Cub Tracks, more or less

Welcome to today’s edition 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.

Cub Tracks would like to say that we are in favor of MORE BASEBALL, not less. All of these rules that are being made point to less of the things that make me love the game. I don’t mind one bit when pitchers take their time about delivering the ball, or when batters adjust their batting gloves endlessly. Those things just add to the drama, just as the history of the game rests on each pitch, on each swing of the bat.

And even if it is just me that feels that way, still, it is the way I feel, and it’s not likely to change. I don’t at all mind if the game evolves — naturally, in response to changing internal conditions. I DO object to the square-pegging of the grand old game, and to the maladroit manipulations of the demented old robber barons that direct the sport, and sports in general. MLB is the worst at catering to their prospective audience and are busily relegating the sport to the second division. Gambling and the foreshortening of gameplay are not the answers they’re looking for. Imo, of course. YMMV.

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• Anthony Castrovince (MLB.com*): An inside look at how the new rules will work. “The overarching theme is that these changes are good for the entertainment product — creating more action in a shorter window of time.”
• David Schoenfield (ESPN+ {$}): 2022-2023 MLB offseason grades for all 30 teams. “... the Cubs’ up-the-middle defense might be the best in the majors.”
• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times*): Storylines to follow at Cubs spring training camp. “This is the first normal spring training since 2019.”
• Aldo Soto (Sports Mockery*): Position battles to watch in Cubs camp. “There are at least five major position battles to watch during spring training.”
• Andy Martinez (Marquee Sports Network*): Cubs sensing a different feeling as Spring Training kicks off. “It’s a feeling that the Cubs are on the cusp of turning a corner. Something that pitching coach Tommy Hottovy can sense.”
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Chicago Cubs are talking like contenders. So let’s hold them accountable if they don’t improve this year. “... Cubs fans have seen one championship with all that money flowing in.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Cubs still having “Positive Conversations” on extensions, *NOT* cutting off talks for Spring Training. From the Spring Training press conference. Evan Altman has more.
• Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Cubs roster projection 1.0: Countdown to Opening Day at Wrigley Field begins. “... there are genuine reasons for optimism as spring training begins in Arizona.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Adrian Sampson among MLB’s most successful starters throwing high heat. “... Sampson went from not using the four-seam at all to throwing it more than any other pitch.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Matt Mervis describes hitting adjustments as he gains more experience. “I’ve always known I was a hitter,” Mervis shared during a hitting exhibition with Marquee Sports Network’s Cliff Floyd. Tony Andracki has more.
• Bernie Pleskoff (Forbes* {$}): Trey Mancini Looks To Rejuvenate His Career With The Chicago Cubs. “At his best, Mancini is a line drive hitter with just enough loft to take the ball out of any park.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Moving to 3rd, Nick Madrigal looks to prove worth. “I would rather be on a winning team with the best players than be at the bottom of a division really grinding out the season.” Meghan Montemurro has more.
• Rick Kogan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): There’s one election where the candidate is a sure thing and his name is Harry Caray, our beloved mayor of Rush Street. “DePorter estimates that Caray averaged some 1,300 bar visits a year, once accomplishing 288 consecutive nights out.”

Food for Thought:

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