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Trade Rumors: Cubs Linked To Another Starting Pitcher

By
Aldo Soto
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The Chicago Cubs are 51-36, just one game off their 2016 pace, but obviously the biggest difference is the starting pitching. Jon Lester was selected to his fifth all-star team, but Kyle Hendricks and Jose Quintana have been underachieving, Yu Darvish has been on the disabled list since May 26, and Tyler Chatwood has been flat out terrible during his last eight starts.

Theo Epstein knows and has publicly said that the answers lie within the Cubs’ clubhouse and he’s right because if Hendricks and Quintana pitch to what their established track records say they are, the Cubs will indeed be fine. However, the doesn’t mean the Cubs aren’t weighing backup options too.

We’ve already shared the report of the Cubs scouting Tampa Bay Rays starter Nathan Eovaldi twice last week, but according to Bob Elliott of CBC Sports. they might also have interest in Toronto Blue Jays starter J.A. Happ.

Remember J.A. Happ? Man, this guy’s been around for a lot longer than I first thought. The left-hander is 35-years-old, first breaking into the big leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2007.

Happ was selected to American League All-Star team on Sunday and although he currently has a 4.44 ERA, the Peru, Ill., native had a pretty solid 2018 season prior to his last two starts. At the end of June, Happ had a 3.62 ERA.

Unfortunately, Happ has been beat up in July, surrendering 13 earned runs in 8.1 innings.

Happ will be a free agent after this season and with his history of being a solid starter and the Blue Jays going nowhere in 2018, he could definitely be on the move come the trade deadline.

In 2016, Happ finished sixth in the American League Cy Young voting and if any team does trade for him, they’d definitely welcome a similar performance to his 2015 season. Cubs fans might remember back to that year, when they were fighting with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Wild Card race. Happ was traded to the Pirates and went 7-2 with a 1.85 ERA in 11 starts for them.

The Cubs aren’t the only ones showing interest, as the Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners have also been linked to Happ, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.

Between 2015-17, Happ had a 3.43 ERA in 512.1 innings, covering 88 starts.

Although I wish the Cubs were completely done with Chatwood at this point, it sounds like they’ll give him one or maybe two more starts to see if he can figure it out. After the all-star break, the Cubs play the Cardinals five times, including a double-header on July 21. You’d expect to have Chatwood start on the 22nd, meaning if he’s bad then too, then the Cubs have nine days to make a deal.

Last week Epstein said the team would be assessing things most of July, so maybe the time is ticking for Chatwood.

McBride, Wilson Lead Aces To Victory Once Again In Epic Comeback

By
Rachael Turner
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The Las Vegas Aces put up big numbers Saturday night in a dramatic comeback against the Connecticut Sun, 94-90. Although Connecticut lead most of the game, the Aces dominated the 4th quarter with a 12-point epic comeback to win the game.

The team — finally at full strength with the return of Kayla McBride and Kelsey Plum from Turkey in late May— is coming together and starting to win more close games than they did earlier in the season.

It’s no big surprise McBride and surefire Rookie of the Year, A’Ja Wilson, led the way once again Saturday night with a combined 61 points. The tag team has been doing big things all season and their offense has helped the Aces compete in each game. The win over the Sun was big because it featured a dramatic team effort to turn an 11-point deficit into a four-point win.

“Obviously our two horses went off again,” Aces head coach Bill Laimbeer said after the game. “No question we’re where bread is buttered but there some other fine performances tonight.”

With the win, the Aces improved to 8-12, matching last year’s regular season win total in San Antonio.

The press has been all over the standout rookie A’Ja Wilson this season. She continues to awe both the local Las Vegas crowd and the WNBA fans around the country with her ability to score and her energy on the court. But, McBride is another standout player on track to play in the All Star Game at the end of the month.

Even “The Ringer’s” Shea Serrano, author of Basketball (And Other Things), is all-in on the Aces. He has been a beast on Twitter in support of the Aces and McBride as an All-Star.

