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Javier Baez Lived Up To His Nickname With This Slide

By
Aldo Soto
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So, the rule of thumb is that you’re never supposed to slide head-first into first base because all that you’re doing is slowing down your momentum instead of going at the highest speed by continuing to sprint down the line. Well, when your nickname is El Mago you can pull off tricks on a baseball field and rules don’t seem to apply to you.

I’ve said it since last year, more people saw it during the 2016 postseason and it remains true in 2017, Javier Baez is the most exciting player to watch in MLB.

In the ninth inning of another awesome game between the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers, Baez hit a slow ground ball to the right side of the infield. It was a pretty routine play, but Milwaukee’s closer Corey Knebel made a mistake. He kind of took a stutter step before stepping on first base and that ultimately cost him. Baez was called out, but he and Cubs first base coach Brandon Hyde immediately signaled over to Joe Maddon to challenge the play.

Baez slid head-first and guess what, it worked out after all.

EL MAGO!

Unfortunately Willson Contreras hit a rocket right at an infielder for a double play after Baez was safe, but hey that play was cool and the Cubs won 5-4 anyway.

BONUS BAEZ VIDEO!

Jon Jay Had The Best At-Bat Of The Season Friday Night

By
Aldo Soto
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Ben Zobrist called Jon Jay’s 15-pitch masterpiece against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night the best at-bat of the season and he isn’t exaggerating. The Chicago Cubs beat the Brewers in 10 innings for the second straight night at Miller Park, winning 5-4, but it was only made possible thanks to one of the rarest plate appearances of the 2017 season.

Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff was starting to falter after a strong first two innings and Jay’s 15-pitch at-bat to begin the fifth inning doomed Milwaukee’s righty. Woodruff got ahead of Jay 0-2, however the Cubs lefty took two balls out of the strike zone and then fouled off 10 consecutive pitches!

The battle finally came to an end on pitch 15, as Jay lined a single to right field. Incredible at-bat and according to ESPN, it was only the third time this season that a hitter fouled off 11 pitches in a plate appearance.

This one started a rally, as Woodruff looked off after facing Jay, hitting Kris Bryant on a 2-2 pitch. Following an Anthony Rizzo grounder that advanced runners to second and third with only one out, Zobrist jumped on a 97 mph fastball to give the Cubs a 4-3 lead.

He got a lot of looks at Woodruff’s stuff thanks to Jay’s awesome effort.

Woodruff’s pitch count shot up to 92, and he was taken out after five innings. It was only the second time out of his seven starts this year that he allowed more than three earned runs.

Cubs Beat The Brewers In Another Wild Ending

By
Aldo Soto
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Sorry, Milwaukee Brewers fans, it’s over.

Good luck in the Wild Card race, but kiss those dreams of a division title goodbye. Once Eric Sogard was tagged out at second base in the bottom of the 10th inning in Friday’s game, it was over. The Chicago Cubs overcame a 3-0 deficit and even after giving up a 4-3 lead in the fifth, they won another entertaining, extra-inning game. This time it was 5-4, as Tommy La Stella got the game-winning RBI with a bases loaded walk in the 10th.

Then, the Brewers still had some hope after a leadoff walk against Carl Edwards Jr. in the bottom half of the inning. Sogard reached on a fielder’s choice and would have been in scoring position with only one out if he hadn’t come off the base following a pitch that got away from Willson Contreras.

Addison Russell kept the tag on Sogard, who came off the base for a split second and was immediately called out. The replay confirmed the call.

Edwards got the final out to drop the Brewers 5.5 games back in the division. Milwaukee is now behind the St. Louis Cardinals too.

These have been some devastating losses for the Brewers. Three in a row, starting with a walk-off loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, a 5-3 loss on Thursday, when Javier Baez tied the game with a two-out, two-strike single in the ninth and Friday night’s defeat.

Now, even though the Cubs started Friday with a magic number of six, it only went down to five because the Cardinals won and are currently in second place. So, the Cubs can’t clinch the division even with a sweep this weekend.

Remember, the Cubs start a four-game series against the Cardinals on Monday.

Anyway, the Brewers are dead.

