Friday, November 13, 2026
EDGE is live. Chicago fans can now access and explore the beta.
Home Blog Page 3238

Where Are The Haters of The Brandon Marshall Trade Now?

By
Erik Lambert
-
brandon marshall trade

The popular saying goes to never judge a trade or draft pick or free agent signing until after a couple years. Doesn’t seem to matter though. People will spew all sorts of vile venom at GMs for making bold moves. Few understand this better than Ryan Pace of the Bears. His most recent bit of flak-catching came after his bold jump from #3 to #2 in the draft to grab quarterback Mitch Trubisky. However, his first real trial by fire came two years prior with his Brandon Marshall trade.

Critics were out in full force for that one. How could the Bears possibly justify letting go of a valuable offensive piece? Plenty of reasons were given:  locker room stability, age, and money. None of them mattered. Some people are only obsessed with the numbers, and Marshall put up some good ones during his time in Chicago.

Trading him to the New York Jets for a fifth round pick seemed utterly maddening. Now it’s two years later and the Jets are in arguably worse shape than the Bears are. With Marshall already being gone to join the crosstown rival New York Giants. It took him that long to get himself run off another team.

The Brandon Marshall trade was actually damned savvy

Jacob Infante of Windy City Gridiron put things in a proper perspective. He explained how the short-term gain of one or two good statistical seasons wasn’t worth the total demise of locker room stability and team continuity. It’s a big reason why no team Marshall has played on has ever made the playoffs. Not once in his career. Is that a coincidence? Unlikely.

“Marshall had been one of the best weapons in the league during that time, and the Bears only managed to get a Day 3 pick for him. On paper, that seems incredibly lopsided, right? Looking back on the deal, though, makes Ryan Pace seem like a genius.

Marshall went on to have arguably the best season of his career with the Jets in 2015. He caught 109 passes and had 1,502 receiving yards and a career-high 14 touchdowns. After that first year, the Bears came off as foolish and desperate to get rid of him. However, it went downhill fast for Marshall after that.

Fast forward another year, and Marshall is on another team. The Jets released him after what may have been his worst performance since his rookie season. Former teammate Sheldon Richardson recently threw some shade at him, hinting that the locker room is much better now that he’s gone. All of a sudden, that trade doesn’t seem too bad now, does it?”

Stay ahead of the curve

The incident in question was when the Jets defensive tackle stated the locker room was a lot easier to get along with this year. When inevitably asked why, his response was easy enough to decrypt.

He may be one of the most outspoken critics of Marshall’s locker room habits, but he’s far from the first. The mercurial receiver has made plenty of enemies across his long career. The Giants make his fifth NFL team. A stat that’s hard to believe considering he’s a six-time Pro Bowler. So maybe it’s time to give Pace a little credit for getting something in return.

Two Blackhawks Players Named In Las Vegas Trade Talk

By
Marc-Louis Paprzyca
-

The NHL Expansion Draft lists don’t come out until June 18 but that doesn’t mean teams aren’t already dealing with Las Vegas. One of those teams is the Blackhawks, according to TSN Sports Senior Hockey Reporter Frank Seravalli.

Seravalli believes that Trevor van Riemsdyk and Marcus Kruger would be the two Blackhawks players headed to Las Vegas. Basically, the Blackhawks would agree to leave TVR unprotected as long as the Golden Knights agree to trade for Marcus Kruger, or vice versa.

The move would allow the Blackhawks to dump Kruger’s contract, freeing up just over $3 million to use this offseason. It’s a move very similar to the Teuvo Teravainen trade from last season that included Bryan Bickell’s contract.

Anything can happen in the next three weeks but the Blackhawks would like to free up that cap space. We all know Blackhawks fans would also like the same.

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

Kerry Wood Surprises Potential Top MLB Draft Pick With This Major Award

By
Sean Sears
-

The MLB draft talk is beginning to pick up as High School teams start their State playoffs and NCAA College World Series tournament opening play June 1st. With championship games in the horizon, the MLB draft picture is starting to solidify, and former Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood is surprisingly apart of the fun this year.

Wood forgot to mention he rode into the event on a lawnmower.

A former no. 4 overall pick in the 1995, ‘Kid-K’ was asked to surprise potential top five draft pick MacKenzie Gore with Gatorade’s National Baseball Player of the Year award. An award that has been won by the likes of Peyton Manning, Maya Moore, Karl Anthony-Towns, Jabari Parker and 290 other young athletes over the last 32 years. Gore is a lefty from Whiteville high school, located in Whiteville, North Carolina where the 18-year-old held a 9-0 record while boasting a 0.22 ERA, 132 strikeouts, and seven-inning perfect game – Wood made it clear he only threw seven innings.

