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Getz Discusses Recovery Of Robert And Hansen; Addresses Kopech, Rutherford And Dunning

By
Matt Enuco
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Luis Robert and Alec Hansen still has a few hurdles to clear before they hit the field in Winston Salem and Birmingham respectively. White Sox director of player development Chris Getz added a few details to Robert’s recovery sharing that he will see the doctor today and his rehab will move forward from there. Robert will also have a pin removed (seemed much less serious than it sounded) before he starts the process of getting back to the field.

Meanwhile, Hansen is slated to be the feature piece of a double-A rotation that features a slew of elite prospects. Getz explained that Hansen will have to work his way through a throwing program before he joins the rotation of Ian Clarkin, Jordan Guerrero, Jordan Stephens, A.J. Puckett and Spencer Adams. Once Hansen is cleared one of those names might be added to the bullpen.

The rotation in Double-A will get a lot of attention this year considering Dane Dunning could join the squad at some point during the season adding another layer of complexity. Zack Collins will be the primary receiver for the Barons and Getz added that any time you have a set of arms with that much potential it’s important for the catcher build a rapport with the staff before joining the big-league club.

But questioning during the conference call gravitated towards Robert. The golden jewel of the White Sox star-studded farm-system will spend most of his rehab in Winston-Salem and ramp things up in Arizona. Getz noted that Robert will need to work his way back into baseball-shape.

Sliding is always a concern with ballplayers and Getz said that the White Sox, as an organization, like to see their players slide feet-first as a rule. However, he added that this is not absolute in nature and mentioned that sometimes players may need to dive for the bag head-first. This was a rule in effect while I played in the system and for good cause. Too many things can go wrong sliding headfirst with so many loose joints slamming into the bag. Still, Getz said the organization will work with Robert on some sliding techniques that might avoid injury in the future, but it isn’t a long-term concern.

Michael Kopech

Getz also addressed a question about innings limitations for Michael Kopech. Before last season, Kopech’s innings load had only reached 65 once before, two seasons prior. In 2017, Kopech surged past that threshold eclipsing 134 innings pitched. When asked whether he would rather see Kopech get the majority of his innings in Triple-A or the major leagues, Getz mentioned that he anticipated Kopech would spend the majority of his starts in Charlotte. “He needs to focus on his changeup,” Getz said, adding that if Kopech forces the issue there is a conversation to be had.

Blake Rutherford

Getz also added a few notes on Blake Rutherford. In only his first full professional season, Rutherford endured a trade while trying to adjust to a new organization. “He had a lot going on,” said Getz, explaining how Rutherford was still acclimating himself to the Yankees organization before he was jettisoned in a trade to the White Sox. Rutherford will start the season in Winston-Salem joining a crowded outfield of prospects, several of whom will compete for time in centerfield. Getz mentioned that Robert has the inside track in centerfield even with Luis Alexander Basabe and Rutherford on the roster.

Bears Are Enamored With This Top NFL Draft Receiver

By
Erik Lambert
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chicago bears

Matt Nagy just concluded a session with the media down in Orlando. When he was asked who the Chicago Bears might consider early in the draft, he called them crazy for thinking he’d offer any sort of information on that. A good answer and a standard one to be expected from an organization run by Ryan Pace, a man who’s become a notorious black ops specialist when it comes to draft season.

That said, it doesn’t mean the Bears are flawless when it comes to not showing their hand on certain prospects who likely won’t be their first pick. With Nagy around it’s a virtual certainty they’ll be looking at top offensive prospects in this class, including some of the wide receivers and offensive linemen.

In fact, there may be one name that is quietly high on their list. Somebody Pace has had his eye on for quite some time that would be an excellent fit in the new Nagy offense were the Bears to draft him.

