It’s yet another cold, brisk day at Wrigley Field and the wind is already causing havoc. Luckily, the Chicago Cubs have Albert Almora Jr. and the Milwaukee Brewers don’t.
The Cubs grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third inning, when Javier Baez hit a high pop-fly to center field. Lorenzo Cain never had a clue where the ball was and his outfielder mates couldn’t come to the rescue in time. Almora came around to score with two outs, as he and Baez extended their hitting streaks to 11 games.
One of the quiet problems the Chicago Bears defense had going into the draft was their defensive line. Yes they have Akiem Hicks and Eddie Goldman. That’s great. However, it’s easy to forget that how big the loss of veteran Mitch Unrein was. His presence was a welcome stability. Now that he’s gone, the Bears aren’t sure who that other starter will be.
While 2018 might be a bit soon, the fact is Bilal Nichols is somebody to get to know quickly. The 6’4″, 306-lbs defensive tackle from Delaware may not have played against premier competition but he consistently flashed dominant traits. The types of traits that can become starter-worthy with a little cleaning up. Vic Fangio is great with linemen, so it makes sense the Bears would target his young man.
Nichols is a 6'4", 306-pounder who had 10.5 sacks as a full-time starter over his final two seasons at Delaware. He looks like another nice piece for Vic Fangio's defense. Certainly an upgrade over Mitch Unrein at DL. #Bears#NFLDraft
Delaware's Bilal Nichols defeats this double team block with excellent leverage and active hands, but he must finish these tackles with more consistency. It was a negative trend against JMU. pic.twitter.com/08yr5Q3Tv5
Bilal Nichols will help the Bears defense rotate linemen
A lot of people will be furious with this pick. Not because it’s bad or anything. More because the Bears passed up another opportunity to secure an edge rusher. There’s no doubt that’s a big position of need, but it can’t have any bearing on the player taken here. Nichols is a small school guy but he plays like a big fish in a small pond. He was double teamed regularly every week and still managed 5.5 sacks in 2017.
That’s in addition to his often dominant play against the run. There are holes in his game of course. There always are with later round picks. His technique isn’t perfect and he needs to maintain better discipline at times. That said, his relentless drive, good size and violent hands are all traits that tend to serve defensive linemen well at the next level.
Having Hicks and Goldman there to show him the way will be an additional blessing. Expect him to be a steady reserve as a rookie with upside to eventually start.
Yu Darvish has been awesome against the Milwaukee Brewers this season, allowing just one earned run in two starts against the rivals to the north. Darvish got a no-decision in the 3-2 Chicago Cubs win Friday, but he’ll take the good outing and he also got his first hit on the North Side.
He now has five career hits, remember before getting traded to the Dodgers last year Darvish was in the American League for six years, but three of them have been extra base hits. Not bad. His double on Friday might have been helped out by a special bat used by Darvish.
The Chicago Bears began the final day of the 2018 NFL draft with plenty to be happy about. They’d secured what looks like three Day 1 starters in Roquan Smith, James Daniels and Anthony Miller. It felt like they were on a roll. This is the draft though and every team is due what looks like a puzzler at some point. GM Ryan Pace saved his for the fourth round when he grabbed Western Kentuck linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe.
Here is what NFL.com had to say about him.
“Iyegbuniwe put together a very strong campaign this season, but some of those numbers don’t look translatable on the next level without a lot more work. His speed and athletic ability in coverage are big pluses in his favor. His NFL role may have to be as a backup weak-side linebacker with some cover talent who can become a top special teams worker.”
With the #115 pick in the 2018 #NFLDraft, we select… Joel Iyiegbuniwe, LB, Western Kentucky.
Initial impressions are Iyiegbuniwe is a special teams ace with ILB upside
Iyiegbuniwe was an unknown to most draft fans when his name was called. That’s not a surprise given the program he came from. So who exactly are the Bears getting? Based on the stats he was a highly productive linebacker in 2017. He had 117 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. He seems to have speed, athleticism, and decent instinct. All good qualities for an inside linebacker.
The lingering question is why? The Bears already drafted Smith who will be an instant starter. They didn’t need another at that position, especially with edge rusher needing so much attention. In the end, this is one of those moments where it’s best to trust Pace and his front office. They know what they’re doing. Iyiegbuniwe won’t be a starter right away, but with Danny Trevathan’s contract and injury history? It makes some sense they made this move now.