Gore, who is Baseball America’s No. 4 overall prospect in the 2017 draft, was “in total shock” when he was presented the award by the Cubs legend.

“It’s something you think about, but you never expect it to happen,” said Gore. “So it is truly a blessing to win this award.”

Kerry Wood, who commended the talented high school left-handers’ humble attitude, was excited when he received the call to participate in the special moment in Gore’s life.

“After getting to spend some time with him and his family, obviously the character is off the charts,” said Wood, “It’s just cool to see the humbleness in his demeanor and around his family and teammates.”

Of course, to win this award, a player has to be excellent athlete on the field but also a fine young person – and Gore is no exception. The East Carolina University commit graduated with a 4.07 weighted GPA, in which he thanks his mother for who is a teacher that demands the very best from her son. MacKenzie is also involved in his community, working his church group to volunteer at Rady’s Children’s Hospital in San Diego. It’s the values that Gatorade holds in this award that really made Wood feel proud to present the award to Gore.

“With such a great organization like Gatorade, what makes this award so special, is that they honor the kids for their academics and their work in the community that separate’s this award from the other high school awards. You have to be the full package, and MacKenzie is definitely the full package.”

Of course, I couldn’t let Kerry get away from an interview without asking him a few Cubs related questions, as I asked what he thought was wrong with the defending World Series Champions. And Wood showed no signs of shaken nerves for the Cubs, pointing to the youth on the Cubs roster regaining focus after a short off-season.

“I think now for this young team, coming off their shortest off-season ever, their due for a nice long road trip where they can catch a bunch of sleep, recharge,” said Wood. “But I expect them break out in a big way, this team is way too good to be sitting at .500 or anywhere near .500.”

One last parting shot, I asked both Gore and Wood if they thought either Gore’s perfect game or Wood’s 20-strikeout game was more impressive, both siding with Wood’s epic 1998 performance.

“I mean, he only had to throw seven innings,” joked the former Cubs ace. Some things never change. You can listen to the rest of the interview with both MacKenzie Gore and Kerry Wood here on the 312 podcast.

Kris Bryant Shares His Thoughts On Pitchers Who Intentionally Throw At Players

By
Gus
-
Chicago Cubs' Kris Bryant is hit by a pitch from St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jaime Garcia during the fifth inning of a baseball game Monday, June 20, 2016, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

In the wake of the Bryce Harper/Hunter Strickland fiasco that has taken the baseball world by storm, experts from across the world have given their insight as to why the brawl occurred and also offered up some logical questions. Did Strickland pay Harper back for pimping home runs two years ago? Why did Harper charge and not just trot to first base? Was there a reason Buster Posey stood like a goof ball and observed the entire brawl? On a scale of 1-10, how hilarious was it to watch Harper throw his helmet like that?

Of course the answer to that one is 10.

Harper and Bryant grew up together playing baseball in Vegas and both are primed to make a ridiculous amount of money in the next couple of years. Harper is set to hit the market after next season with Bryant probably being in that same spot three years after that. With that said, taking a 96 mph fastball to the body or head not a spot that ANY player wants to be in, let alone guys that will be ridiculously rich in the very near future.

Before yesterday’s loss, Bryant was asked his thoughts on watching the Harper/Strickland brawl and he brought up a point that most people fail to realize.

‘‘A baseball’s a weapon. Anytime you’re throwing at someone on purpose, I think there should be some harsher penalties.’’

Bryant got his wish as the MLB dished out a six-game suspension to Strickland and a four-game suspension for Harper. Bryant’s point of using a baseball as a weapon was further driven home after he made reference to an ugly minor league brawl that occurred this weekend between the Class-A West Michigan Whitecaps and Dayton Dragons.

The brawl started due to a disagreement on the base path and quickly got out of hand. Around the :25 second mark, you can see Whitecaps reliever Eduardo Jimenez fire a ball right into the middle of a group of Dayton players standing about 15 feet away.

Bryant referenced the magnitude of the pitcher’s idiotic actions.

“Man, that could have killed him if it hit him in the head from 15 feet away.”

To this day, Bryant has only been kicked out of one game in his career and that was in AAA Iowa when he told the home plate umpire “that’s on you” referring to a close strike three call. In terms of being thrown at intentionally, Bryant doesn’t think it has ever happened to him.

