The Cubs will play the first of a four-game set against the Atlanta Braves tonight finishing off the month of August which was highlighted by the team setting all types of offensive records.
The team began to wrap up the month last night with an absolute drubbing of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Cubs tied a season-high by plating 17 runs, collected 20 hits, and scored in every inning but the fourth.
A 17-run outburst will always be filled with a slew of highlights and last night was no different. The Cubs flexed their muscle at the plate by bashing four home runs courtesy of Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber (2), and Ian Happ.
It was after that Ian Happ home run, a few impressive records were set. First, Ian Happ became the fastest Cub to hit 20 home runs in their career. The feat took the 23-year-old only 89 games. Who’s record did he break?
Kyle Schwarber (who set the record in May after reaching the 20 home run mark after 97 games.) Hopefully Happ can interview Schwarber about that one.
The second record that was set was a direct result of the brilliance of Theo Epstein. Once Happ hit number 20, the Cubs became the first team in Major League history to feature a variety of young sluggers.
Cubs: 1st team in MLB history to have 5 players on their roster, all younger than 26 years old, hit 20+ HR in a season.
The reason I’m crediting Theo Epstein with this record is simple: he drafted three of the five players (Bryant, Schwarber and Happ). The Cubs roster is a testament to Epstein’s brilliance and his vision has set the Cubs roster up for the next 3-4 years to continue to murder opposing pitching.
Now let’s hope the Cubs don’t lay their usual egg after having a huge offensive game the day before.
Adidas unveiled their new ADIZERO NHL jerseys on June 21st that are lighter, cooler and stronger. These are features of an authentic on-ice jersey that a casual fan may not care about. So Adidas is giving Blackhawks fans and all hockey fans an incentive to buy an authentic NHL jersey instead of a replica.
Mike Forman, the Director of Marketing for the Carolina Hurricanes, tweeted that the authentic jerseys will have a scannable tag. This tag will give the owner the ability to access exclusive “Adidas hockey content.” He did not go any further on what the content would be.
Replica jerseys will not be Adidas branded but will carry the Fanatics label instead. For this reason, I would believe you will not get access to the content with a replica jersey.
If you have $220 to shell out for one of these new jerseys, you may want to act now. That price has tax included and will get you free customization from the Blackhawks Store until September 14. After that, customized jerseys will probably go up to around $300 plus tax.
Personally, I would just check what stock they have left of the old Reebook replica jerseys at the Blackhawks Store because the collars on the Adidas jerseys look silly. They’re 60% off and have been for some time, so you have to act fast.
Follow @Pappy_Hour on Twitter for more Blackhawks news and musings.
“For the most part, I didn’t think it was as bad as it looked,” said Derek Holland after dropping his fourth loss in August to the Minnesota Twins. Unfortunately, it was that bad. The Twins scalded the ball around the park exposing Holland’s mistakes and taking advantage of free passes.
Holland lasted five innings while fanning four Twins’ batters and allowing five runs on eight hits. But the Dutch Oven remains positive, the only attitude he can project after a season with meager results.
“I’ve dealt with a lot over the past three years,” Holland said after the game from Target Field. “So, to say that I’m healthy and going as long as I have…the main thing is I’m happy I’m healthy.”
When the southpaw elected to sign with the White Sox over other teams it appeared it was a decision driven by working with Don Cooper, the South Siders’ pitching guru. However, Cooper has not unlocked the success Holland hoped for. On the season, Holland is 7-14 with a 6.16 earned run average and 1.70 walks, hits plus innings pitched (WHIP). Walks have been the Achilles heel for the southpaw and the bullpen could solve or highlight his command issues.
Health is the only positive Holland can take away from a sour 2017 campaign. Yet, given his injury-riddled past, it certainly is a focal point for the left-hander. Given the tack in direction the White Sox took in the offseason, Holland fit squarely within the needs of a rebuilding organization, however foolish it was to believe he was the Scott Feldman lottery ticket on the south side.
