Cub Tracks’ situation cloudy

#Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB news, notes, and commentary, four days a week, rain or shine. We await developments.

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. No artificial intelligences were deployed, employed, entranced, or embalmed in the commission of this missive (apparently I might be training some though). Cub Tracks eagerly awaits the advent of robotic umpires and has already amended the three laws. The going is weird. Cub Tracks turned pro a long time ago.

Cub Tracks. Where the great ones run away.

I can see the writing on the wall if I squint just the right way. Disappointed, optimistic, the Cubs say they look to 2025 like ‘Wait ‘til Next Year hasn’t been a knotty catchphrase in Chicagoland for ages. I dunno about you, but I’ve felt strung along most of that time. I keep watching nonetheless.

And the writing says the Cubs are playing for 2028. I’m not the only one that believes there won’t be a 2027 season. The CBA negotiation is going to be insane. Baseball could actually start losing money.

I’m not mad.

Because prices have to come down. That’s the way to more money, giving more people the opportunity to see games. Think long-term if you want to stick around. Make it easy to see the game.

Probably I am quite mad but I rather enjoy it. The links are shrinking — we’re going to need stuff to think about and talk about. Or I will.

BCB of course will bring you coverage of events as they develop.

*means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page as sarcasm font. The powers that be have enabled real sarcasm font in the comments.

h/t Evan Altman

• Marquee Sports Network*: Cubs Weekly Podcast: Key takeaways moving into the offseason.
• Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation*): The Brewers’ quick exit should be a reminder for the Cubs Front Office about goal-setting. “… merely getting into the postseason is good and all, but the teams that get the first round bye are in such a dramatically better position.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Cubs may be getting a little desperate for season ticket sales. “They did away with the list a couple years ago and have recently revived it, but it doesn’t seem as though it’s doing much good.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Top Japanese starting pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano reportedly plans to come to MLB this offseason. “Tomoyuki Sugano, 35 next week, is a legend in the NPB…”
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Cubs’ Miguel Amaya proved he belongs, but Chicago will still look for catcher upgrades. “… Amaya made significant in-season adjustments and demonstrated his natural leadership skills.” Andy Martinez has more Amaya.
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Pete Crow-Armstrong must be the start of a big wave of young talent for the Cubs. “… free agents won’t fix everything.”

Food for Thought:

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series. Thanks for reading!

I’m in another book. This one is a charity tribute to Black Sabbath.