Still Gotta Come Through Chicago

Bear Down, Counsell in, Benetti Out

Happy Friday Chicago!

My generation’s parents were always worried about how technology was going to affect us growing up. New iPhones, new social medias. It all was coming so fast, and all of us were diving right in.

I think they were right to be worried, and parents today are right to be worried about little kids staring at screens all day. Having said that, the biggest cause for concern went right over their heads. And that was they themselves interacting with that technology.

My mother has not sent a video or photo that was clear — on her iPhone 14 — in years. It pops up as a blurry thumbail every time, and I’m as impressed every time she does it. I have no idea what she could possibly be doing for that to happen. But alas, it does.

But her worst technological offense is calling from her car. The bluetooth technology in that car may as well be the bottom of the ocean to her, as every time she calls, I greet with “Hello” — my worst fears running through my brain — only to get a “H— He — Hello?!” 10 seconds later, and then 10 seconds after that, to the point of the conversation: She just ran into a guy who went to Iowa (a school with 30,000 people), he’s six years younger than me, and she was wondering if his name rang a bell. Nope.

I’ve tried to reduce the catastrophization that goes through my brain before family calls, particularly the ones that kick off with 10 seconds of exhilarating silence.

But I took a step back this week, as I got a call from my younger brother in the middle of the workday Monday. For context, I don’t think he’s called me more than three times in the last decade. And if I call him, he answers with a “What’s up, man…” like he’s a restaurant worker on the wrong end of an order 10 minutes before close.

Even knowing that, he was dimwitted enough to start his first call to me in the 2020s off with “I’m freaking out right now, I’m freaking out” in a hushed tone.

He wasn’t kidnapped.

He was calling to tell me the Cubs hired Craig Counsell as their next manager.

After a brief moment of relief that he was not being held hostage in a back alley, I, too, was freaking out. Once I processed the news, his shaky voice and delivery actually felt justified.

It was the most shocked I’ve been by sports news in a very long time. In fact, as I racked my brain, I couldn’t remember a transaction — player or coach related — that surprised me more.

Shock turned to glee pretty quickly, with a quick interruption for guilt over David Ross losing his job so suddenly. But that guilt and sympathy eroded quickly, and it was back to shock and glee. The sports newsletter guy was shooting insight out all over the place, texting friends across his phone book, “Holy shit” and “I can’t believe this.”

Counsell will be getting $8 million per year in a day and age where managers are being penny pinched because front offices are so red pilled by analytics that they think any manager is replaceable.

If you watch enough baseball, though, a bad manager is good for a couple of wins turned into losses per year. And that is enough to miss out on the playoffs barely, and get passed up by a team that goes on to the World Series. The Diamondbacks, for example.

The details matter, and if bad managers matter, so do good ones. The job is a lot of art, and some science, and I think Counsell is the best at it right now.

More than anything, the move is symbolic. Every Cubs fan remembers where they were when the Cubs won the World Series. They also remember where they were in the moments that led up to that, too, like Kyle Schwarber hitting a home run off of Gerrit Cole in 2015, which was the first time I felt that those Cubs had something different than those teams in the 2000s. Or when the Cubs beat the Cardinals that year, or even when Javier Baez homered against the Giants in NLDS’ Game 1 in 2016.

But another moment we all remember is the day Joe Maddon got hired. Theo Epstein promised us future success, but his plan had not materialized yet. The hiring of Joe Maddon was a sign to the fans that it was Go Time.

Nothing will ever reach the highs of those moments that led up to 2016.

But, man, Monday’s news came close. And it feels like Go Time again.

Because, like Maddon’s hiring, bringing Counsell in doesn’t just mean we have a new manager. It means the front office is no longer playing around, that ownership is behind them and that it’s time to make a run at this thing again.

If you’re going to pay a manager as much as you would a good utility guy, logic suggests you’re willing to open up the checkbook for actual players. Almost immediately after, the murmurs that the Cubs would bring back Bellinger, bring in Shohei Ohtani or trade for that dork Pete Alonso got a lot louder.

Jed Hoyer has been in charge of the Cubs for three years now. But he spiritually kicked off his own tenure Monday, with a ballsy decision that was likely not easy to make.

It’s Counsell, too. It was always my understanding that he hated the Cubs as much as I hate, I don’t know, LeBron James. Since then, we’ve learned that, while the hate may have been real, it was always a dream of his to take charge of his biggest foe. I personally will never be selling out to LeBron James (or eating at Blaze Pizza, he’s a part-owener), but hey, I won’t complain about Counsell’s treasonous decisions. They benefit me.

Who will complain about them is the shameless Brewers owner, as well as the Brewers fans. I don’t blame them, they lost one of their own Wisconsinites to no-good Chicago — to a division rival.

Could you imagine that? A beloved member of your baseball community, that grew up a fan of the organization, leaving that organization for a job with another team in the division?

Well, you can if you’re a White Sox fan.

