Cub Tracks is a great fit

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.

Mark Leiter Jr. has elected to become a free agent. I can’t say that I blame him. He might pitch more in a different organization. He showed enough last year, especially late, to have some value for someone. Not a LOT of value, but some. There are systems that have less pitching than the Cubs do at present.

We’re not going to jump on the Nick Madrigal to the White Sox train. It just doesn’t seem likely. The other two main Cubs blogs are in on it but it doesn’t track for us. Click the links if you have interest. Bob Nightengale started it, reportedly.

“It’s more of a conjecture on Nightengale’s part, rather than a report of a potential deal in the works, but one can see how Nightengale connected the dots.” — Alex Shapiro, NBC Sports Chicago.

Madrigal and Leiter right now are occupying useful niches, and Madrigal is trying to acquire a little more space. I suspect that space will be in Iowa, at least for starters.

Cub Tracks understands niche. But trust us — we’re not like the others. I remember my juco baseball coach telling me that I was the only right-hander he knew that felt like a lefthander (I threw a screwball and a knuckle-curve and had a rag arm compared to the rest of the staff, and my idol was Bill “Spaceman” Lee).

I have been an ‘XRT listener since the station spoke Spanish half of the time. When I was a taxi driver, Terri Hemmert and Lin Brehmer and Frank E. Lee rode shotgun. I’ve had the good fortune to meet all three, and even bowled a few frames with two of them. Happy trails, Lin. You’ll be missed.

Trey Mancini spoke to the press Monday morning. That generated some Cubstacks for you today. Enjoy.

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• Mike Axisa (CBS Sports*): Batting Around: Which MLB team has improved the most this offseason? “I think it’s the Cubs,” says Axisa.
• Kayla Skinner (Fan Nation*): 3 crazy predictions for the Chicago Cubs in 2023. It’s hard to put ice cream on pie in the sky.
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Attempting to remake Kyle Hendricks, and what qualifies as success. “If Hendricks bounces back and is even close to a useful four or five, I’m thinking the Cubs would be happy to bring him back...” Evan Altman has more Hendricks’ experience. Patrick Mooney started it {$}.
• Rich Eberwein (Cubbies Crib*): 3 pitchers who will compete to be the Chicago Cubs closer. I could live with any of them.
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): 5 highlights from Trey Mancini’s Q&A. “When you have a lot of exciting young talent,” Mancini said, “matched with some of the right veteran guys, that can be a great mix... Evan Altman has more Mancini. Andy Martinez composes some also. Tony Andracki too. And Maddie Lee has words. Jay Cohen from AP caps it off.

• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): No one knew the Chicago Cubs quite like Lin Brehmer, a voice of sanity during good times and bad. “Joe, a lot of high-priced managers have come through the Cubs organization over the years,” Brehmer said. “Dusty Baker, Lou Piniella and many others have come in, and most left Chicago in straitjackets…”

Maddon interrupted before Brehmer could pose his question.

“Forty-two regular,” he said, offering up his jacket size.

• Lyndsey Havens (Billboard*): Wilco, John Cusack, Steve Albini & more pay tribute to late Chicago Radio Legend Lin Brehmer. “WXRT celebrated Brehmer’s life with a special block of programming on Monday.”

Food for Thought:

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