McBride is in her 4th season in the WNBA. She was drafted third overall in 2014 by the San Antonio Stars and moved with the team to Las Vegas this year. In the 18 games she has played in so far this season, she has put up 342 points and 67 rebounds. She is also fifth in the league in free throw percentage with a .888 average. In the recent game against Dallas at the end of last month, she scored a career high of 38 points.

Her passion for the game shows off the court as well. She is a huge advocate for the WNBA and the women who play in it. There has been a lot of talk lately about women’s salaries compared to men’s and she has been leading the twitter conversations on the subject.

Throughout the season McBride has continued to get better and better. If the chemistry between McBride and Wilson grows as the season progresses, it will definitely mean more wins for the Aces.

The Aces have a three-day break this week. Their next game is at Chicago on Tuesday night. This will be the third time the Aces will play the Sky this year. In past games, the teams have split with one win each. It will be a good matchup since both teams have similar standings in the league.

 

Cubs Were Close To Having A Third Starting All-Star Player

By
Aldo Soto
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Willson Contreras and Javier Baez were named all-stars for the first time in their careers, as they were voted in as starters for the National League in the mid-summer classic. Jon Lester was also selected and fans nearly voted in a third all-star starter for the Cubs too.

It’s interesting to note that Cubs fans really stepped up in the final days of voting, as Baez and Contreras were trailing in the last week before results were revealed. So, they got one last push that propelled them to their first all-star game.

Via Jesse Rogers.

Willson Contreras and Javy Baez were named starters for the all star game after a late push, considering neither ever led at their respective positions when voting was released each week on Mondays. The final days saw a move for both of them as they’ll start their first mid-summer classic. Jon Lester will join them. It’s his fifth selection.

Cubs fans also got behind one more of their players, as Jason Heyward finished fourth in voting in the outfield. Obviously the top-three players in voting are named starters.

But still, how about Heyward finishing right behind them.

Heyward’s had an awesome season for the Cubs, well relative to how disappointing his first two years were with the team on offense. In 2018, Heyward is slashing .280/.339/.421, with five home runs, 38 RBIs, 41 runs scored, 15 doubles, three triples, while walking 23 times and only striking out 32 times.

The crazy thing is, the Cubs have three more outfielders who you could have made a better case to be in the all-star game. For starters, Kyle Schwarber has the second-highest fWAR among NL outfielders at 2.6. His 17 home runs also rank second most in the position group for the league. And he has the best arm in left field too.

Albert Almora Jr.’s current .326 batting average leads all NL outfielders and has made plenty of highlight reel plays in center field.

Finally, let’s not forget about Ben Zobrist, who has the fifth highest average in the outfield at .294 and his 2.3 fWAR also ranks fifth.

It’s all right though. No Cubs were on the final ballot and it’s probably better that they get to take advantage of the break and rest.

There’s just one last thing that needs to happen. Javier Baez has to be in the home run derby. He wants to do it. Make it happen, MLB.

VIDEO: Chicago AAU Team Involved In Massive Brawl With Refs

By
Aldo Soto
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There are conflicting reports as to who started this melee, but no matter what the resulting brawl between players from a Chicago AAU team and referees down in Georgia was ugly and a terrible thing to see.

The fight involved players from Chicago’s R.A.W. Athletics who fought with referees at The Association tournament finals in Emerson, Georgia.

Via ESPN.

According to Josh Miley, the organizer of the tournament, multiple officers arrived at the LakePoint Sporting Community complex immediately after the incident. The Emerson Police Department has launched an investigation, which could result in legal ramifications for those involved in the brawl.

Here’s one side of the story from Howard Martin, R.A.W. Athletics coach.

“At the end of the game, one of my players was complaining about a call,” Martin told ESPN. “He made a comment to the referee. The ref didn’t like it. So the other team inbounded the ball, walked it up, the ref said to my player, ‘Say it again.’ Then he T’d him up and kicked him out of the game. And he walked behind him, still having words. Then the ref pushed my player, and they squared up right by my bench. When they squared up, another one of my players jumped off the bench and took [the ref] down. We separated them.”

