Washington Nationals are World Champions

October 31, 2019

The Washington Nationals were only the sixth wild-card team to win the World Series. It doesn’t get better than a seven game series packed with drama and heroics. The Astros had the home field advantage although that didn’t matter because for the first time in history neither team won a home game.

The Nationals being champs shouldn’t be a big surprise. After starting out 19-31, the Nationals were one of the hottest teams in baseball going 74-38 the rest of the way. They were playing extremely well heading into the playoffs. How they got through to the World Series is worth taking a look at.

In the wild-card game against the Milwaukee Brewers they were trailing 3-1 heading to the eighth inning. The Brewers brought in their premier closer Josh Hader. Hader was having trouble and loaded the bases.  In what would be the first of many 2 out runs, Juan Soto singles home two runs. When the Brewers right fielder overruns the ball, the Nationals get the go-ahead run and win 4-3.,

The Dodgers were the overwhelming favorites to represent the National League in the World Series. Both teams have great starting pitching. The Nationals staved off elimination in game 4 behind Max Scherzer. In the decisive game five, the Nationals were down 3-1 in the eighth. Back to back home runs from Anthony Rendon and Soto tied the game. The Nationals won the game on Howie Kendrick’s grand slam in the 10^th inning.

The Astros Gerrit Cole hadn’t lost a game since May. Things were looking bright when Astros scored two runs in the first inning. Scherzer would grind through five scoreless innings while the Nationals went to work on Cole.  He gave a solo homer to Ryan Zimmerman and Soto took over. He would hit tying home run and a three run double. The Astros would score two runs but would fall short, losing 5-4 in the opener.

In game two, the Astros Justin Verlander gave up two runs in the first inning. The Astros responded with a 2-run homer from Alex Bregman. Stephen Strasburg would go on to pitch 5 more innings of no-run ball. Things turned bad for Verlander in the seventh inning.  Kurt Suzuki led off with a homer giving the Nationals a 3-2 lead. Verlander walked the next batter and was taken out. The floodgates opened with key hits and sloppy defense. Nationals win 12-3. Verlander would later lose game 6, making him 0-6 in World Series starts.

The Astros went to D.C. for the next three games. In game three, Zack Greinke pitches into the fifth inning allowing one run in an Astros 4-1 victory. With all the all-star pitchers, Astros game four starter, rookie Jose Urquidy. was the best pitcher in the series up to this point. With only seven previous starts, he pitched five scoreless innings. Bregman had a grand slam as the Astros won 8-1. In game five, Gerrit Cole pitches like his old self, keeping the National hitters at bay in a 7-1 Astros victory. They go back to Houston with the Astros up 3 games to 2.

In game six, Strasburg dominates going 8.2 innings allowing only 2 runs. Series standouts Soto and Rendon homer as the Nationals win 7-2 forcing a game seven. In game seven the pitching matchup is Scherzer for the Nationals and Greinke for the Astros. In one of his best performance of the year, Greinke takes a one-hitter into the seventh inning. Meanwhile, the Astros have only two runs leaving multiple runners on base. Once again the Nationals come back from a 2 run deficit. Rendon continued his hot hitting and led off the 7^th with a homer. When Greinke walks Soto he is lifted from the game. The next batter Howie Kendrick, hits one off the right foul pole for a 3-2 Nationals lead. Scherzer is relieved in the 6^th by Patrick Corbin who got pounded in game 3. He was near perfect in 3 innings. Due to timely hitting by Adam Eaton and Soto the Nationals extended their lead to 6-2. That is the way it ended.

