Cub Tracks’ Morel imperative

Welcome to today’s edition 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.

Neither the MLB app nor the Score would let me hear the game Wednesday night, and of course I am blacked out here. In order to know when the game ended so I could quote-harvest and close this thing out, I more or less followed through MLB Gameday. Kilian looked a little bit wild from my perspective. 30 pitches in the top of the first! Yikes!

Ryan Weathers with the Kilian impression. Nice. The game is afoot.

And Christopher Morel breaks the RISPy schneid!

Sweet! That’s almost as good as winning. David Bowie would recognize this offense.

I gather that it was a trifle warm at the Friendly Confines. Things got, um, interesting from that point. Al will tell you all about it in his recap. Today can be #10!

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• Ryan O’Rourke (Cubbies Crib*): Cubs poised to be in same frustrating, middling position again in 2023. “The problem is that the Cubs simply aren’t finding enough answers this season and a combination of injuries and disappointing play is making a definitively good 2023 team seem unlikely.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Cubs rank No. 4 in MLB Social Media Following, 78% above Cardinals. “They’re actually second on Twitter and first on TikTok, but it looks like they lose a lot of ground on Facebook and Instagram.”
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Long rest and a changeup pays off for Kyle Hendricks — but Chicago Cubs bullpen implodes for an 8th straight loss. “I feel back to 100% normal,” Hendricks said.
• Andy Martinez (Marquee Sports Network*): Why the Cubs aren’t concerned about Hendricks’ future. “The outing is one that Hendricks and the Cubs hope he can build off.” Patrick Mooney has more {$}. Tim Stebbins adds on.

• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Cubs’ Drew Smyly ‘ahead of schedule,’ hopes to return before All-Star break. “The left-hander is on the 15-day injured list with a strained right oblique.”
• Michael Brakebill (Cubbies Crib*): A resurgent Justin Steele has quietly turned the corner of late. “After learning to establish the low inside fastball, things have began to turn around rather quickly for him.”
• Bryan Smith (Bleacher Nation*): Caleb Kilian’s debut taught us something new and important about his sinker. “... seam-shifted wake.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Tempered expectations for Caleb Kilian, tempers rise watching Cubs bullpen. “We’ve got to give the young man a body of work before we start tinkering and changing,” David Ross told reporters.
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): How a new slider helped Glen Ellyn native Eric Stout earn a call up to his childhood-favorite Chicago Cubs. “My mentality was go out and have fun and what happens happens,” Stout said.
• Richard Johnson (Cubbies Crib*): The Cubs are running more, but is it helping them win games? “The evidence is mixed.”
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Christopher Morel’s impressive first month grabs Manny Machado’s attention. “[Machado] told me to keep working and play like you,” Morel said. “‘You have fun.’ He also told me ‘I like how you play.’
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Chicago Cubs rookie Christopher Morel is taking a page out of Alfonso Soriano’s playbook. “Oh man, I’ve seen him and he’s got a lot of talent,” Soriano said Wednesday.
• MLB.com*: Injuries & Moves: Mixed news on Miley, Bote. Chronological list; handy to have.

Food for Thought:

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