#Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB news and notes, links and discussion, plus more or less scientific food for thought. Opening Day 2024!
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.
There’s a regular season game tonight. BCB’s preseason roundtable will be published at 10:30 a.m. CT, with some small changes to my starters’ predictions. I think now that Jameson Taillon’s going to be out for a while, and we’re going to see a few different pitchers. Kyle Hendricks does me a concern.
But there will be pleasant surprises, too. Like Michael Busch swatting 30+ homers, and Seiya Suzuki continuing to rake from the 2-hole.
I predicted that Christopher Morel will go 40-40. That’s forty homers and forty errors. I don’t think he would be allowed to do so but we will see. The ghost of Dick Stuart smiles upon him.
Cub Tracks promises more and better coverage of the coverage this year.
GAME NIGHT!
It’s going to be a good time. I’ma open an Old Style, eat a Chicago dog, all that.
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- Jeff Agrest (Chicago Sun-Times*): ESPN will examine Cubs’ switch from David Ross to Craig Counsell on opening-night broadcast. “The network will air the Cubs-Rangers season opener exclusively, with the “Sunday Night Baseball” crew of Karl Ravech, analysts David Cone and Eduardo Perez and reporter Buster Olney on the call.”
- Kennedi Landry, Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Opening Day FAQ: Cubs vs. Rangers. “The Rangers will face off against the Cubs at Globe Life Field on Opening Day on Thursday, as they gear up for a title defense.”
- Steve Greenberg (Chicago Sun-Times*): The 2024 Cubs just need a few things to go right … and then a few more. “Opening Day is here. Let the playoff expectations begin.”
- Mike McGraw (Daily Herald*): With few changes to lineup, how can Cubs find room to improve? “Hoyer’s dream is to mirror the Houston Astros, and produce a steady flow of homegrown talent…”
- Eno Sarris (The Athletic {$}): 10 bold predictions for the 2024 MLB season. “Christopher Morel is an All-Star.” Keith Law {$}.
- Patrick K Flowers (Bleacher Nation*): The Stretch: 2024 MLB Season Preview. “… we will look at what’s in store for us this summer.”
- Eli Ong (WGN9*): Shota Imanaga to wear special patch for MLB debut with the Cubs. “The sleeve on Imanaga’s jersey will feature a “MLB Debut” patch, which is a part of a program now in its second year that was created as a partnership with the sports trading card company Topps.”
- Jesús Cano (MLB.com*): Jose Cuas looking to be driving force in Cubs’ bullpen. “Right-hander heads into Opening Day extremely confident, armed with new-look slider.”
- Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Kinda sounds like Craig Counsell may have a set top three in the batting order. “… I suspect we’ll see Happ-Suzuki-Bellinger as the top three not only for Thursday’s opener, but also for a good long while thereafter in most games, at least against righties…”
- Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): The Cubs and Cody Bellinger are trying to climb back to the top. “… when you watched him every day, it was very clear he was sacrificing power for contact. Given where he’s going to be hitting in the order — and given the way it worked last year — I’m great with that trade-off.”
Food for Thought:
Incredible First View Of The Magnetic Fields Around Our Galaxy’s Supermassive Black Holehttps://t.co/SfcHnadgzi
— IFLScience (@IFLScience) March 27, 2024
A study of dogs’ brains suggests that there’s a lot going on in there, even if the dog doesn’t show it. https://t.co/93WqyyN1kI
— Science News (@ScienceNews) March 27, 2024
Homo Sapiens’ First Homeland Outside Of Africa Has Been Foundhttps://t.co/FR3XcbkC2D
— IFLScience (@IFLScience) March 26, 2024
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