The Year of the Yerminator and Cubs Core

 

 May 19, 2021

Baseball teams have completed the first quarter of the season. With warm weather and fans returning, baseball in Chicago is looking good. Although it is early, after 40 games you can get a handle on what lies ahead.

Despite being ravaged with injuries, the White Sox (25-16} are in first place in the Central Division and tied for the best winning percentage in the major leagues. This is quite amazing considering they lost Eloy Jimenez, who was capable of hitting 40 home runs with 120 RBI. The only positive is this opened up a roster spot for 28 year old rookie Yermin Mercedes. He started the season with 8 straight hits and currently leads the league in batting average. While I know he won’t maintain this hot pace, he is the best DH the White Sox have had in years.

Luis Robert was just starting to put things together when he suffered a major injury. Since then, there have been many games where the Sox have scored runs in bunches. The offense will probably not continue this trend, especially with four automatic outs in the line-up. Jose Abreu has broken out of his slump and should help carry the team. However, he has missed the last 3 games due to an injury.

The outlook is still positive because the Sox the best 1-5 starting rotation in baseball. What’s surprising is the best two are number 4, Dylan Cease and number 5, Carlos Rodon. The bullpen hasn’t been as great as I thought it would be, but I believe it will be major asset as the season progresses.

One of the biggest problems is the defense. It’s not only errors, but plays that should be made are not. Every pop fly is an adventure. This should improve. The other negative is Tony LaRussa, who has already impacted many games in a short time. All managers make mistakes however, you should not mess up by not knowing the rules. The one thing you can count on with LaRussa is his arrogance, hence “Do you see my ring…I’m a hall of famer baseball person,” when stopped for a DUI; or telling a reporter “Maybe you know the rules better than me.”

The Cubs (21-20) have had an up and down season. At times they have looked really good. On the other hand, there are games when they look real bad. What’s good is the arrow seems to be pointing up. They should be competitive the rest of the way. If they go on any sort of winning streak, they could win the division.

Kyle Hendricks and Zach Davies got off to slow starts. No telling how much better the Cubs’ record would be if they started out well. Presently, they are both trending upward. Jake Arrieta has looked pretty good so far. The question is, can he stay healthy and continue to pitch well? Rookie Adbert Alzolay has a high ceiling and looks pretty good. The Cubs are handling his workload perfectly. The only problem has been Trevor Williams. With the additions of Justin Steele and Keegan Thompson, the Cubs bullpen is much improved. With Andrew Chafin, Rex Brothers and others they can get the ball to Craig Kimbrel who is pitching like he was as a dominant reliever.

Cub bats are hot and cold. To contend the offense has to be more consistent, especially from the big three. Kris Bryant is having an all-star season. He’s hitting .309 with 10 homers and 26 RBI with an astounding OPS of 1.027. While Javier Baez may not have the average, he has 9 homers and 27 RBI with .504 slugging percentage. Anthony Rizzo needs to improve his numbers. Remember, there are a ton of games left and if Rizzo can avoid injuries his numbers should improve.

The Cubs still are in search for a lead-off hitter. Ian Happ got off to an awful start and lost the job. In the Cubs’ search, manager David Ross continues to place run producers in the lead off position. The other problem is the Cubs can’t reach the 85% vaccine level to lower COVID protocols. While some players have advocated getting vaccinated, Arrieta and some others don’t believe the science regarding the vaccines’ effectiveness. 

Bad News Bulls and Hawks Good News Bears

 

 

 

May 3, 2021

 

Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot is reducing restrictions, allowing fans to attend Bulls and Blackhawk games at 25% capacity at the United Center. Why anyone would attend these meaningless games is beyond me. Both teams are floundering; missing the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year. It doesn’t look like either team will be competing for a championship anytime soon. Neither team is worth the price of admission

 As depressing as that is,
 there are good vibes surrounding the Bears. General Manager Ryan Pace has never been afraid of swinging for the fences, trading up in the draft. While most of his picks have been failures, most fans are ecstatic with number one pick, Justin Fields. He may be the franchise quarterback the Bears have been searching for. At 6’2”, Fields has all the requisite traits to be a really good QB. He has a strong and accurate arm, is elusive in the pocket and he can run. By all accounts he is very intelligent and should quickly pick up the offensive system. This is where things get dicey because this is Coach Matt Nagy’s offense, where third down and two is a passing down. They also want Fields to sit and learn from second string quarterback Andy Dalton, who was signed in desperation. Just like Trubisky was supposed to learn from Mike Glennon, Fields should be the starter by game 3. Hope springs eternal from Halas Hall!

