Cub Tracks grinds my gears

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!

Journalists are rarely afforded style points, but I’d award some if I were allowed to, to Brett Taylor for the marvelously understated title of his piece today. It’s a good read, here at your friendly neighborhood link-aggregator with benefits. What used to be LOOGIES are now pricing themselves out of the market as teams will use younger, less expensive southpaws.

Seems obvious on the face of it, although it could use a good shave. Here we have our noses to the wheel and our shoulders to the grindstone, and that will have to suffice.

Salary demands have long been an agent of change. I’d probably start mumbling the ‘collusion’ term but this doesn’t seem as heavy as that connotes. More like ‘dollars and sense’, but we’re not used to that from baseball executives and so it seems off somehow. It is as if everyone decided to spend intelligently at once, and some disregarded the memo. I mean, it’s natural for these guys to not want to spend the boss’s money indiscriminately, innit?

So there is the increasing likelihood of pasturization to add into the narrative, another subplot that might turn into a herring as we get the razors out, my droogies.

Jurickson Profar is the latest rumor. I dunno. Maybe.

RIP Bobby #9. Stan has your new skates. I understand that they’re pure gold.

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BCB favorite Daniel Vogelbach is in the #bestshapeofhislife:

• Tim Walters (Panama City News Herald): Chicago Cubs manager David Ross talks spring training, 2016 World Series, more. Podcast.
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): The reported price tags on lefties Andrew Chafin, Matt Moore, and Zack Britton could explain their continued free agency. “... their market did not move after Matt Strahm got a surprising two-year, $15 million deal from the Phillies in early December.”
• Gordon Wittenmyer (Chicago Sun-Times*): The shift hits the ban. “MLB outlawed extreme infield shifts, so will outfielders be used to circumvent the rule change?”
• Keith Law (The Athletic {$}): Top 100 MLB prospects 2023: Keith Law’s rankings, with Corbin Carroll at No. 1. “26. Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Chicago Cubs.” Evan Altman interprets. Alex Shapiro has words. Brett Taylor adds on. Also on the front page here, from Josh.
• Kayla Skinner (Fan Nation*): The Chicago Cubs one-two punch in rotation could make all the difference. “elite one-two punch” is pretty generous but we’ll see.
• Michael Brakebill (Cubbies Crib*): 3 positions battles to watch in Spring Training. “... several questions remain going into the 2023 campaign that will need to be addressed.”
• Kayla Skinner (Fan Nation*): New MLB and Nike uniform rules shouldn’t affect the Chicago Cubs. “Chicago only has three uniforms plus their City Connect jerseys.”
• Dave Skretta (AP): Chip Caray follows grandpa’s footsteps as voice of Cardinals. Good for him. Now he has to live near St. Louis. That’s punishment enough.

Food for Thought:

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