Cub Tracks’ struck in the middle

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.

Marcus Stroman didn’t do himself any favors Friday afternoon. Ouch. Maybe we should re-consider those trade possibilities... or just replace him with Caleb Kilian, whose possible Saturday appearance has the scribes buzzing, or another of the Cubs’ seemingly vast reservoir of young arms. There were some highlights, but not enough of them:

Cubs and Cards for a double dip today. Let’s hope for a better outcome. I’m so scared in case I fall off my chair, and I’m wondering how I’ll get down the stairs. Maybe the Rose McGowan surgery...

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• Rick Morrissey (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): The big-market Cubs and the small-market Cardinals treat their fans differently. Guess which team keeps winning? “The last time St. Louis finished under .500 was 2007. The Cubs are going through their second rebuild in a decade.”
• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Cubs’ Alec Mills nearing return; Drew Smyly estimates rehab timeline. “The Cubs are looking for answers to their pitching shortage.”
• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cubs’ Caleb Kilian ‘special’ enough for Saturday debut? Patrick Mooney has a few words {$}. Tommy Birch adds on.
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Starter? Reliever? Just call Thompson a winner. “whether it’s starting, relieving or whatever, I’m just trying to go out there and throw strikes and give the team a chance to win.” Maddie Lee has more.
• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): What Thompson All-Star selection would mean for Cubs. “It would be a cool experience,” he said, “but it’s just something you can’t think about because you might be worrying about that instead of just getting your work in every day.”

• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Willson Contreras expected back in Cubs lineup Saturday. “My ankle’s a little sore. I have a bruised bone but nothing major.”
• Tony Andracki (Marquee Sports Network*): Patrick Wisdom may have found a key to unlocking his full offensive potential. “But how does the simple switch in a bat help Wisdom’s contact rate?”
• Ryan O’Rourke (Cubbies Crib*): Christopher Morel and the kids are on a roll early on. “If there is one silver lining to all this, it’s that we’ve gotten an early look at the kids from down on the farm.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): As Morel shines, Heyward adjusting to role. “Slide Heyward over to right,” Ross said. “I asked him, was he comfortable out there? And he laughed at me. I think he’s good.”
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Brennen Davis — the top prospect in the Chicago Cubs organization — has back surgery. “He is expected to make a full recovery.” Jordan Bastian has more. Sahadev Sharma opines {$}.
• Stephanie Stremplewski (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cubs Coach Willie Harris wants to manage MLB team: ‘I’m Ready for It’. “That’s definitely the dream and the goal,” Harris said.
• Jeff Agrest (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Marquee’s ‘The Reporters’ might be live, but it’s still missing, you know, reporters. “If it could bring in Cubs beat reporters, then Marquee might have something.”

Food for Thought:

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