Hawks Draught Continues Bulls Still Have a Pulse

 

April 22, 2021

The ineptitude of Chicago’s winter teams has made them painful to watch.  In the NHL, half of the teams make the playoffs. In the NBA, 10 of 15 teams get chance to move on.  No matter how easy it is, these teams have been absent for years.

The Blackhawks began the season allowing 20 goals in four games.  They decided rookie Kevin Lankinen looked the best option and was given the chance to be the primary goalie. Although the Hawks weren’t putting up much offense, Lankinen was spectacular in leading the team to victories.

The Blackhawks were 14-9-5 and were at the top of the standings. Since then they have stumbled, and were 2 points behind the Nashville Predators prior to a three game series. After two games, they fell into sixth place trailing the Predators and Dallas North Stars by three points. The season is all but over, as the Stars have played two less games and have three left against last place Detroit.

Patrick Kane is still one of the best offensive players in the league, and line mate Alex DeBrincat is a proven goal scorer. Domonic Kubalik has only 15 goals this year. This may be because they traded away line mate Brandon Saad. They are high on some youngsters who have failed to impress. Pius Suter, Philipp Kurashev and Brandon Hagel have a combined 28 goals, only 5 more than DeBrincat. Kane is the only player who can carry the puck down ice. The rest of the offense is dump and chase. No other teams I’ve watched use this outdated offensive scheme.

GM Stan Bowman has acquired a slew of young defensemen. However, the Hawks still have trouble clearing their zone. If you are rebuilding, Duncan Keith, whose skills are deteriorating, makes no sense. He is losing battles for pucks along the boards and committing turnovers in the Hawks end.  Bowman’s only success has been adding rent-a-players to help win championships. The core was put together by his predecessor Dale Tallon. The Haws haven’t made the playoffs in four years with Bowman in charge. It’s time to move on and hire a new GM. 

The Bulls finally got the message and took the keys from John Paxson and Gar Forman. Arturus Karnisovas, who had success in Denver was hired to run this team. His first moves

were hiring a real head coach, Billy Donovan, and drafting 19 year old Patrick Williams.

The defense allowed 130 points in the Bulls first two games. The Bulls then went 8-7 and were trying to reach .500, good enough to put them in the playoffs. They never reached .500, taking one step forwards and two steps back. The offense is led by Zach LaVine. While he is a prolific scorer, he has no help. There is a big problem with your team if Thaddeus Young is your second best player. Lauri Markkanen, who was supposed to be a big part of the rebuild, is now coming off the bench. This is probably his last season with the team. Coby White, another number 7 overall pick has also has been relegated to the bench. The supposed point guard hasn’t been able to guide the offense, makes terrible decisions and is a major defensive liability.

Karnisovas made some major moves, trading mercurial oft injured number seven pick Wendell Carter, for all-star center Nikola Vucevic. He also picked up Daniel Theis, a big power who should help the defense.  They were brought in to help the Bulls get the number 10 seed. However, the team proceeded to lose many games and are on the outside looking in. If the Bulls acquire a good point guard to go with LaVine, Vucevic and Williams, this could be a very good team.

Buy Me Some Peanuts and Cracker Jack

 March 26, 2021

Baseball’s opening day is less than a week away. I have never been more excited about a White Sox season. My optimism was tempered by the season ending injury to Eloy Jimenez. After appearing in 177 games, he was looking to become one of the game’s most prolific sluggers. I have always made predictions that have been wrong due to injuries, which are a part of the game. This is far worse than Kyle Schwarber missing the 2016 season. He came back and was a big contributor to the Cubs' post-season success.

Last year the White Sox led the league in home runs, slugging percentage and were second to the Yankees in runs scored. This will be hard to top without Jimenez in the middle of the
line-up. However, the Sox have many other hitters to score enough runs for their pitchers. Tim Anderson is the catalyst of this team.  Anderson, who missed time on the DL, finished second in batting average and led the league in runs scored. He is capable of showing more power. The Sox also have MVP Jose Abreu. There are two players to watch who can pick up the void left by Jimenez. Yoan Moncado was plagued with the virus last year. Sox fans hope he returns to 2019 form when he was the team’s best hitter, including 26 home runs. Phenom Luis Robert is just scratching the surface. He should get better and better as the season progresses and has massive power.

