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Writing Is On The Wall For Bulls Bust Nikola Mirotic

By
Matt Peck
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nikola mirotic continues distance bulls teammates

Remember the magical March of 2015, Bulls fans? Nikola Mirotic, the bearded rookie wonder, somehow started taking over games in the fourth quarter. He averaged 20.8 points and 7.6 rebounds that month as the Bulls managed an 8-6 record despite missing Derrick Rose with his latest knee surgery. Mirotic even made a late-season push for Rookie of the Year honors. He came in second place, behind the #1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins. Not too shabby, Niko.

That rookie season magic feels like a lifetime ago. Despite the high hopes that Chicago’s front office placed on Mirotic’s shoulders after trading for him in the 2011 draft, his second and third NBA seasons have been a big disappointment. Instead of a marked improvement, Niko’s game has stagnated if not regressed. The appendectomy and ensuing complications last year caused a big step back, and that’s not his fault. But Mirotic struggled to regain any kind of consistency this year after a strong finish to the 2015-16 season.

His shooting has been wildly inconsistent this season. The latest stretch of poor performances prompted Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg to hit the “sharpshooter” with a DNP-Coach’s Decision in their loss to Orlando on Wednesday. With Mirotic’s restricted free agency summer looming on the horizon, is the writing on the wall for yet another Bulls draft bust?

Moving On

It’s no secret that Gar Forman and John Paxson were trying desperately to find a buyer for Mirotic before the trade deadline in February. The Bulls front office reportedly wanted a first round draft pick in return. Unfortunately, none of the other executives around the league ever got drunk enough to make that happen, and Niko stayed.

What GarPax did accomplish, however, was the trade that sent Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott to the Thunder for Cameron Payne, Anthony Morrow and Joffrey Lauvergne. Both Bulls executives explained that acquiring Payne, a young and promising point guard still on a rookie-scale contract, was the biggest reason for the move. Morrow, the 31 year old impeding free agent, is not likely in the Bulls’ “younger and more athletic” plans for the future. But Lauvergne, 25, is a restricted free agent whom the Bulls can keep around if they wish. Based on what Gar and Paxson both said following the trade with OKC, it sounds like they’re at least intrigued by the idea of re-signing Lauvergne.

It’s no coincidence that Mirotic, following an awful 4-game stretch, got replaced by Lauvergne in Hoiberg’s rotation on Wednesday night. If the Bulls are interested in keeping the versatile Frenchman, they need to get a better look at him. Can he be the floor-spacing big man that Niko was supposed to be? The Bulls need to find out. After playing just 6 total minutes in his first five games since arriving in Chicago, Hoiberg gave “King Joffrey” 29 minutes of action against Orlando. It’d be interesting to know if Fred took those instructions from his bosses or if he made that decision himself. Either way, the coach said after Thursday’s practice that he likes Lauvergne and anticipates him staying in the rotation. Niko is left as the odd man out in this situation.

Nobody wanted Mirotic badly enough for the Bulls to execute a trade midseason. Some teams will surely see potential in Niko as a shooter to bring off the bench, and he’ll get offers this summer. Given all of the evidence, it would be very surprising to see the Bulls match those offers.

Instead, Niko will likely join the list of other draft day busts for this current Bulls regime. Marquis Teague, Tony Snell and Doug McDermott have already been ruled huge disappointments. Bobby Portis and Denzel Valentine – now with increased roles – are fighting like hell to prove the doubters they won’t end up on that list too. But for Mirotic, it appears his time is running out. The writing is on the wall.

Meet Mike Glennon’s Wife, Jessica Wetherill Glennon

By
Aldo Soto
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Meet Mike Glennon’s wife, Jessica Wetherill Glennon. Again, more proof that quarterbacks always have the best-looking wives.

It’s the start of a new era for the Chicago Bears, as Jay Cutler was officially released on Thursday, while Glennon was signed to be the new starting quarterback. I’ll say this, I’ve been against the Glennon signing ever since the first report came out that it was a real possibility. That being said, I hope he wins the Super Bowl for the Bears and I will never question his confidence.

Why? Well, when you have the neck of a giraffe…

Then you better have tons of confidence to really marry way above you, which Glennon did a few years ago.

Again, not sure how much better Glennon is going to be than Cutler, but one thing is for sure, Jessica Glennon >>> Kristin Cavallari.

Jessica and Mike met during their freshman year at NC State. They got married in 2015 and currently have one kid named Brady. You can see more photos of their wedding here.

