Cub Tracks’ the way the ball bounces

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.

Well, Thursday’s game was no fun. I did get to listen to the great Pat Hughes but I would have preferred the TV. Friday, the much-maligned Jameson Taillon toed the rubber Friday, trying to reverse course and get our happy crew into friendly waters. His opponent was Zac Gallen, probably Arizona’s best starter.

It didn’t start out well. The leadoff man (Corbin Carroll) was on third with nobody out. But Taillon bore down and K’d the side after that. And then some. This would have been a game to see. Especially as the audio app crashes every inning or so.

Boog should listen to Pat over and over, to hear how it’s done. The Cubs are going to have to win the next two for a split.

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“Like I said, the greatest fans in all baseball are Chicago Cubs fans. It was special. I cried when I got back to my hotel room and thanked God for letting me play for this team in this town before these fans.” — Carlos Zambrano.

• Reuters*: Corbin Carroll, Zac Gallen help Diamondbacks beat Cubs. “Gallen (15-7) allowed just three hits while striking out nine.” James Fegan has more.
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): The Chicago Cubs are here to stay, built to win now and years into the future. “One blah game won’t change the trajectory of this breakthrough season.”
• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times*): Cubs’ homegrown pitching taking on plenty of responsibility down the stretch. “It’s really good for the organization,” Javier Assad said. More of this from Brad Wakai.
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): State of the Cubs bullpen: A look at the hurting, the healing, the emerging and the new. “The concerns with the bullpen aren’t purely about performance.”
• James Fegan (Chicago Sun-Times*): Cubs’ bullpen logging lots of innings, but help is on the way. “... the Cubs have four of the 60 most used relievers in MLB by appearances...”
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): 4 observations from the Chicago Cubs, including a mic’d up Cody Bellinger and the Christopher Morel conundrum. “I don’t think Bellinger could’ve caught the ball, but he shouldn’t have to entertain fans with his recollections of playing alongside Joc Pederson while he’s trying to focus on the job at hand.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Cody Bellinger is on the verge of joining some very rare Chicago Cubs company. “... he’s just one more stolen base away from hitting the 20 homer-20 steal mark for the first time in his career.”
• Peter Marzano (NBC Sports Chicago*): As the Cubs march toward a playoff spot, who is the club’s MVP? “... here’s a look at the five Cubs that have had the most to do with the team’s successes.”
• PR Newswire*: U.S. Virgin Islands signs new multi-year partnership with the Chicago Cubs. “The partnership creates an unparalleled opportunity for the U.S. Virgin Islands to reach deep into the Midwest market and connect with a broad range of potential travelers.”

Food For Thought:

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