Cub Tracks’ blue magic

Here at CUB TRACKS NEWS AND NOTES™, we like to keep things brief on the principle that it makes us appear wise. We don’t always, but we like to. 6 in a row!

Pretty sure Javy is in the dugout casting a Confundus Charm on the Reds infield. — Jim Deshaies.

Willson Javy’d — Ryan Herrera.

Man, the Cubs are apparently in the heads of the entire division now when they’re on the basepaths... Tony Andracki.

Ryan Dempster did a decent job, I think. He’s a good color man when he isn’t doing schtick. Saturday was a nice quiet booth, the way I like it. And the game was going well, until the David Bote injury (a separated shoulder, as it turns out). Dee Strange-Gordon, please pick up the white courtesy phone.

Patrick Wisdom is actually a third baseman by trade and did well the one season when he got into 32 games with a .362 OBP and .520 SLG. He has a .759 OPS in over 3,000 minor-league at-bats. He can fill in but really that’s all I’d have him do. His 30th birthday is this year and he’s proven all he can prove. Strange-Gordon can play middle IF, center field, walk some, and can still motor a little.

Man, these guys play an entertaining and interesting brand of ball. Even the backups to the backups to the backups.

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.)

• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Wrigley capacity increase just in time for Cubs’ hot streak. “It’s going to be significant,” David Ross said.
• Ryan Herrera (MLB.com*): Cubs’ sixth straight win comes with a price. The game followed a month-long trend for the Cubs, who have won 18 of 25 games in May even while having as many as 10 players on the injured list at once.
• Jared Wyllys (Chicago Sun-Times*{$}): Cubs rout Reds for 6th win in row but lose David Bote. “Opposing teams must feel a bit like beating the Cubs is akin to a game of whack-a-mole lately. As more of their roster heads to the trainer’s table, another player from the depth chart pops in, and they keep winning.”
• Mark Potash (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): With the wind at his back, Adbert Alzolay takes another step forward. “The Cubs right-hander wiggled out of trouble and got a break or two but continued to gain manager David Ross’ trust with 5 2⁄3 scoreless innings in a 1-0 victory against the Reds.” Sahadev Sharma adds on {$}.
• Tommy Birch (Des Moines Register* {$}): Iowa Cubs pitcher Tyson Miller makes the most of his late start after bout with COVID-19. “Watching people play bad golf really made me feel confident about my game,” Miller said.
• Tom Musick (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Ex-Cub Michael Bowden still has some mustard. “At 34, the former Cubs pitcher continues to live the dream: He’s playing the game he loves with the independent Dogs.”
• Ryan Herrera (MLB.com*): Bote exits with left shoulder injury. “... he was ... replaced by Patrick Wisdom at third base in the fifth.”
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Is it time to change the Mendoza Line? The .200 batting average threshold is out of date in today’s evolving game. “The league average was .236 entering Thursday’s game...”

Food for Thought:

Thanks for reading.