VIDEO: That Time Jay Cutler Pulled a “Jerome Bettis” On the Steelers

By
Erik Lambert
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Pittsburgh Steelers fans even to this day can’t shut up about that Jerome Bettis run. Chicago Bears fans know the one they’re talking about. That iconic run on a snowy Heinz Field in 2005 when “the Bus” trucked through Brian Urlacher for the decisive touchdown in a victory for Pittsburgh. One they believe saved their season and propelled them to a Super Bowl title. Well Chicago fans remember a run like that too. It wasn’t a season-saver but it certainly was more humiliating for the defender. Getting planted by a Jay Cutler run does that.

Being run over by a Hall of Fame fullback who weighed around 260 lbs isn’t a terrible thing. It’s called physics. On the other hand it has to sting for a defensive player when he’s run de-cleated by a quarterback. That’s what happened to Steelers safety Robert Golden back in 2013 when the Bears visited Heinz Field.

Jay Cutler run was everything good about his Bears tenure

Cutler was many things during his time in Chicago, not all of them good. However, no one ever disputed his toughness or his will to win. Both were on display during this play. After taking an early lead in the game, the Bears were being squeezed by a Steelers comeback. It was 27-23 with over eight minutes left in the final quarter.

Chicago faced 3rd and 10. If they failed to convert Pittsburgh would get the ball back and with the momentum they had most likely go down and score again. Cutler knew he had to make something happen. So after dropping back to pass he found a lane and decided to run for the first down. After crossing the line he decided to add an exclamation by lowering his shoulder.

Golden, who probably thought he was going to slide, didn’t come in with a full head of steam. As a result he was knocked to the turf. It was the highlight of the night and energized the Bears sideline. A few plays later Cutler found Earl Bennett on a gorgeous throw to the corner of the end zone for a touchdown that put the game out of reach.

Chicago went on to a decisive 40-23 win.

Brewers Fans Have No One To Blame But Themselves For Looking Pathetic

By
Aldo Soto
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BREWERS01, NWS, PORTER, 12. - Fans cheer as the Brewers take their first at bat in the first inning at Miller Park on the Milwaukee Brewers home opener against the Atlanta Braves Monday. March 31, 2014. GARY PORTER/GPORTER@JOURNALSENTINEL.COM

The Milwaukee Brewers weren’t supposed to be in a division race on Sept. 21, not in 2017 at least, however entering Thursday’s series opener they were a four-game sweep away from being in first place with one week left in the season. You’d expect that Brewers fans would be pumped to be hosting a vital late-season series against the Chicago Cubs and would pack Miller Park, right?

Not quite.

Miller Park has a capacity of 41,900, but those of us watching Thursday’s game on TV saw a lot of empty seats. The official attendance was 35,114, but that includes all tickets sold not the amount of people who actually showed up. Anyway, as usual Cubs fans made the trip to Milwaukee and turned Miller Park into Wrigley North once again.

Isn’t it wonderful to hear Ryan Braun booed in his home park?

Anyway, after the Cubs sucked the soul out of the Brewers, with a game-tying hit in the ninth and a two-run homer by Kris Bryant to win the game in the 10th, the following question was posed by a Milwaukee sports radio station on Twitter.

Yeah, I’m sure the Brewers can’t wait to make less money by limiting the amount of people who buy their tickets after their own fans don’t show up.

There’s a simple solution if Brewers fans want to cut down on the number of Cubs fans at Miller Park, BUY TICKETS AND SHOW UP!

Apparently there’s a thought that Brewers fans just don’t like the atmosphere there when all the Cubs fans go to Miller Park, but again that makes zero sense because if the reason that you’re not showing up is that Cubs are there then buy tickets, don’t re-sell them and keep Cubs fans out by actually going to games.

It’s pretty embarrassing when your players have to ask the fan base to show up to home games in the stretch run of an overachieving season. Not only are the Brewers still in contention for a division title, but they’re only one game out of the second Wild Card spot. These are huge games for them against a division rival no less and fans don’t seem to care.

But hey, maybe Brewers fans didn’t show up for a reason.

