Cub Tracks goes, we go

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!

Would you close the door, please? I feel a draft.

Lots of prospect-y reading today, plus podcasts, videos, and other components for a multimedia experience. Beats smell-o-vision, with a lot of used socks and such.

Dexter Fowler is so back. We hardly had a chance to mourn his career when he made his reappearance. So much for half of our content! But hey, you go, we go and find new content.

On the darker side, there’s an exploration of long COVID symptoms, which I suffer from, in Food for Thought. I recommend the read — it is educational. Also, my dog gives me side-eye. I don’t think he takes humans seriously at all.

I don’t blame him.

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• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Jed Hoyer discusses lessons learned post-WS, having conviction to make hard decisions. “... with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman on the NY Post’s The Show podcast.”
• The Athletic Staff {$}): MLB offseason grades for all 30 teams: Who got the highest (and lowest) marks? The Cubs are just all right. Brett Taylor writes this up too.
• The Athletic MLB Staff {$}): NL Central roundtable: Can the Brewers or Cubs catch the Cardinals? “The Cardinals, Cubs and Brewers will compete for the division title.”
• Kiley McDaniel (ESPN+ {$}): Top 100 MLB prospects for 2023. The Cubs are well-represented. Brett Taylor writes it up. Evan Altman has thoughts.
• Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Sam Dykstra (MLB.com*): Drafting teams from Top 100 Prospects list. “... where once again we tried to look into the proverbial crystal ball to forecast who will be the best Major Leaguers.”
• Ryan O’Rourke (Cubbies Crib*): Chicago Cubs could reunite with Caleb Smith for lefty relief help. “... top southpaws left on the market are setting sky-high asking prices as they look for new homes.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Jeremiah Estrada could ride elite fastball to closer role. “Estrada was listed among the best sleeper closers in baseball...”
• James Neveau (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cubs, Hoyer hope Bellinger returns to ‘all-star’ level. “The hope is that he gets back to being an All-Star-caliber player, gets back to being an unbelievable talent at age 27,” Hoyer said.
• Tony Andracki (Marquee Sports Network*): 2 under-the-radar Cubs prospects to keep an eye on. “Infielder B.J. Murray and right-handed pitcher Kohl Franklin.”
• Andy Martinez (Marquee Sports Network*): Dexter Fowler remembers Cub career, including that home run, on-field swagger. “He made his debut on Cubs 360 and joined host Cole Wright to discuss his time in Chicago in 2015 and why it was so memorable.”
• Marquee Sports Network*: Cubs Weekly Podcast: Mike Fontenot.
• Mike Gavin (NBC Sports Chicago*): When is the 2023 World Baseball Classic and how does it work? “Pool play for the World Baseball Classic begins on March 8.”

Food for Thought:

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the opinions of writers whose work is linked to in this series of articles. Thanks for reading!