The Nationals had some great performances from their stars who showed up big time. Free-agent third baseman Anthony Rendon will become one of the highest players in the game. He hit .319 with 34 homers and a major league leading 126 RBI. Juan Soto is only 21 and looks a little like Tony Oliva. Adam Eaton and Howie Kendrick made major contributions. But make no mistake, the pitching is what makes this team great. Scherzer and World Series MVP Strasburg went 9-0 in the post season

It's All Over

October 28, 2019

The Bears dominated the Los Angles Chargers yesterday. They outgained them in rushing and passing yardage, totaling over 300 yards for the first time this year. They also ran 77 plays to the Chargers 42 and controlled the ball for 38 minutes. However, the Bears lost in the most important category, points scored, and lost 17-16. It was the 13^th time in 24 games that offensive guru Matt Nagy’s team has failed to score 20 points. The fat lady is warmed up and ready to sing as the Bears death roll spiral continues, with their third consecutive loss

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General Manager Ryan Pace has made two colossal mistakes that will define his tenure. He hired Nagy to invigorate the offense and develop quarterback Mitch Trubisky. Nagy is 0 for 2. His play calling has been idiotic and on this past Sunday, perhaps cowardly.  It’s as annoying as fingernails on a chalkboard. The Bears were in the red zone 4 times without scoring a touchdown. The first time, they were settling for a field goal. With the ghost of Cody Parkey enveloping Soldier Field, Eddy Pineiro’s kick hit the upright.

The Bears had 12 plays inside the 10 yard line and didn’t score a touchdown. Contrary to prior play calling gaffes, Nagy tried to run the ball rather than pass.  David Montgomery had a good game, but if you take away the 55 yard run he averaged only 3 yards per carry. He and the Bears have never been good in short yard situations. I mentioned cowardice when I referenced Nagy’s play calling. In these situations he got scared and lost trust in Trubisky. With the ball at the six yard line he called two runs for little or no gain. Then an incomplete Trubisky pass that was poorly thrown and the Bears settled for 3 points. At the end of the half, with the ball at the four yard line, they ran the ball twice for no gain. The next play, Trubisky throws an uncatchable ball out of the end zone. The Bears luckily get a pass interference call and have the ball at the one yard with 29 seconds remaining and no timeouts. You can get 3 passes into the end zone with the time left. Against the Washington Redskins I saw Trubisky complete a one yard touchdown pass to Taylor Gabriel. I can’t believe in that billboard playbook Nagy carries he doesn’t have a play for this situation.  He calls a run for no gain and they have to scramble to get the clock stopped with one second left. They settle for another field goal.

Pace’s other colossal mistake was moving up in the draft to pick Mitch Trubisky as the second overall pick.  He had only 13 starts in his senior year at North Carolina. As a Junior, he couldn’t start over a quarterback who was not even drafted and was let go by a team in the Canadian League. He has played a part in Bear losses and Sunday was no different.  With the Bears clinging to a six point lead he makes a horrible read and throws an easy interception. Trubisky can’t seem to read the field. He only looks at the primary receiver. Many times he throws into multiple coverage when someone else has to be open. If Nagy is using the Kansas City Chiefs offense, he should also have a check down receiver who can gain yards after the catch. The Chargers miss the field goal and the Bears still lead 16-10. The Bears get the ball back and without being touched, Trubisky clumsily fumbles. I heard that before he went to the sideline he had to find his hand warmers on a 58-degree day. The Chargers capitalize on the turnover and take a 17-16 lead.

With less than 2 minutes left, the Bears had a chance for a game winning field goal. With 41 seconds left Nagy decides for Trubisky to take a knee and call a timeout with 4 seconds left. He would later lamely explain why they didn’t run another play. I guess he forgot about Parkey’s miss from the same distance last year. A gain of three yards moves Pineiro closer. If the kick is from 38 yards it goes between the uprights before veering wide to the left.

The honeymoon between Nagy and the Chicago media is over. In a contentious interview, Nagy barked at reporters who questioned his play calling.  He correctly pointed out that you don’t risk a pass. About not running for a few extra yards he replied you may fumble or lose a couple of yards. The coward had no faith the team could advance the ball couple of yards. He concluded by yelling “I did not consider a pass and I did not consider a run”. What a jerk. Problem is he and Trubisky are here to stay.