Martin told ESPN that one official who ran over from another court was trying to “join in” the brawl.

“I’m telling him, ‘Hey, hey, it’s all good.’ [And he says], ‘Who hit the ref?'” Martin said. “He’s running to the ref’s defense. He’s coming over to join in whatever’s going on. … He finally calms down some. Then the kid who was involved in taking the ref down comes over and says, ‘It’s me, trying to take responsibility for it.’ [The ref] charged the kid. And it all went to hell.”

The opposing coach gave a completely different story, saying the kids from Chicago’s AAU team started it all.

“The referee definitely didn’t attack the kids,” Benjamin said. “Absolutely not. Once things got going, and he was attacked … he got assaulted. They were too outnumbered to even try to defend themselves.”

Benjamin said Martin told the referee that he would “whip your ass” at the start of the game, which was edgy from the beginning.

You hate to see this stuff happen, but Martin does make a good point here.

“Now it’s all over social media, news outlets, that my kids are a bunch of thugs and a bunch of gangbangers,” he said. “They’re all teenage boys. One guy came to the aid of another guy, which he shouldn’t have. He should have let us handle it.”

Martin added, “I’m not condoning anything my players did, but they’re kids. They’re minors. That’s why they need adults. My job is to protect them. And that’s what I’m going to do.”

You can read more details on ESPN here.

Cubs Trade Rumors: Scouts Keep Close Eye On Possible Tyler Chatwood Replacement

By
Aldo Soto
-

It seems that the Chicago Cubs and Tampa Bay Rays have been linked in trade rumors for three years and that remains the same this season.

The Cubs are always on the lookout for more pitching depth and this year is no different. Yu Darvish is still sidelined with his earliest return being in late July or early August, while Tyler Chatwood has been a major disappointment. With that in mind, the Cubs have been taking a close look at Rays’ starter Nathan Eovaldi.

According to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, the Cubs had scouts in attendance for Eovaldi’s start against the New York Mets on Sunday. It’s the second straight start that Cubs’ scouts have watched Eovaldi live in person and they certainly must have loved what they saw Sunday.

Eovaldi had a perfect game through six innings against the Mets and finished his start with only one hit allowed, no walks and nine strikeouts in seven innings. He only threw 79 pitches! Talk about efficient.

The thing is, the Cubs will obviously have competition for the right-hander, including the Milwaukee Brewers, who were also scouting him Sunday among other teams.

Via Marc Topkin.

The way Eovaldi is throwing, with an 0.95 ERA over his last three starts (two earned runs in 19 innings) and 3-3, 3.35 overall, the Rays certainly will have the opportunity to trade him. Plus, he’s cheap, with just the balance of a $2 million salary, and a simple rental, as he’s a free agent after the season.

There really is no reason for them to not trade him, even if he somehow wasn’t out of their price range since he could be re-signed over the winter. At least a half dozen contending teams that could use help were at Citi Field watching him Sunday, including the Braves, Brewers, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Giants and Yankees.

Eovaldi, 28, is coming back from Tommy John surgery that he had in 2016. He made his season debut for the Rays in late May and he’s been pretty damn good, especially in this recent three-start stretch.

The obvious red flags for the Cubs and any team that tries to trade for Eovaldi is his injury history, as he also had Tommy John surgery in high school and started 2018 on the DL with loose bodies in his elbow. Also, despite the low walk total, six in 48.1 innings, Eovaldi has allowed nine home runs in his eight starts.

But still, at this point the Cubs have to pursue every avenue to look for a backup plan for Chatwood. There’s just no way he gives the Cubs the best chance to win when he’s starting and the team can’t afford to kill the bullpen every time Chatwood goes out on the mound, as he’s averaging less than five innings per start.

In 2018, Eovaldi has a 3.35 ERA and 0.81 WHIP, with 44 strikeouts and six walks.

