Still Gotta Come Through Chicago

Looking Ahead, from Summer to Fall

Happy Friday Chicago!

Another slate of chores was completed last weekend in anticipation for weekends when I don’t want to do them, like when the weather finally turns and when football comes around.

You look at my TV, now mounted, and say ‘Holy shit, that’s way too high, are you a moron?’ I look back at you and say… you must think I’m watching more than I’m reading, bub. My neck can handle that angle thrice weekly, no doubt.

(It’s way too high.)

The weather may not be sending you signs this week that summer is near, but you just have to look elsewhere.

I know summer is coming in Chicago when I start seeing swarms of people marching toward a destination in garb I cannot quite place.

On the way to Jewel-Osco on Saturday night — that’s when the adults get their shopping done — I noticed large groups bedazzled, beaming with anticipation.

Inside of Jewel, there were signs of summer, too. Three young drunk douche bags in Cubs and Sox gear talking way too loud — one on their phone, talking to someone very clearly asking where they were (picking up beer!). The type of guys you observe at my age and just think, my god, I hope I never acted like that, but maybe I did.

I waited patiently behind these fellas as they tried samples from the chicken counter (God Bless Jewel chicken), the worker behind the counter visibly growing annoyed. I was growing annoyed too, ready to act like I didn’t know what I wanted only to shout two seconds later “six chicken tenders and a pound of fries, please.”

The thought that these guys could have been me many years ago quickly came and went, and I decided to take action as they asked for a third sample.

I’m going to go ahead while you guys figure it out, I said. I watched them recognize the sincerity in my face and cower backwards as I went ahead. And just then, I got a “whatcha need, boss” from the chicken wing purveyor.

Little did these douche bags know, in the one headphone left in my ear during the interaction, I was bumping The 1975.

That’s right, little bros, you just submitted to a man who’s got Taylor Swift’s ex-boyfriend in his ear hitting falsetto. Move aside and let the big man get to work now.

When I left, fresh off a successful public confrontation, the only thing higher than my shoulders were my endorphins.

Then I saw more swarms of people in that similar garb.

I was aware Beyonce was in town on Thursday, and then I finally realized she was playing yet again on Saturday.

I’m not sure who I thought Beyonce’s demographic was, but I can report back that, at least in Chicago, it includes a lot more fat dudes in booty shorts than I would have thought.

There’s nothing wrong with that, of course. Count me in as in favor of self expression. But it was a little jarring.

This is why there should be another Chicago newsletter created to let you know the musical acts that are going to be in town. There probably is. But it should be sent out like the alarm you got on your phone for the incoming dust storm.

WARNING: BEYONCE in town, fat dudes in booty shorts everywhere. Stay inside until 10:40 p.m.

Or, you could post notices all around, like the signs that warn you if currents are too strong to swim in the lake that day.

That way, at the very least, bystanders could avoid confusion. And, at the very most, they could avoid repulsion.

It would be worthwhile for other concerts, too. When I lived near Wrigley Field, I was often shocked by the dress of a 40-year-old man, only to realize that Fall Out Boy was playing that night.

If Bruce Springsteen is in town, warning, you may run into your parents and/or their friends, and they may be way too drunk. They may be discussing his politics again. They may be acting as if they’ll cut ties with him, but they never will.

There’s a beautiful romance between Bruce Springsteen and at least half of his conservative-leaning fans. They’re wild lovers that are on and off again, but never really off. They’ll always get back together once those fans think of Born to Run playing on that stereo when they were underage drinking in the ‘70s.

Springsteen is timeless for them, as he is for most people, even though his use of “little girl” seems outdated and a little inappropriate given what people envision when they think “little girl” these days — particularly now that he’s 75.

Hey little girl, is your daddy home? What?

I met a little girl and I settled down… Huh?

No matter which group you run into on a windy May night, though, it reminds you that summer is near — the concerts, the “fun” street fests with dogshit IPAs, a lake without too much current to swim, and the ability to walk outside in the morning and not be immediately met with forceful dread.

On Saturday, there may have been fat dudes inappropriately dressed in Soldier Field, but no more than there would be on a Sunday in the fall. A different kind of inappropriate, yes, but probably inappropriate nonetheless.

It’s an awfully sad thought that, one day soon, the only performances that will pack Soldier Field and the museum campus on the weekends will be the Beyonces, the AC/DCs, and the Weeknd himself.

The Bears recently announced that they are moving forward with the Arlington Heights plan for a new stadium, and the excitement around it still confuses me.

Soldier Field is a nightmare to get in and out of, no doubt. But the idea that the Bears don’t own it should be something only the Bears care about, and not the fans. I don’t care if the Bears own their own stadium, really.

They may be able to host a final four! Cool, and you will not attend. And a Super Bowl! And you will not attend that, either.

