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• Cub Tracks’ a really big shoe

Justin Steele is trying to fill Jon Lester’s footwear | Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB news, notes, and commentary, four days a week, rain or shine. Steely J — The Jon Lester of his time? Plus trade talk and more in this primo episode. WELCOME to today’s episode of Cub Tracks news and notes™, a greatest-hits collection of Chicago-style beat writers and blogg...2024
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• Baseball history unpacked, December 9

Getty Images A M-W-F digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB content, gathered from reputable sources. Russ Meyer arrives when Don Elston heads west, and other stories. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a light-hearted, Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past, with plenty of the lore and various narratives to follow as they unfold over t...2024
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• 2024 Heroes and Goats: Emmanuel Clase, part 2, and Matthew Boyd

Photo by Lauren Leigh Bacho/MLB Photos via Getty Images Continuing our H&G look at the Cleveland closer, and also at the Cubs’ new starter acquisition. This offseason, I’ve been taking a look at some other teams through the lens of WPA and particular Heroes and Goats. I started out by examining the Dodgers and particularly the spectacular season had by Shohei Ohtani. For those who may hav...2024
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• 2024 Heroes and Goats: Emmanuel Clase and the Guardians, part 1

Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images A look at Heroes and Goats for the first half of the season. Emmanuel Clase was awarded the AL Reliever of the Year for 2024 after helping the Guardians reach the playoffs. Clase pitched in 74 games and allowed only 10 runs, five earned, in 74⅓ innings. This was a particularly and uniquely impressive season. He matched those 10 runs allowe...2024
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• Cubs free agent target: Max Fried

Photo by Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images The Cubs say they might go after more pitching. So why not? Starting pitching was one of the strengths of the 2024 Cubs, particularly lefthanders Shōta Imanaga and Justin Steele. So why not go after another left, free agent Max Fried, who’s spent the last eight years with the Atlanta Braves? Fried has been pretty consistent over his caree...2024
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• BCB After Dark: Will Dansby Swanson exceed his Steamer projection?

Dansby Swanson makes a slick play against the Reds The late night coffee shop looks at the Cubs star shortstop next season Thank God it’s Friday at the old late night coffee shop serving all of the libations you’re looking for to get your weekend started right. Josh left things sparkling for us on Thursday so be sure you clean up and leave things the same when he returns on Monday night. Y...2024
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• Baseball history unpacked, December 9
2024

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• Cubs free agent target: Max Fried
2024

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• BCB After Dark: Will Dansby Swanson exceed his Steamer projection?
2024

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• 2024 Heroes and Goats: Dodgers and Ohtani, part 2

Photo by Elsa/Getty Images A legendary season concludes. I’ve been writing Heroes and Goats since 2017. In that time, I’ve covered eight seasons of the Cubs and done additional deep dives on the 1969, 1984, 1989 and 2003 Cubs. I’ve also looked at the 2018 Brewers, the 2004 Giants and the 1985 Mets. Now I’ve added the 2024 Dodgers. Unsurprisingly, I’ve looked into some pretty special season...2024
Continue with Anthony Rizzo injury
• Baseball history unpacked, October 30

Photo by Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images A M-W-F digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB content, gathered from reputable sources. Chapman gets the save, and other stories. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a light-hearted, Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past, with plenty of the lore and various...2024
Continue with Clark Griffith injury
• Baseball history unpacked, October 28

Happy birthday, Lenny Harris! | Photo By Dave Sandford/Getty Images A M-W-F digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB content, gathered from reputable sources. Happy birthday, Lenny Harris, the first World Series game at Wrigley Field in 71 years, and other stories. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a light-hearted, Cubs-centric look at baseball...2024
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• Baseball history unpacked, October 25

Happy birthday, Mike Harkey! | Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images A M-W-F digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB content, gathered from reputable sources. Happy birthday, Mike Harkey, and other stories for the discerning reader. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a light-hearted, Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past, with plenty of ...2024
Read about Leo Durocher injury status
• Baseball history unpacked, October 9

Happy birthday, Joe Pepitone! | Getty Images A M-W-F digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB content, gathered from reputable sources. Happy birthday to Joe Pepitone and a great day in 2017, plus much more. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a light-hearted, Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past, with plenty of the lore and various...2024
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• Baseball history unpacked, October 2

Rick Sutcliffe’s greatest game? | Photo by Focus on Sport via Getty Images A M-W-F digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB content, gathered from reputable sources. The second-best Playoff game for the Cubs, ever, and other stories. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a light-hearted, Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past, with plen...2024
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• Today in White Sox History: September 26

Eddie Cicotte pitched his last major league game on this day, 104 years ago. Two days later, he was suspended, never to play in the majors again. | New York Times Co./Getty Images The race remains close — but the 1920 South Siders are on the edge of disaster 1905 In a doubleheader at Boston, White Sox pitcher Ed Walsh relieved starter Doc White in the first inning of the first game without...2024
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• My summer baseball reading list