If Bears Feel Lucky, Here’s a Name They Must Add to Training Camp

By
Erik Lambert
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chicago bears

The thing about football is there’s never any way of knowing where and when you’ll find a talented player. The usual pools are established by this point:  college football is tops, the CFL is a smaller one and there are tiny pockets over in Europe as well. The old Arena League is no more. Thus the opportunities for getting noticed by teams like the Chicago Bears are limited.

So when the American Flag Football League became a thing this year, it’s likely no one took it too seriously. It was simply a charity-driven venture featuring a mix of amateurs and older veterans long past their prime. For the most part that’s true. However, that doesn’t mean a team should simply ignore it.

There’s always a chance, no matter how minuscule that a surprising talent might emerge. If the Bears have been paying attention the past couple weeks during the AFFL tournament, they will have noticed one name sticking out for a surprising reason.

Brandon McCray could be a fascinating CB tryout for the Chicago Bears

Prior to this year, the name Brandon McCray wasn’t even a blip on football radars. The former Southern Miss alum had made his name primarily as a competitor in track. His brother Freddie did, however, play for the Denver Broncos, so football was in the genes. Nevertheless, no one took him seriously when he entered the AFFL.

They should be now. Playing for the New Orleans Fighting Cancer, McCray has six interceptions so far this season. That’s a lot in any league, but people should know the context here. He has six and the next closest on the list of league leaders has one. In fact, McCray doubles the total of the rest of the league combined in interceptions.

The guy is all over the field. It’s hard to intercept passes when quarterbacks don’t have to worry about too much pressure in their face. The fact that McCray is consistently picking it off anyway is the sign of a guy who has a natural feel for the position of defensive back. If that weren’t enough, he also leads the league with most flags drawn. This means he’s consistently good at chasing down ball carriers.

McCray is only 27-years old. There’s still plenty of time for him to make a brief go of it in the NFL. The Bears are always in search of more help in the secondary. Why not give him a flier tryout in training camp to see if he can do something with pads on? It would be a fun story and give him a nice payday.

VIDEO: Apparently Jay Cutler Got Better At Eating Out Kristin Cavallari

By
Aldo Soto
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kristin cavallari
Kristin Cavallari’s new show has already provided us one of the best clips ever.

And some Bears fans thought Jay Cutler was selfish.

Bears Have Proven They Learned From Errors of Jay Cutler Era

By
Erik Lambert
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jay cutler

People remain upset about the way things went during the Jay Cutler era. The Chicago Bears had what looked like a genuine star talent on their hands and thanks to a series of blunders blew their chance to take advantage before the roster began to fall apart. If only they’d done things differently. Done it the right way.

That’s the thing though. The Bears weren’t exactly clued in on what the “right way” actually was. There’s a reason they’ve had such lackluster success cultivating quarterbacks for decades. It hasn’t been built into their franchise legacy. This is an organization of defense, of running the football and winning through intimidation.

Knowing how unprepared they were, it shouldn’t be a shock they made so many mistakes with Cutler. It would’ve been a bigger surprise if everything went smoothly. Thus here the Bears are again. Another promising young quarterback in the midst with Mitch Trubisky. Can they get it right this time?

To do so they must recall three vital lessons they failed to address with Jay.

#1:  Don’t fire the OC if he’s making progress

Hindsight is always 20/20, but even back in the early days of the Cutler run it was apparent the Bears were a bit too trigger happy when firing their offensive coordinators. Ron Turner got dumped after one year when Cutler threw 26 interceptions in 2009. This despite him finishing strong with eight touchdowns and one interception in the final two games.

It was even worse two years later. Cutler was playing at an MVP rate under Mike Martz before unfortunately breaking his thumb in 2011. The Bears offense floundered without him. Martz rather unfairly bore the brunt of the blame for that and was fired, replaced by the totally unqualified Mike Tice. Cutler regressed as a result when he returned.

The Bears of 2018 and beyond won’t have this problem. This is where hiring Matt Nagy as head coach is so valuable. He’s essentially the head coach and the offensive coordinator since he’ll be calling plays. So the only way for Trubisky to lose his original play caller is if Nagy himself gets fired, which won’t happen for at least two years.