The White Sox traded for starting pitcher Lance Lynn, solidifying their starting rotation. He joins Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel, all of whom received votes for the Cy Young award. Fourth starter Dylan Cease has the stuff and just needs more command to become really good. Carlos Rodon is healthy and has had a nice camp. Projected future starters Michael Kopech and Garrett Crochet have been added to one of baseball’s best bullpens. The Sox acquired the top closer, Liam Hendricks, who will be set up by Aaron Bummer, one of the best left-handed relievers around.

The White Sox’ new manager is Hall-of Famer Tony LaRussa. Some people were not happy with this choice.  However, I guarantee he will be much more strategically sound than previous manager Ricky Renteria. You can see this in exhibitions with Abreu batting third instead of fourth.  All they need to do is hire a personal chauffeur.

The best thing going for the Cubs is that they play in baseball’s worst division. The winner of this division will have a season where everything goes right. This being the case, the Cubs may wind up in the playoffs.

For the Cubs to be successful, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez and Kris Bryant have to hit much better than last year. The rest of the team looks more solid than at the start of last year. Centerfielder Ian Happ had a breakout season. He will give the Cubs the lead-off hitter they’ve been looking for since Dexter Fowler. Justin Heyward, although not the player the Cubs were envisioning, has put together his best seasons as a Cub. Catcher Wilson Contreras had an up and down year. The Cubs will need more consistency, especially now that they have lost back-up Victor Caratini. Free agent, Joc Pederson may have a little less power but will strike out less than Schwarber. Just like Schwarber, he hasn’t proven he can hit left-handed pitching, but he’ll get  a chance. Make no mistake about it, if the three core players don’t rebound, the Cubs won’t make it to the post-season.

The Cubs’ pitching staff always was the best in the division, now it is just mediocre. Number one starter Kyle Hendricks continues to be an elite pitcher. There is nothing flashy, he just gets outs. The Cubs traded for Zach Davies, who has been pretty good but not in the same category as Yu Darvish. After that it’s a crapshoot. Jake Arrieta will try to resurrect his career. Trevor Williams is a big question mark, as is Adbert Alzolay. If any of these falter, Alec Mills will step in. The Cubs once again will turn to Craig Kimbrel as their closer. He seemed to regain his fastball and was good in the second half of last year. Getting to him may be a problem. Brandon Workman, Rowan Wick are possible set-up men. They also brought back Pedro Strop.

Tom Ricketts believes he has a free pass with Cub fans after winning the 2016 World Series. Now it’s just about the money. He has a plethora of players on one year contracts. The Cubs traded away their best pitcher to cut costs. Ricketts talks about “biblical losses” and it’s been said that even if Rizzo, Baez and Bryant have career years, they would not be able to afford to resign all three. This is laughable as the Cubs are worth $3.2 BILLION. Even if the Cubs incur a luxury tax fine, this is pocket change for the Ricketts.

March Madness

 

March 15, 2021 

After being canceled last year the NCAA tournament is back with a whole different look than in previous years. There is no Duke, Kentucky or Louisville in the field. For me, this is the most exciting event in the world of sports. The buzzer beaters, drama and upsets; I can’t wait for this to start.  

I always make my picks in reverse. There are about eight teams that are far superior to the remaining teams. Therefore, a majority of my final eight picks are 1 and two seeds.  This is low risk prognostications. 1-4 seeds usually win their first round games. In previous years, there have been many upsets of 12 seeds beating number 5 seeds. In 2018 this happened 3 times. Here are some upsets you may want to consider in the first round:

UCSB (12) vs. Creighton (5)

Oregon St. (12) vs. Tennessee (5)

Georgetown (12) vs. Colorado (5)

Maryland (11) vs. UConn (7)

Rutgers (10) vs. Clemson (7)

There is a local flavor in this area with number one seed Illinois and Loyola. Loyola was the Cinderella team in 2018 making it to the final four. Loyola may have a tough time getting by Georgia Tech, winners of eight straight. If they do win, they’ll have the unenviable task of facing Illinois. Illinois and Gonzaga are the hottest teams. Illinois first big test will be their third opponent, Oklahoma St. The Cowboys have NBA’s number one pick Cade Cunningham and the team deserved better than a number 4 seed. Next up would be number 2 seed Houston, who was 24-3. Should Illinois survive they will probably get Baylor in the semi-finals.  

I haven’t seen much of Gonzaga and going 26-0 is nothing to sneeze at. However, they won’t be playing teams like St. Mary’s Pacific or Dixie State. The Western Conference they play in could be the worst in the NCAA. However, they have the easiest path to the final four. Iowa, whom they beat 99-88, is the number 2 seed and may get another chance if they get past Oregon.