Major league rosters will swell on Friday and it is time to have a conversation about moving Holland to the bullpen. I wrote about the likelihood of such a move earlier this week and after his start on Wednesday, a venture into the bullpen seems more necessary than ever.
Reynaldo Lopez is slated to return from the D.L. on Friday and Holland is the likely candidate. If Rick Hahn can pull off a last-minute trade through waivers for either Miguel Gonzalez or James Shields, Holland could find a second wind as a starter, but this is highly unlikely even if a trade is executed.
If Holland is not swapped for Lopez, Tyler Danish and Carson Fulmer could bump him once the rosters expand on Friday. Rick Renteria sunk the idea of expanding the rotation before Wednesday’s game. Yet, if Renteria sticks to a five-man rotation Shields seems to be the next victim in the rotation.
Jon Gruden met Mitch Trubisky back in March ahead of the NFL draft. The future Bears rookie quarterback made a solid impression at the time. The former Super Bowl-winning head coach is notorious for his high standards at the position. No surprise considering he worked with former MVPs like Brett Favre, Joe Montana, Steve Young and Rich Gannon. Gruden liked some of the things Mitch could do, but stated he preferred Texas Tech standout Patrick Mahomes if given the choice.
Fast forward a few months and it could be that his stance has changed considerably. Trubisky has played better with each passing week in the preseason. All told he went 34-of-48 for 354 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran the ball four times for 47 yards. He has yet to turn the ball over.
Sure there were some bad decisions made along the way, but that is typical of a rookie. All things considered he’s outperformed the entire 2017 class up to this point. Yet he still hasn’t quite cracked the starting lineup like many hoped. He remains a backup and will start the preseason finale against Cleveland. Some believe this is a bad idea, putting the prized rookie at risk of injury. Gruden? He doesn’t agree.
Bears rookie quarterback is good but needs every possible snap to improve
He spoke with the Chicago Sun-Times recently on the subject. While he understands the fears, he said fans should focus on hope more than fear. This is football. There’s always a risk of injury. The potential trade off of valuable game experience, even against backups, is way too good to pass up. He applauds the Bears for recognizing that.
“I think this is a great idea. Let him play the whole game. Put something on his plate. Give him a game plan to sink his teeth into. Let him go out there and play. He only had the one year (starting) at North Carolina. This experience is huge for him.”
Gruden went on to offer his impressions on Trubisky now that he’s had a chance to review more tape on him from the past three weeks. It was hard for the former coach and current Monday Night Football analyst to contain his excitement. Clearly his opinion of the rookie has climbed a few notches since their last meeting.
The rookie has impressed Gruden through the first three preseason games.
“He proved a lot of great stuff in the preseason — he made some good throws, he can scramble, he’s tough, I saw him handle some audibles,” Gruden said. “He put points on the board. There’s a lot to be excited about in Chicago.”
Gruden may get a chance to see Trubisky play live in the near future. The Bears play the Minnesota Vikings on October 9th at Soldier Field on a Monday night. It’s possible the rookie will have unseated Mike Glennon by that point. Either way it’s encouraging to heard such a renowned QB expert speak so highly of him.
The Aaron Rodgers Bears relationship is a respect-hate type. Mostly hate of course because he’s been the bane of their existence for almost a decade. At the same time there’s no doubting the obvious. He’s arguably the best quarterback in the game today and a surefire Hall of Famer. So whenever he has an opinion regarding the quarterback position, it might be wise to have a listen.
It’s no secret Chicago has a full-blown quarterback controversy on its hands. This can’t be surprising to GM Ryan Pace. He pretty much guaranteed it would happen when he drafted Mitch Trubisky #2 overall a month after signing Mike Glennon to a lucrative contract in free agency. It was a situation that was destined to divide people.