#2:  Go hard at wide receiver early and often

The Bears were hobbled a bit in their ability to secure receiving talent in 2009 and 2010 due to the price they paid in the Cutler trade. That said, there were still opportunities to land quality targets that they missed. They could’ve had Miles Austin or Terrell Owens that first year as free agents. The next year veteran Nate Burleson could’ve helped.

Then in 2011, they gave up not one but two chances to get either Randall Cobb or Torrey Smith. Thus Cutler was stuck with names like Devin Hester, Roy Williams, Devin Aromashadu, Johnny Knox and Earl Bennett as his primary targets. Decent in some ways but hardly a star-studded crew. Not until 2012 when Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery arrived did the Bears finally figure it out but by then things were already going downhill.

Just this one offseason the Bears have added the likes of Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel, Anthony Miller, Javon Wims, Bennie Fowler and Marlon Brown to the mix. Lots of money and valuable draft picks were spent to give them a reasonable chance of putting quality options around Trubisky. This time it didn’t take until season four to get serious.

#3:  High investment in the offensive line is a must

The Bears ran into the same problems on the offensive line they did at receiver. They made an initial investment when Cutler arrived and then wait a long time before trying again. Then when they did it was a total disaster as Gabe Carimi proved. Cutler survived despite the poor protection but it was clear his full potential was being held back.

Not until 2013 did things start to get fixed and by then the stability of the Lovie Smith era was gone. Marc Trestman was in charge and everybody knows how that went. Could Smith have survived had he done a better job of keeping his quarterback off his back and safer from harm? It’s a fair question since that was the primary motivation for his dismissal.

By contrast, the Bears under Pace have been proactive on the offensive line from the jump. In 2016 they drafted Cody Whitehair in the second round, signed Pro Bowler Josh Sitton and tackle Bobby Massie. Not to mention signing underrated guard Eric Kush. Then this year they struck again by grabbing James Daniels in the second round.

VIDEO: Willson Contreras Getting Emotional After Making First All-Star Team Will Make Cubs Fans Cry

By
Aldo Soto
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Willson Contreras signed with the Chicago Cubs in 2009 as an international free agent. As a 17-year-old he began his professional baseball career. A converted infielder, Contreras is now one of the best catchers in MLB and on Sunday night he was named to his first all-star team, voted in by the fans to start for the National League in Washington D.C.

Javier Baez was also named a starter and Jon Lester was selected to the NL pitching staff for the mid-summer classic. The Cubs filmed the immediate reaction to Contreras and Baez finding out about their selections, but Contreras getting emotional is definitely the highlight of this video.

It reminded me of Contreras also breaking down after the Cubs won the 2016 World Series.

How can you not love Willson Contreras.

MLB Has The Biggest No-Brainer Decision On Its Hands With Javier Baez

By
Aldo Soto
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Javier Baez, Chicago Sports Photos

The Chicago Cubs will have three players represent them at the 2018 MLB All-Star Game in Washington D.C., as Willson Contreras and Javier Baez were voted in as starters and Jon Lester was selected to the pitching staff. Yet, there’s one more thing that should happen if MLB really cares about entertaining its fans.

And let’s be honest here, all-star week is simply about entertainment. The result of the game doesn’t matter and I mean, the best players aren’t being voted in anyway. Regardless, one of the biggest draws from the festivities is the home run derby.

The participants haven’t been named yet, but let’s be real here, it would be a crime if Baez wasn’t invited to compete.

As for Baez, would he do it? Hell yeah he would.

Get it done, MLB!

And for Cubs fans worried about Baez messing up his swing or something because he’s in the derby, I have one question for you, have you ever watched Javier Baez play?

Javy is always looking to hit a bomb somewhere.

No need to worry that his swing will get messed up.

Need Javy swinging for the moon down in D.C. in the home run derby. It’s a no-brainer for MLB.

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