Cub Tracks’ short takes

Welcome to today’s edition of Cub Tracks news and notes™, a greatest-hits from Chicago-style beat writers and bloggers, ground from #Cubs, #MiLB, and #MLB baseball, overheated, and then cold-brewed overnight for maximum flavor.

No game Monday. Today the Cubs meet the Phillies, with a chance to dampen their gonfalon hopes. Spite is a good motivator.

Not a hail of bullets but some well-chosen shots anyway.

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• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Cubs minor-league managers, coaches weigh in on pitch clock and how to make it better. “... David Ross said he’s eager to pick High-A South Bend manager Lance Rymel’s brain about rules changes when he meets with the big-league team in Chicago.”
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Cubs can aim high in pursuit of free-agent arms: ‘We’ve started talking about names’. “The more pitchers, the better,” Tommy Hottovy said. Michael Cerami adds on. Evan Altman has thoughts.
• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): What signing a ‘big-time horse’ could do for the Cubs’ rotation. “In other words, if the Cubs acquire an ace, that boosts the quality of the rotation throughout.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): For starters: Cubs’ rotation thriving down the stretch. “On great teams, you have five starters, but you need 10,” Adrian Sampson said. Meghan Montemurro has words {$}.
• Andy Martinez (Marquee Sports Network*): The Cubs pitching staff is seeing early fruits of organizational depth. “It shows you how valuable and how important it is for teams to be able to manage the entire season,” pitching coach Hottovy said.
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Adbert Alzolay wants to be as flexible as possible to help the Cubs be aggressive in the offseason. “He’ll fill whatever role helps the team win, and helps the team improve.”
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Cubs prospect Matt Mervis ‘on the radar’ as potential 2023 Opening Day first baseman. “That’s definitely on the radar,” Cubs manager David Ross said. Jordan Bastian has similar thoughts.
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Frank Schwindel joining Águilas Cibaeñas of Dominican League. “Schwindel’s wife and her family are from the city of La Vega in Cibao, so he’s got strong ties to the region and has played there previously.”
• Will Leitch (MLB.com*): Every team’s player eyeing a rebound in 2023. Nick Madrigal “... still feels like a perfect fit at Wrigley Field over the next half decade.”

Food for Thought:

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