Some would urge caution. Let the veteran Glennon play while the rookie could sit back and learn. Others think if Trubisky outplayed him in preseason that he deserved to start right away. Based on pure stats and tape, this has come to pass. Yet Glennon remains the unquestioned starter and some question whether the Bears know what they’re doing.
Rodgers made an interesting statement on this matter. One in which he has unique experience.
Aaron Rodgers Bears history really puts Trubisky issue in focus
Once upon a time, Rodgers was a first round pick himself. He came in with a ton of fanfare to Green Bay, viewed as the heir apparent to Brett Favre. Gigantic shoes to fill. One can only imagine the pressure. The two-time MVP believes that the Packers did the right thing by waiting to play him. He explained why during an article by Robert Mays of The Ringer and how this might apply to Trubisky.
“My hope for those guys is that they can come along at their own pace,” Rodgers says. “I did, and it meant the world to me. Not everyone is in a situation where they’re playing behind a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but to be able to come along without that pressure allows you to reset.”
That reset is a chance to step out of the constant high-pressure demands placed on a starting quarterback. After spending years in the churn of week-to-week preparation, getting that time on the bench allowed him to take a longer look not only at who he was on the field, but also at what the league was like. “If you’re smart, and you listen, and you watch, you can start to figure out how these guys make it—and why other guys don’t make it,” Rodgers says.
Trubisky is smart enough to absorb everything around him
That last bit applies directly to Trubisky. Word is he’s been a sponge from day one at Halas Hall. He’s kept his mouth shut and listened to anything and everyone around him. He even got tips from Peyton Manning on a number of occasions. The guy is talking to the right people and asking the right questions. It’s no coincidence that he’s progressed faster than some thought he would.
Rodgers basically stated the Bears are doing nothing wrong. They’ve cultivated a situation where Trubisky doesn’t have to play until he looks and feels comfortable. Sure there’s always that competitive part that wants to play. At the same time there’s no right answer here. Some have waited and had success. Some played immediately and had success.
It’s about gauging when the player looks like he’s “got it.” Is Mitch there yet? The Bears don’t seem to think so, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen soon.
The Cubs have been hounding teams for pitchers since Theo Epstein took over as President of Operation. With the philosophy of drafting talented hitting prospects, while relying on free agency and the trade market to land a staff-ace. The formula has worked out brilliantly so far, with the Cubs adding staff stalwarts in Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta resulting in a World Series trophy. But the front office has always hinted at adding young, controllable pitching.
Using assets they had acquired over years of drafting and signing talented minor leaguers, the Cubs plan was to trade for their next ace using top tier prospects. Last season, the Cubs used their top prospect in Gleyber Torres as the key piece in the Aroldis Chapman trade. And this July, the Cubs added White Sox southpaw Jose Quintana, who was instantly seen as the Cubs future staff ace – however unfair that may be.
Quintana, since moving 30 minutes north of Guaranteed Rate Field, has been essentially exactly what the Cubs traded for….a pitcher having a somewhat sub-par season. His ERA with the White Sox was 4.49, with the Cubs it’s 4.50. He was walking 3.5 batters per nine innings with the Sox, 3.3 with the Cubs. Quintana registered a 9.4 K/9 on the south side, which has bumped up to 10.4 on the north side.
Simply put: Quintana is still the same struggling pitcher he was with the White Sox, he just plays for the Cubs.
So, What’s The Deal?
As great as Cubs twitter is, at times it can quickly become a cesspool of half-baked hot takes bashing players like the middling Quintana or the front office for trading a player like Eloy Jimenez. What people seem to forget is, before this year, Quintana was one of the most valuable assets in all of baseball. His cost-controlled contract plus his reliable consistency on the mound had some people making claims that the White Sox most valuable asset was, in fact Quintana, and not superstar ace Chris Sale.