In recent memory, all number 1 seeds don’t reach the final four.  Michigan has not been playing well as of late. They have lost three of their last four. They will also be without senior leader Isiah Livers. I predict they miss the final four, losing to Florida State or Alabama.

With easier paths, number one seed Baylor should face off against number 2 seed Ohio State for a birth in the final four. Ohio State has played pretty well in the rough and tough Big Ten Conference. Baylor is an excellent team and probably too much for the Buckeyes to handle.

 These predictions will probably go haywire. There are always teams that bust your bracket. That’s the fun of this tournament.

Hawks, Bulls Trending Upwards While Bears are a Mess

 

March 8. 2021

The Bears are still looking for a quarterback. I have been saying this for over 50 years. Reports have them all in on Seattle QB Russell Wilson. Problem is Seattle is not about to trade him. They are also reported to be all in on Houston’s Deshaun Watson. This would probably take three first round draft picks. The Bears have so many other needs this may not be prudent.  So what is the plan? Knowing Pace and Nagy, I don’t think they have one. The Jets’ Sam Darnold may be available. That doesn’t thrill me much. Alex Smith is available. Working with Nagy in Kansas City, he knows the system. How did Chase Daniel and Nick Foles? Having the 20^th pick in the draft, the General Manager would have to be very creative to move up to draft one of the top quarterbacks left in the draft. Don’t look now because they may bring back Mitch Trubisky.

The Blackhawks just finished a three game series against the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning.  The first two games were both extremely entertaining with each team winning in overtime. The hawks coughed up a three goal lead losing the last game 6-3. This is not the same team that lost 5-1 and 5-2 against the Lightning to start the season. The Hawks may be the biggest surprises in the league. Patrick Kane is still one of the top players and Alex DeBrincat is scoring goals in bunches. I like the development I’m seeing in the young players. I’m wondering how much better they would be with Kirby Dach and Jonathon Toews. Dach is out with an injury and there have been no updates on Toews’ mysterious ailment.

At the all-star break, the Bulls are 16-18. While this may not seem like much, this a major improvement from the past 5 years. They haven’t plated this well since Tom Thibodeau was their coach (2010-2015). The new regime led by Arturas Karnisovas hired Billy Donovan, a proven winner, to coach. He has the task of teaching this team how to win. Since stumbling out of the gate with two lopsided losses they have played .500 ball. They have been in most games but have had trouble in the closing moments. This is the sign of a very young team, and eventually they will get better.  The other problem is with Lauri Markkanen injured; they are looking for a third scoring option. Coby White and Wendell Carter Jr. have to become more consistent. They still need one star to join Zach LaVine to be more competitive. The Bulls have gotten a big lift from Thadeus Young off the bench. This should improve his trade value and maybe provide a combination of draft picks to move up to get an elite college player in the next draft

Blackhawks Rejuvination

 

February 19, 2021

The Blackhawks started the season 0-4. They had given up 5 goals in each game. They were getting no offensive production. I was sure this was going to be a lost season and I was ready to place the blame on President Stan Bowman, who is the top decision maker. Lo and behold, the rebuild seems to be working. The Hawks are now on a roll. They are tied for first place and the prospects Bowman acquired are young and improving.

The biggest turn around has come on defense. They had 4 returning defensemen from last year. Connor Murphy, Calvin de Hann, and Duncan Keith who at age 37 is still pretty good. They brought up Adam Boqvist, who is only 20 years old. They have added Ian Mitchell (age 22), Nicholas Beudin (age 21) and Nikiita Zadarov (age 25). This group not only plays good defense, they are capable of skating the puck up the ice and getting involved in the offense. They also settled on rookie Kevin Lankinen as their goalie. He has been nothing short of spectacular. 

The season ending injury to Kirby Dach and the mysterious ailment of Jonathon Toews has put a cramp in the Blackhawks’ offense.  For this team to have continued success they have to score more. One positive is that they have one of the topped ranked power plays. Patrick Kane is still one of the best players in the NHL. After a down year Alex DeBrincat, has regained his scoring touch, leading the team in goals. Dylan Strome and Dominik Kubalik are also capable of adding some offense.  The Hawks do have a group of young offensive players, who are starting to play really well. They should get even better as the season moves along. Players you should get to know are Brandon Hagel (age 22), Philipp Kurashev (age 21) Pius Suter (age 24) and Lucas Wallmark (age 25).

As you see, I am stressing the youth movement. All these young players have the potential to be stars or at the least be very good players. The future looks bright and if all continues to go well, the Blackhawks will be playing in the playoffs again.