If nothing else the special teams definitely got better.
The Chicago Cubs have to be feeling pretty good right now, entering Saturday by winning six of their last eight games. Not only that, but Kris Bryant is back after missing four straight games and Ben Zobrist is too, coming off the disabled list.
Since Zobrist has been sidelined, the Cubs have had Albert Almora Jr. and Javier Baez at the top of the order and it’s worked as both have 10-game hitting streaks. Joe Maddon isn’t changing things for now, as Bryant will hit third against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday.
Zobrist is also back in the lineup. He’ll be in the seventh slot.
Before the game Bryant explained the process and decision-making waiting until today to return to game action.
Kris Bryant: "I needed to take it seriously and not try to go out there and be Mr. Tough Man and play. You get hit again and you never know what happens. Our training staff and our doctors handled it really well. As frustrating as it can be…it's really the smart thing to do."
Kris Bryant: "It's making sure that I get to see my kids grow up and stuff like that, because any time you're talking about your brain, a lot can go wrong if it happens again. I was just listening to the team doctor."
Kris Bryant: "All I know is that I was just listening to the doctors and their advice saying I shouldn't get on the field too early, because it's only two games when I hope to play thousands more in my career."
As for today’s game against Milwaukee, the Cubs bats will face right-handed pitcher Junior Guerra. The 33-year-old has only allowed one earned run in three starts this season, recording a 0.56 ERA in 16 innings.
Jose Quintana will look to continue his dominance against the Brewers. He’s pitched 15 consecutive shutout innings against Milwaukee and in three starts with the Cubs against the Brewers he’s only allowed two earned runs in 21 innings.
So far this season, the Cubs have beaten the Brewers five of six times, outscoring them 24-9 and shutting them out three times.
The Chicago Bears draft grades for Day 2 have a lot to live up to. It was going to be hard for Ryan Pace and his staff to top the first round. Though they didn’t make any sort of crafty trade, they landed what many consider to be a stud in Roquan Smith at #8 overall. He’ll become the new quarterback of their defense. A roving inside linebacker who doesn’t give ball carriers any respite.
Pace knew going into the second round he couldn’t let his foot off the gas. He’s always been a man driven by acquiring the best players available. Did that hold true again? Initial impressions are that it did. While he failed to fill the teams’ biggest need at edge rusher, Pace added two players to the roster who should be instant contributors on offense. Mitch Trubisky was and remains the Bears’ main priority.
Nothing wrong with that. So how did they make out when the dust finally settled?
CHICAGO BEARS DRAFT GRADES: DAY 2
James Daniels (OL, Iowa): A
Talent is not the only thing that goes into a successful draft grade. Sure, it’s most important but so is value. Being able to secure a talent later than he probably should’ve been drafted is the ideal scenario. That is why Daniels earns an A. The Iowa center was a first round talent on almost every draft board. Most expected him to go somewhere in the late teens to twenties range. The Bears ended up getting him at #39 in the second.
Concerns lingered over some nagging injuries he played through last year. That’s likely what dropped him. It certainly wasn’t the tape. Daniels shows quickness, technique and underrated power at center. He generates movement on contact and shows the awareness to find his blocks as they come. The fact he’s still just 20-years old and not fully developed yet makes it even better.
Giving him to a coach like Harry Hiestand is like giving a sniper a clear view with no wind.
Anthony Miller (WR, Memphis): B+
Pace does not have the best track record when it comes to drafting wide receivers. Kevin White looks like a major bust. Daniel Braverman never amounted to much. It’s forced the Bears to rely on veteran free agents with minimal success so far. This year it seems the GM was hellbound to get that monkey off his back. So he gave up a 2nd round pick in 2019 to jump from #105 to #51 to select Memphis standout Anthony Miller.
Start doing your fantasy homework before the NFL Draft: There are a ton of 2nd – 3rd round WRs who will walk into the league as major contributors. Anthony Miller is one from Memphis. He can break ankles pic.twitter.com/robbF7dGV2
Though he had a foot issue last season and is going to turn 24 this year, Miller is a huge favorite of many experts around the league. They see visions of Antonio Brown and Steve Smith watching him on film. Everything from the quick feet, acceleration, strong hands and after-the-catch running ability. He’s dynamic and also a perfect fit for the Matt Nagy offense. Combined with Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel, the Bears receiving corps isn’t just better. It’s a lot better.
