MLB Pipeline Ranks Three White Sox Inside Top Right-Handed Pitching Prospects

Dan Fappiano
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MLB Pipeline Ranks Three White Sox Inside Top Right-Handed Pitching Prospects

After moving Adam Eaton and Chris Sale, the White Sox currently have six players inside the top 100 prospects according to MLB Pipeline. Four of those prospects came from those two trades alone.

GM Rick Hahn has been universally applauded by the baseball universe for just how much talent he was able to acquire at the Winter Meetings. While Sale and Eaton are great players, the prospects Hahn acquired are expected to help spearhead the White Sox back into the playoffs upon their arrival to the MLB.

Fans should be able to see how bright the White Sox future is once MLB Pipeline releases their 2017 rankings on January 28th. The team will have one of the biggest showings amongst top 100 prospects.

From January 17th until January 26th, MLB Pipeline will be revealing the top ten players at a specific position, before their big reveal on the 28th. The site began their reveal by ranking the top ten right-handed pitchers in the minor leagues.

Number one went to Alex Reyes of the Cardinals. However the Chicago White Sox dominated the list, having three prospects ranked.

Lucas Giolito was ranked as the third best right-hander in the minor leagues. MLB Pipeline wrote:

The prized right-hander of last year’s class, Giolito saw his stock wane over the course of the season and especially in the big leagues, where apparent mechanical issues resulted in diminished velocity and hindered his control. He’s shown the ceiling of an ace in the past, with the ability to command a mid-to-upper 90s heater, a knee-buckling curveball and a fading changeup, and now has renowned pitching coach Don Cooper on his side after joining the White Sox as part of the offseason Adam Eaton blockbuster deal.

Giolito has appeared in 75 minor league games and 369 innings. He holds a career 25-15 record with a 2.73 ERA and a 397/123 K/BB ratio. Giolito is widely expected to be the team’s future ace. Assuming he can fix his mechanical issues, the White Sox prospect could be one of the best pitchers in the MLB.

Michael Kopech was ranked as the fourth best right-handed pitcher in the minors. MLB Pipeline wrote:

Kopech began the year on the disabled list with a broken hand but made up for the time lost with dazzling performances in the Class A Advanced Carolina League and, later, in the Arizona Fall League. Acquired in the Chris Sale trade in December, the 20-year-old hits triple digits with ease and backs it up with a plus slider and a promising changeup. As he continues to make developmental strides, Kopech will move quickly in 2017.

Kopech has appeared in 36 minor league games and 134.2 innings. He holds a career 8-7 record with a 2.61 ERA and a 172/69 K/BB ratio. Kopech is one of the fastest throwers in the minor leagues. He needs more seasoning in the minors, but the former Red Sox should be a lights out front-line starter once he reaches the major leagues.

Reynaldo Lopez was ranked as the tenth best right-hander in the minors. MLB Pipeline wrote:

Overshadowed by Giolito headed into last season, Lopez proved the more effective of the duo in the big leagues before joining him in the offseason trade to Chicago. A more consistent and linear delivery resulted in improved strike-throwing ability for the 23-year-old righty, who can miss bats with his well above-average fastball, excellent curve and improved changeup.

Lopez appeared in 11 games and 44 inning at the major league level last season, pitching to a 5-3 record with a 4.91 ERA and a 42/22 K/BB ratio. In 61 minor league games and 307.2 innings, Lopez pitched to a 19-19 record with a 3.16 ERA and a 303/95 K/BB ratio.

Lopez may not be as hyped up as Giolito or Kopech, but he has the potential to be one of the better pitchers on the White Sox. He should help form a three-headed monster in Chicago’s super rotation of the future.

Giolito, Kopech and Lopez are three of the best pitchers in baseball. The fact that Hahn was able to acquire all three is outstanding. If they’re able to hit their ceiling, the White Sox should have a downright scary rotation sometime in the future.

Keep in mind that both Tyler Glasnow (#2) and Francis Martes (#5) are ranked inside the top ten. If the White Sox are able to acquire either pitcher in a deal for Jose Quintana, the team would be right up there with the New York Mets for best young pitching staff in the majors.

Other White Sox prospects such as Yoan Moncada, Zack Collins and Carson Fulmer should end up in the top 100. But Giolito, Kopech and Lopez are the cream of the crop when it comes to right-handed pitchers in the minor leagues. These rankings are a symbol of just how successful the South Siders rebuild has been thus far.

