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.

Bears Dominate Vikings

September 30, 2019

If you are a Chicago Bears fan you had to love the past weekend in football. It all started Thursday night, when the Green Bay Packers played the Philadelphia Eagles. With their revamped and vastly improved defense, the Packers gave up 34 points in a seven point loss. The Packers could have tied or won this game with better decisions. With first down and goal from the Eagles 1 yard line, they eschewed the run and threw four incomplete passes. How could they have so little faith in the running game and not to try it in four down territory? The Packers still had a chance to tie the game. With time expiring, quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw a rare interception at the Eagles goal line to seal their fate.

On Sunday, The Kansas City Chiefs played the previously undefeated Detroit Lions. The Chiefs Achilles heel is their defense. The Lions put up 30 points. However, the Chiefs offense, probably the best in the NFL, scored 34. The Lions are now 2-1-1.

In a crucial game in the NFC Central Division, the Chicago Bears beat the Minnesota Vikings 16-6. This game was not as close as the score may indicate. The Bears dominated this game. The Bear defense is the best in football. The Vikings have boasted the best running game this year. In three games, Dalvin Cook has over 370 yards with a 6.6 average yard per carry. The Bears stopped him for little or no gain on multiple occasions. Cook ended up with only 35 yards on 14 carries. If the Vikings have to rely on quarterback Kirk Cousins, they are in big trouble. The Bears defense is so good, they did this with two starters out. Stalwart linebacker Roquan Smith was replaced by Nick Kwiatkoski who had eight tackles and a strip sack. Akiem Hicks’ replacement, Nick Williams, had two of the Bears six sacks and recovered a fumble. As usual, Khalil Mack was wreaking havoc in the Vikings backfield.  For improving the Bears depth with draft picks and shrewd talent evaluation, General Manager Ryan Pace and his staff deserve kudos.

The Bears started the game without lineman Kyle Long and receiver Taylor Gabriel. On the sixth play of the game, they lost quarterback Mitch Trubisky to injury. The Bears inserted back-up quarterback Chase Daniel.  Unlike Trubisky, Daniel (22 out of 30, 195 yards, one touchdown and no turnovers) was completing passes thrown more than 4 yards. His first drive was capped with a ten yard touchdown pass to Tarik Cohen. The Bears had a 7-0 lead. A second mini-drive led to an Eddy Pineiro field goal. At halftime, the Bears led 10-0.

The Vikings started the second half with the ball, desperately needing to score. The Bear defense created a turnover on their first play. A touchdown would have probably put the game out of reach. However, the Bears had to settle for a field goal and a 13-0 lead. The Vikings would need only 2 touchdowns to take the lead. With about five minutes left in the third quarter, the Bears converted a fourth and three to move Pineiro closer for his third field goal. The Bears led 16-0. This meant the Vikings would need 2 touchdowns with two point conversions to tie the game. For most of the fourth quarter the Bears turned back the Vikings offense. With 2:58 left, the Vikings finally scored. They botched the conversion and for all intents and purposes the game was over.

The only problem I had was the Bears trying to run out the clock. Sending running back David Montgomery up the middle was not working.  Running in space is his forte. One would think by now the Bears would try something different. Because of this, Minnesota got the ball back a couple of times. It didn’t matter because penalties and the Bear defense put them in fourth down and 23 yards plus fourth down and 15 yards for first downs.

Next up is the Oakland Raiders in London. Trubisky is out (which may be a good thing).  No word on the other players not in the last game. This is a game they should win. After that the Bears will have two weeks to get healthy for a Sunday game against New Orleans. Hopefully, quarterback Drew Brees won’t be able to play.

Bears can beat Redskins. Big Deal

September 24, 2019

The Chicago Bears beat the woeful Washington Redskins Monday night, 31-16. This game is more of a reflection on how bad the Redskins are, not how good the Bears are. The Bears committed too many penalties. I stopped counting the many off-side penalties. Once the yardage accepted surpassed 70 yards, I stopped keeping track of this as well. I will get to other troubling things. Suffice to say if they play like this, it could be a long season.