White Sox slugger Matt Davidson can hit and seems to square it up best at Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City. Davidson laced two more longballs on Friday night leading the Southsiders to consecutive wins.
Matt Davidson belts his sixth home run of the year with a solo dinger in the 4th inning, giving the White Sox the lead #WhiteSoxpic.twitter.com/7WzaH9YiDV
The White Sox took a 4-2 lead into the seventh Reynaldo Lopez ran into trouble and the bullpen couldn’t hold onto the lead. After Lopez allowed two singles, Salvador Perez lined out to center for the first out of the inning. Lopez gave way to Aaron Bummer skipped one past Welington Castillo allowing Whit Merrifield to score and Mike Moustakas to advance to second. After Lucas Duda grounded out, Bummer made room for Nate Jones to join the party. Jones seemed to have the inning in hand when Tim Anderson flubbed a routine play to first past Jose Abreu.
And it wasn’t until the 11th when Davidson decided he’d had enough…
Matt Davidson hits a 2-run go-ahead homer in the 11th, his 2nd of the game, notching the most at Kauffman Stadium by a visitor in a season #WhiteSoxpic.twitter.com/SxDoFG69kb
Davidson’s production in Kansas City is historic. Besides the White Sox smoking 14 home runs in four games at Kaufman Stadium this season — the most since 2008 when they hit 15 home runs in a 9-game stretch — Davidson has hit seven of his own at the ballpark in 2018. And that’s only the beginning of Davidson’s facility.
Matt Davidson: first player in #WhiteSox history with 3 multi-HR games in the same road ballpark in the same season.
Matt Davidson is the fifth #WhiteSox hitter with two consecutive multi-homer games.
First since Carlos Quentin on 7/10/10-7/11/10. The other three are Joe Crede (6/6/08-6/7/08), Greg Norton (5/27/1999-5/28/1999) and Zeke Bonura (05/19/1934-05/20/1934). #SoxStats
The White Sox are playing well against the Royals this season and they’ve put together consecutive wins the for the first time this season since Opening Day in — you guessed it — Kansas City.
It’s not an absolute truth, but Matt Davidson is both a mule and a goat.
GM Ryan Pace always saves his bold moves for the NFL draft. Last year he gave up three picks to secure Mitch Trubisky. People wondered what he might try to do this year. The Chicago Bears were silent in the first round and appeared to do the same in the second. Then, out of nowhere, they dropped a bombshell. Giving up a future second rounder, they jumped from the 105th pick to the 51st in a deal with the New England Patriots. Their man of choice? Memphis wide receiver Anthony Miller.
This came as a shock to many. Having spent a lot of money to get Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel in free agency, receiver didn’t look like a huge need. Yet the Bears gave up a highly valuable pick to get him. He’s going to turn 24-years old this year, comes from a smaller program and even had to recover from a foot injury during the draft process.
He couldn’t be that good, could he? There’s no doubt his skill set fits the Matt Nagy offense but is the talent worth the price tag? Given what some scouts are saying about him, that’s a definite yes. In fact, if they’re right the Bears may have gotten him cheap.
Anthony Miller drawing multiple comparisons to Antonio Brown
Packers columnist Bob McGinn had a chance to catch up with some scouts to talk about the 2018 receiving class. His own personal rankings had Miller sixth, but it seems the scouts were big fans of his. So much that they didn’t balk at the similarities he shares with Brown.
Brown is, of course, the best wide receiver in football. He’s not even 30-years old yet and already has 773 catches, 9,910 yards, and 79 touchdowns. How does he do it? The Steelers star is a technician as a route runner, has strong hands, quickness and explodes with acceleration. Miller shares those same exact traits. They even have similar personalities. They’re out to prove something.
Brown too came from a smaller program at Central Michigan. He was a sixth round pick. So it’s not hard to fathom teams might’ve overlooked Miller a bit as well.
He’s not a player who gobbled up lower competition either. It seemed like the better program he went against in college, the more dominant he became.