Just take a look, it’s in a book. When I was about 10 years old, I got really into baseball. I was a bookish kid already, so anytime I went to the library I checked out two kinds of books - Matt Christopher novels and baseball biographies. Matt Christopher wrote a series of fictional kids books about baseball like Catcher with a Glass Arm and The Kid Who Only Hit Homers, which I loved. I also love...2024
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• Inside the Chicago Cubs' Hiring of Joe Maddon, One of MLB's Best Managers
2014

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2024
"Or maybe, you’re still scarred from seeing Jon Lester come into the game with a runner on first base."

2023
"He had multiple postseasons and a World Series ring to back this up, and his friendship with Jon Lester helped him in this clubhouse leadership role."

2022
"Left-handed pitcher Jon Lester has retired from baseball with 200 wins and World Series rings with the Red Sox and Cubs."

2021
"The Cardinals and Nationals agreed to a last-minute trade sending veteran left-hander Jon Lester from Washington to St."

2020
"Jon Lester said of Rob Manfred's comments: "You play for that piece of metal."

2019
"” The Cubs are already overloaded with veteran rotation options on the 25-man roster, with Jon Lester, Cole Hamels, Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana, Yu Darvish, swingman Mike Montgomery, and Tyler Chatwood all on hand to make starts."

2018
"For the third time in four seasons, Chicago Cubs lefty Jon Lester will start on Opening Day as manager Joe Maddon announced the decision before Lester's spring debut on Tuesday."

2017
"Jon Lester hit his first Major League home run, notched his 2,000th career strikeout and got homers from Anthony Rizzo, Ian Happ and Javier Baez, to post a 16-4 victory over the D-backs on Tuesday night and continue the Cubs' hot second-half run."

2016
"Jon Lester took the baton from Jake Arrieta and ran with it on Tuesday night, dominating the Angels through seven innings and leading his Cubs to a 6-1 victory."

2015
"Dexter Fowler, Kyle Schwarber and Anthony Rizzo each homered in the fifth inning, and Schwarber added another two-run shot in the seventh plus an RBI single in the eighth, backing Jon Lester and powering the Cubs to a 9-2 victory Thursday over the Brewers at Wrigley Field for their 13th win in the past 14 games."

2014
"Free-agent left-hander Jon Lester has elected to sign with the Chicago Cubs, his agent told ESPN's Jim Bowden."

• Baseball history unpacked, December 9
2024

See also Ban Johnson contract rumors
• 2024 Heroes and Goats: Emmanuel Clase, part 2, and Matthew Boyd
2024

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• Cubs free agent target: Max Fried
2024

Visit the page Max Fried salary rumors
• BCB After Dark: Will Dansby Swanson exceed his Steamer projection?
2024

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• Baseball history unpacked, October 30
2024

Read about Clark Griffith
• Baseball history unpacked, October 25
2024

Visit the page Leo Durocher contract
• Baseball history unpacked, October 2
2024

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• Today in White Sox History: September 26
2024

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• Washington Nationals news & notes: Leftover Trade Deadline talk; Lane Thomas love + more

Notes and quotes on the Nationals (from a few days ago since last night’s game was on AppleT and we can’t get any fun Davey quotes. We really can’t...) LEFTOVER TRADE DEADLINE BITS: Davey Martinez was in his second year on the bench when Washington won it all in 2019, but since then (or since 2021/2022, really), he’s overseen the reboot/rebuild in D.C., guiding the Nationals through an at-times di...2024
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• MLB Trade Deadline 2024: Grading all 30 teams’ moves

Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images The dust has settled after a frenzied final few hours of trade activity. How did your team fare? The 2024 MLB Trade Deadline has come and gone. There will be waiver claims, minor signings, injury returns, and other internal promotions from this point onward, but in general, each team’s roster now features the primary players who wi...2024
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• 2024 Heroes and Goats: Emmanuel Clase, part 2, and Matthew Boyd
2024

See more articles Emmanuel Clase statistics
• 2024 Heroes and Goats: Emmanuel Clase and the Guardians, part 1
2024

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• BCB After Dark: Will Dansby Swanson exceed his Steamer projection?
2024

Continue with Dansby Swanson scores
• 2024 Heroes and Goats: Dodgers and Ohtani, part 2
2024

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• Baseball history unpacked, October 30
2024

Check it out Clark Griffith stats
• Baseball history unpacked, October 28
2024

Continue with World Series scores
• Baseball history unpacked, October 25
2024

Continue with Leo Durocher
• Baseball history unpacked, October 9
2024

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• Today in White Sox History: September 26
2024

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• MLB Trade Deadline 2024: Grading all 30 teams’ moves
2024

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• BCB After Dark: Will Dansby Swanson exceed his Steamer projection?
2024

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• Baseball history unpacked, October 28
2024

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• Today in White Sox History: September 26
2024

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• Washington Nationals news & notes: Leftover Trade Deadline talk; Lane Thomas love + more
2024

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• MLB Trade Deadline 2024: Grading all 30 teams’ moves
2024

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• Washington Nationals news & notes: Nats trade Lane Thomas to Guardians ahead of today’s Trade Deadline...

