Still Gotta Come Through Chicago

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Happy Friday Chicago!

That’s it. The curtains on the 2024-2025 football season are closed, and it ended with a dud.

I knew it was going to be a bad night when I spilled sauce on my “Go Taylor’s Boyfriend” shirt before the game kicked off, and it only got worse when my Dad had to witness an “America The Beautiful” rendition with too many bells and whistles.

“It’s fucking America The Beautiful.”

We may want to relitigate the Drake-Kendrick Lamar dispute, too, as my Dad said he prefers the former’s music to the latter’s. I’ve been reaching out to PR agencies all week to let them know.

Now we settle in to the monotony of the February sports calendar before the trees and our social lives begin to thaw in mid-March.

I texted my father this week, “Holy shit” only to follow with “Ron Chernow wrote a Mark Twain biography.”

That’s a longer way of saying football season is, indeed, over.

We’re all searching for a next frontier, the next thing ahead that evokes some sort of anticipation.

Kendrick Lamar’s performance didn’t get me shaking my ass, which isn’t necessarily proof that is wasn’t a good show, but does put him behind past performers in at least one category.

If he wanted to rouse the racists with his performance, he did a good job. I’m not sure what’s a more racist reaction, though: saying you don’t like that “rap shit” or going out of your way to explain how much you loved it — and talking about the subtleties of his performance the next day like the white guy from Get Out saying he wished he could have voted for Obama a third time.

For any social progress Kendrick may have achieved with his performance, though, it was quickly undone when THE University of Iowa grad Cooper DeJean intercepted Patrick Mahomes for a pick-six, which got white guys all over the country hot, bothered, and prideful.

Nevertheless, the halftime show had people talking more than the game did. And we got a lot more out of Kendrick than we did Tom Brady, who has won seven Super Bowls but comments on the game like a theatre kid trying to impress his football fanatic father-in-law.

Brady has proved that, while it takes a couple of decades to build up mystique, it takes just a year or two to tear it all down. Whether it’s collaborating with Mr. Beast and Dude Perfect to make YouTube videos, making commercials against hate that make me want to hate out of spite, or making bad jokes that his broadcast partner is forced to laugh at, Brady has shoved his own legend away quickly.

He’s still the greatest of all time, though, and Sunday’s result lent credence to that pliable fact.

Patrick Mahomes has done nothing for me to root against him, but when you’re watching sports nearly every night of your life, you do start to care about the legacy and narrative around the game.

And these Chiefs did not deserve to be the first team in NFL history to three-peat in the Super Bowl. They just weren’t good enough. For that, I am happy that the Eagles won. And I can only say that because I personally do not have any sub-human “birds” fans in my life.

Before the game started, I saw plenty of Eagles and Chiefs fans donning their gear across Chicago. And, even though the Bears trajectory is clearly pointing upward for the first time in a long time, I still cannot conceive in my head what it would be like to have the Bears in the Super Bowl.

I don’t remember what it felt like to gear up for the Big Game in the fifth grade. It may be a nightmare to wake up on Super Bowl Sunday and know what awaits you.

I do recall the pure agony of playoff baseball, of World Series baseball. For everything else — the Super Bowl, the deep NBA playoffs — I watch games late in the season as if they’re a part of an entirely different league than the one my team participates in.

If the Bears ever do reach a Super Bowl again, I may have to submit myself to solitary confinement for the night.

Three beers to take the edge off, some wings, and my “Go Taylor’s boyfriend” shirt as a bib.

Maybe one day, in early February, will be our day.

Another season has come and gone. I’m grateful for it all, even with the poor results that highlighted it.

The days are getting longer, and I’m grateful for that too. Soon enough, I’ll begin longing for a 5-2 Cubs start that has me writing 3,000 complimentary words about their offseason, only for them to lose their next three games.

Pitchers and catchers are reporting, which has always been as false of a spring flag as the groundhog and his shadow.

But we all have to find that next frontier to make glaring at our monitors bearable in the meantime.

We’ve got a lot to get into. Let’s go!

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It’s right around the time of year where you should begin squinting your eyes and slowly nodding at your MLB team’s roster (unless you’re a White Sox fan).

Baseball is not yet right around the corner, as we’re often led to believe. But for the Cubs, it actually kind of is.

They open up the MLB season in Japan in just about a month. On March 17 and 18, they’ll play at 5am in Tokyo against the Dodgers.

Playing in Japan is cool, but opening up the season with much fanfare in Japan, and zero fanfare in the U.S., remains head scratching. But under Rob Manfred, it’s more rare for the league to make a decision with some sense to it.

Shota Imanaga vs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be an electric way to start off the season for Japanese baseball fans, at least.

This reminds me of when Ichiro Suzuki retired after playing in the Tokyo series, a monumental moment that the majority of baseball fans in America were unaware of.