2017 vs. UCF (Undefeated) – 195 yards and 3 TDs
2017 vs. UCLA – 185 yards and 2 TDs
2016 vs. Houston (9-4) – 169 yards and 2 TDs
2016 vs. Ole Miss – 132 yards
2015 vs. Ole Miss – 132 yards and 1 TD
The Bears covet players who are smart and tireless workers. Talent is important but they want guys who want to be great. Miller checks that box in a big way. He has studied Brown extensively on tape, and also tries to model himself after former Panthers All-Pro Steve Smith. This kid is hungry and he’s walking into a perfect situation.
Roquan Smith had a cool Mitch Trubisky memory. He was on hand for the first ever college start of his college career at North Carolina. Well, new Chicago Bears center James Daniels has him beat. He’s known about Trubisky for far longer. One must suffice to say one thing about it. Those memories are far less pleasant.
It turns out that Daniels and Trubisky were opponents one time in the Ohio State High School playoffs. That year Trubisky was the senior quarterback for Mentor High. They were 12-2 that year and their opening opponent of the postseason was Warren Harding, led by a great offensive line spearheaded by Daniels.
The game was a thrilling shootout but Harding just couldn’t keep up with Trubisky. They fell behind 32-14 at halftime and couldn’t make up the ground in a 45-35 defeat. Daniels, upon learning Trubisky would be his new quarterback, admitted how outmatched his team was that day.
New Bears C James Daniels says he played against Mitch Trubisky in high school playoffs in Ohio and that Trubisky "Tore us apart." Went on to say, "If you would have asked me 6 years ago if I'd be blocking for him I'd say you're lying, that's the craziest thing I've ever heard."
Mitch Trubisky owned the day but Daniels did his job
Mentor collected 557 yards of offense that day. Trubisky was unstoppable. On just 25 passes he racked up 356 yards passing with five touchdowns. He also ran for a touchdown. It was a bad day for the Warren Harding defense. However, Daniels and his linemates made sure they weren’t going out like that. For the rest of the afternoon, they took it out on the Mentor defensive front.
Harding pounded the football all game long. Their lead back ended up rushing for 216 yards and two touchdowns. Daniels provided such dominant performances that he landed a ride to Iowa. Once he became established there, the same benefits came to the Hawkeyes. In 2016 they had nine games where they posted at least 160 yards rushing. Last year they did it five more times. He is a strong young man who knows how to create lanes.
Trubisky may be happy to have him, but probably not as much as Jordan Howard will be. Either way, Daniels doesn’t have to go against his new quarterback on Sundays. He’ll finally get to know what it’s like to snap the ball to him instead. If things work out as hoped, they could be together for the next decade.
The Chicago Cubs are 13-10, winning six of their last eight and the crazy part is that Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant have only played in 11 games together this season. I guess it’s good news the team has been able to sustain some success without their two stars for more than half of the games played so far and the Cubs are about to give fans even better news.
Bryant has missed four straight games since being hit on the helmet Sunday against the Colorado Rockies. It’s been a weird situation with the team saying he was fine, but Bryant not returning. However, he’s taken batting practice two days in a row and on Friday we saw him with a protective flap on his helmet.
He’s not the only one expected to return for the Cubs, as veteran Ben Zobrist looks to be coming back too.
Zobrist hasn’t played since April 14, when the Cubs had their wild 14-10 comeback win against the Atlanta Braves. He was put on the disabled list with back tightness before the Rockies series.
#Cubs Zobrist says he expects to come off DL on Saturday. Feeling good
Before Thursday’s series-opener against the Brewers, Zobrist was doing some warmups, testing out the back at Wrigley Field. He also had a back issue at the start of spring training that delayed his debut down in the desert for a few days.
It will be interesting to see if Joe Maddon changes the lineup with Bryant and Zobrist coming back. Albert Almora Jr. and Javier Baez have been hitting 1-2 for the last two weeks and both have 10-game hitting streaks. Bryant has been a staple in the two-hole and Zobrist was getting starts at leadoff before he went to the DL.
Although Almora has been on a hot streak, he has shown some struggles against right-handed pitching. So, as always expect some more tweaks in the lineup by Maddon.
Also, with Zobrist scheduled to come off the DL, rookie David Bote will be heading back to the minors.