 

Feel free to continue the conversation on Twitter: @DFappiano14

White Sox Trade Named One Of The Most Lopsided Deals In Past Five Years

Dan Fappiano
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White Sox Trade Named One Of The Most Lopsided Deals In Past Five Years

On December 10th, 2013 the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels and Arizona Diamondbacks completed a three way trade. The structure of the deal went like this:

White Sox receive: Adam Eaton

Angels receive: Hector Santiago and Tyler Skaggs

Diamondbacks receive: Mark Trumbo, A.J. Shugel and Brandon Jacobs

In his three years, 85 games and 428.2 innings with the Angels, Santiago held a 25-22 record with a 3.82 ERA and a 377/181 K/BB ratio. He was named to the 2015 All Star Game and appeared in one playoff game for the Angels in 2014. This past season he was traded to the Twins for Ricky Nolasco and Alex Meyer.

Nolasco appeared in 11 games and 73 innings for the Angels, pitching to a 4-6 record with a 3.21 ERA and a 51/15 K/BB ratio. He is owed $12 million in 2017.

Meyer is currently the team’s 11th best prospect according to MLB Pipeline.

Skaggs has appeared in 28 games and 162.2 innings with the Angels. He holds a 8-9 record with a 4.26 ERA and a 136/53 K/BB ratio. Skaggs has dealt with injuries during his time in Los Angeles, leading him to appear in just 10 games in 2016.

All in all, the Angels received a former All Star pitcher who was then flipped for a once promising prospect, as well a pitcher with potential, but one who can’t stay off the DL.

Shugel appeared in five games and nine innings for the Diamondbacks, holding a 5.00 ERA and a 5/5 K/BB ratio. Shugel was placed on waivers and claimed by the Mariners, who then waived him. He was then claimed by the Pirates, where he is currently rostered.

Jacobs never appeared in a game for the Diamondbacks. In 2016 he pitched for the Lincoln Saltdogs, a member of the American Assoication of Independent Professional Baseball.

Trumbo, the highlight of the trade, appeared in 134 games over two seasons with the Diamondbacks. He hit .243 with 23 home runs and 84 RBIs. Trumbo was traded to the Mariners in 2015 for Wellington Castillo, Dominic Leone, Gabby Guerrero and Jack Reinheimer.

Leone appeared in 28 games and 30.2 innings with the Diamondbacks holding a 0-2 record with a 7.34 ERA and a 25/12 K/BB ratio. Leone was designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks and was claimed by the Blue Jays, his current team.

Guerrero, who is the nephew of potential Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, never appeared in an MLB game for the Diamondbacks. He was designated for assignment and claimed by the Reds. He currently plays in the Reds minor league system.

Reinheimer is currently the Diamondbacks seventh best prospect. He could turn into a super utility with upside type player for the D-Backs.

Castillo appeared in 193 games over two years for the Diamondbacks. He hit .261 with 31 home runs and 118 RBIs. The Diamondbacks surprisingly non-tendered Castillo following the season. The Orioles signed him to a one year deal this offseason.

Overall, the Diamondbacks received one top ten prospect and a lot of filler in this trade. While Reinheimer could turn into a future everyday player, both Eaton and Skaggs seem to have bright futures ahead of them; assuming Skaggs stays healthy.

With the White Sox, Eaton appeared in 433 games over three seasons. He hit .290 with 29 homeruns, 150 RBIs and 47 stolen bases. He held a collective 15.4 WAR with the White Sox. Chicago capitalized on his trade value and flipped him at the Winter Meetings for Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning.

Giolito is currently the White Sox second best prospect and the third best prospect in all of baseball. Lopez is Chicago’s third fourth best prospect and the 38th best prospect in baseball. Dunning is currently the Sox 10th best prospect.

Eaton gave the White Sox three great seasons of baseball before being shipped for two top 40 prospects and another prospect inside the franchise’s top 10. All three pitchers are expected to be a big part of the White Sox future. Giolito even has the potential to turn into the team’s next Chris Sale.

After analyzing the trade it appears very one-sided in the White Sox favor. The Angels got two talented players in Skaggs and Meyer, but neither have truly lived up to their potential. The Diamondbacks got one of their better prospects in Reinheimer, but Arizona has one of the weaker farm systems in the league. He isn’t close to sniffing the top 100.