Brewers Fan Says “It’s Over” Into Camera, Javier Baez Ties Game Right In His Face

Mitch Trubisky Got Advice From Ben Roethlisberger and Predictably It Was Great

By
Erik Lambert
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mitch trubisky asked advice

Honestly if Mitch Trubisky asked advice of any two pro quarterbacks coming out of college, he couldn’t have picked much better than Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger. It was Manning who advised him on whether he should come out of college early and what to expect in the NFL. However, the Chicago Bears top draft choice claimed it was Roethlisberger who resonated with him the most.

He didn’t really elaborate on what was said after the draft, offering a brief statement reviewing the words. With the Bears set to play the Steelers in week three though, he had a chance to better explain what the two-time Super Bowl champion and likely Hall of Famer had to say.

“One of the big pieces of advice he gave me was, really, take control of your career,” the Bears’ backup quarterback said Friday. “And I think that’s kind of how he instills how he carries himself in the locker room, on the practice field, at the line of scrimmage. The play is going to go how he wants it and that’s really how I want my career to go. Just exactly what you dream of, and take control and get everyone to buy into the same plan.

“I think that’s how you create a winning culture — really taking control, really taking ownership and hopefully that trickles down through the rest of the team.”

Mitch Trubisky asked advice from the right guy

First of all, the advice given is correct. Trubisky isn’t going to be handed anything in this league. Fans tend to forget draft status in a hurry. The only way to gain status and recognition in this sport is to take it. Take that starting job, take command of that huddle and take control of this team. It’s not about just wanting it. The great ones demand it.

Roethlisberger knows what Trubisky is facing. He was an Ohio native, like him. He came from a school (Miami of Ohio) not known for producing top quarterbacks, like him. His draft results were heavily scrutinized, like him. He was relegated behind a veteran (Tommy Maddox) most people knew he was more talented than, like him. Last but not least he faced a challenging franchise quarterback legacy upon arrival, like him.

Despite all that Roethlisberger arguably became the best the Steelers have ever had. With respect Terry Bradshaw had far better teams and nowhere near the same numbers. He understood the expectations and knew the only way to meet or exceed them was to work hard and be himself. If he tried to be something else he would’ve failed.

It seems Trubisky is taking that to heart. Already he’s shown more progress on the field and in the locker room than anybody expected. Even the coaches. His time is coming. If he follows the same path as Big Ben, this is going to be a fun ride.

Taj Gibson Takes Shot At Fred Hoiberg’s Leadership

By
Matt Peck
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taj gibson takes shot bulls coach fred hoiberg leadership

Before being traded to Oklahoma City midseason, workhorse forward Taj Gibson was the longest-tenured player on the Bulls roster. In fact, he was the only player remaining from the team that went to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2011. After the departure of Joakim Noah last summer, Taj assumed the role of the most liked and respected veteran in the Bulls locker room. Sorry, Dwyane Wade. But it’s true.

So fans and media alike took notice when Taj – on multiple occasions – stood up for his new coach Fred Hoiberg despite plenty of outside scrutiny through 1.5 years of frustrating mediocrity. While his teammate Jimmy Butler was criticizing Hoiberg for not coaching hard enough, Gibson put the onus on himself and his teammates to try harder and do better.

Fast forward to today’s Minnesota Timberwolves media day, and Taj sounded like a guy who could finally tell the truth without worrying about hurting anyone’s feelings.

Thibs Vs. Fred

Derek James of ESPN asked Gibson flat out if Hoiberg is a good NBA coach, adding a second part to the question wondering if Fred might have more success coaching younger players in this new Bulls rebuild.

Taj’s long and thoughtful answer went as follows:

“I think going young can help [Fred], but either way they’re going to grow up. It just depends on how you’re coaching them, what you’re saying to them. But it all comes down to being a leader. You have to be a leader whether you have veterans or young guys. Because the moment you turn around, the young guys are considered veterans after one or two years.” – Taj Gibson

The key phrase in there is clearly “you have to be a leader.” The way Gibson phrased it sounded like he was implying that’s a weakness to Hoiberg’s coaching right now. He continued talking about leadership, referencing his previous Bulls coach and current Timberwolves boss Tom Thibodeau.

