Cub Tracks’ late game blues

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.

Justin Steele had a bug that affected his play, but he gutted it out. Cody Bellinger might be available off the bench, according to Maddie Lee. Nico Hoerner is on schedule for a Friday return.

Check out the Snoopy bobblehead. Don’t throw like Domingo German. Sign Corey Kneble?

The lumbering and slumbering Cubs tried to put one club foot forward and salvage one game from their three-game set with the Astros, sending the steady Drew Smyly to the mound Wednesday night. The Cubs posted a crooked number in the first.

Smyly pitched well.

Seiya is locked in.

Christopher Morel was heard from:

But, in the end, it didn’t work out. The bullpen gave up the lead late, and the Astros walked it off. A day off, and on to the city that booed Santa Claus.

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• Andy Martinez (Marquee Sports Network*): Why Cubs are opting for four-man rotation and what it means for their pitching staff as a whole. “... the Cubs have a pair of off days on Thursday and Monday, so they can keep those four starters on regular rotation with the off days.”
• Matt Danielewicz (Marquee Sports Network*): Chicagoland native Nick Burdi is ecstatic to join Cubs. “For someone like myself who got to watch them on WGN everyday, and now to put on the jersey, it means a lot to myself, to my family and to a lot of people who have been on the road with me.”
• Aldo Soto (Sports Mockery*): Cubs replaced Frank Schwindel with someone worse. “... the Cubs can clearly see that the Hosmer experiment isn’t working...”
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Matt Mervis mashes first Cubs home run as he continues to adjust to the big leagues. “Everyone’s in the big leagues for a reason,” Mervis said. Andy Martinez has more Mervis. More from Ryan O’Rourke.
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): How the 2019 Cape Cod League became a pivotal point in Chicago Cubs slugger Matt Mervis’ career. “I definitely didn’t need sugarcoating or anyone babying me,” Mervis told the Tribune.
• Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation*): Cover your ears, kids: Christopher Morel is up to bat. “He’s making loud contact.”
• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times*): Initial tests on Cody Bellinger’s knee promising after he exited game vs. Astros. “A little scared at first,” Bellinger said, “but as time went on, I knew that it was fine.”
• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times*): Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki finding rhythm at plate, but he’s not satisfied. ‘‘I still feel like I’m not there yet,’’ he said, ‘‘not exactly where I want to be.’’

Food for Thought:

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