Chicago -
By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes
Full of surprises. Plus: Cub Factors; The Return Of Rodon!; Matt Nagy Married His High School Sweetheart, Therefore He’s A Great Guy Who Will Lead The Bears To Glory; Beasting Up The Summer League; 7-Player Trade!; and Schweinsteiger!
Posted on July 13, 2018
By Jim Coffman
Good to see Kyle Hendricks and Jose Quintana step up for the Cubs the last two days. But at this point I think I might be able to shut out the Giants for three innings. And these days every time I try to make an overhand throw it feels like my arm is about to fall off.
This is a San Francisco lineup, after all, that recently scored all of three runs in three days – in Coors Field.
Of course, this is a Cubs lineup that was hot, hot, hot heading into this three-game series and then proceeded to score one run in 11 innings on Monday and was shut out for six frames by retread extraordinaire Derek Holland last night. The team finally broke through for a pair in the seventh and that held up for a big win.
Bottom line is if the Cubs can split their six games this week on the West Coast heading into the All-Star break, they should be thrilled. And they are a third of the way there heading into this afternoon finale with the Giants.
Posted on July 11, 2018
By John Affleck/The Conversation
Widespread, legalized sports gambling could change the way you watch your favorite sport.
It could also soon change how the media covers sports.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court in May gave states the option to allow sports betting, it seemed like a vast, untapped well of revenue had been opened. Until then, illegal sports wagering had been an industry worth about $150 billion a year.
Since the May ruling, Delaware and New Jersey have each implemented sports gambling, with Rhode Island, West Virginia and Mississippi not far behind. All of these states will be able to tax betting. Their casinos will be able to open sportsbooks to lure customers. And leagues are lobbying for a cut of each wager, though that hasn’t yet come to pass.
Lost in all this has been the question of how the sports media will respond.
Posted on July 10, 2018
By Roger Wallenstein
What’s in a name? When it comes to big league ballparks, it could be tradition, beer, insurance, banks, and a sampling of other businesses. With the exception of tradition – more than a notable ingredient of the game – all the others contribute to the teams’ bottom lines.
For a number of reasons, I’ve tried my best not to mention the moniker at 35th and Shields in the past year-and-a-half. For one, I was used to The Cell. In fact, it was kind of apropos the way the White Sox had been playing. Watching a game from the first to ninth inning too often created feelings of being institutionalized as the losses piled up. I knew no one who used U.S. Cellular. The company meant absolutely nothing to me. But The Cell was cool and not inaccurate. I miss it.
Posted on July 9, 2018
By Steve Rhodes
The continuing problem no one talks about anymore. Plus: I Predicted The World Cup’s Final Four; Mr. Cowley; The Blackhawks Signed Some Free Agents; White Sox Waiting Game Sucks; Land Of Boz; and Cubs Factors.
Posted on July 8, 2018
By Steve Rhodes
One in an occasional series tracking the movements of those who have worn Cubbie blue.
1. Luis Valbuena.
Valbuena has appeared in 75 games for the Angels this year with starts at first, second and third. His slash line is a meager .211/.254/.355 and he may not be long for this league. In his last season with the Cubs in 2014, his OBP was a healthy .341, and Theo Epstein felt he was an underappreciated player. As recently as 2016, he hit .260 with a .357 OBP for the Astros. He’s a career 8.7 WAR player, but has -.5 WAR this year.
Posted on July 3, 2018
By Roger Wallenstein
Sitting at a Sox game a couple of weeks ago with my friend Dave, he remarked, “Part of this team’s problem is they don’t know how to win.”
This charge often is leveled at losing teams, yet defining its meaning is an abstruse exercise at best. However, in this particular game, a 4-3 loss to Detroit, the first of a three-game weekend sweep against a team that would then embark on an 11-game losing streak that just ended on Sunday, the White Sox managed to provide as good a definition as any.
Posted on July 2, 2018