“You have to just be a strong leader and have a strong belief in yourself. Things may go wrong, ups and downs, but you have to have a strong belief and you have to demand the attention of the locker room. Day One when I was in Chicago, Thibs came in there…he had that mentality. You respected him, knowing that if it didn’t go [well] he would square up with you. And guys respected that.” – Taj Gibson

Taj’s subtext here is pretty clear. He could tell a stark difference between the kind of respect that Thibodeau commands in the locker room, and the lack thereof for Hoiberg. As he wrapped up his answer, perhaps still feeling a bit guilty for subtly ragging on Fred, Taj tried to offer an explanation for newer coaches like Fred struggling in the NBA.

“I think a lot of coaches around the league, maybe sometimes they’re young and it’s tough on them. And Thibs is an older guy, he’s been around the league a long time. So he had years to mold himself to be ready for that position. Fred came from college and he’s being thrown in there to be a head coach, lot of guys being thrown in to be head coaches. They may be great at X’s and O’s and offensive guys but you’re being thrown in with guys that you once played with and played against. You know what I’m saying? It’s a big difference.” – Taj Gibson

There aren’t too many relevant guys still playing in the NBA who were around when Hoiberg played his last season in 2004-05. However, Taj isn’t totally off base here. One of those few would be Dwyane Wade, who came into the league as a star in 2003 and showed up in Fred’s locker room last year. There wasn’t a great deal of respect flowing in the Dwyane-to-Fred direction last season, and it was fairly obvious. If Wade does stick around, at least for part of this upcoming season, that will undoubtedly be a factor again.

You have to respect Gibson for sticking up for Fred while playing for him and softening the blow of his fair criticism on Friday. It’s one of countless examples of Taj being an all-class professional athlete. Always doing the dirty work, looking inward for blame and pointing outward to give credit to his teammates and coaches.

But even when Taj phrases it as nicely as possible, he couldn’t help but spill an undeniable harsh truth. Between these two coaches he played for in Chicago, one commands respect with his leadership and one doesn’t.

Taj followed the leader to Minnesota.

Will these young Bulls follow Fred’s lead in Chicago? That’s mostly up to Fred.

Jimmy Butler Trolls Bulls At Timberwolves Media Day

By
Matt Peck
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jimmy butler trolls bulls timberwolves media day

The NBA is back, boys and girls! While the Bulls have not yet had their media day, a group of familiar faces held theirs up in Minnesota on Friday. Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson, their old coach Tom Thibodeau and the new-look Timberwolves spent the day doing photo shoots and interviews with the media.

The highlight of the day had to be a particular answer Jimmy had to a question about which teams he’s excited to watch this upcoming NBA season.

Check out Steve Aschburner’s question and Butler’s answer around the 5:45 mark of the video below.

Jimmy barely let Asch finish his question before blurting out his answer.

“The Chicago Bulls.”

Aschburner then asks Jimmy if he’ll be rooting for his former team this season. The star player’s answer seemed like a less-than-friendly “no.”

“Uuuhhh…I just want to see what they do.”

Jimmy then goes on to pivot away from directly wishing ill on the team that traded him away this summer, but his subtext isn’t that hard to decipher.

Everyone knows that Butler didn’t want to get traded. He constantly expressed not only his love for the city of Chicago and their fans, but gratitude for the organization that took a chance on him with the 30th pick of the 2011 draft. He wanted to stay here and he wanted to win here. But the Bulls front office never fully committed to Jimmy, or seemed to appreciated just how valuable he was.

I’ll just go ahead and say it. Jimmy is excited and eager to watch the Bulls play this season because he wants to see them fail without him. By now he’s adjusted to the move, plus he has plenty of familiar faces in Minnesota to ease the transition. He’s coming off his third straight All Star season and is pegged to lead a young and talented Minnesota team into Western Conference relevance. Jimmy will be fine.

His old team? They’re being widely picked to finish with the worst record in the NBA, and most people in Chicago aren’t too excited about the pieces they got in exchange for Butler to start the rebuild.

Methinks there’s a chance that Jimmy will experience some delightful moments of schadenfreude as the Bulls’ losses pile up and his old bosses continue to be battered with insults and criticism by an eroding fanbase.

I certainly won’t judge him if he does.