Once again, the defense won this game for the Bears. Three interceptions, two fumbles, and four sacks. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix first interception resulted in a touchdown for an early 7-0 lead. The other turnovers provided the offense with short scoring drives. The Bears led 28-3 heading into the third quarter. Due to an anemic offense, the Bears defense was on the field much of the second half.

 To combat the Bears pass rush you have to get your passes out quickly. Redskins quarterback Case Keenum used this formula with a couple of longer completions that led to two touchdowns. The Redskins were threatening to cut the lead to six at the Bears 20 yard line. Danny Trevathan came to the rescue forcing the second fumble, recovered by Eddie Jackson. If the games are closer, the Bears need to learn how to shut off the quick release passing game. My recommendation would be to have tighter coverage and bump the receivers until they get five yards out. By disrupting routes, it throws off the quarterback’s timing and gives your pass rush more time to get to the quarterback.

Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky’s passing statistics looked good. He was 25 for 31, for 231 yards. He also had 3 touchdown passes and one costly interception. The offense set up two of these scores. Trubisky used short passes and let the receivers makes plays after the catch. The first drive was 67 yards capped by a three yard touchdown pass to Taylor Gabriel.  Gabriel was the recipient of a one yard touchdown on the second play of a drive that started at the eleven yard line. Gabriel made a sensational catch of a 36 yard pass that was ruled incomplete. The replay reversed the call. Trubisky had his longest reception of the game and Gabriel his third touchdown of the quarter. This was a 63 yard drive. Trubisky had other opportunities but can’t hit wide open receivers over 10 yards out. This not a good omen. My confidence fell even further when he messed up the Bears only scoring opportunity in the second half. Inside the Redskins 10 yard line, a fade pass was grossly underthrown for an interception. Nagy thought he could take some time off the clock and out of Trubisky’s hands by running the ball. David Montgomery had a nice 25 yard run at the end of the game but only averaged three yards on his other 12 carries. Trubisky couldn’t convert third down and four yards for a first down. Free agent signee, Mike Davis had one rush for two yards. Neither back is as good of a runner as the traded Jordan Howard.

The Minnesota Vikings are not the Redskins. We’ll have better grasp of the season after this game. Of concern is the severity of Akiem Hicks’ injury.

Cubs and the Path to the Playoffs

September 19, 2019

While the baseball season is coming to end, the Cubs are trying to return to post season play. With 11 games remaining, the most crucial series of the year stats today.  The Cubs are currently tied with the Milwaukee Brewers for the second wild card spot. The Cubs open a 4 game series against the first place St. Louis Cardinals.

Why are the Cardinals in first place? The highest average in their line-up is .284 and they only rank 21rst in Home Runs. The pitching is the reason. The combination of Jack Flaherty, Dakota Hudson and Adam Wainwright carry this team. Only the L.A. Dodgers can boast a better top three.

Injuries play a big part in pennant races. The Cardinals have been mostly injury free. The Brewers lost the main cog in their line-up when former MVP Christian Yelich was lost for the season in early September. No other team has been beset by injuries like the Cubs.

Prior to the 2018 season the Cubs signed free agent Brandon Morrow to be their closer. He has been on the disabled list (DL) since June 2018.  Pedro Strop was his replacement and did fine job the remainder of that year. Strop was going to be the closer for2019. An early injury slowed him down and he was ineffective blowing save opportunities. The rest of the bullpen struggled holding on to late inning leads. They signed reliever Craig Kimbrel, who at one time was a premiere closer.  He did an admirable job, but is presently on the DL for the second time. All-star catcher Wilson Contreras has also missed multiple games due to injuries. Pitcher Cole Hamels missed a month with arm trouble and has been awful since coming back. Kevin Bryant is having a good year but hit a bad stretch with a sore knee. The Cubs lost their best player, Javier Baez with a broken thumb September 1rst. He is the heart and soul of this team. His replacement, Addison got hurt Finally, Anthony Rizzo was lost for the season September 10 with an ankle injury.