I’d agree with him there for the simple fact that he plays the game the right way and doesn’t try to show up opposing pitchers no matter how big of a moon shot he hits. And as we all know, he’s hit PLENTY of shots that he could have admired. I’m hoping there’s never a time that a pitcher decides to throw at him intentionally because that poor pitcher will have an entire Cubs dugout (and millions of Cubs fans) threatening serious bodily harm on him.

 

PHOTOS: Inside Look At Kris Bryant’s Elaborate Las Vegas Wedding

By
Gus
-

If you’re a Cubs fan like myself, there’s a really REALLY good chance that you were not one of the 225 guests that were invited to Kris Bryant and Jessica Delp’s wedding on January 7, 2017. I had my bags all packed and ready to go but I’m still relatively certain that the damn postal service lost my invitation in the mail. Since none of us got a chance to actually attend the wedding, we’ll have to be happy with looking at some “inside” shots from the beautiful wedding that was held in the couples’ home town of Las Vegas.

Laura Wallis of Martha Stewart Weddings got the inside scoop on the couples big day. In addition to all your traditional wedding stuff, Bryant was pretty adamant about one specific detail — doughnuts.

“I don’t care where we get married, but there will be doughnuts.”

Apparently doughnuts must be the reigning NL MVP’s guilty pleasure. A few days ago his agent, Scott Boras, said the only time he sees Bryant get anxious when the two of them sit down to eat doughnuts.

“That’s the greatest anxiety, before we get to that doughnut.”

Look I get just as excited as the next guy when I get a beautifully crafted vanilla long john but I don’t think I’d use the word ‘anxious’ to describe what’s going through my head.

But that’s besides the point, here are some of the highlights of the Bryant/Delp wedding.

To view more photos, visit marthastewartweddings.com

Theo Epstein Pops Up Unexpectedly To Visit Struggling Cubs In San Diego

By
Gus
-
chris ballard

You know when your boss shows up on an unannounced visit that things cannot be going well.

That’s exactly what happened yesterday during the Cubs 6-2 loss in San Diego when the team’s President of Baseball Operations made a surprise appearance to watch his team drop their fifth straight game and six of their last ten overall.

With yesterday’s loss, the team drops below the .500 mark yet again this season and this one stung quite a bit. The sting was a bit worse this time due to the fact the team was coming off a 7-2 home stand which was highlighted by taking three of four from their 2016 NLDS opponent, the San Francisco Giants. The Cubs bats woke up, their pitching seemingly was a bit better which led fans to believe that the REAL 2017 Cubs were here for good.

So much for that.

The Cubs have been absolutely destroyed on their West coast trip by both the red-hot Dodgers and the last place Padres. I could MAYBE understand getting swept by the Dodgers because they have been playing great baseball as of late but losing two of the first three to the f*cking Padres? There’s no excuse for that.

Jesse Rogers of ESPN highlighted one of the team’s many issues that have been contributing to their struggles.

The Cubs went 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position in the Dodgers series before going 2-for-17 in two games vs. the Padres.

Those shitty numbers have led the Cubs to find themselves dead last in the National League in hitting with runners in scoring position and second to last in hitting with men on base (.230).

The alarming statistics prompted Epstein to pop up on his team during one of his scouting visits in San Diego. He claimed it was for “moral support” and thought it was important to be around the team when they were struggling but even the usually calm Epstein showed signs of frustration.

“It’s a frustrating period whenever that gap exists as much as it has for this first third of the season…We just need a few guys to get going to make our offense very valuable. And we need time. … It’s on us to figure it out sooner rather than later.”

Epstein still reiterated that no drastic changes needed to be made quite yet and the Cubs offensive struggles should be able to be rectified by the guys they have on the 25-man roster. Meaning, none of the young stars should be getting sent down to the minor leagues…yet.

 

 

 

Mitch Trubisky’s College Coach Points Out His All-Time Favorite Throw

By
Erik Lambert
-
mitch trubisky throw

Does North Carolina quarterbacks coach Keith Heckendorg have a favorite Mitch Trubisky throw? Well he does indeed have that. Heckendorf hasn’t been shy or subtle in his support of his former quarterback. He’s told anybody and everybody who would listen that the young man isn’t just some flash in the pan. A one-year wonder. He’s the real deal. All he needs is time to prove it.

Heckendorf sat down with The Draft Wire for an interview about his ex-pupil. Several topics were covered from the ongoing questions of his experience to his leadership capabilities. At one point the shift went to his maturation as a passer during the course of his 2016 season. In that span the head coach revealed what was probably his favorite throw Trubisky would make during his time as starter.

