Cub Tracks does the split

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.

The Cubs entered the middle game of the series 7-5 on the season, looking for number eight. Jameson Taillon looked to reverse his early-season fortunes and Dansby Swanson was looking to rid himself of a sombrero.

Cody Bellinger, bandito.

The bats were looking to rain on southern California again. Patrick Wisdom provided a clap of thunder a day after putting the hammer down on Thor.

But the skies cleared up. Taillon looked like his Spring Training self for 5 full innings and the bullpens dueled over that single tally. The second-guess group will be talking about the decision to pull Keegan Thompson.

In the end, the Cubs fell. Al will have details in his recap.

* 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.

• Clint Pasillas (Dodgers Nation*): Was Dodgers RHP Andre Jackson tipping pitches against Cubs? “After throwing 55 pitches, he should be down for a game or two which gives the team time to dive in to the video and work on an adjustment.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): The Shameful Miami Marlins are apparently trying to use Steve Bartman’s name to sell tickets to see their terrible team (UPDATE: Walking It Back). “The Marlins’ official word is that there was never a Bartman promotion, and they never meant to send out this graphic that they made...” Ryan Taylor has more.
• Michael Brakebill (Cubbies Crib*): 3 areas the Chicago Cubs need to address via a big-time trade. “... the Cubs will want to keep their farm somewhat intact as they make an aggressive push for the postseason, but there is no need to keep an abundance of players that won’t be able to play.”
• Tommy Birch (Des Moines Register* {$}): Iowa Cubs pitcher Caleb Kilian struggled in 2022. How did he try to fix the issues? “While there isn’t a ton of external pressure outside the organization now, there are still high hopes for Kilian in Chicago.”
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Cubs offense explodes with 5 homers, including Seiya Suzuki’s first in return. “... nights like Friday will help build the confidence of a team that’s hungry to get back to relevance.”
• Fabian Ardaya (The Athletic {$}): Cody Bellinger returns to Dodger Stadium: ‘It didn’t end how anyone really expected it to end’. Andrew Friedman said the move “was just about how to allocate resources.”
• Tommy Birch (Des Moines Register* {$}): Christopher Morel thriving in his time back in the minor leagues with the Iowa Cubs. “I can do better,” Morel said before Friday’s Iowa Cubs game with the Omaha Storm Chasers. “But I’m doing a good job.”

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!