At the start of the year in my first baseball preview I said if the Cubs could avoid injuries they would win their division. You also can’t afford to lose the season series (8-11) to the lowly Cincinnati Reds .To have any chance to win the division they would need to sweep the Cardinal series. You need to win at least three to stay in wild card contention.

After the weekend the playoff picture could be clearer. The Cubs finish the season he road, which hasn’t been kind to the Cubs this year. However, they have four to continue pound Pittsburgh Pirates pitchers before closing with three more against the Cardinals. The Washington Nationals have the slim lead for the first wild spot. If the Cubs and Cardinals split, the Brewers can take advantage and improve their playoff aspirations.

The American League has a new division winner as the Minnesota Twins ended the reign of the Cleveland Indians in the A.L. Central. The Indians are trying to wrestle a wild spot from the Tampa Bay Rays. The biggest surprise is the collapse of the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees ran away with the A.L. East. The Astros easily won the A.L. West.

On Deck: White Sox and the conclusion of the season

Bears Winning Ugly

September 16, 2019

There are many adjectives to describe the Bears versus the Denver Broncos game. For the second consecutive week, Bears football was boring as both teams combined for only 30 points. Ugly is another apt description with sloppy plays and bad penalties. Maddening watching the Bears offense sputter. Unbelievably wacky final two minutes to decide the outcome. The Bears luckily eked out a victory. A loss would have put them two games behind the Green Bay Packers. The Packers defeated the Minnesota Vikings 21-16.

The Bear defense had a harrowing day but when all is said and done they surrendered only 14 points.  Former Bears defensive coordinator now Broncos coach, Vic Fangio, put together a game plan that caused the Bears some problems. The Broncos were throwing quick release throws to negate the Bears pass rush. Broncos quarterback, Joe Flaco, looked like the Packers Aaron Rodgers. He completed pass after pass against soft Bear coverage. However, when they got to midfield on all but two occasions, the Bears forced a punt. By the fourth quarter the Bears defense looked fatigued from the Denver heat and high altitude. The ineffectiveness of the offense didn’t help keeping them off the field. Toward the end of the quarter the Broncos were at the Bears two yard line when Kyle Fuller intercepted a Flaco pass. As usual, the Bear offense did nothing and punted. The Broncos started a drive with a little more than two minutes left. After converting a couple of fourth downs, they capped the drive with a seven yard touchdown from Flaco to Emmanuel Sanders. Rather than kick the extra point, Fangio decided to go for a lead. The Broncos lost 5 yards on a delay of game penalty so Fangio sent in his kicker for the tie. Bears fans were elated as the kick sailed wide. Alas, the Bears had a dumb off-sides penalty.  With the ball at the one yard line they went for the lead. Flaco again went to Sanders and the Broncos led 14-13 with thirty-one seconds left.

I’ve told people from the day he was hired that Bears coach Matt Nagy was a bad choice. If he didn’t have a great defense and just a good one the Bears would have finished 7-9 last year.  He would not have been coach of the year and no-one would be talking about how he changed the culture.

It took six quarters for the offense to score a touchdown. After a 46 yard run by wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson, the Bears were inside the Broncos 20 yard line. They ran it down to a first and goal at the three yard line. This is where Nagy gets stupid. Rookie running back David Montgomery is good in space and makes people miss tackles. You can’t use this ability in goal line situations. Nagy runs him twice for minimal or no gain. If not for the Broncos giving the Bears four new downs on a holding penalty, the Bears may still maybe looking for their first touchdown. Nagy’s offense ran Montgomery into the line three more times before he finally stretched the ball over the goal line.

When Nagy was hired, his main objective was to develop second over-all pick, quarterback Mitch Trubisky. You would think he would much better at this point in his career. He still may turn out to be pretty good. However, instead of Nagy making him a game changer, he is a game manager. With 31 seconds left he had completed 14 passes for approximately 95 yards. Take away his longest pass of 18 yards and he has 77 yards averaging 6 yards per completion. No turnovers and short passes are what managing a game is about.

