Cub Tracks’ inaction in action

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

No A.I. today. No need for tinfoil haberdashery. Just plain folks talking about baseball.

I don’t believe for a second that Corbin Burnes will be a Cub. Nor Pete Alonso. Nor Ohtani. Bellinger maybe. Soto is crazy enough to be a maybe, if the Padres are realistic and get off Cade Horton, cuz that is NOT going to happen.

Am surprised but not very to see Wisdom sign. Let’s see how Counsell uses him.

This is the weekend we were working for — let’s not waste it.

*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 enabled sarcasm font in the comments.

• Sahadev Sharma (the Athletic {$}): How Cubs’ Craig Counsell sees the game: Bullpen usage, clutch hitting, the playoffs and more. “The courage to be yourself is the first thing you learn about managing,” Counsell said. Andy Martinez has more.
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Some unsolicited advice for Craig Counsell on handling his first year as Chicago Cubs manager. “Embrace day baseball”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): How Cubs’ players reacted to Counsell hire. “There were definitely a lot of text messages flying,” Taillon said.
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): So, Cubs Bench Coach Andy Green was apparently dismissed. “Joel Sherman snuck it into a piece about how Ross and Green view Cody Bellinger‘s future.”
• Jesse Rogers (ESPN*): Cubs eyeing second chance to sign Shohei Ohtani. “Ohtani would own Wrigley Field, literally,” one NL scout joked about his potential salary. “He’d own Chicago, for sure.” Ryan O’Rourke has more.
• Mark Polischuk (MLB Trade Rumors*): Cubs interested In Shota Imanaga, “Have An Eye On” Corbin Burnes. “... the Cubs are exploring options on both the free agent and trade fronts...”
• Michael Brakebill (Cubbies Crib*): 3 Chicago Cubs players who could thrive under Craig Counsell. “... existing players who have high potential, but were never really given a shot, will also get their opportunity in 2024.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Cody Bellinger continues to draw wildly different contract projections. “We’ve seen predictions in the six or seven-year, $150 million range, and we’ve also seen predictions scale way up to 12 years and more than $250 million.”

Food for Thought:

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the contents of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series. Thanks for reading.