Memorial Day Update

May 26, 2017

Memorial Day is always a good time to look back at the baseball season. With a quarter of the season over, you can predict some things that will occur. Two of the best teams in baseball are Washington and Houston. Washington with solid pitching and a strong line up featuring Murphy, Harper and Zimmerman who are all in the top ten in average. They can also hit with power. Houston, with outstanding pitching and potential MVP candidate Altuve, have gotten off to a red hot start. However, another good team in that division, Texas, still has a chance to challenge them or be a wild card.

The rest of the good teams are in the A.L. East. Baltimore, a surprising Yankee team and Boston with Price back from injury. This is where one wild card team comes from. Any of these teams could go deep into the post season and I expect two will get there. 

On the local scene…

The Chicago Cubs- Nothing like games against Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and a lousy San Francisco team to turn your season around. There are a number of bad teams including those in their division that will enable the Cubs to make the playoffs.  Now they go out west to play the Dodgers. A good team followed by a bad team, San Diego. (If you want to know how bad they are, they lost 2 of 3 to the White Sox). There are still some question marks. Although Arrieta’s last game was okay, Lestor and Hendricks remain the only reliable starters. They also must keep everybody healthy. They are not the same team when Bryant or Rizzo are out. Russell has to hit better. How is Schwarber working out as a lead off hitter? With Haap in center what happens to Almora?

The Chicago “loyalty trumps winning” White Sox- It only takes one word to describe this team, bad. Considering this a rebuilding year, this was to be expected. With Quintana's poor start, the team's best trade bait is going down in value. They continue to play Frazier, making sure no other team would make an offer for him. Who is going to want anybody else on this team?  Maybe someone desperate for relief pitching will want Robertson. You probably won’t get much in return. Without any call ups from the minors there is not much reason to watch. Someone tell the manager a bunt with a man on third usually only works if it is unsuspected.  A safety squeeze has a worse chance of working. Kudos for signing Cuban phenom, Robert. I can’t wait for 2019.  

NHL NBA Playoffs

May 19, 2017

Switching gears from baseball, let’s talk about NHL and NBA playoffs.

Although I fully expected the Blackhawks to to still be playing, the NHL finals have been great theater. The series between the Anaheim Ducks and those Blackhawk beating Nashville Predators is tied at two games apiece. There have been two overtimes, one goal and two goal margins. Anaheim was one of the best teams during the regular season and won their division. Nashville was an 8 seed who proved it’s not how you start or play during the season but how you finish. While I don’t know who’s going win this series, I have seen what I believe is the next great young player, Filip Forsberg of Nashville.

.

The Ottawa Senators had a great season finishing in second place in the tough Atlantic division of the Eastern Conference. They are up against the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins knocked out the team who had the most points during the regular season, once again illustrating the "it's not how you start" adage. This series has also been extremely entertaining. While I am not too familiar with Ottawa you get a chance to see one of the greatest players of all-time, Pittsburgh's Sydney Crosby. All but one of the games has been decided by more than one goal. Ottawa does have a stingy defense led by Erik Karlson and goalie Craig Anderson, leading the series 2-1.  If Pittsburgh wins tonight they will regain home ice advantage. I don’t know who wins this series.
.

You may think comparatively the NBA playoffs are ho hum. However, you great to watch, in my opinion, the second best player of all-time, LeBron James, The Cavaliers should cruise past the Celtics (who would have not made it this far, if not for injury to Rajon Rando of the Chicago Bulls).

The San Antonio Spurs are a good team and may win a game or two. However, with or without Tony Parker and a healthy Kahwi Leonard they will succumb to the Golden State Warriors and their superior talent. The team can put up tons of points. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and arguably the second best player in the league, Kevin Durant are prolific scorers. What makes them extra special is they play great defense. How else does a team overcome a twenty point halftime deficit?

 The finals for the 3^rd straight year will be Golden State versus Cleveland. The Warriors won the first and the Cavaliers the second, The Warriors added Durant the Cavaliers still have LeBron. I have no idea who comes out on top but it should be fun to watch.

Baseball Report May 5-12

May 12, 2017

With baseball being my favorite sport and because it is a long season I will publish weekly updates. Before I get to Chicago team woes, there a couple of things happening that are interesting. The Yankees, Orioles, Astros and Nationals seem to be the strongest teams. The biggest surprise among those are the Yankees. Another thing I’ve never seen is a pitcher get hit by line drives from consecutive batters in a White Sox-Orioles game.

Chicago Cubs – Things are not going as smoothly as last year. In fact, things are a bit rocky. When I last posted things seem to be heading in the right direction. Then they get swept by the Yankees (no shame there) and lose 2 out of 3 to a hot Rockies team who lead their division. I don’t think the Rockies will continue at this pace, but the Cubs just caught them at the wrong time. With Arrieta’s problems, the team is down to two dependable starters. One topic of conversation was centered on if the Cubs could afford to re-sign him.  With the way things are going they might not want to bring him back at all. The hitting is not as good as it was last year. Rizzo, Russell and Zobrist are all well below their norm. Although Russell hit in the .240’s last year, the homers and runs batted in made that acceptable. Without them .240 is just bad. When Baez and Solar came up many thought they would be good if not great players. Well Solar is gone (in a great trade) and Baez has been a liability. His bat was always suspect and the defense is not as good.  All those who were enamored with Schwarber are finding that maybe he’s not as great as they thought. The lead off experiment is not working out as well as expected. One of the hardest things in sports it to win back to back championships. However, with the busters in the N.L. Central the Cubs should turn things around and win this division. After that it’s a crapshoot. Last thing, is with a team 17-17 how many of those wins are due to Madden’s managing?