While statements like that seem silly now, it’s not hard to create the narrative on why Jose Quintana commanded the high price tag the Cubs ended up paying. And even though the Cubs did acquire Quintana to help them now, he is also a key piece to the Cubs future. But, the results for ‘Q’ have been deflating to say the least, and it didn’t help that he had one of his best starts of the season in his debut for the Cubs.
But since then, Quintana has struggled to consistently located his pitches, leading to an inflated HR/FB rate of 14.3% and a BB/9 of 3.41 – both marks are the worst he’s ever posted. After looking through quite a bit of game tape and spending the last few days staring at advanced statistics, I’ve started to see a trend with Quintana that wasn’t an issue prior to 2017.
According to Brooks Baseball‘s HR/(FB-LD), the two pitches Quintana struggles to keep in the park are his sinker and curve ball. These are his career Saber-metrics.
Now, take a look at his 2017 numbers.
Clearly, both the sinker and curve’s HR/FB+LD increased a significant amount this season, supporting the idea that Quintana is having a hard time keeping the ball in the yard.
So, I started digging for video via Baseball Savant, trying to find anything out of the ordinary with Quintana’s sinker and curveball. While I started to watch video, I realized the bigger issue for Quintana isn’t so much the location of his secondary pitches as it is his fastball.
Quintana’s four seam fastball, while only topping at about 93 mph, is key to setting up his curveball. When Q has had success in the past, it has come from him hitting his spots, getting ahead with his fastball, while forcing hitters to have to try and put his curveball in play. Strangely, Quintana is throwing first pitch strikes at a career high rate of 67.6%, however the numbers are still so-so for Q.
What I have noticed is he is almost constantly missing his spots this season, which has lead to either big hits, or walks. And teams have started to realize his fastball command isn’t great, swinging less frequently at his pitches – more than 4% less than they did in 2016. Because of this lack of control over his fastball, Q is relying more on his sinker and curveball, both pitches that work better in succession of his fastball. Here are a few examples
His sinker never has much break, but Quintan’s sinker here just wobbles over the plate at 90 mph. In this clip, Quintana is ahead of the Indians Brandon Guyer, going with the sinker away from the power-hitting Guyer. However, he misses his spot high, and while it is out of the zone, Guyer recognizes the mistake and gets his bat head on the ball.
Here is an example of Quintana over-using is breaking balls, going to it more earlier in this count. In this clip, the Cardinals’ Randall Grichuk was waiting for Q to toss him a slow breaking ball and made the Cubs pay.
It looks like Contreras wanted that pitch a little lower, but honestly it wasn’t a bad spot for that pitch. However, Quintana’s curveball has a predictable landing spot, and when a hitter sits on the pitch, it becomes much easier to located and then drive. The pitch works much better when he is ahead in counts and has it break out of the bottom half of the zone.
Quintana’s curve has excellent break, and he usually locates the pitch well, but he has been prone to hanging the pitch. In a 3-2 count, Quintana was asked to throw a his curve low and out of the zone. Instead, he hangs the pitch in the upper half of the zone and Deven Marrero hits his 2nd home run of the night.
The frustrating thing about Q is that his curve has been extremely effective, when setup correctly, however his inability to locate his fastball is ruining any success he could have with the pitch. Like in this at bat against Mookie Betts, pay attention to the catcher’s mitt and then subsequent reaction as Betts clobbers a 3-2 meatball.
Quintana again, misses his spot, not as badly as he did to Betts above, but he allows Paul DeJong to uppercut a belt-high fastball that’s just barely off the plate and pull it into the left-center basket at Wrigley Field.
With Q’s missing command, it not only has increased the amount home runs allowed but he is also issuing more walks than ever – and Quintana is not great when batters reach . With runners on base, Quintana’s ERA jumps to 8.72, with 27 of his 57 total walks on the season coming in those situations. When Quintana walks batters, he tends to do it in bunches, which only magnifies his command issues. At this point, it’s probably more mental than anything else, but for a guy like Quintana who the Cubs need for a deep postseason run, the team should be concerned.