Chicago Bears are quietly enamored with A&M receiver Christian Kirk

Last year Pace attended the Texas A&M pro day to get a close look at top pass rusher Myles Garrett. It was at that point he got his first close look at an undersized receiver named Christian Kirk. Not a lot of people knew his name yet, but it was already becoming clear the young man has game-breaking potential. Fast forward to today and most of the talk surrounding the A&M pro day has to do with the return of Johnny Manziel.

That’s all fine and good for the media, but it’s not the primary reason the Bears reps are there. A source connected to the situation informed me that the brass is eager to see the young wide receiver in action.

“To add to Feldman’s report, yes Manziel is throwing at Texas A&M pro day and the most eye-opening thing is he’s throwing to the guy who the Bears are ‘in love‘ with.”

Possibilities

People tend to make the mistake of thinking Kirk is undersized so he’s limited in his ability. That’s not true at all. The kid is much stronger than he gets credit for, able to frequently break tackles to create extra yardage. He’s got strong hands, runs sharp routes and boasts the kind of deep speed that makes him a constant menace to hit the home run. He forces defenses to constantly shadow him with safeties over the top.

Now try to imagine a player like that on the field with Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel. The possibilities are near limitless. Kirk is unlikely to go early in the first round. No doubt the Bears are hoping he slips into the early second where they might have a shot at getting him. It’s not impossible. Still, Kirk had a strong combine showing. The receiver crop this year is weak. Some team may decide to pounce on him earlier than anticipated.

The Bears will have to wait and see.

WATCH: Kris Bryant Pranks Fantasy Baseball Owners As Pizza Delivery Guy

By
Gus
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Kris Bryant apparently has a pretty damn good sense of humor. The usually soft-spoken third baseman was back to pranking random dudes during Spring Training following up his epic prank when he dressed up as a “transfer” player and took BP with Mesa College.

This year, Bryant popped in on some baseball nerds during their Fantasy Draft and the results were hilarious. The highlight comes when the nerds are arguing where Bryant should be drafted and one of them says, “Has Kris Bryant hit 40 home runs yet?” The “pizza delivery guy” responds with, “But the wind blows in at Wrigley every day.”

Absolutely hilarious.

5 Bets You Have To Make On The 2018 Chicago Cubs

By
Aldo Soto
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Opening Day is just a few days away, so let’s take the time to make some money on the 2018 Chicago Cubs.

If you followed my picks from the 2017 season you were in luck, as I went 8-2-2 overall and 4-1 on my locks. So if you want, I guess the smart play would be to fade my picks for the 2018 season. Hmm. Or just ride the hot hand because are you really going to be rooting against the Cubs? That’s no fun. Well, if you’re a Cubs fan anyway.

So, the 2017 season was a little weird, but ultimately the Cubs proved they were still the class of the National League central division. The offense was on fire in the second half, but overall the pitching was way too inconsistent and injuries to the starting rotation obviously added to the struggles.

Yet, for the 2018 season, I’m getting similar vibes to the 2016 season. It begins with the starting rotation that has the potential to be just as good as that awesome starting five was two years ago. I mean, Yu Darvish added to a rotation that already includes Jose Quintana and Kyle Hendricks? Hell yeah you should be excited. And let’s not forget about Jon Lester, who looks fresh and don’t sleep on Tyler Chatwood either as the fifth starter.

The offense? Well, we’ll get to that going through some of these over/unders.

All right, here we go. The five bets you have to make on the 2018 Chicago Cubs. You can find all of these prop bets and more over at Bovada.

Anthony Rizzo o/u 99.5 RBIs

He deserves a “C” on his chest for being the captain of the Cubs, but that could also stand for Mr. Consistency. That’s what Anthony Rizzo has been with the Chicago Cubs, so you better smash that over on 99.5 RBIs for the 2018 season.

