Cub Tracks’ remains to be seen

Welcome to the weekend you were working for, 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.

Cub Tracks is still on the Nico Hoerner train. We got on last year and have seen no reason to disembark. We are still on the Nick Madrigal train also. Residence in the Frank the Tank car is starting to wane now, a month into a subpar season. Likewise Rafael Ortega. We still see the Wisdom of backing Patrick.

These are all pretty much consensus views at the moment. Everyone would look better with more effective starting pitching. We don’t yet know if the Cubs are dead in the water, but they look leaky. Their fate remains to be seen. As always, we await developments.

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• Marc Severson (Cubbies Crib*): These Cubs are in a very dangerous spot right now. “They are in danger of becoming just a nuisance for other teams, a team that will win a game occasionally but doesn’t really matter.”
• Tony Andracki (Marquee Sports Network*): Cubs frustrated after another close loss: ‘We’ve gotta change our luck’. “I don’t think we played particularly bad. I just feel like there’s some things that did not go our way tonight,” Cubs manager David Ross said.
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): MLBTR lists four Cubs starting pitchers among its very early potential trade targets. ‘... virtually every Cubs starting pitcher comes in for a mention.”
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Cubs need longer workdays from their pitchers. “The bullpen continues to be tested.”
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Cubs and Kyle Hendricks wait for results as they try to avoid a repeat of the last rebuild. “If the Cubs don’t start getting better results from their rotation soon, it’s impossible to envision any dramatic improvements in the team’s performance...”
• Jake Misener (Cubbies Crib*): Cubs could finally be close to getting Wade Miley back. “The club has been careful with Miley as he worked his way back from the injury – but he seems closer than ever to joining his Cubs teammates.”
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Cubs hope to take advantage of Dodgers’ weakness against lefties. “The Dodgers are batting only .226 with a .657 OPS against left-handers.”
• Tony Andracki (Marquee Sports Network*): The unconventional way David Robertson prepared for the 2022 season – and the man who helped him do it. “Cubs bullpen coach Chris Young worked with Robertson in Philadelphia in 2019.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Teams adjusting to Cubs’ patient approach. “Our strength’s going to be bat-to-ball skills, putting balls in play,” manager Ross said.
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Timing is everything for Nick Madrigal as he works to find consistency with the Cubs. “I’m really not too worried about it,” Madrigal said.
• Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation*): Nico Hoerner is developing into *THE* Cubs starting shortstop right before our eyes.
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Seiya’s recent slump first sign of growing pains. ”Now, you’re seeing the league kind of adjust. And he’s also in that same boat of adjusting back to pitchers,” said David Ross. Jesse Rogers also has thoughts on this.
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Mike Napoli is perfecting his coaching chops with the Chicago Cubs — and playing some cribbage in the process. “Being able to go back and forth between player-coach-type personality stuff, it’s just so valuable,” Ross said of Napoli to the Tribune. “It really is.”
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): How do 10 ex-Chicago Cubs stack up after 1 month of 2022? Here’s a ranking, with Anthony Rizzo leading the way. “... here’s a power ranking of former Cubs...”
• Mack Liederman (Block Club Chicago*): Elizabeth Wrigley-Field has never been to Wrigley Field but loves her instant-icebreaker name. “Wrigley-Field said she thought about naming her daughter Ivy. But that “would be a little too on the nose.””

Food for Thought:

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