But even with all his struggles, Q’s track record supports the idea that the 28-year-old lefty will likely go back to his home run suppressing ways. My money is on the 5 WAR pitcher to rebound and make good on the Cubs investment, but I’m also an optimist.
Rest assured that the Chicago Bears final roster is not finished yet. There is a strong possibility that GM Ryan Pace may have additional moves in mind before opening day on September 10th. Perhaps it’s a low-level trade or a few acquisitions off the waiver wire. However, there’s just no predicting such things until they’ve happened.
So the only thing to do is project how things are likely to play out if the Bears decided to maintain the status quo. This article will run through the positions, pinpointing which players will stick and why. As always there might be a few surprises in store for people. There are so many factors going into this process after all.
Chicago Bears final roster projections
Quarterback:
Mike Glennon
Mark Sanchez
Mitch Trubisky
This position actually is somewhat tricky at the moment. Why? The announcement that Trubisky and Connor Shaw will play in the preseason finale. This means one of two things. Sanchez is a lock for the roster already or he’s likely gone and there’s no sense playing him. After the injuries suffered last year at QB though odds are he’s going to stay. Having good depth is never a bad thing in this league. Whether Sanchez or Trubisky is the primary backup of Glennon will be the next debate.
Running back:
Jordan Howard
Tarik Cohen
Jeremy Langford
Bennie Cunningham
Langford should count his lucky stars that Ka’Deem Carey suffered his wrist injury when he did. He and Cunningham were both showcasing their versatility as quality runners and special teams standouts. It was enough to convince many that Langford was no longer needed. Now Carey is out, allowing him to step back into the lineup. He played well in Tennessee. That should be enough to save his job. On the flip side a sad turn of events for Carey.
Wide Receiver:
Kevin White
Kendall Wright
Markus Wheaton
Deonte Thompson
Josh Bellamy
Tanner Gentry
The Cameron Meredith injury threw a huge wrench into the plans at wide receiver for the Bears. It was already a fairly unproven group. Now? White and Wright seem safe given their talent. Wheaton hasn’t played at all but signed an expensive deal that the Bears want to see if they can get something back on. Thompson and Bellamy are special teams standouts. The wild card is Gentry. He’s dominated training camp and now had some bright preseason moments. Meredith going down nudges him onto the roster.
Tight End:
Zach Miller
Dion Simms
Adam Shaheen
Meredith’s injury also impacted the tight end position. More than ever the Bears need to keep as many receiving weapons as they can. Miller may be older and injury-prone but he’s productive when on the field. Unlikely he gets cut now. Sims and Shaheen are of course safe for money and draft considerations respectively. It’s a shame Daniel Brown isn’t able to make it as well, but the numbers game is against him.
Offensive Line
Kyle Long
Josh Sitton
Cody Whitehair
Charles Leno Jr.
Bobby Massie
Hroniss Grasu
Bradley Sowell
Tom Compton
The offensive line really is going to be a strength for the Bears in 2017. Sure losing Eric Kush was unfortunate but Pace has shown ability to pinpoint quality blocking talent. Grasu has enjoyed a resurgence at center. Sowell has quietly played well at both tackle positions and Compton is showing progress at guard. It might be surprising to think the Bears would cut a fifth round pick in Jordan Morgan, but it’s reasonable to believe they can get him onto the practice squad.
Defensive Line
Akiem Hicks
Eddie Goldman
Jonathan Bullard
Roy Robertson-Harris
Jaye Howard
Mitch Unrein
By far the great strength of the Bears defense is their defensive line. Hicks and Goldman look like emerging superstars. Bullard and Robertson-Harris are promising youngsters who performed well in multiple games during the preseason. Howard is a solid veteran who is proven against the run when he’s healthy. Unrein is the blue collar, glue guy that pushes everybody else with how hard he works. It’s a nice mix.