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Bulls Preview

October 23, 2019

The Bulls open up their season tonight against the Charlotte Hornets. The loyalty the ownership has to management rubs me the wrong way. John Paxon was hired in 2003. He hired Gar Forman to be his General Manager, while his new title is President of Basketball Operations. In 16 years they haven’t won a damn thing. Aside from a couple of good years with a healthy Derrick Rose, they have been awful.

The only good coach they hired was Tom Thibodeau who was unceremoniously dumped over physiological differences.  His replacement, Fred Hoiberg didn’t tank well enough and was let go in mid- season last year. They hired pre-historic assistant Jim Boylen over Fred Flintstone. Instead of making him an interim coach they gave him a two-year contract. No proper search for a new coach was even considered.  Boylen proceeded to guide them to a 17-41 record. He is old school with his game planning. He says he wants his players to take the ball to the rim and get free throws. This is the antitheses of modern day basketball.  The trend is spreading the floor for open 3-pointers and playing good defense. In a recent interview he said “I don’t evaluate whether we won or lost. I evaluate how they play.” If you play well you win if not you lose, it’s that simple.

All is not doom and gloom. The Bulls have some talent and may compete despite their coach. Lauri Markkanen and Zach LaVine could be all-stars. Otto Porter is an upgrade at small forward. Wendall Carter Jr. needs to stay out of foul trouble and should be more productive. The new point guard is free-agent Tomas Satoransky, who I haven’t seen enough of to make any assessment.

I thought the Bulls were done with Kris Dunn. However, it looks like he’s in charge of what looks to be terrible bench. The most notable free-agent in that unit is middle of the road, Thaddeus Young whose name is a big contradiction to his age. Eventually, first round pick guard Coby White should move up to be a starter. What I’ve seen of him looks pretty good although, it’s only pre-season. When you have the seventh pick in the draft you don’t get game changers. Like Carter last year, the Bulls top pick is not in the opening night starting line-up.

 What the Bulls truly need is a player who makes everyone else better, someone who is a level above their best players. I’m wondering if the Bulls could have pulled off Khalil Mack type trade for second pick Ja Morant, by offering the first round pick this and next year. If that’s not good enough, sweeten the pot any way you can. Offer any player or two except Markkanen and LaVine.

I do expect the Bulls to be better. They should win 28-38 games, miss the playoffs and get a lousy draft pick. I hope I’m wrong but my gut tells me I’m not.

Bears Lay an Egg and Destroy Playoff Hopes

October 21, 2019

Sunday afternoon was a great day. I was sitting in a Soldier Field sky box to celebrate my godson/nephew’s 40^th birthday. Surrounded by family and friends, these are the days I live for. Not even the Bears sour play could diminish what a wonderful day this was. 

If I had watched this game at home, I would have gone berserk. It was a must win game against an undermanned New Orleans Saints team. This was the Bears worst performance in Coach Matt Nagy’s tenure. In one of my very first posts, I wrote that Nagy was a bad choice. He was hired because he was the first interviewee to say yes to a low ball offer. 

Never in the future do I want to read any reference to Nagy receiving Coach of the Year honors. Without the defense he's a .500 coach at best. He was supposed to develop quarterback Mitch Trubisky who has regressed from last year. He continues to run a pass happy offense with an inconsistent (or bad, take your pick) QB. Trubisky is a good passer for six or fewer yards, unless he needs that distance on third down. He woefully missed wide open receivers downfield. Trubisky threw a career high 54 passes against the Saints. He did pad his stats during garbage time against a second string defense. Take away the points the Bear score  without defensive help and you will see how anemic Nagy's offense has been.. 