Since 2015, Rizzo has put up 101, 109 and 109 RBIs, while having a 1.011 OPS with runners in scoring position during the past three seasons. Plain and simple, if there’s one guy on the Cubs you can count on to drive in runs it’s Anthony Rizzo. Easy over on 99.5 RBIs. (-120)

Kane And Keith Get ‘Real Smooth’ In New Gatorade Spot

By
Marc-Louis Paprzyca
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I have no idea what to make of this new Gatorade Flow ad featuring Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith. All I know is that it’s “reeeaaal smooth.”

I’m sure the flavors are delicious and proudly feature that real smooth finish Gatorade is boasting, but why the long stare at each other while saying it? Are they picturing how smooth their faces will be without playoff beards this spring?

Whatever it is, I can get behind these odd ads because I’ll remember them. That being said, this is far better than the local car ads Kane has been known to take part in.

Follow @Pappy_Hour on Twitter for more Blackhawks news and musings.

Bulls Sign Unknown To Seemingly Complete Final Push Tanking Goals

By
Matthew Milakovich
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With the Bulls’ core triumvirate of Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, and Lauri Markannen seemingly out for the rest of the year– today the Chicago Bulls announced they have signed guard Sean Kilpatrick. In a related move, prior to signing Kilpatrick, Chicago waived forward (who?) CJ Fair. It would seem at this point obvious that regardless of the league’s prior meeting with the Bulls regarding their tanking transparency; Chicago will continue to sit their stars and lose. The Bulls are like the honey badger, they give zero fucks. They will continue to work towards higher draft lottery odds.

According to NBA.com:

Kilpatrick (6-4, 210) has appeared in 43 games this season while averaging 4.4 points and 1.4 rebounds in 9.9 minutes per game and holds career clips of 10.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 19.4 minutes per game. He has also seen action with the Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Brooklyn Nets during the 2017-18 season.

There’s also this to remember regarding the Bulls’ final roster spot– as HoopsRumors summarizes:

Because the Bulls had remained below the NBA’s minimum salary floor, [signings] essentially won’t cost them anything this season — the gap between a team’s total salary and the required minimum must be paid out at the end of the season to the club’s players, so that money was a sunk cost anyway.

Here is all the previous activity this season linked to that final roster spot:

Kilpatrick will wear #0 for the Bulls and be available tomorrow versus Houston.

With Odell Beckham’s Future In Question, Is He Worth The Headache?

By
Kyle Yates
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vic fangio

The mission of the off-season for the Chicago Bears was simple, give Mitchell Trubisky weapons on offense. So far, Pace has added a few dynamic weapons to surround Trubisky with and expectations are high for this team in 2018. For the first time in years, there’s hope and optimism surrounding this historic franchise. But what if Pace made one more move that would put the team over the top and give Trubisky, arguably, the best weapons in the league?

Odell Beckham Jr. is a superstar wide-receiver for the New York Giants. Drafted out of LSU in the 1st round in 2014, Beckham came in his rookie year and set the league on fire. Known for his incredible playmaking ability and one-handed grabs (see below), there’s a case to be made that Odell is the best wide receiver in the entire NFL.

News broke this morning, via Ian Rapoport, that OBJ will not set foot on the field without a long-term contract in place. Odell is still on his rookie deal and wants to be paid like the top wide receiver that he is, understandably so, and he’s willing to hold out until this takes place.

The most interesting part about all of this is that yesterday, Giants owner John Mara, claimed that no one on the roster is untouchable after going 3-13.

Is there any sort of possibility that OBJ could be pried away from the Giants?

Ian Rapoport and Peter Schrager, two amazing NFL Insiders, seem to believe this situation is far from over.

So, then the question becomes…what’s he worth? If you put OBJ in a vacuum and simply talk about his play on the football field, there’s no way that he becomes available on the trade market. He’s just too good. But there are major off-the-field behavior issues.

If you follow football in the off-season at all, you’ve probably seen the video of OBJ circulating. You also know that he has a reputation for being a distraction away from the stadium and in the locker room…an overall headache for the owners and coaching staff.