For the measly price of Santiago, a pitcher who will likely spend his career in the minors and pitcher already out of the MLB, the White Sox were able to get two of the best pitchers in the minor leagues. While Eaton was great, assuming Giolito and Lopez stay healthy, they have the potential to lead the White Sox back to the World Series.

If the deal seems lopsided to you, it’s because it is. And recently, it was named one of the ten most uneven trades of the past five years.

The Ten Most Popular Vines In Chicago White Sox History

Dan Fappiano
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The Ten Most Popular Vines In Chicago White Sox History

On January 17th, 2016 the app “Vine” will be closing its metaphorical doors. After almost three years, Vine will come to an end.

The app won’t disappear completely as fans will be introduced to a “Vine Camera”. This camera will allow user to take 6.5 second videos and upload them directly to Twitter. Vine’s website will stay up and work as an archive for past videos.

Vine played a big role in the sports world over the past few years. It revolutionized how highlights were viewed due to how short videos were. With streams only lasting six seconds, it was an easy way for fans to watch and share their favorite players making monster plays.

It also gave franchises a way to give a behind the scenes view of the team. Fans were able to see their favorite team off the court or field, and got a better idea of the players as people rather than athletes.

However, with Twitter owning Vine, its management team must’ve felt that it was easier to merge both apps into one. While teams could still upload their highlights to Twitter, vines have essentially died.

But as the great Dr. Seuss once said, “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”

Vine was an app that entirely revolutionized the sports media world. It made watching and sharing a six second highlight as easy as possible. Look at any of the major sports media outlet’s Twitter feeds over the last three years and I’m sure you’ll find countless amounts of Vines. Vine may be dead, but the impact it made will never be forgotten.

As for the White Sox, the team wasn’t the most active on Vine. But with over 500 posts and over 6.8 million loops the team certainly made some memories on the app.

From highlights to not-seen-on-TV footage, here are the top ten most popular Vines in Chicago White Sox history.

 

10.) Robin Ventura Pitches To Garth Brooks

September 12, 2014     82, 410+ Loops

Robin Ventura may not have succeeded as a coach, but his form on these BP pitches is superb. As for Garth Brooks’, outside of that poke between third and short on the first pitch, the country music star looked a lot like Adrian Beltre meets beer league men’s softball regular.

 

9.) Melky Cabrera Robs A Home Run

July 26, 2016     103, 576+ Loops

Melky Cabrera may not be on the White Sox for much longer, but this play will certainly go on his career highlight tape. For a 31 year old the Melk Man still got hops.

 

8.) Pink Fireworks Go Off To Support Breast Cancer Awareness

May 11, 2014     116, 308+ Loops

Awesome event for an awesome cause. During the game eight breast cancer survivors took the field with the White Sox. Wish more teams did this more often.

 

7.) White Sox Sausage Race

March 26, 2014     122, 476+ Loops

There’s no record of who actually won the race. Here’s to hoping Hawk Harrelson stretched, stretched his way to the win, and put his victory, on the board. I’ll see myself out.

 

6.) Brett Lawrie Gets Excited Over 2-0 Start

April 6, 2016     172, 281+ Loops

Yes the team did finish the season 78-84, but you got to love the passion out of Brett Lawrie. No one in the league has ever been that excited over a two game win streak. If they gave out World Series trophies for 2-0 starts, Lawrie would be the champ; sorry Cubs.

 

5.) National Bobble Head Day 2016

January 7, 2016     176, 429+ Loops

Bobble-Heads will always be cool, I think that’s why they have a whole day dedicated to them. Only confusing part of this vine is why the Sox chose Scott Posednik over an active roster member.

 

4.) Mark Buehrle Says Hello

June 25, 2016     180, 091+ Loops

Not really sure how/why this vine got so popular. However the little kid next to Buehrle is the star. I’m sure if any White Sox fan got to meet the former All Star they’d have the same reaction.

 

3.) Brett Lawrie Makes Diving, Behind The Back Play At Second Base

April 23, 2016     223, 400+ Loops

Brett Lawrie makes the list a second time. This time for one of the sickest plays of the 2016 season. Behind the back throws and two game win streaks, that’s what Brett Lawrie does.

 

2.) Joakim Noah’s Not-So Good First Pitch

September 11, 2014     248, 935+ Loops

Joakim Noah is very lucky that 50 Cent threw a first pitch, or we might be talking about this as the worst of all time. Atleast his second throw was right down the pipe.