The Mitch Trubisky throw that blew a coaches’ mind

“One of the clips I like to point out to people is that if you go back and watch our last regular season game against NC State, there was a play in there where it’s 3rd down and long and they bring a blitz that Mitchell knew we couldn’t pick up, he knows he’s gonna’ take a shot and he stands in there and delivers a strike on a deep out cut to Ryan Switzer for a first down; he took that shot right in the mouth. That to me was the biggest indicator of how far he had come, that presence in the pocket that he showed.”

The play referenced is the one below. It’s a 3rd and 7 early in the second quarter. UNC was down 14-0 and badly in need of points. N.C. State comes with a blitz from the left side. They get a free runner right at Trubisky. After an initial split-second reaction of surprise, the quarterback turns and fires a pass in the face of the blitz. It hits the receiver almost in stride who then turns it up the field for 28 yards. A money throw indeed.

Most would call that an NFL throw. Unfortunately the drive stalled shortly after that. North Carolina fell 28-21 in the game despite a spirited late comeback. Regardless the clip is another indication that Trubisky understands how to play and react fast. Something absolutely vital to success at the pro level.

There is no telling when the young quarterback will finally see the field. That depends on his progress in practice and how starter Mike Glennon fares. One thing is for sure though. Expect him to be prepare whenever that opportunity comes.

A Cubs Fan’s Desperate Letter To The Cubs

By
Dhruv Koul
-
PHOTO: Chicago Tribune

Dear Cubs,

First, let me start off by saying I love you guys. The joy you brought me and so many others with your historic World Series run last season still hasn’t dissipated. I still get chills when I hear or read or say or type or think or dream, “Chicago Cubs, 2016 World Series Champions”. I have a feeling that won’t get old for a while, if ever. Now I know why White Sox fans were so unbelievably insufferable in 2005. I get it now. I feel the same way too. Though I’m definitely not as annoying as they were! 🙂

Because of this, at least in my mind, you guys have earned a pass for this year. I won’t be that upset or unraveling at the seams if you fail to win it all this year, or hell, even fail to make the World Series. As blasphemous as that sounds, I’ve been blessed with the sort of mental peace after our championship (yes, “our”) run that will suffice for the rest of the year. My fellow fans may think that’s nuts, but that’s the reality of the situation.

However, that being said, I’d still like to watch some enjoyable baseball as the summer kicks into full gear. The summer, as far as the weather goes, for the most part, is intolerable. I hate 90+ degree heat and humidity with a burning passion. See what I did there?

What helps get me through those difficult summer days, though, is knowing that I’ll get to watch an entertaining baseball game at some point that day. And this year, with the aforementioned “pass” being provided to you, that’s all I’m really asking for. An entertaining baseball game on a daily basis.

Our (yes, “our”) start this year has been an uninspiring 25-25 through 50 games. That’s almost 1/3 of the season now gone. Sure, we’re only a game or two out of first place in the division, and there’s plenty of time left in the season to get things right. But that’s not my issue.

The issue is that, for the most part, you’ve been difficult to watch for most of the season. From a pure baseball perspective, there haven’t been many times this year where I’ve been like, “Wow, what a game!”

Forget winning and losing. The team as a whole just isn’t doing their jobs at a satisfactory level in any facet of the game. Most pitchers aren’t pitching well. Most hitters aren’t hitting well. Too many fielders aren’t fielding or throwing or catching well. Too many games have resulted in the following reaction: “Man, everything about that game sucked.”

In the pitching department, Jake Arrieta and John Lackey have both been allowing home runs at alarming rates, and have been unable to locate many of their pitches all season. Eddie Butler has been decent but inconsistent, especially with his command. Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks are the only sure things to remain in the rotation beyond this season, and they’ve been closer to average than great so far. Oh yeah, and then there are the first inning woes. The pitching simply hasn’t been good enough to keep the team in games consistently enough. And for an offense that’s struggling, knowing you must overcome deficits early and often doesn’t help.

The offense has been brutal for most of the year. The lineup, while star-studded, has been mired in a season-long slump. Kyle Schwarber has been a disaster, hitting in the .170s with an OBP of under .300. That’s demotion-worthy. And I love Bam-Bam. Addison Russell has been scuffling at the plate all year. Anthony Rizzo, Willson Contreras, Javy Baez, and Ben Zobrist have barely been passable. You’re basically last in the league at hitting with runners-in-scoring-position, and went a full week in May without scoring any runs without the aid of a home run. A full week! It’s disappointing, and hard to watch.