Would the Bears be interested in acquiring OBJ? What would it cost?

If the Bears are truly interested in giving Trubisky weapons in year two, picking up the phone and calling Dave Gettleman can’t hurt. Would the Bears have to part with their #8 overall pick? Or would their second rounder and a late round pick suffice? We just saw Jarvis Landry, another talented wide-receiver, go for what seemed like pennies on the dollar.

It really boils down to two questions: what’s the price going to be and is he worth the headache? Ryan Pace has brought on guys with off-the-field issues before and it’s blown up in his face (see Ray McDonald). But with a solid locker room environment could adding one guy create an issue? There’s a big question when it comes to risk/reward.

Imagine if Pace got Odell Beckham Jr. from the Giants. OBJ and Allen Robinson on the outside with Taylor Gabriel manning the slot, Trey Burton as the main tight end and Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen in the backfield…

The Bears might go from playoff hopefuls to Super Bowl Favorites overnight. The question remains though if OBJ is worth the risk and the money he’s going to demand.

Should Ryan Pace pick up the phone?  What say you Bears fans??

The White Sox Are Looking Fresh As The Season Approaches

By
Emmet McClain
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White Sox Delmonico left baseball and came back in an Uber.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images North America

WE READY!! #SOXMAFIA

A post shared by Nicky Delmonico (@nickydelmonico) on

Bears Mailbag – What If Saquon Barkley Is Available At 8?

By
Dhruv Koul
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chicago bears

The Chicago Bears are sitting quite pretty after the first wave of free agency. GM Ryan Pace went in to the legal tampering period on a mission; and wow, did he come out victorious.

In the span of what seemed like seconds, Pace agreed to terms with: Allen Robinson, Cody Parkey, Trey Burton, Taylor Gabriel, Chase Daniel, Tyler Bray, and Aaron Lynch. What’s more, he retained Prince Amukamara and Kyle Fuller on team-friendly extensions, along with bringing back role players such as Pat O’Donnell, Sherrick McManis, John Timu, and Daniel Brown.

I think it’s obvious that QB Mitch Trubisky is the biggest winner here. He gets a revamped set of pass-catchers to work with along with a backup QB mentor who has worked in head coach Matt Nagy’s system before. Not only that, but drives that don’t result in touchdowns won’t be wasted anymore because Chicago finally has a kicker!

Trubisky is set up to succeed in 2018, and there’s no telling how much more exciting this roster will look after the draft in late April. Get excited, Bears fans.

With that, we reach into this week’s Bears Mailbag. Thank you to everyone who submitted questions — the Mailbag was nice and full this week. Always appreciate your participation!

I actually Tweeted about this last weekend. I know I probably have one of the more unpopular opinions about this subject, but it is what it is. Here’s the deal: I don’t really care about Saquon Barkley. If he’s available at 8, I either field trade requests from teams that are in love with him, or I see who else that’s higher on my board is available. Here’s what I Tweeted last weekend:

I would add Denzel Ward, Joshua Jackson, and Minkah Fitzpatrick to this list, too.

Don’t get me wrong, Barkley is a world-class athlete and a great pass-catcher out of the backfield. But his running style leaves much to be desired, especially when he goes up against better athletes in the NFL.

Jon Ledyard of NDT Scouting wrote a fantastic piece about Barkley and what makes him both a special athlete and a concern going forward. He captures much of what I’ve felt about Barkley: His decison-making as a runner is suspect at best and that will kill him in the NFL when trying to escape a much higher level of athlete. Yes, Barkley has some shiftiness, but he isn’t Barry Sanders. Not even close. Better instincts *could* be taught, but it takes a lot of work to correct that. I would strongly suggest reading this piece from Ledyard to learn more.