1.) McKayla Maroney’s Epic First Pitch

August 2, 2014     1, 553, 228+ Loops

From the absolute worst to the absolute best, McKayla Maroney’s impressive gymnastics maneuvers land her the #1 spot. While her toe isn’t on the rubber, I’m sure every umpire in the league would allow it. Maybe all Joakim Noah needs is a back handspring to throw a good first pitch.

 

Feel free to continue the conversation on Twitter: @DFappiano14

Proof The Blackhawks’ Hartman Needs More Ice Time

Marc-Louis Paprzyca
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Proof The Blackhawks’ Hartman Needs More Ice Time

The Chicago Blackhawks lack of scoring has been a tiring topic for fans this season. Everyone knows that Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin can score but an underutilized player gives the organization great chances to score. According to advanced statistics, Ryan Hartman is the only player who ranks in the top 5 in four important 5v5 categories. Corsi For%, Expected Goals For%, Scoring Chance For% and Goals For%.

Hartman is currently 8th on the team in points with 10 goals and 9 assists while averaging only 12 minutes per game. For reference, he and Panik play about .75 of the time Toews/Hossa play and have 37 points to their 46.

I know Coach Quenneville doesn’t like to play young players, but it may be time to start thinking about promoting from within. The core players aren’t getting younger and cap space and production are at a minimum. Ryan Hartman provides the team youth, money to work with and production. The proof of his value is all below.

Corsi For% (CF%)

Corsi measures shot attempt differential. When Hartman is on the ice, almost 53% of the shots are in the Blackhawks favor.

Expected Goals For% (xGF%)

Basically, 56% of the goals scored while Hartman is on the ice are for the Blackhawks.

Scoring Chance For% (SCF%)

This is a bit more difficult to explain but basically the Blackhawks get 58% of the quality scoring chances while Hartman is on the ice. More info can be found here.

Goals For% (GF%)

61.76% of the goals scored while Hartman is on the ice are for the Blackhawks.

All stats provided by Corsica.

10 Players The Chicago Bears Will Salivate Over at Senior Bowl

Erik Lambert
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10 Players The Chicago Bears Will Salivate Over at Senior Bowl

With most NFL fans focused on the final three playoff games to be played, it’s easy to forget that the Chicago Bears are in store for a busy off-season. It’s doubtful their coaching staff and front office are even thinking about the Super Bowl at this point. All focus is shifting towards January 24th. That marks the beginning of practices for the Senior Bowl.

Casual football fans have always though the scouting combine and pro days are the most important for evaluating draft prospects. However, several coaches and scouts over the years have continued to insist the Senior Bowl is more important. It’s the only time an opportunity is given to evaluate players in pro practice and pro game situations. How certain players respond have typically led to their draft stocks either rising or falling.

Here’s a quick list of recent MVPs from the game:

  • Dak Prescott (2016)
  • Dee Ford (2014)
  • Matt Forte (2008)
  • Philip Rivers (2004)
  • Larry Johnson (2003)
  • LaDainian Tomlinson (2001)

It’s also proven quite fruitful for the teams that coached the event, something John Fox and his staff will get a chance to do. They will be in charge of the North squad. This will give them an up-close-and-personal look at every player on the field. A prime opportunity to see which ones have skills they believe can help the Bears win in 2017.

Curious which names who might catch their eye? Here are ones to keep in mind.

New Chicago Bears O-Line Coach Is A Wizard At This

Erik Lambert
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New Chicago Bears O-Line Coach Is A Wizard At This

The Chicago Bears knew they needed to shake things up after a disastrous 3-13 season in 2016. Head coach John Fox knew he was fortunate to keep his job, and some assistants would probably have to be sacrificed as a result. Four assistant coaches were either allowed to leave for other jobs or fired outright.

Running backs coach Stan Drayton took a job down at Texas. Outside linebackers coach Clint Hurtt took the same position with the New York Jets. Meanwhile offensive line coach Dave Magazu and safeties coach Sam Garnes were shone the door. That left four positions Fox would have to fill, and in limited time.

The problem is the situation surrounding his status. Almost everybody knows Fox is coaching for his job in 2017. What they call a “lame duck” situation. Few would want to join a staff that would likely be fired at the end of the season if the team loses again. So it would take careful maneuvering if Fox was going to fill those positions with quality men.

Stats At Halfway Point Of Season Perfectly Sum Up Bulls’ Mediocrity

Matt Peck
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Stats At Halfway Point Of Season Perfectly Sum Up Bulls’ Mediocrity

The stats you’re about to see are not fabricated for the sake of this writer’s argument. They are real. They are accurate. Fair warning: they aren’t pretty. But before we get to the stats, how about a little summary for those of you who tuned out of Bulls Nation after they missed the playoffs last season.

Halfway Down A Dead End Road

The Bulls have reached the halfway point of the 2016-17 NBA season. Lots of questions faced this group in October, mostly because the group itself was very different from last season’s squad. Fred Hoiberg, Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott, Nikola Mirotic, Bobby Portis and Cristiano Felicio are still here. But the era of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah came to an unceremonious end. Pau Gasol moved on to get regularly posterized in a Spurs uniform. E’Twaun Moore and Aaron Brooks signed elsewhere in free agency. Tony Snell got swapped for Michael Carter-Williams in a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks. Mike Dunleavy got traded to Cleveland in a salary dump so Gar Forman and John Paxson could finally sign Dwyane Wade, the Chicago native whom they’ve stalked since he came to the NBA in 2003. Before that happened, they triumphantly announced the signing of veteran point guard Rajon Rondo.

In classic Gar-speak, the team’s general manager explained the signings of the two aging veterans. The goal for the Bulls this season was to remain relevant while getting “younger and more athletic.” The arrival of Rondo and Wade, and the money spent to make that happen, appeared to mark the opposite of actually carrying out that plan. But the Bulls front office wanted quality veterans on their roster to mentor the younger guys. Veterans who’ve reached the NBA mountaintop and know what it takes to get there. Positive role models on and off the court. Etc, etc, etc. Gar and Paxson both noted the importance of young players experiencing a winning environment while developing their skills. As they saw it, going full-on rebuild would hurt the spirits of their younger players if it meant losing lots of games.

There might be some truth to that, but it leaves the Bulls exactly where they are now. To quote a different front office guy who works for Jerry Reinsdorf, his basketball team is “mired in mediocrity.” That’s two of your two franchises, Jerry. Well done. The White Sox recognized that as a problem, and spent the past month of baseball’s offseason proactively making changes. The rebuild is on in the South Side, and it seems like most of their fanbase is happy about that choice and the wealth of prospects they’ve recently collected. But no such movement is evident for Reinsdorf’s other team.

Will GarPax (who should be on hot seats but aren’t) get any kind of sign from Reinsdorf about his wishes for the upcoming NBA trade deadline? Will the Bulls pull a White Sox move and sell off some of their older assets to continue (or begin, rather) a rebuild focused on youth? Taj Gibson and Robin Lopez are both on team-friendly contracts and could draw legimitate packages of younger players or draft picks. Jimmy Butler is playing at a superstar level and would undoubtedly bring a monster haul in return if they shopped him. His current contract is also ridiculously cheap compared to the star players who signed after this season’s cap spike. If GarPax really want to rebuild, there’s no better time to sell Butler than right now.

They won’t, though. It’s not their style to make huge moves at the deadline. Also, at just 27 years old, Butler is a valuable piece to keep around for several more years. And I’m not saying they should trade Butler. I’m merely pointing out that the in-between “retool” strategy from GarPax fell flat on its face and they’re wasting Butler’s prime with these silly signings of Wade and Rondo. The Bulls might get back to the playoffs this season as a 5-8 seed. If we’re being incredibly optimistic, they might even win the first round depending on the matchup. But they’re not beating Cleveland in a best of seven, and that’s all that matters. (As a side note, if you think that the Bulls’ wins over LeBron James in the regular season mean anything, stop reading here because you’re too simpleminded for the rest of it.)

But that’s not all that matters to Gar, who continuously cites the Bulls’ recent stretch of making the playoffs and winning lots of regular season games. Well, he lost the ability to use that argument last season. I bet he’s dead set on getting that argument back in his pocket as thousands of Bulls fans will be desperately calling for the man to be fired this summer. Even though making the playoffs in the weak Eastern Conference isn’t impressive, Forman will spin like hell to make Chicago (and his boss) believe it is.

And there’s the rub. Forman knows he needs the contributions of Gibson, Lopez and obviously Butler if this team is going to make the playoffs. So he’ll likely keep them on board to finish the season. There’s essentially a 0% chance they trade Wade, and it looks like Rondo is settling into a reserve role as the second unit’s floor general. That means fewer minutes in the back half of a pointless season for young guys like Cristiano Felicio, Bobby Portis, Jerian Grant and Denzel Valentine. Fewer minutes for GarPax to evaluate the young guys and judge their value as potential pieces of the youth movement going forward.

Now, about those ugly stats. They prove just how mediocre the Bulls are through 42 games of an 82 game season. Let’s take a look.

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Cubs Give President Obama Some Insanely Cool Gifts During Their Visit

Gus
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Cubs Give President Obama Some Insanely Cool Gifts During Their Visit

The Chicago Cubs didn’t arrive at the White House empty handed it appears.

During their historic trip to Washington D.C. earlier today, the Cubs got a chance to see a good portion of the White House as well as meet the current resident, Barack Obama. After snapping a few pictures at the Presidential podium, posing with their significant others, and even applying a Snapchat filter to the bust of Abraham Lincoln (I’m looking at you Addison Russell) the Cubs were ready for their ceremony with the President of the United States.

As most great house guests would do, the Cubs brought the President a symbolic “thank you” package for the hospitality both he and the first lady showed.

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Kyle Schwarber Was About To Throat Punch A Guy At Kris Bryant’s Wedding

Aldo Soto
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Kyle Schwarber Was About To Throat Punch A Guy At Kris Bryant’s Wedding

What’s Kyle Schwarber’s favorite attack? The throat punch and someone at Kris Bryant’s wedding earlier in January almost found out what it feels like to take a fist to the throat from the Chicago Cubs’ beast.

As you probably already know, the 2016 MVP Kris Bryant got married and apparently hired the secret service for his wedding. Schwarber was on The Waddle And Silvy Show last Friday on ESPN 1000 and shared a quick story about how he and a few other players had a bit of trouble getting into Bryant’s wedding.

PHOTOS: The Cubs Helped Kris Bryant Celebrate His Wedding Last Night

The gist of the story is Schwarber showed up along with Travis Wood and John Lackey and the person in charge of keeping Bryant’s wedding on the down low was being extra vigilant because he wouldn’t let them in at first.

It wasn’t until either Wood’s or Lackey’s wife showed the wedding invitation that they were finally allowed in.

Poor guy. Simply doing his job almost cost him a beat down from Schwarber.

Robin Lopez Uses Simpsons Joke To Create Greatest Hashtag Ever

Matt Peck
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Robin Lopez Uses Simpsons Joke To Create Greatest Hashtag Ever

Bulls fans are quickly learning that Robin Lopez has one of the funniest personalities in the NBA. Chicago’s “man in the middle” may have outdone himself with a tweet following last night’s win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Early in the 3rd quarter, Lopez cut towards the hoop while Jimmy Butler swung the ball to Michael Carter-Williams on the wing. MCW immediately threw a rocket of a pass in Lopez’s direction, but the Bulls center wasn’t looking. The ball hit Lopez in the face, but the ricochet was a lucky one. It bounced right to Taj Gibson, who scooped it up and dunked home an easy two points.

A parody account on Twitter called @NotNBATonight posted the video, crediting Lopez with redefining the no-look pass.

Lopez saw this tweet and couldn’t help but take some of that credit. He shared some of his philosophy on the game of basketball and what he’s doing to keep it fresh.

The Be Sharps

If you’re not familiar with the animated comedy genius that is The Simpsons, you’re wondering what the hell Lopez is talking about with that insanely long hashtag. Declaring that he’s taking basketball to “strange new places”, Robin uses one of the best jokes in the television show’s history.

In an episode titled “Homer’s Barbershop Quartet”, Homer and his pals strike instant fame with their harmonizing tunes. But when Barney starts dating a conceptual artist (a reference to John Lennon’s relationship with Yoko Ono) the band experiences creative differences and ultimately breaks up. In one scene, Barney brings this Yoko-esque girlfriend to Moe’s Tavern, and her drink request is famous among diehard Simpsons fans.

Now you know what Lopez was referencing with that epic hashtag. The joke is so big that even the real Yoko Ono referenced it in one of her latest exhibits at an art museum in Iceland.

Robin’s new version of the no-look pass might not be the avant-garde material of a global icon like Ono, but at least he’s clever enough to make the connection. Honestly, Lopez’s sense of humor is becoming one of my favorite parts about the Derrick Rose trade. What will he come up with next? I can’t wait to find out.

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