I hope your 4th of July is safe and appropriate this year, and I also hope that you can enjoy it in some way that you might not have had before. We’re really missing the parade this morning, the first time we haven’t been to our city’s parade in a decade, and we’re going to miss the BBQ / Beer / Friends / Ice Cream / Fireworks combo tonight. It is a day that cannot return, and we will not be able to do it “normally” for another 365 days. That definitely sucks. But I am discovering how we could have a unique explosion today, just our team. Hopefully I can think of something good.
• With the first day of summer camp in the books, and with David Ross saying he was unaware of any absences, we can conclude that, at least in the initial round of testing, the Cubs had no positive COVID-19 results. . That doesn’t mean there can’t be any positives yet in the near future, after all, there were trips involved in getting to camp, but at least it’s a good base for the team and most others in baseball. Surprisingly, there were only 31 positive player tests in this initial round. From here, it’s now all about keeping players and staff safe as they gather in groups and take road trips.
• Speaking of which, the team was clearly affected by the experience of pitching coach Tommy Hottovy, who not only contracted COVID-19 earlier this year, but suffered a terrible fight:
The Cubs began training Friday by listening to pitching coach Tommy Hottovy detail his recent battle with COVID-19.
“You start thinking about not hugging your kids, and it’s real,” said manager David Ross. “It is a terrifying moment.” Https://t.co/FKxgEn2jkC
– Chicago Tribune Sports (@ChicagoSports) July 4, 2020
• I don’t really think about it or mention it because of any kind of competitive advantage, and instead I say it out of genuine concern for the health of the players, staff and family – I hope the Hottovy experience is just as bad near For the team, it will serve as a bit more urgency for everyone involved to adhere to safety protocols seamlessly this year. I do not want any The MLB organization will suffer an outbreak, but obviously I feel especially this way for the Cubs.
• Ian Happ, still pro-DH (Cubs.com): “For the safety of the players this year, it is great. I think baseball is at a point where having nine hitters in the National League lineup is a good thing. I think it’s a good thing for our baseball team, specifically. It gives us a lot of flexibility in a few different places and I’m excited to see how this year unfolds. ” Obviously having a permanent DH will mean, in one way or another, a lot more AB for Happ, specifically, so I’m also very happy about that.
• Anthony Rizzo rightly guessed the public nature of the MLB player job fight (particularly leaks that seemed to come from MLB), but that was not his primary focus yesterday:
“It feels good to be back here. To be able to practice here and get back to a sense of normalcy. “Anthony Rizzo rekindled the tension between MLB and the AP, but focused primarily on being happy to return to work at Wrigley https://t.co/u3F7rByV0M
– Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) July 4, 2020
Sure friend looks good, man:
• More smells like this, please:
pic.twitter.com/PrsVHdBC3V
– Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 4, 2020
• Uncle Schwarber:
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