And then there’s the defense. You’re starting to get your shit together lately, but for a while there was too much carelessness. Dropped fly balls, bobbles, and then the utterly inexplicable amount of bad throws. I still can’t get over one game against the Cardinals … Contreras’s throw to first on a dropped strike three that sailed on Rizzo and kept the Cards alive in the ninth inning. Luckily nothing bad happened, but that kind of stuff is expected from a college team. Not a professional team.

And that’s my point. It really doesn’t matter to me this year if you win or lose, as I’ve stated before. But the utter, and pardon me for the lack of a better word, ineptitude in certain areas has been appalling. And not fun to watch. I’ve found myself turning games off in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings way too often this year. I hate doing that, too.

Speaking of which, as I’m writing this letter to you, it’s currently going to the 6th inning in this game against the Padres, and you’re losing 6-2. To the Padres. After losing last night. To the PADRES. Did I mention it’s the f*cking Padres?

All I’m asking for is better baseball. Someone, please, take charge in the lineup and be clutch for once. Drive someone in in a critical situation. It’s a good kind of contagious, I promise. Someone, please, step up in the rotation and give the team some competitive hope on a day to day basis outside of Lester and Hendricks. And please continue to display the type of fielding that basically won the World Series last year. That’s the kind of baseball I’m looking for.

If you happen to start winning games at a torrid pace and distance yourselves from the rest of the NL Central, especially the trash Cardinals, while you’re at it, that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. But I’ll appreciate baby steps just as well.

Here’s to a more enjoyable and tolerable summer. Try not to suck.

Cheers,

Dhruv

P.S. I [still] love you, Cubs.

David Ross Will Be An Analyst During Cubs vs. Cardinals Game On ESPN

By
Aldo Soto
-

The Chicago Cubs will once again be featured on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball this upcoming weekend, when they play against the St. Louis Cardinals. For viewers tuning in, they’ll see a familiar face on the broadcast team. David Ross will be an analyst for the Sunday night matchup against the two NL Central division rivals, filling in for Jessica Mendoza.

Ross made his analyst debut for ESPN on May 17, calling a Cardinals-Red Sox game. But now, we can only hope that baseball is the main topic of conversation instead of the retired catcher’s run on Dancing With The Stars.

What’s even more special about Ross’ appearance on Sunday Night Baseball? Well, he along with Dan Shulman and Aaron Boone, will broadcast the game from the bleachers at Wrigley Field. The trio will be in the right-field bleachers for Sunday’s game.

For now, this is only expected to be a one-time appearance on Sunday Night for Ross because he’s only filling in for Mendoza because she’ll be covering the College Softball World Series this weekend.

Joe Maddon Takes Bryce Harper’s Side After Fight With Hunter Strickland

By
Aldo Soto
-

I’m pretty sure not even the San Francisco Giants are taking their teammate’s side after the brawl against the Washington Nationals on Monday. Seriously, Buster Posey standing at home plate when Bryce Harper went after Hunter Strickland was probably more representative of how most of the Giants felt. Anyway, Joe Maddon gave his thoughts about the fight and he was clear. Fuck what Hunter Strickland did.

If you’ve been living under a rock, here’s what happened.

No seriously, fuck Hunter Strickland. He threw a 97 mph fastball at Harper and do you know why he did it? Because three years ago, THREE YEARS AGO, Bryce Harper had the audacity to hit two fucking dingers off of him during the playoffs. So, on Monday, Strickland faced Harper for the first time since then and he hit him. What a selfish prick and a big fucking baby.

And yeah, Harper didn’t have to escalate things, but Maddon was completely on board.

That reminds me of one of the most embarrassing moments as a Cubs fan. Remember when Derrek Lee waited for the entire Cubs dugout to come out onto the field and went behind his teammates after he basically challenged Chris Young of the San Diego Padres to a fight? Sure, he threw a couple punches, that were nowhere close to Young, but pulling the hold me back look when you had the pitcher in front of you wasn’t the greatest.

Bad look, D Lee.

By the way, I love Joe, but that video showed why I don’t want any Cubs players going to the mound to start a fight. Too much shit can happen during these scrums and I don’t want to lose Kris Bryant to a broken ankle because Tommy LaStella charged the mound.

So, yeah, walk to first, please, and then hit home runs to get revenge.

1...3,2373,2383,239...3,362Page 3,238 of 3,362

Subscribe to our Newsletter

✶ An Unfiltered Voice For Chicago Sports Fans ✶

Chicago Sports News

About Us

© Sports Mockery, Inc. 2026