You can follow Jessica on Instagram @jwglennon and Mike @mikeglennon8.

Anyway. Jessica is a smoke show. Also, good at Halloween.

Speaking of Halloween, check out ya boy.

Anyway, check out more of Jessica.

White Sox Starting Rotation Is Confusing But Underrated

By
Sean Sears
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White Sox, Jose Quintana, trade, rotation, south side,

The 2017 White Sox will be the team that every fan on the South-Side points to as the turning point. Whether it will be the moment that leads to the Sox turnaround every fan is clamoring for, or the beginning of a desolate time at Guaranteed Rate Field (It’s still hard to believe they named it that).

However, through all the budding infielders and gloomy options in the outfielder, the White Sox have quietly assembled a solid pitching staff for 2017.

For starters, the club is trying to prepare it’s future ace in Carlos Rodon for a major workload this season, giving him the “Chris Sale treatment” as pitching coach Don Cooper put it a few weeks ago.

A smart move by the club, as Rodon was great in his final 12 games of the season after returning from the DL, posting a 3.45 ERA with 77 strikeouts in 73 innings. Apparently the time off to address his supposed arm fatigue was what he needed to assemble easily the best stretch of baseball he’s ever played in his young career.

With Jose Quintana still apart of this team, for the moment at least, alongside the auspicious 24-year-old Carlos Rodon and a decent supporting cast including James Shields, Miguel Gonzalez, and Derek Holland, this pitching staff isn’t half bad.

With plenty of bounce-back candidates mixed in with known commodities with a slight injection of youth, Rick Renteria has a quality group of players to work with in his first year as skipper for the Sox. However, this is just looking at their players in a vacuum, but taking a deeper look at these pitchers and it easy to see some of the key flaws each has.

Of course, everyone remembers the dreadful 22 games that James Shields trotted out  to the mound for, and if you don’t he registered an 6.77 ERA and allowed 31 HR’s as a member of the White Sox. Understandably, most fans want nothing more to do with the 35-year-old righty, and no matter how you spin it the guy is going to be apart of this Sox roster.

I can tell you he was great two seasons ago, and that he was a legitimate Cy Young Candidate in 2012, but he’s clearly not that guy anymore. His inflated HR/FB rate has jumped from 9.7% in 2015 to 17.8% last season, maybe if he can keep the ball in the yard the rest of his numbers fall in line with a back-end starter. But nor you or I should hold our breath.

Derek Holland has started a collective 35 major-league games since 2013, where he put together a career-best 3.42 ERA in 33 starts, and while Holland looks like the healthiest he’s been in a half-decade, I wouldn’t call him reliable.

Last season Holland managed to secure 22 games under his belt and while the numbers were nothing spectacular, 4.95 ERA with a 5.62 K/9, he proved to himself and the league he can be at the very least an innings-eater when healthy. If Holland can put together a full season on the South-Side, he could turn into an excellent piece for the Sox to keep for the future or flip at the trade deadline.

And clearly, the most devastating thing that could happen to this rotation would be an injury to either Carlos Rodon or Jose Quintana, with the latter being easily the worst thing that could possibly happen to this club in 2017. But, if both perform to their perceived abilities, there is no reason not to assume the Sox rotation could carry them this season. But, the reality of the White Sox current situation is that for this team to get better they have to be bad. And like an absolutely terrible-type of bad.

For the Sox to get the most out of their draft picks, they essentially have to be the worst team in baseball, which is hard to do with all the other teams tanking. Plus, the Sox cannot afford to simply just tank, as Rian Watt outlines in this great piece in Chicago Magazine, there just isn’t the necessary financial support on the south-side of town that can be found for the team that’s located in Wrigleyville, making it borderline impossible for the Sox to do a full rebuild.

On top of all this, the league has also limited the restrictions on international players with teams only being allowed to spend a collective $6 million per season. So, if the White Sox are looking to overhaul their roster, the best option is to field an awful team in 2017, however the Sox are entirely too dependent on the sales they generate from games for that to be a viable option. Meaning: The Sox are kinda boned because their pitching staff and team overall isn’t bad enough to guarantee a top pick. And they can’t trade all their good players for prospects because then people will stop coming to watch the current team.

The good news is that the White Sox have promising arms ready to contribute soon in newly acquired Lucas Giolito, Michael Kopech, Reynaldo Lopez, and former No.8 overall pick Carson Fulmer waiting in the wings. However, none of those arms outside of Fulmer seem ready for the big-leagues. But if they do move a player like Quintana or even Holland this season, that forces the Sox to bring up one of the aforementioned four young arms possibly earlier than they intended.

All of this leads me to believe that the White Sox, while it may make sense to move an overachieving arm in Derek Holland, they could stand pat during the season in hopes of staying somewhat relevant. Of course, Quintana will be dealt at some point this season, but only for elite-level prospects, which has everything to do with the crap-shoot that is the MLB draft.

A rotation like this for a team like the White Sox is almost more of a problem than having an atrocious one, but this is the best that the team can do in their current situation. And I think they might turn some heads. Whether that is the right or wrong move for this team is still up for debate, but turning points take risks, something this White Sox club has refused to take.

An over-correction from the previous people in charge, and the truth of the matter is you have to toe the line, so here is your 2017 White Sox leaning back and forth between rebuilding and retooling. And regardless of which side of that line this team eventually lands on, management will be forced to pick a direction.

OFFICIAL: Jay Cutler Era Over As Chicago Bears Release Veteran QB

By
Erik Lambert
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The next era at quarterback for the Chicago Bears has begun. Not only is Mike Glennon expected to get signed when free agency officially opens, but the team also finally waved goodbye to Jay Cutler. According to Adam Schefter the 33-year old was granted his release after final attempts to seek out a trade. He is a free agent and likely to garner some interest from contending teams who might need QB help.

Cutler leaves as the all-time leading passer in franchise history with over 23,000 yards and 154 touchdowns. He also started more games and seasons than anybody in the Super Bowl era by far. Unfortunately his toughness and tenacity couldn’t make up for the poor decision-making and the inability to win consistently. He threw 109 interceptions across eight seasons and finished with a 52-52 career record in Chicago.

He also only started one full season in a Bears uniform, which was his first back in 2009. Every time it appeared he was about to reach the pinnacle, something went wrong. The guy had the worst luck on the planet. Throw in a constant stream of head coaches and offensive coordinators, it’s little wonder that things just never were able to work out. One can hope he gets another shot to go out on his terms.

In the end the guy gave Chicago plenty of exciting highlights and some thrilling victories that will stand the test of time in Bears lore. There is no arguing he will go down as one of the toughest, most talented and most misunderstood players the franchise has ever had. Maybe with time people will learn to appreciate him a bit more. Until then, it’s time to see if Glennon can succeed where he ultimately failed.

Many are skeptical, which isn’t a surprise in this city. Nevertheless, one must always look ahead.

REPORT: Chicago Bears Agree To Terms With Their Next Quarterback

By
Erik Lambert
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chicago bears mike glennon

Ready or not, Chicago Bears fans, it’s happening. The rumors have hinted at it for the past three days but the reality is finally at hand. According to latest reports, the team has agreed to a deal with 27-year old quarterback Mike Glennon. Expectations are he will be their starter going into this season, officially bringing an end to the Jay Cutler era.

Most agree it’s just a matter of time before Cutler himself is removed from the Bears roster. Perhaps they’re still holding out hope of a trade. Most likely he will be released to clear up the cap space made by this new contract Glennon signs. After that his fate remains unclear. Meanwhile Chicago will be forced to make peace with what has just happened.

Glennon is a former backup from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A third round pick in the 2013 NFL draft, he started 18 games through his first two seasons before being relegated to the bench when the team drafted Jameis Winston in 2015. Many believe he’s just another Brock Osweiler, a big body QB destined to fall flat after being paid way too much money.

Is that true though?

The Bears’ Pursuit of Mike Glennon Is Pissing Off Aaron Rodgers

By
Erik Lambert
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aaron rodgers advising the bears

The Chicago Bears are zeroing in on their next quarterback. Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley are already gone. Jay Cutler doesn’t appear too far behind. Only Connor Shaw remains. This team has to find more bodies for that vital position and their first serious target seems to have emerged in the form of the lanky 6’6″ Mike Glennon.

A former third round pick and backup of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Glennon started 18 games for them. He went 5-13, threw for over 4,000 yards and posted 29 touchdowns to 15 interceptions. Arguments over his validity as a potential starter after two full seasons without playing meaningful snaps are ongoing and heated. Some think he’s worth a look, others are asking how in the world the Bears can justify him being a better option than Cutler or Hoyer.

Those questions will be answered with the next couple days if and when Glennon signs his new deal with the team. What nobody could’ve expected is how this move could potentially impact one of their most bitter rivals. In a way that could have an undesired effect from their point of view.

Why This Top Draft QB Could Fall Into Bears Lap in Second Round

By
Erik Lambert
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patrick mahomes bears
Credit: Alchetron

Part of what makes a successful NFL draft is the on-the-clock is the feeling out process. What does that mean? Often the best teams this time of year are the ones who have a good sense of which players where and when players will likely come off the board. If this guy will still be there when we’re on the board again, then we should probably take somebody else with a similar grade.

Looking for an example? Recall how the Chicago Bears operated in the draft last year. They could’ve easily taken offensive tackle Cody Whitehair at the #41 pick and been content with it. However, GM Ryan Pace seemed to have a feel that the young lineman would probably still be on the board later. So the Bears moved down not once but twice in the second round. During which they scooped up three fourth round picks. Then they grabbed Whitehair at #56.

It was masterful manipulation of the board. Pace is going to need that same good sense again going into 2017, especially with the pressure to draft a quarterback high. Will it be in the first round? Current sense is the value might not be there. On the other hand there is a fear there won’t be any good option left by the time Chicago goes on the clock again.

Here’s why that might not be accurate.

NFL Insider Confirms Key Part of Bears 2017 Quarterback Plan

By
Erik Lambert
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ryan pace

The 2017 offseason has started relatively slow compared to the last couple years. Information leaking out during the legal “tampering” period has been rather light for most teams. A rumor of interest here, a re-signing there and once in a while the hushed whispers of a trade. One team though that hasn’t been quiet on the gossip front is the Chicago Bears.

Already they’ve been connected to several notable free agent names over the past couple days. There is Pro Bowl cornerback Stephon Gilmore, veteran right tackle Ricky Wagner and kick return specialist Cordarrelle Patterson. Not to mention their ongoing dance with wide receiver Alshon Jeffery and the lingering hope he can be kept in the fold.

Of course all of those take a back seat to the growing buzz around the quarterback position. What people know at this point is Jay Cutler is likely gone, either via trade or release. Then there is the name that is causing mass riots across social media. One that has many fearful the Bears have lost their minds. A young 27-year old named Mike Glennon.

Bulls On Pace To Tie Bizarre (And Bad) NBA Record

By
Matt Peck
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bulls pace tie bizarre nba record vs 500 teams

The Chicago Bulls are enduring another up and down season, never getting too high or too low. For every two or three game winning streak, an equivalent losing streak follows. Like clockwork. As we near the homestretch of the regular season, Fred Hoiberg’s crew sits at 31-32, tied for 7th in the East and clinging to a 1.5 game lead over Miami and Milwaukee for the final playoff spot.

It’s not that strange to see the Bulls in this position. Most intelligent pundits had them somewhere between 38-42 wins before the season started, and they’re right in line to hit that gap. What is strange is to see exactly how the Bulls are hitting that mediocre mark: by losing to the bad teams in the league and beating the good ones.

Playing With the Cool Kids

The Bulls are 15-14 this season against teams sporting a .500-or-better record. Even more impressive, they’re a combined 11-6 against the top four teams in each conference. Chicago is 8-3 in battles against Cleveland, Boston, Washington and Toronto, and a respectable 3-3 against Golden State, San Antonio, Houston and Utah. Count Chicago and Memphis as the only two teams in the league to have wins over the Cavs, Warriors and Spurs.

As impressive as that is, it also means Jimmy Butler & Co are only 4-8 against the second tier of winning teams in the league. If the Bulls are capable of having nearly twice as many wins as losses against the best teams, why can’t they duplicate that success against their slightly above average foes?

But wait, it gets worse.

Sinking To Their Level

After their loss to the Pistons on Monday night, the Bulls are just 16-18 against sub-.500 teams. Within those games, they’re 12-8 against the ten worst teams in the league. That’s not horrible, but it’s certainly not the kind of success Hoiberg is looking for against the bottom feeders. If his team managed to win a few more of those very winnable games, they could be fighting for homecourt advantage in the first round right now instead of fighting to keep the 8th seed.

However, it’s the not-quite-awful teams (just like the slightly above average teams) giving the Bulls the most trouble. Against the teams currently ranked 15-20 out of 30, Chicago is just 4-10. Five of those ten losses have come against Central Division rivals Detroit and Milwaukee, two teams currently battling Chicago for the final playoff spot in the East.

Why does this happen? Don’t bother asking Hoiberg or Butler, or Dwyane Wade, for that matter. None of the “leaders” of this team can explain why they play up to the level of the league’s best and follow those performances with duds against the duds. In Hoiberg’s defense, though, Bulls fans saw similar patterns when Tom Thibodeau was in charge. The odd trend just happened to continue in the new regime with a largely different roster. Go figure.

Now here comes the fun(ny) part.

Making History

If the Bulls continue this trend of losing to losers and beating the winners, they’ll make history. As ESPN’s Marc Stein pointed out in his latest edition of the NBA power rankings, Chicago would become just the second team in NBA history to finish a full season with a winning record against .500-or-better teams and a losing record against sub-.500 teams.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only the 1955-56 New York Knicks finished a full season the same way. In what was just an 8-team league, those Knicks went 35-37 in a 72-game regular season. They went a combined 17-16 versus Philadelphia, Boston and Fort Wayne, the teams with winning records that season. But against Syracuse, Minneapolis, St. Louis and Rochester the Knicks were just 18-21. Sound familiar, Bulls fans? Those now-deceased or since-moved franchises might not ring a bell, but the Knicks’ strange trend sure does.

The Bulls have 19 games remaining in the regular season. 11 come against teams currently below .500 and 8 versus teams sporting winning records. Can they buck this awkward (and somewhat embarrassing) trend in the final five weeks? Can they prevent themselves from becoming an uninspiring footnote in the NBA record books?

We’ll have to wait to find out. But beating the 23-41 Orlando Magic on Wednesday would definitely be a good start. Surprisingly, the Bulls actually beat Orlando both times they faced them earlier this season. Doesn’t it seem like too much to ask of this up-and-down bunch to beat a bad team three straight times?

The correct answer is yes. Yes it does. Prepare for another “L” in the “losses against losers” column, Bulls fans. Just trying to save you from disappointment. If they shock us with a win, it will be a nice perk in a mostly frustrating season.

Jake Arrieta Is A Member Of The Baseball Police And It Sucks

By
Aldo Soto
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expert proves jake arrieta serious problem

Maybe Jake Arrieta has been hanging around John Lackey too much because this is some typical suck all the fun away from baseball shit.

Arrieta, who will be a free agent after this season with the Chicago Cubs, was on ESPN1000 on Tuesday and at one point in the conversation with David Kaplan, the 2015 National League Cy Young Award winner said this.

A quick flashback to 2016, when at the time 24-year-old Christian Bethancourt launched a ball to the moon off Lackey at Wrigley Field.

After the game, Lackey said this.

So, my questions remain the same, how many home runs does a player have to hit before being able to pimp a home run in any matter and for Arrieta, what’s the qualifier for being a veteran?

Oh, I almost forgot. Does Jake Arrieta not know what team he plays for and/or does he hate some of his teammates? Why do I ask? Well…

No, not really a bat flip, but let’s not pretend Schwarber didn’t pimp the fuck out of that home run, which again is fantastic. Not sure why members of the baseball police hate fun so much.

Speaking of fun, hitting dingers and watching them soar, here’s Javier Baez.

Seriously, everything Baez does is showing off his swagger, which again, is fucking great. Arrieta must loathe him.

A quick story about Anthony Rizzo.

“I’m going to hit a bomb today, pop this rosary out of my jersey, and spin it around my neck before I walk halfway down the line.”

When the game began, it didn’t take long for this Ruthian prophecy to come true. He hit a towering home run 450 feet, stood there, popped the chain, spun it around his neck, looked at me in the dugout and walked half way to first. My first instinct was to look into the other dugout, where the Gigantes seemed to find the display funny, as did our dugout. He came in after his trot around the bases and we laughed and laughed. Baseball is supposed to be fun, and we were having fun.

That first baseman from my winter-ball team was Anthony Rizzo, who (in my view) plays the game the right way.

(John Baker)

Addison Russell, Sammy hop.

Baez again, Sammy hop.

If you don’t want players bat-flipping, watching their home runs or anything close to that, don’t give up home runs. What exactly does hitting them in their next at-bat teach?

You know, it’s hilarious because I’m willing to bet that most of the people who agree with Arrieta and Lackey are the same who make fun of others who get offended easily. But when they get offended by a measly bat flip, it’s completely normal to revert back to their safe spaces.

Again, like I said with Lackey last year, you can’t be the guy who is anti-bat flips when you play for the team that has a designated room for dance parties after every regular-season win.

The unwritten rules of baseball are bullshit. Leave that for the St. Louis Cardinals.

https://www.sportsmockery.com/2015/09/video-joe-maddon-bashed-everything-about-the-cardinals-in-the-press-conference-of-the-year/

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