In what would be the most shocking news of the week in any other week, the White Sox announced Thursday that Jason Benetti would be leaving their broadcast booth. It sucks, but makes sense. He’s taking on a bigger role at FOX with college football and basketball… wait… to go the Tigers?

It’s not hyperbole to say that Benetti and Stone were the only reasons to watch the Sox the past two years. Benetti is perfect for the job — he has a soothing voice, is more knowledgable about the league than just about anybody, and knows exactly how to get the best out of his color guy. Even when it’s Gordon Beckham, who makes Matt Eberflus sound like JFK.

I didn’t grow up listening to baseball on the radio that much, but for those that did, I imagine the experience was a lot like listening to Benetti. Writing this newsletter forces me to watch a lot of Sox games during the year. And, at some points in the dog days of summer, there’s nothing else on.

The best antidote to a boring Tuesday night in the summer was Benetti. The game could be 3-2 in the 9th or 11-0 in the 4th, it didn’t matter. In fact, sometimes the banter was better in the latter scenario. Him and Stone can turn any game into an interesting, easy three-hour podcast. I’d be glancing up here and there to see if two White Sox outfielders ran into each other again, but in between, as I did work on my laptop or typed a column, they entertained me.

I definitely pay closer attention to sports media and broadcasters than the everyday fan does, but to me, losing Benetti is even worse than losing a marquee player. The connection you have with the announcer, after all, is stronger than the connection you have with any one player. You let those announcers into your home, on bad days and good days.

I’ll dearly miss Benetti, and I’m not a White Sox fan. For the organization to let this happen at all is a shame. But to let it happen, to let him go to a divisional rival, and to do it when fans have nothing discernible to look forward to, is an abomination.

The guy is so talented that he weaves in and out of different sports on a week to week basis, and yet always sounds like whatever sport he’s doing is his primary focus. Still, even when the Sox were awful, he sounded most at home in the booth calling their games.

Whatever heat that comes the White Sox way after this isn’t enough.

Even though Chicago sports are awful, the one thing they collectively get right is the broadcasters. Stone, Stacey King, Adam Amin, Pat Hughes, Jeff Joniak. Benetti was right up there with all of them.

It hurts to lose him. But I’m glad he made the right decision for himself, even if it was a hard one. Like Counsell, he’s going somewhere where he’s more valued, even if it’s away from home. Sometimes, that’s the only way people that under-appreciate something or someone learn.

Unfortunately, I doubt the Sox will learn their lesson. In fact, somehow, it seems like they think they’re in the right on this one. They could not be more wrong. But they’re not right about much these days.

Those two moves — Counsell and Benetti — coming in one week established such a dichotomy between the two baseball teams in this town.

But then again, the Cubs are just about the only team right now that can say they’re conducting themselves in a way that’s fair to fans. Thus, I’ve banned myself from talking shit about the Ricketts for the foreseeable future. They aren’t perfect, but they’re also far from the Reinsdorfs and the McCaskeys.

The baseball season is far away, and I’m glad it is. We’re still in the thick of one of the best parts of the calendar for sports.

There’s only a few more weeks for me to Irish Goodbye a social event, order my fat ass some grub, and play inappropriately sad songs on my speaker with a Pac-12-After-Dark game gloriously displayed on my television. Paradise.

For that reason alone, I won’t be declaring “I can’t wait for baseball season” anytime soon.

But when it does come, I think I’ll like what’s waiting for me. Sox fans won’t.

Some Chicagoans may say they don’t care what’s waiting for their crosstown rival’s fans come April. I do, because I, unfortunately, am a Bulls fan. And I know that feeling of emptiness all too well.

Let’s get into it.

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The Bears didn’t allow any sacks or commit any turnovers tonight, and that was enough for them to narrowly win against the one-win Panthers.

I can’t help but take only positives away from tonight.

If this were written prior to last night’s game, I would have had to dive into a frustrating Saints game riddled with turnovers that the Bears could have won.

Instead, I get to talk about all of the good things that came away from tonight. The Bears are still a bottom-5 team, but, like it or not, they got closer to a turnaround Thursday.

Given the circumstances surrounding the Bears, this was the biggest game of the season. Any other loss is just a notch in the belt. A loss to the Panthers would have been devastating.

That’s, of course, because the Bears own the Panthers first pick. With that Bears win, they now are back into position to have the 1st pick again heading into next year. It’s going to be a dog fight between the Panthers and Cardinals to the finish, but the Bears played their role in the Panthers’ demise.

They also did so with the help of D.J. Moore, which the Panthers sorely miss. And, to make matters worse for the Panthers, Bryce Young didn’t look like he fit the part. (I’m personally not willing to put a nail in the kid’s coffin just yet).

There’s not much to look forward to as a Bears fan right now. But there are a few things. One of those is the Panthers first round pick next year. That’s now in a better spot than it was before Thursday.