There will be things to do around the stadium! Yeah, what if there was one of the largest American cities within walking distance?

It’s all good, though. This will be easier to get to. After all, there’s a Metra stop there, Bears President Kevin Warren mentioned.

If only there were a Metra and other train stops near the stadium now.

I think people forget that the current Bears are exciting because of what the players and coaches may be able to do in spite of the organization. The organization itself — the people that will be in charge of making this new stadium — has not improved. But at least Warren got a head start on the high-top chairs during last season’s Hard Knocks.

The stadium will be new, which will be exciting. But it also will be a nightmare to get to and get away from. A few extra Metra trains into Arlington Heights will not change that.

The game ends, and you’re in Arlington Heights. Woo!

I feel in the minority here, but I think the Chicago Bears playing home games in a suburb is extraordinarily lame.

Soldier Field itself is nothing to write home about, sure. But it is the devil you know. I’m afraid the devil we don’t know could be waiting for us in Arlington Heights.

Ultimately, this is a familiar sports story here in Chicago. An incompetent city, that we love, paired with an incompetent organization, which we love. It is not a good pairing.

But unlike your Dad and his Bruce Springsteen records, we’re finally going to see a divorce of those two.

We only have a few more years to take in the lakefront views of Soldier Field on Sunday Night Football. I’ll enjoy those, and grieve their eventual departure.

For now, we’ve got a brand new schedule and at least one hot baseball team to get to.

Let’s get into it.

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The Bears signed Joe Thuney to a three-year deal this week. The All-Pro guard previously only had money guaranteed to him for the coming season.

In total, it is a three-year, $51 million deal — with $33.5 million of it guaranteed. If something goes wrong with Thuney, the Bears have an out after two years.

This was an expected outcome after the Bears traded a fourth rounder for him earlier this year, but it does show that Thuney has some level of confidence in what the Bears are building.

The deal also re-works his money for this year, which will free up $8 million in cap space for 2025.

Thuney has the 11th most expensive contract out of guards in the NFL, despite being one of the best. His age — 32 — has something to do with that, but it feels like a bargain still for one of the best offensive linemen in the game.

His timeline now matches those of center Drew Dalman and opposite guard Jonah Jackson.

That timeline also fits with the other big-ticket signings of this past year, including Grady Jarrett, Dayo Odeyingbo, and Kyler Gordon. All of them are also on three-year deals. The caveat is that there are still outs in those deals, and Gordon’s actually goes through 2028.

This has been set up beautifully by the Bears, as they’ll have the chance to make decisions on all of these guys before they have to hand (hopefully) Caleb Williams a large deal after his fourth year in the league.

The first round of OTA workouts just concluded for the Bears, with two more stints remaining. And if you think I’m an OTA takeaways guy, you’re sorely mistaken. The only news that is worth your time from the offseason program is bad news, and there hasn’t been any thus far.

The good vibes — for now — continue.

Let’s take a look at that schedule.

My honest and immediate takeaway from the first glance at the Bears schedule last week was: oh my. Did the Bears win the division and did I forget about it? What is this schedule?

Projecting how hard a schedule in the NFL is before the season is generally a fool’s errand, but it’s tough to look at this one and not grimace.

When the Bears are supposed to be adequate to good, the schedule release does nothing but make me nervous. It scares me. I’ll come around, but I’m conditioned to fear expectations.

We knew before the schedule was released that the AFC North would be on the schedule, but it looks worse once the schedule is live. Away at Baltimore and Cincinnati in back-to-back weeks?

Similar to the expectations that send a shiver down my spine, so, too, do nationally televised games. When is the last time the Bears looked good in a standalone game? If it is recently, I certainly don’t remember it.

I think of the Seahawks game last year, one of the worst football games played this decade. I think of the Texans game last year, which gave us a glimpse at how truly bad it could get in the games ahead.

I’m sending all my hate to the NFL for kicking the Bears off with one of those standalone games in Week 1. That harkens back memories from the 2019 season, when the Bears — with expectations — laid an egg against the Packers in Week 1.

But this Monday Night Football game against the Vikings is worse.

There’s nothing better than the first couple weeks of the football season, and there’s nothing worse than having to wait for your team to kickoff not just all of Sunday, but all of Monday, too.

This has a practical lens to it as well. If the Bears come out flat and lose Week 1, I want to wash it away with seven more hours of football that day. I don’t want to go to bed Monday night with “same old Bears” texts rolling in.

Then, in Week 6, the Bears are on Monday Night Football again against the Washington Commanders. You and I know what that means. In front of a large audience, ESPN will be putting together 35 different highlight packages from the hail mary last year. I’m already pissed off.

The Bears don’t play on Thanksgiving this year, which will make the holiday more enjoyable, but also more mundane. Instead, they play in a standalone game on Amazon Prime the following day.