Linebackers:
Leonard Floyd
Willie Young
Lamarr Houston
Sam Acho
Danny Trevathan
Jerrell Freeman
Nick Kwiatkoski
Christian Jones
John Timu
People are going to flip out when they don’t see Pernell McPhee on this list. That’s not because the Bears are going to cut him, so settle down. It’s just my belief that he’ll stay on the PUP list. That means he’s off the active roster for the first six weeks of the season. So the Bears will likely career an extra defensive lineman and just four outside linebackers along with their usual five inside linebacks. Jones and Timu have continued to make quality plays when on the field. They’ve earned the spots.
Cornerback:
Prince Amukamara
Marcus Cooper
Cre’Von LeBlanc
Bryce Callahan
Kyle Fuller
Sherrick McManis
There are few surprises here. Amukamara and Cooper remain slotted for starting jobs. LeBlanc and Callahan give the coaches two young, effective options in the slot. The biggest story is of course Fuller. At one point the ex-first round pick looked like he was on his way out. Instead he’s stepped up his game after a knee injury last year and looked solid in three preseason appearances. McManis, as always, is retained for his special teams ability.
Safety:
Quintin Demps
Eddie Jackson
Adrian Amos
Deiondre Hall
DeAndre Houston-Carson
Demps and Jackson look like the starters for opening day and that’s not a surprise at this point. They’ve each shown they belong. Amos will be relegated to the primary backup roles. Hall hasn’t shown up much but provides unique versatility. He can play both safety and corner, giving the team more flexibility in the secondary. Houston-Carson? He’s shown marked progress as a defender while remaining a savvy special teams player like he was in college.
Eddie Jackson is going to crack the starting lineup sometime this season. What an athletic play here. A near one handed INT. #Bearspic.twitter.com/6PrFsFWTSf
The kicker competition was a fun side story but it was hard to ever imagine that Aguayo would be able to unseat Barth in just a couple weeks. Besides Barth has kicked well this preseason. Same goes for O’Donnell who may be in store for his best season as Bears punter. Hopefully Overbaugh can maintain consistency at long snapping with Patrick Scales done for the year.
Practice Squad:
Deon Bush
Roberto Aguayo
Dieugot Joseph
Jordan Morgan
Seeing Bush, Morgan and Aguayo here shouldn’t be a surprise. All three are young players with considerable talent at their positions but as yet aren’t ready to take that next step. Aguayo needs time to get out of the spotlight and clear his head. Bush is still working on his fundamentals which were atrocious coming out of Miami. Morgan was battling stiff competition and the fact he’s never played guard before.
Bulls fans are still wondering what the hell happened in the Jimmy Butler trade in the weeks following a different trade that saw the two best teams in the Eastern Conference swap star point guards. If the Cleveland Cavaliers were able to get such a huge haul from Boston for Kyrie Irving – including the unprotected Nets pick in 2018 – why couldn’t the Bulls front office execute a similar deal? Why did they settle for what many deemed to be a much worse deal with Tom Thibodeau’s Timberwolves?
ESPN’s senior NBA writer Zach Lowe just shed some light on that quandary. In his column Wednesday morning, Lowe revisited the Boston trades that never materialized for Butler and Pacers star Paul George. Three key factors kept Celtics boss Danny Ainge at a distance.
Timing
Timing is everything, and that age-old nugget of wisdom proved true for the Celtics this offseason. They weren’t ready to make a huge franchise-changing trade before the 2017 draft.
An excerpt from Lowe’s column:
The “why not Butler and George?” questions are dicier. Timing played a part. Boston wanted two All-Star-level building blocks. They feared flipping their golden trade chip for the first one, whiffing on the second, and ending up having squandered their best asset to build a team that wasn’t appreciably better than their previous iteration of LeBron roadkill. They preferred signing the first one — Hayward — in free agency, and then jumping headlong into the trade market.