If I knew I’d be able to give my full attention to these games, it might be cool. But, like you, I probably won’t be able to.

So instead I turn to the what the fallout may be. The Cubs could be 0-2 before the sun even comes out in Chicago. They could also be re-adjusting their bodies to central time toward the end of Spring Training, and then they’ll immediately travel for a road trip to kick off the rest of the season.

There’s also another narrative that will take center stage in mid-March, right off the bat. The MLB playoffs are wildly unpredictable, which is why they’re fun and why the Dodgers haven’t won half of the last 10 World Series.

But every National League team’s fanbase, including the Cubs — especially the Cubs — that feels hopeful is immediately met with comparison to the Dodgers.

The Dodgers have continually signed most every major free agent, and this past offseason was no different. It became especially embarrassing when, after the Dodgers beat out the Cubs on multiple arms, they offloaded a pitcher they’ll have no need for to the Cubs.

The Cubs may have gotten slightly better after acquiring the righty Ryan Brasier from the Dodgers, but it only further illuminated the difference between the two teams.

But it’s far too early (in this newsletter) to be pessimistic.

Right now, I’m excited about a Cubs team that will finally have some star power in Craig Counsell’s second year with the team.

Thus far, the Cubs have signed the oft-injured but talented Matthew Boyd to a two-year deal. He’ll be a part of the starting rotation, and is a clear upgrade over Kyle Hendricks. But he’s also 34 and has started 23 total games over the past two years.

The former Astros closer, Ryan Pressley, will become the Cubs Opening Day closer after losing the same spot in Houston. He’s not the pitcher he was in the 2022 World Series, but in a vacuum, he’s also not Hector Neris or anyone else the Cubs trotted out there in 2024 (other than Porter Hodge). The Astros are eating a third of his $14.5 million salary.

Pressley’s fall off may also be exaggerated, as he gave up six runs in his first 2 2/3 innings last year, and then posted a 2.67 ERA the rest of the way. “Playing in Chicago has always been a dream of mine, and I’m excited to get out there and put on a Cubs uniform,” he said. Points scored.

The guy has significant experience pitching in high-stress situations. That alone is worth something, if not a lot.

Also added was Eli Morgan via a trade with Cleveland. Morgan had a 1.9 ERA in 42 innings pitched last year.

Jed Hoyer actually did a good job of fixing the Cubs bullpen on the fly last year, for the most part, which looked like an impossible task in May. Whether this is an overcorrection or not, I don’t know, but it’s clear Hoyer thinks that Counsell’s strength is in bullpen decisions. Now, he’s giving him far more artillery in that area.

Positionally, some of the Cubs ancillary moves included signing the catcher Carson Kelly to a two-year deal, and signing the super-utility man Jon Berti to a one-year deal. Berti has played almost every position, is average, and came at a cheap cost.

Kyle Tucker is the most exciting addition of the offseason by far, and could catapult the Cubs into contention, particularly because everyone outside of the Reds in the NL Central has taken a step back this offseason.

Right now would be a good time for the Cubs to strike while the iron’s hot. To dominate a sub-par division and get into the playoffs with a bye and a reasonable chance at winning a few series.

Immediately, the Tucker trade signaled to me that he would be signed long-term. If not immediately, a wink-wink and a new deal after one year of arbitration. The Cubs haggled over his arbitration process, which is custom but still rubbed me — and probably Tucker — the wrong way.

And that brings us to Alex Bregman, the story of the offseason.

I want to first be clear that I did not want him. cannot stand him for the role he played in the swept-under-the-rug cheating scandal. It’s one thing to have been a part of those teams. It’s another thing to have been a ring leader, and, all the while, have acted like you were just a really smart player who knew when pitchers were tipping pitches.

He’s a giant loser, and an almost 31-year old that I have no interest in paying $120 to $200 million over four to six years. He did, however, end up with a Cody Bellinger-like deal, a higher annual average with opt-outs that only last three years with the Red Sox.

But while I did not want him, it does not take away from what has been revealed through the Cubs’ courtship of him. It was clear that Bregman was interested in coming to the Cubs, and it was also clear the Cubs were behind almost every other suitor in their offer — whether it be years, total money, annual average or all of the above.

I have maintained for years that Hoyer is generally pretty damn good at his job and that fans’ anger over spending was misdirected. It was tough to find proof.

Until now, that is. Hoyer, feeling the heat, has begun to insinuate what a lot of us believed to be true — that he is building a team with one hand tied behind his back.

As the Bregman sweepstakes unfolded, there continued to be — as The Athletic put it — “persistent questions about the flexibility within the Cubs’ budget for baseball operations.”

Why? There’s no answer there yet. But if you connect the dots, it sure does seem like the Ricketts won a World Series (which I’m forever grateful for) and are now resting on their laurels, despite what they say publicly.

