Cub Tracks’ way below the radar

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 and attempt to distill the zeitgeist into a potent potable. Please enjoy immoderately.

I confess that I play the Sims sometimes. The original version, moreover, as I have a long-running neighborhood that keeps repopulating when the serial killer who lives there has disposed of everybody else. He has a room with doors that only open in and a pool where the ladders are removed when sims are swimming. It’s closely related to my original Rollercoaster Tycoon set, where I just drop the sims in the water and don’t build any roller coasters.

I submit that this is how the ownership group of MLB sees you. How’s that for a lede?

The return of Marcus Stroman took place Saturday night in Chavez Ravine. Was it triumphant? Stroman was pretty damn good. He needs to stretch out some, but that’s a good start. He didn’t figure in the decision.

Good ballgame, up to a point. Pass the nyborg. There are still seventy-some games to go. Rowan Wick is going to pitch in some of them.

I voted that the Cubs would win one game this series. This will have to be it, then.

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• Eli Ong (WGN9): MLB Draft: Five players the Chicago Cubs could take in the first round. “The annual Major League Baseball amateur draft is less than a week away and the Chicago Cubs own the no. 7 overall pick this year.”
• Alexander Patt (Cubbies Crib*): David Robertson’s recent struggles a cause for concern. “... he has had several rocky outings recently.”
• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Cubs molding identity on the base paths: ‘They’re hungry’. “Seiya Suzuki’s inside-the-park home run, Ian Happ and Rafael Ortega’s double steal, and Christopher Morel’s push bunt highlight different elements of the Cubs’ plan of attack.”
• Andy Martinez (Marquee Sports Network*): Willson Contreras’ All-Star selection highlights his growth on, off field. “Being the same guy every day, no matter if my numbers are good or not, I think I have matured in and off the field a lot,” Contreras told Taylor McGregor before Friday’s game...
• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): Is Nico Hoerner best SS in All-Star Tim Anderson’s city? “... more important for this discussion, and maybe for the Cubs, is the fact he’s taking on the look of a championship-caliber big-league shortstop.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): About that Ian Happ-Tyler Anderson shoving incident. “Anderson didn’t really have a problem with Happ after the game...”
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Javy Báez recalls beginning of end for Cubs core. “Everybody in this business is ready for that. It’s something that we couldn’t control.”
• By Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Sam Dykstra (MLB.com*): Futures Game scouting reports for each team. PCA “One of the best center-field defenders in the Minors, he has made changes to his left-handed stroke to unlock some power...” Keith Law breaks it all down {$}.

Food for Thought:

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