Nagy has talked about improving the running game. He has had 23 games and still can’t figure it out. They ran the ball seven times for a measly 17 yards. There was a stretch in the first half where he called passes on 23 of 28 plays. The running game is very vanilla with no misdirection plays. The offensive line can't open any holes. When the game is close like the first half was, you can’t give up the running game. It didn’t help when Anthony Miller fumbled, leading to a Saints TD and a 9-0 Saints lead.

The lone highlight for the Bears was Cordarrelle Patterson’s 102 yard kickoff return to cut the lead to two points. With the offense so bad, I don’t care if kickoffs are in the end zone, he should return them. The teams traded field goals and things went downhill from there. On the Bears first possession of the second half, running back David Montgomery fumbled leading to a Saints touchdown. With the lead 19-10, that pretty much sealed the Bears fate. Thanks partially to a terrible offense, the defense caved in.

The Bears had multiple 3 and out possessions. By the end of the third quarter the Saints had the ball 30 minutes, the Bears 15. The pass rush was slowed down, recording only one sack. The secondary was exhausted, giving up huge pass receptions. Would they be better under former defensive coordinator Vic Fangio? New defensive coach Chuck Pagano is said to be more aggressive than Fangio. So, if the down lineman aren’t getting to the quarterback, why not send in another pass rusher? Things couldn’t have been worse. The Bears offense may waste a good defense even with Akiem Hicks injured.

There are ten games left and no answers for the offensive problems. In a season that began with Super Bowl expectations, the Bears probably miss out on the playoffs.  Nagy is signed for three more years and I see no evidence that he will ever be a good coach. The Bears traded away next year’s first round pick in the trade for Mack. Therefore, they can’t replace Trubisky until the 2021 draft. I think in my next post, we’ll get away from Chicago sports and look at the World Series, which should be very good viewing.

Here Come the Hawks

October 17, 2019

The Chicago Blackhawks opened their season with the same advertising slogan they have used in the past few years. “One Goal” was a reference to winning the Stanley Cup. This season the Hawks one goal should be to make the post season. This won’t be easy considering they play in the same division as the Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues.

The Hawks offense returns mostly intact from last year. Hall-of-Famers Patrick Kane and Jonathon Toews are still in their prime. Youngsters Alex Debrincat and Dylan Strome ae budding stars who can score goals. Andrew Shaw returns to round out the second line and there are a myriad of options to be the third winger with Kane and Debrincat. In a perfect world, it would be nice to see first round draft pick, 18-year old Kirby Dach, be that person.

The most pleasant surprise of the young season is the play of the third line. Brandon Saad, David Kampf and newcomer Dominik Kabalik have had many scoring chances and have scored some goals. More important is that they are excellent forecheckers and they also take pressure off the defense with puck possession. Led by Saad, they move the puck into the offensive zone which is a better scheme than the dump and run.

Last year’s defense was one of the worst in the NHL. Hawks General Manager Stan Bowman made some trades to correct this problem. The first defensive pairing is the Hawks best defenseman, Connor Murphy with their worst defenseman, Eric Gustafson. However, Gustafson can move the puck up ice and is an integral part of the power play. He has to improve his defense.  Former Carolina Panthers 28-year old veteran Calvin de Haan is paired with Duncan Keith. While Keith may not be the player he was two years ago, he’s still pretty good. He is still able to move the puck out of the Hawks zone.The third unit has former Pittsburgh Penguin, 22-year old Olli Maatta, with Walter Brennan a.k.a. Brent Seabrook. Seabrook is no better than a seventh defenseman or a healthy scratch. He has been an albatross for the last three years. I don’t understand why he hasn’t been replaced by top prospect Adam Boqvist.  The Hawks also added Vezina Cup finalist, goalie Robin Lehner. With Corey Crawford, this could be the best goalie tandem in hockey.