The Chicago “loyalty trumps winning” White Sox were 15-12 on my last post. They are now owners of a 5 game losing streak and have a 15-17 record. There are many reasons. The first is they played the Orioles who may be the best team in baseball (just wait Cub fans you get them on the road In July). That team has great pitching, defense and power. Last year they hit over 250 homers. Next up a hot Minnesota team won 2, and lucky for the Sox the other scheduled game was a rainout. However, the main reason this has changed is they are a bad team. Only 2 batters are showing consistency. There are seven guys who are automatic outs. When Frazier is out of the line-up, Davidson is a better option. I still don’t know if he is the long term answer at third. He like the rest of the team strikes out too often. Injuries have the Sox using 2 pitchers that haven’t won a game and should be not on a major league roster. With the second baseman hitting close to .200, they should call up Moncado. According to G.M. Rick Hahn this won’t happen because he needs more seasoning. However, the major league experience could be more beneficial and much better than playing Saladino at second base. It also may be time to try some of the minor league pitching. Once again this won’t happen, they need more time. However, they would be just as good as the other minor leaguers they are starting now.

Early Season Observations of Chicago Baseball

May 5, 2017

With the Blackhawks season behind us, the Bears D- draft and the Bulls sticking with the status quo (Mirotic coming back ugh), we turn to baseball. Although it is a small sample size there are still things to talk about.

Before the year started we had some questions surrounding the Cubs. Will Heyward hit? At the present time, his average is .263, much better than last year. The nice thing is he is tied with Rizzo for the club lead in RBI.

Wade Davis looks unbelievable and healthy. The jury is still out on Kendrick having the same success as last year. Which brings me to your leadoff man. I always thought he should bat in a friendlier spot to drive in runs. He has struck out in 36% of his at bats and has an average of.189. So I don’t know where in the line- up he should be. Maybe he’s just not that good but hits a few long home runs.

I mentioned this a small sample size and things could change. The middle relief has gotten better than earlier in the season when they lost four in a row. However, the starters, especially Arrieta has been shaky. But not to fret. After the losing streak they get to play Milwaukee, Cincinnati to get back on track. You can’t start every year 25-6. They will still run away with this division The Nationals look like the best challenge in the Cubs quest to reach the World Series.

 The Chicago “loyalty trumps winning” White Sox are off to a surprisingly good start. Even with injuries to many pitchers, including the supposed ace Rodon. They are at the top of the league rankings in ERA, for starters and bullpens.  Still the hitting is suspect. One of the biggest problems last year was Abreu’s 3 month slump. Right now he’s on fire and can carry an offense. As usual they have the worst designated hitter against right handed pitchers. Dunn, LaRoche and now Asche .091. Davidson fares better against lefties but the majority of pitchers are right handed. Anyway he should be starting at third. Frazier is 5 years older and not a part of a future team that is rebuilding. Also as usual, center field is a problem L. Garcia is not the answer.

It’s time to bring some minor leaguers, especially Moncada. Hahn said he’s not ready. Your current second baseman is hitting .213. I think he’s ready. Burdi should be in the bullpen. !8 strike outs in last 10 innings. Robertson is starting to go bad and should be traded as part of rebuilding. One last thing I really like is hustle. Everybody runs hard on ground balls. Asche didn’t run out a dropped third strike and Renteria took him out.  

Being early things will change. The Cubs will be very good. The best the White Sox can hope for is not to suck.

 

April Bulls Recap

April 30, 2017

Thankfully the Bulls’ lost season comes to the end. With so many problems to fix it will be a long time before this team contends for a championship. Maybe they can time it for when LeBron retires, many years from now.

Let’s start with the lowest ranked coach Fred Hoiberg. For two years he has tried to fit square blocks into round holes. A good coach puts together an offensive game plan that his players can execute. Hoiberg wants a fast break running team and then has plays where Butler walks the ball up the court. The defense is non-existent. Whenever they play a team that shoots 3 pointers they are usually wide open. Players don’t rotate properly. This is something you work on in practice. Many people think that the injury to Rondo caused the Bulls to lose to the Celtics. If he is so important, Fred, how do you explain 5 games when he didn’t play and then was relegated to the second team?

