Cub Tracks’ rock rolls back

Welcome to 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.

Wednesday night, the Professor, Kyle Hendricks, took the hill opposite Luis Castillo. Former Cincinnati Bearcat Ian Happ staked him to a quick lead but some Joey Votto extra-base action meant that the Reds took the lead back and that the Cubs had to play catchup.

I notice Alfonso Rivas’ BA heading back up again as he continues to barrel the ball. The strike zone for the Cubs looked pretty wide though, and Schwisdom struggled some. Kyle’s not Kyle anymore, I’m afraid. This is who he is now. But he kept the Cubs in the game. The bats just never took over. David Ross did his level best to inspire his squad following a round of musical chins. The outcome was in doubt until the final pitch was thrown, but the Cubs never did get over the hump.

I thought Ryan Dempster did an extraordinary job. He was constantly informative and seems to get along with Boog. He doesn’t have JD’s sly wit, though. But he was prepared and relaxed and didn’t imitate Harry Caray at all.

One more game in the series. White Sox coming up after a off-day, and then a spate of division matches. Roster Jenga is approaching. I suspect Jonathan Villar will be packing light, among others. Ildemaro Vargas has been outrighted to Iowa. If he refuses the assignment, he becomes a free agent.

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• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): One quarter into the Cubs’ season, there’s no hiding the reality of a slow rebuild. “... the illusion of staying competitive at the major-league level in 2022 has already faded away.” Meghan Montemurro has some of this, too.
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Caleb Kilian expected to join Cubs for next week’s doubleheaders, maybe longer. “... he has quickly ascended to the top of their pitching prospect list and is now expected to be part of the rotation for the foreseeable future.” Altman assesses the Cubs’ pitching according to XERA. Gordon Wittenmyer has more Kilian. Patrick Mooney chimes in {$}.
• Phil Rogers (Forbes* {$}): Chicago Cubs’ Contreras faces lots of questions, including 2022 salary. “This is the third year in a row that Contreras has filed for arbitration.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Frank Schwindel remains so easy to root for, and he has had himself a tremendous stretch. “I think the Cubs have to ride this at least to midseason...” WMLB.com’s Will Aldrich also speaks Frankly. And more from Marquee Sports.
• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Cubs’ Schwindel achieves career first as Schwisdom keeps powering offense. “... the pair’s bats have heated up again, and they’re providing the kind of consistent power the offense was missing early in the season.”
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Chicago Cubs activate Nico Hoerner from the injured list. How will the middle infield options shake out? “Nico is a big-league shortstop,” David Ross said.
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): How Chicago Cubs’ Patrick Wisdom — one year after his call-up — is erasing questions about his long-term fit. “He’s understanding who he is as a big-league hitter,” hitting coach Greg Brown said.
• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): Albert Almora ‘cherishes’ rare start of ‘roller-coaster’ career. “That experience is so rare. So you just cherish it,” Almora said.
• Jeff Agrest (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Marquee Sports Network will air ‘The Reporters’ live after segment critical of Cubs doesn’t air. “A judgment was made on the fly that in retrospect was overly sensitive. Going forward, the show will be live, and the reporters on it are completely unedited, as the intention really has been all along.” Paul Sullivan also addresses this.

Food for Thought:

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