Jordan Howard, on the other hand, the Bears’ incumbent bell-cow back, is a terrific runner. He doesn’t have Barkley’s athleticism, agility or, speed, but he’s decisive with his carries, breaks tackles with the best of them, and will wear down a defense like he has countless times. You can argue that Barkley could potentially “fit” Nagy’s offense “better” because of his skills, but Howard is special in his own way — and in a way I find more dependable than Barkley.

So if it’s me, and Saquon is available at eight, I pass. He could certainly prove me wrong and set the NFL on fire like many expect him to. But I’ll take my chances elsewhere.

The Bears certainly still have multiple needs to address despite a strong free agency start so far. They have to add multiple bodies at EDGE, and depth to quite a few positions across the roster.

SM’s Kyle Yates wrote an article recently that summarizes a lot of the Bears’ remaining needs and potential targets, both in free agency and the draft.

From this list, I certainly would like to see depth upgrades made quickly at DL, EDGE, CB, and S. Some of the names I like most:

Johnathan Hankins (DL), Kony Ealy (EDGE), Courtney Upshaw (EDGE), Tamba Hali (EDGE), Jeremy Lane (CB), Eric Reid (S), Kenny Vaccaro (S)

It’s fair to say that EDGE is by far the biggest need remaining on the Bears’ roster. They expect Leonard Floyd to return fully healthy next year, and added Aaron Lynch on a one-year deal (great move). But they need a lot of depth.

The EDGE position took a hit in the draft when Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant of Clemson both chose to return to school. Couple that with many talented players with certain red flags (off the field, light frames, etc.), and the consensus seems to be that the EDGE talent is only “OK” in this draft.

That being said, there are plenty of players who could help the Bears immensely, and right away, either starting or at least on a rotational basis. Harold Landry is my favorite EDGE in this draft and I frankly think he’s one of the best overall talents in this class. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com compares him to Bruce Irvin, but I honestly see some Vic Beasley in him. If he fell to the eighth pick, I’d have a tough time passing him up.

Tremaine Edmunds is listed as an ILB but many feel he has the size, athleticism, and traits to be an EDGE rusher. Marcus Davenport is a strong prospect, but it feels like eighth overall is too rich for him, but second round is too low. Arden Key is talented but has a multitude of red flags that are well documented. Dorance Armstrong is talented but seems to lack technique.

There are plenty of players I like who could be available in the second round onwards that I’d be ecstatic about adding: Lorenzo Carter, Josh Sweat, Jeff Holland, and Shaquem Griffin would make for great players in an EDGE rotation. If the Bears can land one of these prospects in addition to Landry, their pass rush just became so much better.

I would not. Odell Beckham is a great receiver, don’t get me wrong. But the Bears have already committed a good chunk of money to Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel this year, and are likely to do something similar for Cam Meredith. Adding Beckham to the mix would make this group of pass catchers absolutely ridiculous, but I don’t think Ryan Pace is trying to commit 1/3 of the salary cap to wide receivers once Beckham’s potential extension comes into play.

What’s more is that while Beckham is great, the drama surrounding him wouldn’t be good for a young, up-and-coming core like the Bears are building. And while Matt Nagy comes from the Andy Reid coaching tree, he’s still a first-year head coach. I don’t think Beckham is a “problem” to deal with per se, but I don’t think the Bears want that scrutiny and media attention surrounding their team. So it probably won’t happen.

White Sox Rehire Former Groundskeeper Who Falsely Spent 23 Years In Jail

By
Emmet McClain
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Well folks, your feel-good story of the week is here and it’s still only Monday afternoon. Today the White Sox rehired a former groundskeeper who spent the past 23 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.

In 1994, Nevest Colman was falsely sent to prison for rape and murder. After further evidence turned up his sentence was lifted. (How it took this long, I will never understand). He was actually released from prison this past November, but was just recently rehired by the White Sox just in time for the season. When Coleman was in prison, all he could think about was returning to the job that he loved.

Today, that dream became a reality once again. Well done to the White Sox for making the right decision in the end. Welcome back Mr. Coleman!

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