Cub Tracks’ built to last?

Here at CUB TRACKS NEWS AND NOTES™, we have #Cubs, #MiLB, and #MLB news for you. Friday, October 8, the Chicago Cubs did not play. Several former members, at least one of whom has turned out to welcome the move, are playing. If there is any solace, the Cardinals are at home watching, too.

In this information-dense age, the ‘human drama of athletic competition’ has somewhat given way to endless soap opera, and I expect no less going forward, with the addition of professional gambling to the financial reservoir. Oh, I can see it now:

“Here comes slugger Christian Bebop. He’s a 6’7” mountain of a man, wearing number 15 in your souvenir book, brought to you by the RamJac corporation, wielding a 35-ounce bat built especially for him by the kind folks at Louisville Mattock, wearing cleats by Prato, uniform by Guccifur, and seeing the world through Cubbie Blue spectacles, made by Lakeview LLC.

“Bebop, sponsored by Clark Street Pharmaceuticals, the home of the Wrigley Brick, steps to the plate.

“He flails wildly at strike one, a fastball thrown a little high by Irving Small, the 132nd fastest arm in the NL West. Bebop was swinging at number #133, it seems, and was a little short for Irving’s offering.

“Balls and strikes are called today by donations to the Susan Calvin Fund for Advanced Positronics. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency gladly accepted, as are small brown paper bags over the transom.

“Oddsmaker tab this next pitch as a curve ball. PlayFairdotcom gives it 66%, while Neodictions gives it a 70 rating.

“Small delivers a slider, sponsored by El Castillo Blanco. It curves away from his bat and nestles in the catcher’s glove, brought to you by the Spaulding people, as if it were magic.

“A knuckle-curve, sponsored by the Professional Boxing Association, and Bebop takes a mighty cut. The bat travels further than the ball as he loses his grip, brought to you by Widow Tack, and heaves the lumber into the netting.

“We’ll be back tomorrow for another inning. Please now enjoy thirty-six consecutive hours of commercials.”

As always, * 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. (In the comments section, use @ before and after your remarks @ to produce sarcasm font. In the text body. It doesn’t work in the headlines.)

• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cubs take galling approach to rebuild, GoFundMe fans. “... another daunting, multi-year rebuild that figures to have a short-term feel closer to tank than bank.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Just how bad was the Cubs’ starting pitching this year? “The Cubs got 2.6 WAR this year from their starting pitchers. Total.” Starting pitching is the team’s #1 priority, says Jed Hoyer by way of Jordan Bastian.
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cubs top offseason priorities: Pitching, pitching, pitching. “Our starting rotation simply wasn’t good enough this year to compete.”
• Tony Andracki (Marquee Sports Network*): The Cubs’ plan for Alec Mills in 2022. “It’s been a lot of ups and downs,” Mills said.
• Erik Mauro (Cubbies Crib*): Frank Schwindel has earned a spot on next year’s team. “With the Cubs, Schwindel put up a .342/.389/.613 slash line in 239 plate appearances.”
• Marc Severson (Cubbies Crib*): David Bote has a lot of work ahead of him. “If he doesn’t get back on track, Chicago could quickly pivot to alternatives moving forward.”
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Nico Hoerner can help bridge the Cubs from their era of great expectations to whatever is next. “There are times when it feels like the Cubs have a disposable culture...”
• Stephanie Apstein (Sports Illustrated*): Kris Bryant: Inside his journey From Chicago to San Francisco. “For so long he had wanted to be here. Now he wanted out.”
• Tommy Birch (Des Moines Register* {$}): Iowa Cubs outfielder Brennen Davis named Chicago Cubs Minor League Player of the Year. “Left-handed pitcher DJ Herz was named the Vedie Himsl Pitcher of the Year.” As noted on the front page.

Food for Thought: