Still Gotta Come Through Chicago
Still Gotta Come Through Chicago
SORRY 4 THE WAIT—we're onto Green Bay, Zach LaVine and Winter Meetings
This week in Chicago:
Bears: Noon kickoff at Green bay on Sunday
Bulls: Wednesday vs. the Hawks at 7 p.m.; Friday vs. the Hornets at 7 p.m.
Blackhawks: Thursday at Arizona 8 p.m.; Saturday at St. Louis 7 p.m.; Sunday vs. the Wild at 6 p.m.
Trivia:
Yasmani Grandal’s 4-year, $73 million deal was the largest in White Sox history. Who owns the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th largest?
What about the Cubs—what are its five largest contracts, in order?
(These are measured by total sum of the deal, not annual average)
Answer at end of baseball section.
MOL of the week:
Addison Russell is such a Mrs. O’ Leary that this section could be renamed after him. In 2016, he had a massive home run in the NLCS and won a world series. He was offered a five-year deal from the Cubs, which he turned down. He bet on himself, which was maybe the worst bet in the history of sports. He bet on himself, failed to get any better at baseball (actually got worse), went out and partied and hit on girls ‘til the wee hours of the morning, physically and emotionally abused the women in his life, and was an ass hole in the aftermath. He never showed real remorse and actually blamed Cubs fans for booing him. I can’t remember a guy that played for a team I loved that I hated more. Good riddance.
Four stars of the week:
Per nomination from subscriber Ryan Nelson, the Bears linebacking crew: The Bears linebackers were one of their biggest ostensible strengths heading into the year and they’ve now lost both Roquan Smith for the year (torn pec) and Danny Trevathan (the Bears are hopeful that he’ll return to action this week). Nick Kwiatkowski has made a real case to be a starting linebacker moving forward. Kevin Pierre-Louis filled in seamlessly for Roquan after he went down. Props to Roquan for actually finishing the drive after he had already torn his pec. Trevathan also responded to a video of Bears fans kicking the shit out of Cowboys fans on Twitter by saying “come to the crib, get dealt with”, which certified him as a SGCTC guy. He has since deleted the tweet.
Khalil Mack: This could go in the previous category, I guess. Khalil Mack paid off $80,000 worth of layaway accounts for visitors of a Walmart in his Florida hometown. The Tribune found out about it because of a post by that Walmart, which thanked Khalil Mack’s foundation for the donation. I find these sorts of acts of kindness to be especially heartwarming. Think of all the people going to work stressing one day about that Walmart bill they need to pay off and having it vanish the next day. I also appreciate the under-the-radar way he went about it. You don’t need to have a sit down with Rachel Nichols every time you give away money. cough LeBron cough.
Juwan Howard: The current head coach of Michigan and former Fab Five member, when responding to a question on whether he feels more pressure because he’s coaching at his alma mater: “I’m from Chicago’s South Side.”
Kirby Dach: The rookie had another game-winner in a shootout in the Hawks win over the Devils this week, which prompted this tweet:
The Bulls were beating the Warriors at this point and had a chance of winning three straight for the first time since god-knows-when. Then it all collapsed on me like a Shakespearian tragedy.
The elements to a Shakespeare Tragedy:
A tragic hero—Chicago Sports
A dichotomy of good and evil—winning and losing
A tragic waste—the Bulls blowing a lead to the worst team in the league
Hamartia (the hero's tragic flaw)—Zach LaVine, our tragic flaw
Issues of fate and fortune—
I tweeted this five minutes before Zach LaVine and the Bulls collapsed:
Zach LaVine ready to shoot the Bulls out of this game, knowing damn well every Bulls account on Twitter will tweet “zAcH LaViNe iS oN a dIfFerEnT lEveL RiGht NoW!! 🔥🔥20 PoInTs in sIx StRaIGHt GamEs!” Or some shit and the Bulls will still have not beaten a team above .500.It all happened.
Greed—I really thought that all the active Chicago teams could be collectively succeeding… a moronic thought in hindsight
Foul revenge—LaVine selfishness leads to another Bulls loss and then he does the exact same thing a few nights later
Thread:
Let’s beat this hump day in the cold with a lively thread discussion, shall we?
Would you rather:
1) Have the Cubs or Sox sign Gerrit Cole (who cares if he just signed) and a right fielder of your choice on the free agent market (the Ricketts or Reinsdorfs are providing the cash, no need to get rid of existing players)…
2) The Bears to make the playoffs this year, with no guarantees for once they got there or for the years after…
3) The Bulls to fire Boylen and the entire front office, right now…
4) The Hawks to reverse the firing of Joel Quenneville and the Artemi Panarin trade…
Explain your reasoning in as short or long of a response as you please.
Post your response HERE. Everyone should post AND send to a friend.
Bears:
As the jubilation of the Bears best win of the season wore off late on Friday, it was hard not to think in a less positive light. That team looked a helluva lot like last year’s team: The defense dominating; Mitch Trubisky running around making plays, his errors not outweighing his triumphs; the team completely in synch and a boo-less fourth phase spilling out of Soldier Field at the end of the night.
So why did it take so long? How did the Chargers game slip away? Why did it take Trubisky and Nagy 12 games to simply get back to where they left off in January of this year? How did they not beat the Eagles or the Rams? What if we split those games? And how—HOW—did the Broncos blow a 20-0 halftime lead and 23-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter in Minnesota?
Seeing Trubisky flourish on Thursday didn’t convince me that he is our guy moving forward. It did convince me that he has been criminally misused through the first three quarters of the season. If you told me before the season that Akiem Hicks, Roquan Smith, and Danny Trevathan would all miss extended time, but the defense would still rank top 5 in points allowed, I would’ve guessed that the Bears would be 9-5 at worst.
Now, I know the projections put the Bears at a 2% chance of making the playoffs, but that’s not my issue. I’ve booked my tickets to the Chiefs game and expect to be 8-6 by that point, despite being 5.5-point dogs this weekend in Green Bay. If I were ready to give up on this year, I’d rename this newsletter. I’m not mad that the Bears might not make the playoffs, they’ve missed them most of my life. I’m mad that I watched a team dominate a servicable opponent last week and that it could be all for naught.
As I’m typing this, it’s Tuesday, and the butterflies have already surfaced thinking about Sunday. You won’t have a full day to mentally prepare yourself this week, folks. No, you’ll roll out of bed, most likely will a dry, not-brushed-teeth taste in your mouth, wishing you stopped thinking that going out would be a good idea every time Saturday came around. And then BOOM, it’ll hit you. Goddammit, we’ve got a game to win in two hours. And we need all hands on deck on Sunday. Because I can already feel the rest of the NFC North hoping the clock runs out on this year before Khalil Mack and the boys get going.
Crazier things have happened. The question has been, why did it take so long? And that’s a fair question. But if you can tuck that one in the back pocket for now, I’ve got a better one for the front: Why not us?
Notes:
Akiem Hicks is reportedly “on track” to play on Sunday. Just having him out there will be a boost. If you ever find that meatball in you coming up, ready to scream at Khalil Mack for not making more plays, I urge you to watch him. He usually draws two blockers, and almost always creates movement in the pocket. It’s the other guys who haven’t held up their end of the bargain. A push from Hicks in the middle would be a godsend for Mack.
Prince Amukumara is also on track to play, though I’m not sure Prince on a not-100% hamstring is that much better than backup Kevin Toliver. Toliver let up a touchdown to Amare Cooper on Thursday… so? We’ll see who gets the nod, but I’m not bullish on Prince’s chances of making a positive impact against Green Bay.
Danny Trevathan also could return against the Packers. Having him alongside Kwiatkowski would bode well for the collective confidence of the defense. If nothing else, having less reserves running around as starters for the first time means less continuity. Despite Kevin Pierre-Louis’ serviceable 3-tackle fill-in for Roquan Smith last week, I’d rather have at least one longtime starter in there to direct traffic.
Cordarrelle Patterson continues to be one of the most consistent players on the team. With the lack of receiving and tight end depth the Bears have, it does make one wonder how he can’t get involved in the offense more. When he makes plays like he did on Thursday.
With that being said, on the tight end front, things looked the best they have all year on Thursday, and that’s with two guys that didn’t even make a season preview:
J.P. Holz: 3 receptions for 56 yards (team-leading)
Jesper Horsted: 4 receptions for 36 yards
That, along with Montgomery’s healthy 20 carries for 86 yards, made the offense go. And I’m always glad to see Allen Robinson get his shine—he had five catches for 48 yards, but more importantly for his sake, two touchdowns.
A unique thing about this Bears team is their support for Mitch. Most teams with high expectations that struggle due to quarterback woes turn against said quarterback. The Bears have continually backed him. When he ran for that touchdown, half the team came out to greet him, and Eddie Jackson hugged him and lifted him in the air. Other guys show their support on social media or through the press. That’s some high-character stuff, man.
Allen Robinson told the Sun-Times that he would like to be the Bears all-time leading receiver, and that he hopes to re-sign here after his deal is up next season.
Cool article on Matt Nagy and Coach K’s relationship here from the Chicago Tribune
My favorite part—Krzyzewski: “He’s still a young coach. And he had taken over for my team. So it made sense. If you’re from Chicago, you’re a Bears fan. Forever.”
Coach K, a valuable addition to the STILL GOTTA COME THROUGH CHICAGO army, particularly when you’ve got kids from Chicago wearing Dak Prescott jerseys to games because they like the Cowboys’ colors.
Looking ahead:
A couple of things worth mentioning, regarding the last few games:
The Packers have looked more than beatable the past few weeks—they beat the dreadful Redskins by 5, pulled away late in New York against the Giants, and got pummeled in San Francisco.
Not to look ahead, but the Chiefs have already put away their division. At 9-4, they’d currently be the 3 seed in the AFC. It’s obviously important to them that they get home field for as many games as possible, but they’ll know by game time on December 22 whether they’ve got a shot at the 2 seed. The Patriots play the Bengals this week, then the Bills on the Saturday before the Bears/Chiefs Sunday night showdown. They finish against the Dolphins. So if they beat the Bills, the 2 seed will most likely be theirs. In other words, the Chiefs may not have all that much to play for—fingers crossed—when they come to town.
If this thing is still on the line come Week 17 in Minnesota, they should be scared. Not us.
Bear Down.
Bulls:
Every week when I gear up to type the Bulls section, I really feel like I’m typing the exact same thing.
The Bulls still haven’t beaten a team above .500 and Zach LaVine continues to piss away games late due to his seriously misguided belief that he is some sort of superstar.
Let’s start on Monday night, and go from there:
Zach LaVine, for at least the fifth time this season, takes the ball in a late-game situation and ruins the Bulls chances of winning through delusional hero-ball:
LaVine is so obsessed with hitting a game winner that he misses Daniel Gafford, wide open under the basket.
Minutes later, and I mean minutes:
Derrick Rose hits a game winner in New Orleans. The guy mentioned regularly, to this day, in Gar/Pax press conferences (“When Derrick got hurt…”) to justify their struggles over the past half-decade is literally hitting game winners as your team continues to lose at double the rate they win for the third straight year.
After the game, Rose gave us this postgame remark:
“Excuse my english, but I’m born to do this shit.”
LaVine said after the game that yeah, if he would’ve saw Gafford, he probably would’ve passed it to him, or kicked it out for a three. Kicked it out for a three? Dude, you just saw the video—it’s pretty simple! Pass it to Gafford! Also, you didn’t see him because you weren’t looking.
Flash back to the day prior:
The Bulls lose to the Heat. The Heat are 18-6 and third in the Eastern Conference. They’re built entirely around one player: Jimmy Butler, something the Bulls front office claimed they couldn’t do. Who’d they get back for him? Zach LaVine. And Kris Dunn. And Lauri Markkanen, ostensibly. They also gave a pick away. But, I digress.
With the Heat down one with seven seconds left, Jimmy Butler drove to the lane, was met with a defender (as LaVine was in the above clip, except for it being defenders, the plural form) and then passed it out to Tyler Herro for a three-pointer, which gave the Heat the lead. Man, it’d be nice to have a playmaker like Jimmy around.
Flash back to Friday:
And now we’re back to the Warriors game, where the Bulls ultimately lost to the worst team in the league for the second time this year. I’ll let my postgame tantrum take you from here: (watch if you want to understand in less than two minutes what the problem is with every late game situation that LaVine is a part of)
The fact of the matter is that LaVine has hurt the Bulls far more than he’s helped them this year. Talented offensive players will score 20 points per game if you give them enough minutes. Please understand that that in no way means they are contributing in any real way to winning.
And oh yeah, then we’ve got this clown:
And we know what this all stems from, these clowns:
Never forget that the Bulls did not conduct a coaching search heading into this year. They picked a man who has never been a head coach in the NBA and couldn’t make a living as college coach. A man who once said that he didn’t know if LeBron James was playing or not leading up to a Bulls game in Los Angeles last year, and that the game plan wouldn’t change either way. LeBron James!
At least it seems people are starting to take umbrage with the carnival performing rent-free at the United Center. Here’s a look at Monday’s game:
The Bulls announced that a little over 14,000 people (out of a 20,000+ capacity) showed up for Monday’s game. But some additional reporting from Dan Bernstein at 670 The Score found that there were just over 10,000. That’s half the arena filled for a game against the defending champions, in a place that used to be sold out every night no matter how bad the Bulls were.
And that’s good. I’ve always said that I was a part of the problem, because I still went to Bulls games despite the front office negligence that the United Center has been infested with over the past decade and a half. As long as the seats were still filled, and Bulls fans were paying for the Sox international signings, no changes would be made.
All we can hope for now is that somehow, something will finally change.
Baseball:
The winter meetings have hit me like a ton of bricks. I’m not sure I have the bandwidth in the middle of December, with the Bears in the hunt, and the Blackhawks and Bulls falling apart before our very eyes to report on baseball. But here we are. And this is what we do.
Since we last spoke, the Sox struck out on Zack Wheeler, despite reportedly offering more money, and Cubs fans have legit lost their minds.
Firstly, re: the Sox. I, once again, am so tired of this organization saying this year may not be the time to go all in. There are no ten-year plans in major league sports. Look at the Cubs. They won the World Series three years ago with the what appeared to be the best young roster in the league and now are considering trading Kris Bryant after missing the playoffs. The Sox young core won’t be 1. young or 2. their core forever. The timeframe has screamed 2020 for them for years, and now we’re here, and the due date is being pushed back again?
The Yasmani Grandal signing was a great start. They pulled the “oh, we actually offered a better deal” thing with Wheeler, just like they did Machado. It doesn’t matter what you offered if you don’t get the player. And yes, you ARE to blame if you can’t lure free agents to an organization in one of the greatest cities in the world. Losing players to other teams on worse deals isn’t something to tell your fans to cover your ass. You had the tools to get the job done and you didn’t, period.
If the White Sox end up trading for someone like Nomar Mazara (Texas Rangers) to play right field, instead of signing one of the much better options in free agency, the fanbase should riot (this just happened, oh my god. And I liked Steele Walker!). Like the Bulls, the Sox continually act like a small market team in a big market. Put your chips on the table and overpay for someone that will make a positive impact on the team immediately.
As for the Cubs, I don’t even know where to start. The amount of Cubs fans ready to dump Kris Bryant because he won’t re-sign here when his deal is up is stunning. Giving up one of the best players in the game for less than what they’re worth is never the answer. That never works out for anyone, in any major sport.
I understand that things need to change, and I have faith in Theo and Jed that they will make the right moves to do that. But simply getting rid of your best player for a couple of pieces is not the answer. The Nationals apparently have inquired about Kris Bryant. Cool. What are they offering? Will it make the Cubs better immediately? Or are we just shifting into rebuilding mode because we missed the playoffs in a year plagued with avoidable losses?
The Cubs reportedly need to clear money before re-signing any of their current players or signing any significant free agents. A lot of that seems to do with the fact that the Ricketts blew their load on a bunch of Disney World shit around the stadium, spending 100% more than they were planning to originally.
But what about the television deal, that will force us all to pay for a separate package to watch unfunny original videos and Cubs game next year? I guess that money isn’t here yet either.
By next week, we should know a lot more about where the Cubs and Sox are headed. At that point, we can actually get down in the weeds and talk about the baseball implications. Until then, we’ll all want to throw our phones at every report we hear out of San Diego.
The Cubs are bringing back Brandon Morrow on a minor-league deal. That seems like a low risk, high reward move.
They Sox and the Cubs reportedly have interest in both Dallas Keuchel and Nick Castellanos. For the Sox, I think those moves are both no brainers. Given the Cubs situation, the Keuchel fit seems odd.
The Kris Bryant trade talk is also complicated, because the grievance regarding his service time isn’t settled yet. If he wins, he’ll be a free agent after this season. Teams won’t want to give a lot away for a guy with one year left on his current deal.
Lots more from the baseball offseason next week.
Trivia answer:
White Sox: Yasmani Grandal: 4 for 73; Jose Abreu: 6 for 68; Paul Konerko: 5 for 60 (2005); Adam Dunn 4 for 56; Albert Belle 5 for 55
Cubs: Jason Heyward: 8 for 184; Jon Lester: 6 for 155; Alfonso Soriano: 8 for 136; Yu Darvish: 6 for 126; Carlos Zambrano: 5 for 91.5
Blackhawks:
I’m exhausted.
After that Kirby Dach winner against the New Jersey Devils, the Hawks fell to Arizona and then Las Vegas. They’re not 12-14-6 and 9 points out of a playoff spot.
Sigh.
Betting Pick:
Not only a betting win last week with Oregon +6.5, but an outright win! 17-9 now on the newsletter.
This week’s pick: This feels counterintuitive, but I’m riding the Cowboys +1 at home against the Rams. Let’s go Bears and Let’s Go ‘Boys.
Historical Perspective:
This kid is 20 years old, so tell your little brothers who mouth off about LeBron at every chance they get to listen up:
We call that #Facts where I’m from.
Sorry for the late letter this week. Make sure to comment on this week’s thread! And tell a friend to comment too. And then tell another friend to subscribe. Then let’s get a win on Sunday. STILL GOTTA COME THROUGH CHICAGO! Always and Forever. Thanks for reading.