 The Hawks lost their first game in Prague, 4-3 to the Philadelphia Flyers.  They came home and traded goals with the San Jose Sharks. Unfortunately, the Sharks got the last goal to beat the Hawks, 5-4. Therefore, the improved defense let in 9 goals in two games. Problems resurfaced from early last season: horrendous penalty killing, losing puck possession time and not being able to clear the puck out of their zone. The next game, with Lehner in goal, the Hawks blew a 2-0 lead and lost in overtime 3-2. In what was reminiscent of the playoff run last year, the Hawks beat the high scoring Edmonton Oilers 3-1. The Oilers got their lone goal on a 6-on 4 power play with less than two minutes to play. This was one of the best games I’ve seen in years. The Hawks have now given up only 3 goals in the last 6 periods. This is a formula for success.  

The White Sox Bright Future

October 10, 2019


I am extremely excited and optimistic regarding the future of the Chicago White Sox. In the 2018 season, they were playing extremely well and were two games under .500 at the all-star break. Was it possible they could contend in the second half? Even reaching .500 would be a major improvement Alas, they lost the first seven games after the break to make those possibilities moot. They were inconsistent the rest of the year, including another seven game losing streak. Despite that, the Sox won 72 games, 10 more than the previous year. The won-loss record is immaterial. The season was all about the development of the core players in the White Sox future.

I had seen of flashes in 2018 that led me to believe Yoan Moncado would get better. What I didn’t foresee was that he would become an elite third baseman. He had 34 doubles, 25 homers and led the Sox with a .915 OPS. He had a strong second half and improved his average 90 points to finish at .315, third in the league A. major reason for his success was cutting his strikeout total from 217 to 154. He could be even better in 2020. He is 24 years old.

Tim Anderson was voted the best player in the March/April month of the season. He was having a fine year when he went on the disabled list and missed over a month of the season. When he returned, he caught fire. Having many multi-hit games he raised his average 95 points and led the league with .335 average. He no longer was swinging at pitches way out of the strike zone. He seldom walked (15) but was getting pitches to hit batting in front of Jose Abreu and Moncada. I know he may not hit for the same average as last year however, I see no reason why he can’t consistently hit .300, add power and steal bases. He is 26 years old.

Eloy Jimenez struggled early in the year. As the season progressed, he became the player the White Sox envisioned. He had 31 homers and 79 RBI in only 122 games and I believe he is’ just scratching the surface. If healthy he should hit 40 homers and drive in 100 runs. The way he was hitting the ball from August on, he should also have a .300 average. Jimenez homers are out of sight and will be fun to watch. He is 22 years old.

Lucas Giolito became the ace of the Sox pitching staff. He went 14-9 for a team that was 17 games under.500. In 2018 he had a 6.13 ERA, the worst in both leagues. This year he was fifth lowest in the American League at 3.41. He also ranked among the leaders with 228 strikeouts. He dominated the first half of the season but like the team he went into a lull. He finished strong and could have possibly won 17 games with better run support. His season included complete game shut-outs against two of the best hitting teams, the Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins. The game I remember most  was when Giolito pitched four scoreless innings against the Toronto Blue Jays. With rain imminent, he needed one more inning to make it an official game. Speeding up his delivery he struck out the side. The rain came, and he was credited with a five inning complete game shut-out. He is 25 years old.

More future stars are coming. Five-tool player, Luis Robert has nothing left to prove and should be the opening day center fielder. General Manager Rick Hahn should have let him have some at-bats last year to ease any growing pains he may have. He is 22 years old. I believe they will let Yolmer Sanchez go and let Kyle Kendrick play second base to start the season. Once the Sox get one more year of contract control, they will call up 2018 first round draft pick Nick Madrigal. He is 22 years old.

The Sox can contend next year if Hahn does what he says. Upgrade right field and say sayonara to Adam Engel, Ryan Cordell and Jon Jay. The Sox haven’t had a good DH since Jim Thome. Rumor has it that Boston’s J.D. Martinez is available. They need to add starting pitching. Cy Young candidate, Houston’s Gerrit Cole is available but not realistic. He will probably be the highest paid pitcher in history. San Francisco Giants Matt Baumgartner and Atlanta Braves Dallas Keuchel should be on the Sox radar. If these moves are made, the window will become wide open for World Series appearances in the near future.