Hoyer was asked Thursday if he felt the Cubs were ever on the verge of a deal with Bregman.

“No,” he said. “The Red Sox got a great player. They were aggressive. Kudos to them.”

They were aggressive. Kudos to them.

Apparently all the Ricketts signed off on, much to the chagrin of Hoyer, was a four-year deal up to $115 million. That’s a year longer and $25 million shorter than the deal Bregman got.

Hoyer wanted Bregman. He wasn’t given the ammo to get him. That lends further credence to the fact that Hoyer isn’t just missing out on big free agents because he wants to get too cute.

He’s been ordered to win, but not by any means necessary — or even close to it.

Hoyer has for the most part nailed everything he does have complete control over. The farm system. International deals. Trades for guys like Michael Busch. Which players to walk away from.

He can’t be the next Theo Epstein if he’s not given the same checkbook as him.

They were aggressive. Kudos to them.

Hoyer continued to say the quiet part out loud. It was unrealistic to match the Red Sox offer, he said, “given where we are with our budget right now.”

The Cubs are 12th in payroll heading into the 2025 season. There isn’t a really bad contract on their books. They’re not one or two years removed from a World Series run. They’re nearly a decade away.

Maybe it’s the setup of the MLB that you want to blame, that no salary cap gives a few teams with open wallets the ability to dominate. Maybe it’s the Ricketts. Maybe you don’t blame the Ricketts and believe the Cubs will be good enough with what they have.

No matter what, you can’t blame Hoyer.

Again, I did not like the Bregman fit. But the whole saga has made it clear what kind of operation the Cubs are running right now. The catchphrase for the 2025 season should be “Good Enough.”

Hopefully Matt Shaw, the Cubs 2023 1st round draft pick, will emerge as the Cubs next third baseman. And hopefully he tears it up, as he has in college and in his short time in the minors. The Cubs also may sign the 40-year-old Justin Turner as a consolation prize.

But what we now know is simple: Hoyer thought Bregman was the piece that would take the Cubs to another level, and he wasn’t allowed to act on that belief.

That revelation is more important than one player.

But to hell with Alex Bregman, who coincidentally had his best year by far in 2019.

In rosier news, Dansby Swanson got surgery this offseason on an abdominal injury that has been bothering him for the past year and a half.

To me, that’s big news. Swanson has been just OK, even though he came on after a dreadful stretch last year. But he always looked to the untrained eye (me) a bit weak. Hopefully this is the reason why.

When the motto is “good enough,” you need your top-paying guys to be as good as they can be.

Would anyone guess that Seiya Suzuki has been a much better hitter than Bregman since he entered the MLB?

I am excited about the Cubs roster, regardless of their “budgetary situation.” It may be the February Fool in me talking, but I think the legacy Cubs are solid, that the pitching units have been fortified, and that some of the young guys are really going to make their mark this year — namely Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Counsell said Crow-Armstrong won’t be a leadoff guy for now, but that’s likely where things are headed. Once he adjusts to everyday at-bats, and his OBP rises, he’s good enough to be one of the best leadoff men in the game.

I’m excited to watch Crow-Armstrong. I’m excited for the baseball season. I’m excited to watch 150 Cubs games. I’m excited for Cubs baseball.

It’s hard, though, to not be frustrated over an organization placing artificial limits on itself. Particularly in this city.

Maybe the Cubs could learn a lesson or two from the Bears…

We’re a month away.

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On the court, it’s already a mess.

The Bulls were up 23 points on the Warriors Saturday night, with seven minutes left in the third quarter. A minute and a half into the fourth, they were down 10. They lost by 21.

On Tuesday, they lost by 40 to the Pistons.

The Pistons were up 42 points on the Bulls at half, a team record.

It’s more than evident how far the Bulls are away from genuinely competitive basketball on the court. And that makes last week’s trade deadline all that more depressing.

The Bulls got rid of Zach LaVine (albeit for nothing), and then stood pat. I shouldn’t say that, actually. They extended Lonzo Ball.

I was leery of that deal from the get go, but thought maybe the Bulls believed they could flip Lonzo for a better price next year.

Immediately, that turned out to be untrue.

John Hollinger reported this week that the Bulls, wait for it… had a first-round draft pick on the table for Ball, but didn’t pull the trigger. The hang up? This may sound familiar.

The Bulls would have had to take bad money back in return (what bad teams looking to build capital do), and weren’t willing to.

So, the Bulls are stuck with Ball and without another pick.

Nikola Vucevic is 34, having his best season as a Bull, and was held onto.

The Bulls remain a business operating in the green. They got that going for them. For us? The ones that keep them in the green? Zilch.

LETS GO BULLS!

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Thank you for reading another edition of Still Gotta Come Through Chicago, my friends. Let someone know about the newsletter today! Can I get 10 more subscribers by baseball season? It’s up to you… Comment below.