First it was Jesse Winker, now it’s Lane Thomas. GM Mike Rizzo is dealing for the future... “There are a lot of teams that would really benefit from getting Lane Thomas,” Nationals’ GM and President of Baseball Ops Mike Rizzo told reporters earlier this month when asked if the club would consider dealing their 28-year-old outfielder at the Trade Deadline this year. Thomas was acquired by Washingt...2024
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• Cub Tracks’ get off the pot?

Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB news, notes, and commentary, four days a week, rain or shine. We know what the sell-by date is. The question is, stay or go? 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’ ...2024
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• My summer baseball reading list
2024

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• Backdoor sliders

Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images Baseball’s mystical side With roster moves and opening day bearing down on us, I wanted to explore some of the oddball and sometimes almost mystical occurrences in the history of the Royals and in baseball. How rare is an Opening Day home run on the first pitch of the season? Turns out, it’s really rare. It happened only once, on Opening Day 1986, Bosto...2024
Read about Jack Morris
• Re-live Game 7 of the 2016 World Series with Joe Maddon and Terry Francona

Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant lead the mound celebration after the Cubs won the World Series in Cleveland | Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images You will probably want to record this one Have you spent way too much time wondering why Joe Maddon pulled Kyle Hendricks from Game 7 of the World Series in 2016 when he was dealing in the fifth inning? Or maybe, yo...2024
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• Lester picks Cubs, gets 6-year, $155M deal
2014

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• Lester, Rizzo lead Cubs in 5-HR, 16-run rout
2017

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• Cubs as advertised in SoCal sweep of Halos
2016

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• Mets can't stop Cubs after Reyes' leadoff HR
Willson Contreras drove in three runs and had an adventurous night, Javier Baez smacked a solo home run among four hits and Albert Almora Jr. -- who entered the game in the seventh -- drove in a career-high six runs to back Jon Lester and spark the Cubs to a 17-5 victory Wednesday over the Mets at Wrigley Field....2017
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• Cubs overwhelm Mets, maintain Central lead
Willson Contreras drove in three runs and had an adventurous night, Javier Baez smacked a solo home run among four hits and Albert Almora Jr. -- who entered the game in the seventh -- drove in a career-high six runs to back Jon Lester and spark the Cubs to a 17-5 victory Wednesday over the Mets at Wrigley Field....2017
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• Lester, 5 HRs spur Cubs to 7th straight
2015

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• Bryant's HR gives Cubs walk-off win vs. Tribe
Kris Bryant hit a walk-off home run with two outs in the ninth inning and Jon Lester allowed one run through 8 2/3 innings as the Cubs defeated the Indians, 2-1, on Monday at Wrigley Field. Monday's game was a makeup of an earlier game scheduled for June 15 that was postponed because of inclement weather....2015
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• Cubs rout Reds; keep heat on Bucs in WC race
Jon Lester struck out nine, Austin Jackson drove in a career-high five runs, and Starlin Castro had four hits, including a leadoff home run and RBI double, to lift the Cubs to a 10-3 victory Wednesday night and hand the Reds their 11th straight loss....2015
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152. Jon Lester

• A Cubsmas Advent Calendar: Justin Steele was an ace in 2023

Justin Steele throws against the Diamondbacks in September | John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images Was it a career year or a new level for the Cubs lefty? This is Day Nine of a Cubsmas Advent Calendar. You can read the explanation for the project and Day One here. The Cubs’ best pitcher in 2023 was Justin Steele. The 28-year old lefty put together a season worth...2023
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• Washington Finally Gets Started Shy A Few Coronats
It seemed like a nothing move at the time. Just a transactional move that people would forget about within hours, if not minutes. Just ten days ago, the Nats announced they would be demoting Carter Kieboom. Then, before leaving town, Carter Kieboom watered down all the hand sanitizer. Now Patrick Corbin, Yan Gomes, Josh Bell, Brad Hand (ah HA!), Will Harris, Josh Harrison, Alex Avila, Jon Lester, ...2021
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• Bounce-back pitchers: Will Lester, Thor be fantasy stars again in 2018?
Just a season ago, Noah Syndergaard and Jon Lester were among the top pitchers off the board in drafts. Heading into 2018, both are coming at a discount and are among our top candidates to rebound on the mound in fantasy....2018
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• Cubs' Shocking Dexter Fowler Steal Boosts Already World Series-Ready Roster
2016

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• Cub Tracks’ a really big shoe
2024

Check it out Cub Tracks
• 2024 Heroes and Goats: Emmanuel Clase, part 2, and Matthew Boyd
2024

See more articles Emmanuel Clase
• 2024 Heroes and Goats: Emmanuel Clase and the Guardians, part 1
2024

Visit the page Emmanuel Clase
• BCB After Dark: Will Dansby Swanson exceed his Steamer projection?
2024

Continue with Dansby Swanson
• 2024 Heroes and Goats: Dodgers and Ohtani, part 2
2024

Visit the page Anthony Rizzo
• An update on MLB no-hitter streaks, through 2024

Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images Who’s got the longest active streak of not being no-hit, through the 2024 season? Shōta Imanaga, Nate Pearson and Porter Hodge combined on a no-hitter against the Pirates at Wrigley Field this past Sept. 4, the first Cubs no-hitter at Wrigley in more than 52 years. Here are the final three outs of that no-no, thrown by Hodge [VIDEO]. Th...2024
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• Today in White Sox History: September 26
2024

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• This day in Braves History: Marcus Giles becomes sixth Braves player to reach 20 homers in 2003

Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images Talk about sharing the wealth! Braves Franchise History 2003: Second baseman Marcus Giles hits a home run off Brad Penny’s 3-2 pitch, as the Atlanta Braves tie the National League record by having six players hit at least 20 home runs in a season. Along with Giles, Javy Lopez, Gary Sheffield, Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones and Vinny Castilla equal the mark ...2024
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• Washington Nationals news & notes: Leftover Trade Deadline talk; Lane Thomas love + more
2024

Visit the page Lane Thomas
• MLB Trade Deadline 2024: Grading all 30 teams’ moves
2024

Read about AL East

• Baseball history unpacked, October 25
2024

Visit the page Leo Durocher
• Baseball history unpacked, October 2
2024

Read about Rick Sutcliffe gossip
• Baseball history unpacked, July 31

Happy birthday, Leon Durham! | Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images A M-W-F digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB content, gathered from reputable sources. Happy birthday to Leon Durham, Jon Lester lays it down, and other stories. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a light-hearted, Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past, with plenty of...2024
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• Cubs 3, Padres 2: Michael Busch walks it off

Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports A game that started like many recent others had a stunning ending. New Cubs first baseman Michael Busch can be described in part as just getting his job done. You don’t hear many quotes from him; he just plays pretty good defense and has been hitting reasonably well in his first full MLB season. That all changed with one swing of the bat, as Busch hit the...2024
Visit the page Michael Busch rumors
• Baseball history unpacked, October 2

Adam Greenberg gets his chance at bat | Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images A M-W-F digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB content, gathered from reputable sources. The sad tale of Adam Greenberg and other stories. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a light-hearted, Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past, with plenty of the lore and vario...2023
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• Baseball history unpacked, July 31
Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images A M-W-F digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB content, gathered from reputable sources, a little bit cheesy but nicely displayed. Happy birthday to Leon Durham, Mike Bielecki, and others, plus a plethora of good stories. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a light-hearted, Cubs-centric look at baseball’s co...2023
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• Washington Nationals news & notes: Nats rally in 7th, blow lead in 9th in 8-6 loss to Padres...
Notes and quotes from the series finale in Nationals Park... Irvin Rides Or Just Starts Again: In spite of the fact he struggled at points in each of his last two starts, with strong stretches and bad ones, Nationals’ manager Davey Martinez said Jake Irvin would continue to start for Washington again, even after veteran starter Chad Kuhl came off the IL recently. “We definitely want to give Jake ...2023
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• Brewers 3, Cubs 1: A battle of two bullpens
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images Justin Steele and Brandon Woodruff pitched a tight matchup for six innings... but the Cubs’ pen couldn’t hold the lead. Today, the complaint department is open. Here’s mine: Why is it, that when an opposing hitter is literally trying to make an out, the Cubs pitcher can’t throw strikes? That’s what happened to Javier Assad in the eighth inning after a l...2023
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• Cub Tracks’ wondering in winterland
Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images #Cubs,#MLB, and #MiLB news you can use, four days a week. The powers-that-be convene in San Diego for jawflaps and handshakes. 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, and then cold-brewed overnight for maximum...2022
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• BCB After Dark: How high will the Cubs go?
Photo by Matt Dirksen/Getty Images The late-night/early-morning spot for Cubs fans asks if the Cubs will set any marks for contract value this winter. Welcome back to BCB After Dark: the swingin’ spot for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. It’s so good to see you again this evening. Come on in out of the cold. We can take your coat for you if you’d like. There are...2022
Check it out Matt Dirksen