About those last 31 seconds. The Bears move the ball from their 25 yard line to the thirty-two. The Broncos get called for roughing the passer for 15 more yards. This was maybe a questionable call but most roughing the passer calls are. Trying to get into field goal position, Trubisky fires three terrible incomplete passes. The Bears commit another penalty making it fourth and 15 yards. This is irrelevant because they have time for one play to move 25 yards to be in field goal territory.  Trubisky stepped up in the pocket and completed a 25 yard pass to wide receiver Allen Robinson. The Bears got a time-out with one second left. Rookie kicker Eddy Pineiro came in to line up a 52 yard field goal. Prior to this he had connected on attempts from 40 and 51 yards. With Bear fans holding their breath, he hits the field goal while the clock runs out. Bears win 16-14. Unbelievable, you betcha.

Sour Season Opener for Bears

September 6, 2019

It was a melancholy Thursday night as the Chicago Bears lost their season opener 10-3 to the Green Bay Packers. Before I go into detail, here is synopsis of an ugly defeat. The defense played well, while the offense had a possession where they needed 40 yards for a first down.

The defense was extremely good, especially early. The Packers had negative yards on their first three possessions. Bears fans breathed a sigh of relief when rookie kicker, Eddie Pineiro nailed a 38 yard field goal to put the Bears ahead 3-0. However, Pineiro’s good vibe disappeared when his ensuing kick-off went out of bounds. The Packers took over the field position advantage starting at their 35 yard line.

Aaron Rodgers is arguably the best quarterback in the NFL.  If he has no pressure, he’ll pick apart your defense. Early in the second quarter he had plenty of time and pulled off what I call the “Jordy Nelson” play, hitting wide open receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling with a bomb deep in Bears territory. His next pass was pulled down in the end zone by Jimmy Graham; Packers 7, Bears 3.

The Bears sacked Rodgers 5 times and limited Green Bay to 10 points. This should be good enough to win most games. Last year the defense would force turnovers where they scored or set up short scoring drives to cover up their putrid offense.

I’m not sold on Coach Matt Nagy. He is in charge of this offense that could only manage three points. I did agree with his plan not to play his starters in pre-season. In hindsight, it may have been prudent to take his offense on a test drive in their second or third exhibition games. They came out rusty and discombobulated. However, Nagy’s play calling and decision making defied his guru status.

Third down, one yard for a first. Last year running back Jordan Howard could get you a first down on a regular basis. They traded him because he didn’t fit in with Nagy’s pass happy offense. They added Mike Davis and drafted David Montgomery. Tarik Cohen is the third running back. They may fit Nagy’s offense but none are your prototypical power runners in short gains situations. Nagy first tries Mike Davis who gets stopped at the line of scrimmage.  Next time Nagy inserts kick returner/wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson, who rarely is used as a running back. Real good deception by Nagy. Everyone knew he was getting the ball to Patterson who also did not get the first down.  The third time, Nagy eschews the run and calls a pass. Trubisky gets rushed and goes down for no gain.

In the off-season the Bears made a big deal about a potent running attack. Too bad they have a coach who doesn’t know how to install it. The Bears ran the ball 12 times and attempted 45 passes. Quarterback Mitch Trubisky was ineffective. If not for receiver Allen Robinson he would have been worse than bad. Trubisky avoided pressure with a roll-out play where he completed an 11 yard pass reception for a first down. However, Nagy doesn’t call that play again. What is supposed to be Nagy’s forte is not working. One of the main objectives of his job is make to Trubisky better. If Trubisky doesn’t vastly improve, the Bears will have a coaching problem.

When you are down 4 points going into the fourth quarter you can still try to run the ball. Nagy gets impatient with the run. He calls 23 passes and no running plays in the quarter. Just for good measure, they have the ball in range for a 50 yard field goal in perfect kicking conditions. It’s fourth down needing ten yards for a first down. Nagy calls for another pass that falls incomplete and they turn the ball over.

After the game, Nagy does his best former coach John Fox when he said we had good practices. Good practices means diddly-squat! Trubisky talks about the offense as a whole instead of taking accountability for how bad he played. They must turn things around in Denver.