Then there’s Montez Sweat, who generated eight pressures, according to Next Gen stats. That’s the most by a Bears player since Robert Quinn in Week 13 of 2020.

Then there’s Tyson Bagent, who did a very honorable job filling in. He started off as a cheap, serviceable backup with a great story. Four games later, he’s still a cheap, serviceable backup with a great story — nothing more, and nothing less.

The next step is to get Justin Fields back and see what he can do in the eight most important games of his career.

But it was undeniably a good night for Ryan Poles. He may have hired (or may have not hired, who knows) a bit of a bumbling fool in Matt Eberflus, but he also seemingly made the most out of the 1st pick he was gifted last year.

Though a little less evident Thursday than in New Orleans last Sunday, it’s very clear to me that Jack Sanborn thrives in the middle linebacker position. The only issue with that is the Bears gave Tremaine Edmunds $50 million guaranteed this past offseason.

We don’t have to dwell on that, though. The offensive line looks much better, even if our center can’t snap. The defensive line looks much better.

There’s plenty to complain about, but for tonight, the things that needed to happen did.

I’ll take that, and I’ll take a victory Friday and carefree Sunday.

Matt Eberflus: 3-3 over his last 6! Have a cold one tonight, buddy!

BEAR DOWN!

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Zach LaVine is not a better player than Alex Caruso.

This isn’t considering their roles or their salaries. This is straight up. Alex Caruso is better at basketball than Zach LaVine is.

That’s a credit to Caruso’s genius, an embarrassment for the maxed-out LaVine, and one of the Bulls biggest problems.

Caruso is my favorite player in the NBA, which is tough, because I’m white. Generally, as a white guy, saying your favorite player is a 6th man white guy almost guarantees you’re teetering on the brink of racism. But that’s only if you haven’t watched the Bulls this year, or the past three years. Caruso’s skill and ability is so impossibly entertaining, I can’t get enough of it.

The Bulls lost by 1 last night. Caruso’s +/- was +24. The Bulls beat the Raptors by 1 two weeks ago, Caruso’s +/-? +29.

Everyone nationally is talking about how much the Bulls are going to be able to get for him at the deadline — certainly more than LaVine at this point — and yet, I’m just hoping the Bulls offer him the $100 million that Pat Williams wants.

If anyone has earned it, he has. Just take it from Kevin Durant, who refused to call him a role player after the game Wednesday night, instead opting for “phenomenal.”

If the Sox fans only had Benetti to enjoy, Bulls fans only have King, Amin and Caruso. DeRozan on some nights, sure. Coby White has been fantastic on both ends. Jevon Carter has been a godsend.

But the Bulls are 3-6, and you can put that blame squarely on their three “stars.” The problem with the Bulls three “stars” is that none of them are that, but they all think they are. And that’s about the worst thing you can have in basketball — non-stars with a star mentality, on and off the court.

DeRozan is the least like it. He’s generally a team guy and his play doesn’t hurt the Bulls. It’s not his fault his game is somewhat limited, especially as he ages.

LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, on the other hand, huff and puff to the media about their roles and deflect blame for their shortcomings onto their teammates and coaches. I’m tired of both of them, and don’t want to watch another game in which they are focal points.

The fulcrum of the team is Caruso, and, again, that’s both a credit to Caruso and a shame on Vucevic and LaVine.

LaVine is completely incapable of driving to the basket. He has to have the record for amount of times stripped in the lane, particularly followed by an “Ayyy” as if he got fouled. You didn’t get fouled, man. You made a poor crossover move into the lane and left the ball in a vulnerable position, just like you did last time down the court.

You can see it in his body language, too. DeRozan was bringing it up the court Wednesday night, threw it cross court to LaVine to initiate the offense, and LaVine almost didn’t catch it because he was pouting with his head to the ground, walking up the court.

He wants the team to succeed, but only if he’s the main driver of it. As Mike Singletary once said, you can’t win with those guys. Can’t do it!

The Bulls are in the low- to mid-20s in both defensive and offensive rating. They shoot more long twos than any team in the NBA, and worse yet, do not shoot them well. Not only do they not have the horses, they don’t have the strategy.

Their old guys are subpar. Their young guys show no promise. It’s the ones in the middle — White, Caruso, Carter — that I can actually stand. But Williams hasn’t shown us anything this year.

Dalen Terry is a charity case. As a friend texted me earlier this week:

“If someone offered me $10 and said you can take this $10, but if Dalen Terry ever makes an All-Star game, I’m going to cut off all of your limbs. I’d take the $10 so quickly.”

That about sums it up.

For every Bulls fan, the overtime loss to the Suns Wednesday was maddening. To the front office, though, it was probably viewed as a “close loss to a contender.”

The only hope for the Bulls to get out of this mess is for a team dumber than them to offer the motherload for LaVine. At this point, I don’t see it happening.

Lakers? Now that trade could kill two birds with one stone.

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