So there’s the first piece of the puzzle. Ainge preferred to sign their first new star in free agency rather than bring them to Boston via trade. The Bulls were hot to move Jimmy before draft night because they wanted to move up into the lottery. Ainge wasn’t ready to deal his remaining Nets pick without protections on it, and that’s what Gar Forman and John Paxson wanted. If the offer wasn’t there, they had to move on and find a different one.
Clashing Stars
The second reason Lowe provides for the Celtics not wanting Butler is quite interesting. And it had nothing to do with the timing of transactions or which pieces were on or off the table.
From Lowe:
The Celtics had some concerns over how Hayward and Butler would mesh, both on the court and as personalities, sources say.
Knowing that he was going to pursue Gordon Hayward – with whom his coach Brad Stevens formed a strong bond at Butler – Ainge apparently didn’t love the idea of Hayward and Butler playing together.
The notion that they might not compliment each other on the floor is logical. Both players can create their own offense but aren’t true facilitators for the other four guys on the court. Their collective amount of isolation plays would’ve likely slowed the Celtics’ offense to a pace that’s not conducive to the modern NBA.
The “as personalities” tidbit at the end of Lowe’s sentence is the most interesting part. Hayward has a reputation for being a very humble and quiet guy both on the court and in the locker room compared to some of the larger-than-life personalities of his colleagues. Did Ainge see Butler’s ego as a problem? Jimmy always talks about still being “that humble kid from Tomball, Texas who didn’t get recruited by any big schools” and yada-yada-yada. But during his rise from junior college to 30th pick to defensive specialist to Most Improved Player to All Star starter, Jimmy’s ego has undeniably grown.
At this point it’s safe to say the Bulls front office didn’t love Jimmy’s new “Hollywood as Hell” persona. It’s reasonable to deduct that Ainge doesn’t love it either.
Fountain Of Youth
The final reason for Ainge preferring to add Kyrie Irving – and forking over so much for him – rather than Butler is the one Lowe predicts carries the most weight. Age.
Lowe:
And then there is perhaps the most important variable: Irving is just 25, two years younger than George, and two-and-a-half years younger than Butler. When you’re building around Tatum and Jaylen Brown, those two-plus years are crucial. Irving is just entering his prime. Boston wants to push LeBron now, and maybe make the NBA Finals if he goes west, but they really want to be the team of 2020 and beyond. Irving fits that timetable better, provided he can stay healthy.
Sure, the Celtics would love to make another run at knocking off LeBron & Co. this season, but let’s be realistic. Even if they somehow get the better of LeBron’s new-look Cavs, they have virtually 0% chance of beating Golden State in a best of seven series.
Ainge is trying to set his team up for a dominant run in the years during and following the decline of LeBron James. Some of their newest pieces like Brown and Tatum aren’t even 21 yet. When they’re entering their prime years, LeBron will be pushing 40. It’s very possible – if not likely – that James will still be playing into his late thirties and beyond. But it’s less likely, given all of the miles on his body, that he will still dominate and lead any collection of players to successive Finals series the way he does now.
Kyrie is young enough to mesh with Ainge’s foreseen timeline of taking over the East once LeBron has either moved West or retired. Jimmy isn’t. So there’s that.
Apples & Oranges
I know Bulls fans are still upset about the seemingly paltry package that came from Minnesota in the Butler deal. The haul Cleveland got from Boston makes the Butler deal look even worse by comparison, especially if you believe (as I do) that Jimmy’s defensive abilities make him a better overall player than Irving.
But in case you needed reminding, Lowe set the record straight. And I can re-hammer his point home: you’re free to think the Bulls should’ve gotten a better deal for Butler by trading with Boston instead of Minnesota, but it takes two teams to make a trade happen. The Bulls were ready to deal Jimmy, but the Celtics weren’t desperate to have him. In fact, it sounds like they really didn’t want him at all.
