Cub Tracks’ road to nowhere

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. Served ice-cold for your pleasure. Please enjoy immoderately.

Drew Smyly didn’t have his best game. Jakob Junis had his, though he didn’t stay for long enough to get the ‘W’. The Giants’ bullpen mostly kept the door shut. Not much happening in the scribbling world — today’s edition is slim. Sort of like the Cubs’ offense Saturday night.

Quite a bit of RISPy business, and the Cubs’ issues there are well-documented. They outhit the Giants, but those hits were not well-timed, and none of them traveled over the walls in fair territory. Things got interesting late, though, but the good guys came up just/short.

Cubs go for a series split today, then take a day off before they get screwy in St Looey.

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• Michael Brakebill (Cubbies Crib*): This is a ‘can’t-miss’ trade deadline for the Cubs front office. “... it is time for phase two of this rebuilding process.”
• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): Marcus Stroman rises in Cubs real-time Trade Chip Power Rankings. “I’m happy. I’m happy in life. So whatever happens happens.”
• The Mercury News: Kyle Hendricks’ changeup. Justin Steele’s 4-seam fastball. Chicago Cubs pitchers evaluate teammates’ nastiest stuff — and reveal which pitches they’d add to their repertoire. “If you could take any pitch from someone on the pitching staff and add it to your repertoire, whose would you pick?”
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Chicago Cubs sell-off begins with reliever Chris Martin traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Zach McKinstry. “Give him a chance to come here and get some at-bats, and we’ll see how it plays out,” said David Ross.
• Ian Malinowski (DRays Bay): Rays Trade Deadline 2022: Cubs high-leverage relievers. Cubs starters, maybe starters, and long relievers. “The pitching staff in Tampa Bay could use reinforcements on multiple levels...”
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Stroman is preparing Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras — ‘the cornerstone of this franchise’ — to be traded. “It’s special. I think we’re all going to miss Willson,” Stroman said.
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Report: Padres ‘Involved in talks’ for Contreras. “The Padres are expected to be involved in the Juan Soto sweepstakes, but they might not be done there.” Tim Stebbins gets some of this.
• Andy Martinez (Marquee Sports Network*): What new acquisition Zach McKinstry brings to Cubs. “... a 27-year-old player who has seen playing time at 5 different positions at the big-league level...” Tim Stebbins has some of this.
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Patrick Wisdom taking things ‘day to day’ as power drives trade rumors. “There’s a lot of rumors, a lot of hearsay, probably true rumors in some aspect. But I just take it day to day.”
• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): Why Ian Happ’s approach to trade deadline unique. “... a reminder of the thinking-man’s player Happ has always been and an uncommon business mind for the game that almost keeps the emotions at bay.”
• Sean Beckwith (Deadspin*): David Ross completes Cubs’ transformation back to token laughingstock. “Soon the manager and his double birds will be the only relic left from the 2016 title team.”

Food for Thought:

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