Things could have gone better if the goofs in the front office did their jobs. Two payers they acquired at the start of the season were inserted into the line up to replace Rondo. It took to the final 10 games realize Grant and Carter-Williams suck. In the playoffs they both got benched because they continued to suck. Speaking of benching, first round draft pick Valentine didn’t play until game 6 was out of reach. The reason given was that he was bad defensively. Speaking of bad defense, Mirotic seems to be continuously lost. He is always losing his man under the basket or they fly past him to get there. What you have is a 6’10” player who can’t handle the ball, can’t post up and plays no defense. Every shot he takes is a 3 pointer and he’s not good at that either. He should not be here next season. Next front office blunder, the Taj Gibson trade. The key component, Cameron Payne, was inactive for the playoffs. The other 2, Lauvegne and Morrow, didn’t get the chance to break into the rotation. This just tells you how bad they must be.

The future looks worse than the present. Wade will probably exercise his option and come back. No matter what anyone says it’s all about the money. Wade will not pass up 23.8 million. Five years ago this would have been a good deal for the Bulls.  Butler played well but often disappeared during the playoffs. It seems highly unlikely someone would trade a lottery pick for him. He also looks confused when the double team comes. Rondo should be back and Lopez who played well should be back. That’s only 4 players plus Portis, Zipser and a remaining cast of bad. I hear that this year’s draft goes deep in talent. The Bulls could draft a decent player at number 16. However, look who’s making the selection…those goofs in the front office.

Bears Draft 2017

April 28, 2017

Let’s start by saying the most expensive free agents signed were a quarterback and a tight end.

In a year of not ready for prime time quarterbacks in the college draft, the Chicago Bears pulled off a stunner drafting Mitch Trubisky of North Carolina. The last time the Bears drafted a quarterback in the first round was Rex Grossman. Although he was a late round pick, he did lead the Bears to their only other Super Bowl appearance since 1985.

General Manager Ryan Pace has always talked about building your team through the draft. This does not coincide with his many free agent acquisitions or trading multiple picks to move up one spot in the draft. Now I didn’t see any North Carolina football but I can see the numbers. Thirteen starts with an 8-5 record doesn’t bowl me over.

The team has talked on and on about signing and drafting game changers to increase turnover ratio. So they go offense for a guy who won’t see the field for at least a year or an injury to your starter.  I am wondering if San Francisco would have drafted Trubisky (indications say no). If not, the Bears could have drafted him with the 3^rd pick. We’ll probably never know. If the 49ers took Trubisky, the Bears could have chosen Solomon Thomas. Put him with Aikeem Hicks and Eddie Goldman, you may have a game changing defensive line and saved the traded picks to fill the many holes the Bears have.

The Bears have been lamenting about a record low 11 turnovers. They said they were looking for playmakers who make interceptions and cause fumbles. So, naturally in the second round they choose a tight end, Adam Shaheen. This guy has big time credentials coming from a Division II Ashland College where he could run over small and less talented players than in major universities.

So while most teams draft players who can make an impact right out of college, the Bears picks don’t improve this team. The most glaring need was in the defensive secondary and this was not addressed. They will probably be as bad as last year. If you’ve seen the schedule they’ll probably start out 0-4. They receive anther high draft pick in a year of better quarterbacks than Trubisky. John Fox should be let go. If Trubisky doesn’t pan out in 2018, Pace will be shown the door.

If you think this is bad, coming up is a look at the Bulls...

Blackhawks Obituary

April 21, 2017

The television show The Wild World of Sports used to have an early narrative that included the agony of defeat. The Blackhawks and their fans now know this feeling. The series was painful to watch. The Hawks had 109 points and 50 wins this season. Many people, including yours truly, thought they would easily get to the finals and play for the Stanley Cup. However, 1 week and poof, they were done.  What looked so promising became embarrassing. getting swept 4-0 by the 8^th seeded Nashville Predators. With the agony wearing off I tried to think of reasons for this stunning result:

The Over the Hill Gang - The Blackhawks looked old, slow and sloppy. Too many giveaways in their own zone, getting beaten to loose pucks and loosing every scrum. Where’s Andrew Shaw when you need him? Oduya and Campbell will be gone. Contracts will make it difficult to unload Seabrook, Hossa and Hjalmarsson     

Three goals in four games - A team with 6 twenty goal scorers and one with 19 didn’t seem to show up. They made bad plays at both ends of the ice, most notably Hossa’s giveaway in game 3 OT. Not that it mattered. There was no way the Hawks were going to win that game coughing up a two goal lead. Corey Crawford did his job and only Kane and Kruger did theirs. Toews played the worst series I’ve ever seen from him.       

Coach Q-He’s great at changing lines, mixing his defense pairings, and match ups against other team lines. However, as a coach couldn’t he look at tape to come up with a plan to combat what the Predators were doing to stymie the Hawks? The only strategy I saw was the dump and chase which never worked because the Predators were faster to the puck. This allowed them to set up their offense, relentlessly attacking, carrying the puck into the Hawks' end. The other change was playing Kane every other shift. He can’t do it alone. He just looked spent at the end of the game.

     What may be the biggest reason for the series defeat? By clinching home ice early, the Hawks lost all their momentum by resting and not caring how they played the last three games. It seems things have to keep moving for them to find their groove, like during the regular season. The inactivity may be a reason for the slow start. Meanwhile, at the end of the season the Predators were fighting for a position to get in the playoffs. These games had the intensity of post season play, giving them an edge. Until next season...