This is the new-age NFL wrapped in one, with a game on Amazon Prime on a day the NFL never used to occupy. The day after Thanksgiving is for college football, for Iowa versus Nebraska. It’s not for the Bears, or any other NFL team, for that matter.

In Week 17, the Bears are at San Fransisco for Sunday Night Football, and if things go well, they’ll likely be in primetime again in Week 18 against Detroit.

The 49ers being on the schedule is frustrating. We know that the 49ers aren’t just another last-place team on the schedule.

What probably matters most is the Week 5 bye week, the worst bye week in football. It does give a chance for the new-look Bears to regroup if they stumble out of the gate, however.

Most of this is loser talk. But I’m not looking at this schedule and just jotting down wins like I have in years past. And perhaps that’s a good thing.

13-4.

#BEARDOWN

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I got a text from a Sox fan friend calling Dansby Swanson a flopper in the second inning of Cubs-Sox Game 1. I didn’t hear from him after that, which about sums up how the series went.

The Sox would have loved to play spoiler, but they still got solo home runs from some of their up-and-comers, and these days, that’s enough for a good day at the ballpark.

I don’t worry when guys like Kyle Tucker don’t hit, I get worried when the guys teetering on the edge of solid do. And that way of thinking was vindicated this week, as Tucker returned to his normal self.

After a slump over 20 or so games, Tucker was 6-8 with two homers over the last two games in Miami. The Cubs swept the Sox, and should have swept the Marlins after, as they were one out from a victory in Game 1 of the series until Daniel Palencia imploded.

What I appreciated was that Palencia was relied upon in another one-run game on Wednesday, and he delivered a save.

The Cubs bullpen is the constantly discussed wart on this year’s team, but I’ve been cautiously optimistic that things will turn. Jed Hoyer has made a few moves that have already hardened the unit, and injuries clearing up will naturally give it more firepower toward the back half of the season.

Of course, other injuries will crop up too.

But quietly, there’s been some really solid performers of late. Two of the in-season additions — Drew Pomeranz and Chris Flexen — have been fantastic. Together, through nearly 20 innings, they are yet to surrender a run.

Caleb Thielbar has a sub-1 WHIP and a 2.55 ERA over 17 innings pitched, and Brad Keller has a 2.7 ERA over 23 innings pitched.

Of late, what’s plagued the Cubs hasn’t been the bullpen in its entirety, but a one-off bad performance from one arm or another. It has masked the fact that the bullpen — while still not perfect — is improving.

Cade Horton has now pitched three starts, if you count his debut where he began his stint in the second inning. He’s been fine to good in all of those starts, about the best you can expect from a rookie called up in the middle of the season.

He stretched it further Wednesday than he did in his prior two starts, and ended up with a 5.1-inning, 1-run outing.

As Horton builds himself up, the Cubs have banked on other arms that Hoyer deserves credit for, including Matthew Boyd and Colin Rea.

The Cubs still have the best offense in the league, scoring a staggering 5.86 runs per game. Lately, that offense has been buoyed by Dansby Swanson’s white-hot streak. Swanson has reached base in 20 straight games.

An OPS hovering near the .500s a month or so ago is now up to nearly .800 on the year, his full-year performance 21% better than the league average hitter. In May, he has a 1.046 OPS, making him one of the best hitters in baseball over the month.

All the while, him and Nico Hoerner have continued to look like the best middle infield tandem in baseball, but admittedly, I’m not keeping tabs on every duo across the league. I just can’t get over how good those two are night in, night out.

That infield in general is rounding into form, too, as Matt Shaw is back up. He’s going to be a far better glove than anything the Cubs have had at third in his AAA absence.

Crucial for his confidence, Shaw now has a hit in his last five games, including three straight games with an extra-base hit.

In the realm of the corner infield spots, Justin Turner has also seemingly turned a corner. After last week’s game winner, he turned in a slew of hard-hit balls this past week, as well as a three-hit day Tuesday.

Turner has had a rough go at it early on, but this stat — which a newsletter reader put me on to — is nearly unbelievable: with runners in scoring position this year, Turner is hitting .533 over 26 plate appearances.

50 games in, the Cubs have won 60% of their contests.

If you would have told me prior to the season that the Cubs would lose Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele within the first two months, I would have taken 30-20, ran back to my room, and locked the door.

This is an exciting, resilient team. I don’t see that going away any time soon, even if one or two players falter.

Years ago, I’d never think to say this, but I’m excited for some NL Central baseball this weekend. A three-game set in Cincinnati begins today.

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Thank you for reading another edition of Still Gotta Come Through Chicago. Enjoy the long weekend. I’ll see you in seven days. Tell a friend to subscribe today, and comment below!