So stop comparing apples to oranges when you whine about the Irving deal being far better than the Butler deal. Yeah, it’s a bummer. But it’s also a non-starter. Accept and move on.
It’s funny to think that with a 3.5 game lead in the NL Central that a good amount of Cubs fans are feeling pretty good about their odds to win the division and will again have the luxury of watching the team make another post season run. I mean, it’s only 3.5 games. However, with as tight as the Central has been all year, that same 3.5 game lead feels like it’s about an eight game lead.
It feels like the Cubs are finally beginning to pull away from the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals in the month of August which has been aided by the massive production of two of their superstars — Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo.
Both players had rock solid months of August and although the Cubs only went 15-12 (with two games left), both the Brewers and Cardinals near September 1st playing one game over .500 ball for August. It also helps that the remainder of the Cubs schedule is peppered with cupcakes while the Brewers and Cardinals still have a few tough series remaining on their schedule (not counting series against the Cubs).
Baez has settled into his role as the Cubs everyday shortstop since Addison Russell went on the DL the first week of August. He’s slashing .286/.340/.531 in August and has a team-leading seven home runs. He remains one of the Cubs hottest players since the team turned it around after the All-Star break and continues to deliver hits at big moments in games. Of course, as much as I love the offensive production of Javy, it pails in comparison to watching him work his magic in the field.
This is still one of the top three plays I’ve seen this season.
Even though Anthony Rizzo hasn’t provided any jaw-dropping defensive plays this month, his offensive production is just as impressive. He’s slashing .359/.432/.612 this month and recently collected his 200th career double while also surpassing his career high in RBI’s for a month (currently at 27).
His offensive numbers are so good that team’s must think that he’s going to turn into a base stealer as well.
The Chicago Bears waiver wire operation has never been under a greater microscope than this year. Why? GM Ryan Pace is known for being active this time of year. That and the team holds the highest position it ever has since the waiver system was installed in the mid-2000s. Given the state of the current roster, there are plenty of reasons to think the Bears will seek out more help.
After all injuries have already begun to set in. Nowhere more so than at wide receiver. Markus Wheaton has missed lots of time with appendicitis and a broken finger. Cameron Meredith is done for the year after a bad knee injury. Throw in the iffy histories of Kevin White and Victor Cruz and it’s not a hard sell to see them attacking that position.
There’s also outside linebacker. Pernell McPhee is still not back after having knee surgery for the second-straight year. Outside of Leonard Floyd it gets tricky. Willie Young is turning 32. Lamarr Houston is coming off a torn ACL. Their depth is worrisome. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune believes the team will be aggressive once the process begins September 2nd.
Chicago Bears waiver wire plan could feature aggressive moves
“The cliche holds true: One club’s trash can be another’s treasure. The Bears scooped up offensive linemanEric Kush and cornerback Cre’Von LeBlanc off waivers at final cuts last year. Had he not suffered a torn hamstring earlier this month, Kush likely would be a Week 1 starter against the Falcons with Kyle Long’s lingering ankle issues. LeBlanc figures to have a good chance of making the team again…
…Pace is in position to do better this time. The Bears are third in the waiver-claim order through the third week of the regular season based on the April draft order. In Week 4, the system reverts to an inverse order of current win-loss records. The Browns and 49ers are the only teams ahead of the Bears, meaning Pace would have first shot at any player those teams pass on.”
Another name the Bears secured through waivers was safety Harold Jones-Quartey. He ended up starting some games for them and had some nice moments as well. Other teams have enjoyed exploiting the process too just last year. Cleveland got corner Briean Boddy-Calhoun who might now be their best at the position. Atlanta secured electric playmaker Taylor Gabriel. It’s proof that the process can be quite fruitful if one knows what to look for.
Pace has a reputation for attention to detail. He’s a former Director of Pro Personnel so the waiver wire and late free agency were his times to shine, as he often did in New Orleans. Don’t be surprised if he pulls off one or two surprise steals.