Bears Post Season Hopes Dwindle

October 7, 2019

For the Bears, Sunday’s contest was a trap game. The Bears got snared in an ugly loss to a middle of the road Oakland Raiders. This game may have turned out differently if not played in London. Supposedly, the NFL plays games there to increase the sport’s global appeal. I think it probably has more to do with money from sales of NFL merchandise. While I had trouble wrapping this loss around my head, I will try to tell you why they lost.

The Raiders went to London on Monday. They started the game with tons of energy. The Bears, who left on a red-eye Thursday flight, looked sloppy. It is only a theory but the Bears seemed to have jet-lag and were sluggish.

The Raiders rammed the run down the throat of the NFL’s top ranked rushing defense. When you run for eight yards on first down it makes it easy to pick up first downs. Many times the Raiders offensive line sent the Bear defenders sprawling to the ground.   After the game, the Bears complained about illegal blocks which is a lame excuse. Suffice to say the defense was not as good as it had been the previous four games. It was the first game without a sack. Chase Daniel was sacked three times in a scoreless first half.

 Once again it was the offense that was more responsible for the loss. The Raiders had possession for 20 minutes in the first half. The Bears might have only been losing 10-0 at half if not for quarterback, Chase Daniel, being intercepted at the Bear 25 yard line. This led to a Raiders touchdown.

Trailing 17-0 at halftime, the Bears started the second half with the ball. The Bears did nothing and punted back to the Raiders. They got a lucky break when a miss communication caused the Raiders quarterback to lateral to no one. The Bears recovered and scored quickly after, 17-7 Raiders. The operative word is quickly. The Bears finally put together an impressive drive to cut the deficit to three. A 71 yard punt return set the Bears up for another quick score for the lead, 21-17. When you score quickly, your defense gets no rest.

The Bears offense once again sputtered in the fourth quarter. Similar to the Denver Broncos game, the Raiders had the ball at the goal line when Sherrick McMannis caused a fumble. Pinned deep in their territory, receiver Allen Robinson made an excellent catch to get the Bears to their 37 yard line. The Bears gained another first down, then punted and downed the ball at the Raiders three yard line. Like the Broncos, the Raiders got a second chance. The Bears thought they got the ball back after a Raiders punt on 4^th and six. However, the Bears were penalized for running into the kicker. Bears special team linebacker, Kevin Pierre-Louis, thought this wasn’t a foul as he was blocked into the Raiders punter. However, if you play smart and set up for a return, you won’t come close to the kicker.  With fourth down and one, everyone but the Bears coaching staff knew it would be a fake punt. The Raiders made the first down to continue the drive. Later, David Carr completed a 23- yard pass to Foster Moreau deep into Bear territory on third and one. The Bears defense gassed and allowed the completion of a Raiders 97 yard drive when running back Josh Jacobs leaped into the end zone. The Bears had a chance to tie the game with a field goal. Daniel needed only two more completions to get in position. However, he badly overthrew his receiver and was picked off, ending the game.

Bears coach, offensive guru Matt Nagy, has been awful. He complained about the running game. He has a pass happy offensive game plan with no quarterback to run it. He was partially brought in to develop QB Mitch Trubisky. How has that worked out?  I’m not sure if they spend enough time in practice on the running game. You can’t blame running back David Montgomery when the offensive line doesn’t open any lanes to run through. Due to the inconsistency of the offense, your defense is always being taxed. No matter how good the defense is, without any offense you are an 8-8 team.

After a two week break, the schedule is brutal. Road Games against the Philadelphia Eagles, L.A. Rams, Detroit Lions (on Thanksgiving day), Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings. It doesn’t get much easier at home with the New Orleans Saints, L.A. Chargers, Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs.