Today’s Reflections
Today, a lot of varied topics and varied fervor are here in Cub Tracks: From the latest injury news and fears, to rumors of needed trades, to comparing the 2026 and the 2016 Cubs (WAY to early for that, but a fun exercise) to Glenallen Hill checking out the apartment building across the street the HARD way.
The injury replacements are getting injured themselves. The trade deadline is many moons away, but 1) the Cubs can’t wait until August 3 (which sounds a lot farther away than
July 31 was), and 2) the Athletic lists TEN possible targets (again, a fun exercise, but, wow). With just a scan of the 2016/26 comparison, there may be a point on offense, but I didn’t even look at the pitching comparisons. I did look at the verdict and agreed straight down the line.
And Glenallen, that swing still scares me. I’m sure it’s the shortest swing for a 500-foot homerun ever. So enjoy the fun and not so fun.
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- Paul Niemiec (North Side Baseball): How Do the Hot-Starting 2026 Cubs Match Up with the 2016 Version? “This is as strong a start as the Cubs have enjoyed since their World Series year. But can this team hold a candle to that one?”
- Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Was Edward Cabrera’s Last Start Canary in Coalmine or Rock Bottom? “Two of those hits left the yard, which has now been the case for Cabrera in three of his last four starts. That’s what happens when your stuff isn’t as sharp. The curveball has lost just over four inches of horizontal movement and nearly four of vertical drop from last season.”
- Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Ten starters Cubs could target before trade deadline, from Logan Webb to Joe Ryan. “To be clear, Chicago Cubs officials do not expect to execute any major trades at this point in the baseball calendar ….. But it is the front office’s job to constantly brainstorm ideas, gather information and anticipate where those markets are moving.”
- Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation): Potential Cubs Targets, Teams to Watch, Challenge Trades, More. “Add it all up and, yeah, they’ll very likely be adding a starting pitcher via trade this season. But while that won’t likely happen anytime soon, the rumors and breakdowns are already out in full force. Let’s break these rumors down and get an understanding of who might be on their radar.”
- Elias Shuster (Chicago Cubs on SI): Are the Chicago Cubs Finally Hitting a Wall at a Very Scary Time? “The Chicago Cubs went scoreless in back-to-back games for the first time this season to finish out their series against the Texas Rangers.”
- Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): For Ian Happ, the Cubs’ historically great start is a long time coming, ‘The little details and big moments have led to this pivotal point in Happ’s career. Right now, he’s a driving force behind one of baseball’s best teams, which is off to a historically great start for a franchise marking its 150th anniversary.“
- Casey McAleer (Da Windy City): Cubs veteran Ian Happ quietly reaches incredible career milestone. “Happ’s 30 game on-base streak has become one of the steadiest driving forces behind the Cubs recent success.‘
- Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): Kelly’s success with ABS challenges helping swing key moments for Cubs. “Entering Sunday’s game in Texas, the veteran Kelly led the Majors with an 89% success rate (17-for-19), among catchers with at least 10 challenges this season.“
- Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune {$}): Hoby Milner’s journey to Chicago part of ‘a great fairytale’ for his father, Brian, a former Cubs scout. “A 48-year-long fairytale brought Brian Milner to Tropicana Field in early April. Milner watched his son Hoby toss a scoreless relief appearance for the Chicago Cubs during a win against the Rays in a full-circle moment for the family. Brian spent 12 seasons (1996-2007) as a Cubs scout and now gets to see Hoby representing the team.”
- Tommy Erbe (OnTapSportsNet): OTD 26 Years Ago, Glenallen Hill Hit A Ball To The Wrigley Field Rooftops. “Hill hit the ball over the bleachers in left field, over Waveland Avenue, and onto the bleacher seats across the street from Wrigley Field. The building sits 460 feet from home plate, but you’d need some extra mustard to get it to the top.”
- Anthony Kerr (Da Windy City): Cubs Fans Should Remain Optimistic About Moisés Ballesteros Despite Recent Struggles. “Ballesteros has nosedived after a scorching start, but better days are almost certainly ahead for Chicago’s rookie slugger.”
- Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Cubs are facing an injury headache that felt inevitable the moment this veteran pitcher arrived. “This was the obvious concern.”
- Justin Bonhard (Sporting News): The Cubs’ young core is leading the charge as they have the best record in all of baseball. “To a large extent, their younger players have had a significant impact on this season’s success. As described by Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report, the Cubs have the fifth-strongest “core four” that are under the age of 25. Here is the quad, which, as of right now, is a trio.“
- Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune{$}): Chicago Cubs — whose streak ends at 10 — feel no urgency to add a starter despite social media madness. “The (Peralta) report was retracted, but that didn’t stop the internet, which never sleeps. It was picked up by aggregating websites focusing on Cubs news. Views of the original tweet and the retraction reached almost 600,000 as of Saturday night. The tweet worked, even if it was wrong, the story of our times.”
Food For Thought:
Guy Davis is a two-time, back-to-back Grammy nominee for Best Traditional Blues, a musician, Actor, Author, and Songwriter. Guy uses a blend of Roots, Blues, Folk, Rock, Rap, Spoken Word, and World Music to comment on, and address the frustrations of social injustice, touching on historical events, and common life struggles. His storytelling is sometimes painful, deep, and real, an earthy contrast to modern-day commercial music, meant to create thought, underlined by gentle tones from his guitar or banjo fingerpicking. A self-taught “Renaissance Man”, he first heard the banjo at a summer camp run by John Seeger, the brother of the American Folk Musician, Pete Seeger, and soon after, asked his father for one.
When asked about his experience as a performer, Guy has replied, “There is no tale so tall that I cannot tell it, nor song so sweet that I cannot sing it.”
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