lightly. “I don’t take it for granted. I’m really grateful that I get to do this.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): When will Cubs’ top pitching prospect debut? “He’s not too far away,” said Jared Banner, the Cubs vice president of player development. Jake Misener has questions, too.
• Brad Berreman (Fansided*): 3 Chicago Cubs extension candidates not named Willson Contreras. “... it’s hard to see much of anyone who might be a key part of the next Cubs’ team that’s a genuine contender...”
• Jake Misener (Cubbies Crib*): Is Frank Schwindel finally getting things figured out? “... there’s cause for hope.”
• Duane Pesice (Cubbies Crib*): Alfonso Rivas, Nico Hoerner are blue chips off the old block. “Both are likely to be professionals, barring catastrophic injuries, for a good long time.”
• Arizona Phil (The Cub Reporter): David Bote is back at Diamondbacks Black. “... Bote saw his first game action of 2022...”
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Tim Anderson offers encouragement to injured Cubs’ Ed Howard. “Keep going,” Anderson said. “That’s all you can do. Keep going, keep working.” Jordan Bastian has more. Meghan Montemurro also.
• Bryan Smith (Bleacher Nation*): Updating the Cubs’ Top Ten Prospect List after the first six weeks. “... we’re starting to reach the time of statistical significance in the numbers...”
• Todd Johnson (North Side Bound): The Kumar Rocker signing could shake up the first round. “... if he’s good to go, he’s top 10 material and that puts him right in the Cubs’ wheelhouse.”

Food for Thought:

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