Cub Tracks’ odd is even

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. Cub Tracks also features an op-ed of questionable literary value and various quasi-scientific and vaguely humorous tweets near the bottom, if you go in for those sorts of things. Thanks for coming.

“The fact we’re in it means we are good enough to compete there. We’ve just got to figure out a way to win.” — David Ross.

The Cubs tried to win and even up the series against the Brewers Wednesday night. They put The Professor (Russell Johnson) on the hump to face alleged former comedian Jason Alexander (ed note — really not the same guys) and then handicapped Kyle by putting recently-returned ground ball machine and prospective community outreach director Jason Heyward in the starting lineup, batting eighth ahead of his ‘little buddy’ Nick Madrigal.

Photo by CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

You were expecting maybe Vince Gilligan? Or the Black Lagoon?

Photo via John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images

Anyway, the Cubs tried to even up the series against the city that beer made famous, at home in the Friendly Confines. Pat Hughes and Jim Deshaies adroitly handled the on-air commentary.

The game started off well with a crooked number, courtesy of Morel and Contreras, and continued in reasonably entertaining fashion, a tied game. A Nico TOOTBLAN ended the ninth and brought in the dreaded Manfred Man and Mark Leiter Jr.

Leiter was effective, and the Cubs ran away with the W.

* 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 section.

• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): 20-29 record aside, the Chicago Cubs enter June with a feeling of optimism. Here are 5 reasons why. “The clubhouse is upbeat.” Patrick Mooney adds on {$}.
• Steve Greenberg (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Presto! In one year, the Cubs went from a thrilling night to an unrecognizable sight. “A June swoon? The Cubs already took care of it.”
• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): Let the tryouts begin: Cubs open June in full rebuild mode. “... it’s time to start using the long runway left in this season to test what the Cubs have...”
• Marc Severson (Cubbies Crib*): These Cubs are exactly who we thought they were. “It’s probably time for a reality check, folks.”
• Tony Andracki (Marquee Sports Network*): 10 things we learned about the Cubs in May. “.2 The youth movement is in full effect at the corner of Clark and Addison.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Jon Heyman mentions Ian Happ, Marcus Stroman among Cubs who could be moved at deadline. “I see the Cubs as a seller, with some pieces to sell,” Heyman said.
• Jake Misener (Cubbies Crib*): A Marcus Stroman trade would be unforgivable to Cubs fans. “If this team wants any hopes of contending in 2023, they’ll need Stroman at his best – not playing for another club.”
• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): How the Cubs’ veteran lefties have influenced Justin Steele. “Different things click with different players,” Steele said.
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): The Cubs are bringing Adrian Sampson back (again) on a minor league deal. “... a useful arm to have available if you absolutely need him and don’t want to press someone else into service.”
• Matt Danielowicz (Marquee Sports Network*): How Cubs catcher P.J. Higgins transitioned from infielder to catcher. [Mostly audio]
• Andy Martinez (Marquee Sports Network*): National pride: Mexican-Americans Alfonso Rivas and Carlos Gaytán embody resilient spirit. “You feel a sense of pride that you carry over your shoulder, which feels great,” Rivas said. “You take it out on the field, and with whatever you do.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Christopher Morel’s electric energy and the plan from here. “... he has to be wherever the Cubs see as best for his long-term development.” Jordan Bastian elaborates. Evan Altman is fired up. Gordon Wittenmyer is amazed.
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): ‘He’s my bestie’: Morel, Velázquez share a baseball brotherhood. “Man, for me, it means everything,” Velázquez said of reaching the Majors. “It is a dream come true. It’s everything I wished in my life.”
• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): How Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki is progressing after landing on IL. “I can hit, but I feel like I’m not in a condition to play for nine innings,” Suzuki said Tuesday through interpreter Toy Matsushita. “When I go out there, I want to be at 100% and just be at my very best.” Sahadev Sharma wonders if Suzuki can be more aggressive {$}.

Food for Thought:

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the opinions of writers whose work is linked to in this series of articles. Feel free to discuss in a civil fashion. If you have any question as to what kind of discourse is allowed, here are the site guidelines. Thanks for reading!