Cub Tracks’ this space for rent

#Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB news, notes, and commentary, four days a week, rain or shine. There’s vacancy on the roster and we make another pitch for vacancy in the POBO office.

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.

Rumors are that Jerry Reinsdorf is willing to sell HIS team. Let’s all encourage the Rickettses to do so as well, and skip the record-loss season as impetus.

A fellow can dream, right? I mean, I didn’t want Jed fired for about six months there. Now… yeah. Please.

There are holes on the roster where the good players should go. I’d like to see them filled with the best players money can buy, or a reasonable facsimile thereof. I fear that the resolution will be disappointing but interesting.

The beats are still on vacation, so we’re thin on the ground here. But some of the things are really interesting. Enjoy.

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• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Tom Ricketts suggests no pre-2025 extension is coming for Jed Hoyer. “In speaking with the Tribune about the subject, Ricketts offered praise for, and trust in, Hoyer…”
• Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball*): Cubs’ utter lack of homegrown talent from Latin America remains a glaring problem. “… this is a bad track record.”
• Jonathan Mayo (MLB.com*): MLB Pipeline’s 2024 All-Rookie Team. “… there were plenty of exciting rookies to choose from for this year’s All-Rookie Teams.”
• Andy Martinez and Tony Andracki (Marquee Sports Network*): Yin and yang: Is the Cubs offense in a good spot? “… there were enough flashes this season that, if you squint, you can see the shell of a premier offense…”
• Matt Danielowicz (Marquee Spots Network*): Cubs outfielder Mike Tauchman reflects on local high school football career. “I’m glad that I didn’t try to take it to the next level because when I watch on Saturdays or when I watch on Sundays, they’re so fast…”
• Bailey Hall (North Side Baseball*): How Wrigley Field Grounds Crew preserves and winterizes the park each offseason. “Keeping the field pristine is an extremely difficult task…”

Food for Thought:

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