Baseball America Doesn’t Want You To Sleep On This White Sox Prospect

By
Matt Enuco
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Baseball America wants you to know about this White Sox prospect.
Sportslogos.net

If you haven’t heard of Eloy Jimenez and Michael Kopech by now, shame on you. The White Sox gathered two of the most promising prospects in baseball this past season and the duo is poised to reach the big leagues in 2018. But don’t sleep on the rest of the sprouting crop of talent.

While every media outlet heaped praise on Jimenez and Kopech over the past few weeks Baseball America doesn’t want anyone to forget about Micker Adolfo. In their final report on the White Sox farm system, Scot Gregor named Adolfo as someone to watch.

The heralded Dominican outfielder was signed in 2013 and spent three seasons in the developmental Arizona Rookie League. He played sparingly in both 2014 and 2015 while posting pedestrian figures that raised questions about his elite status. Adolfo slipped down the organizational rankings from No. 6 in 2014 to No. 24 in 2016.

After repeating a season in Kannapolis this year, Adolfo reclaimed his status among a pile of elite talent. He now sits at No. 14 in the latest MLBPipeline organizational rankings after a season in which he batted .264/.331/.453 with 16 home runs. His power surge is attributed to a revised approach and physical maturity.

Scouting reports have always lauded Adolfo’s physical makeup and while he faltered in his late teens, at 21 years old scouts have remarked on his transition to manhood. The slugger agreed to a hefty bonus ($1.6 million) in 2013 with the White Sox and Rick Hahn was pleased with Adolfo’s rapid development as a 17-year-old the following season.

“Find me some more 17-year-olds that can do what he’s done in the past year and we are going to be all right,” Hahn said in 2014. “We were obviously very high on his future when we were able to sign him a year ago. This has been a great first year for him in terms of being able to convert on that upside.”

A whopping .218 batting average and 85 strikeouts in 198 plate appearances isn’t the glittery debut that most fans expect from such an expensive product, but Hahn advised patience from all sides considering the totality of what Adolfo faced.

“…there’s a lot that goes into this transition. It’s not just how’s he performing between the lines,” Hahn said. “It’s how he’s acclimating to our nutritional program, our strength and conditioning, physically playing when he’s maybe not 100 percent and playing every day. Many of those factors are even more important to us in terms of how a player is developing at this level than his raw numbers on the field. …”

Patience is always prudent and it’s paying off for the young prospect. The biggest question is whether he will remain with the organization. Adolfo has double-plus arm strength and average speed, enough to profile as a right-fielder. But Jimenez appears to have that position sewn up for the foreseeable future.

The White Sox latest international splash was the signing of Cuban phenom Luis Robert, and after swiping Blake Rutherford from the Yankees and Luis Alexander Basabe from the Red Sox, the outfield is shrinking.

The White Sox might be partial to Adolfo, laying claim to his entire development, but with Adam Engel playing as well as he is, trade value will play a tremendous role in shaking out the future on the south side of Chicago.

Bears Get Surprising Injury News Regarding Nick Kwiatkoski

By
Erik Lambert
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nick kwiatkoski

It was a real kick to the get for the Chicago Bears when Jerrell Freeman tore his pectoral muscle in the first game of the season. Losing the captain of their defense was not going to be an easy thing to overcome. Even so there was some optimism. It was felt throughout the building that young backup Nick Kwiatkoski was more than ready and able to take his place. He started out fast against Tampa Bay, but then he too went down. With the same injury no less.

Just like that the Bears inside linebacker position was decimated. Kwiatkoski would have to join Freeman on injured reserve, leaving Danny Trevathan as the sole proven talent left at the position. Except it may not be that bad. According to head coach John Fox the team received a positive development regarding the severity of Kwiatkoski’s injury.

It’s likely the injury is either strain or a partial tear. If it were a complete tear like with Freeman he would be done for the year. Most likely it’s a Grade 2 injury. If so this means Kwiatkoski could be out for anywhere from 2-6 weeks. Clearly the Bears feel optimistic that it is the former otherwise they likely might’ve placed him on IR with a designation to return later this season.

Getting him back in a few weeks is highly preferable given what he can do to help their run defense, which to this point has played quite well. More info should be available as tests reach their conclusions.

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