By Marty Gangler

This week seemed like a test. And not one of those standardized tests that you can opt out of or are unfair for quite a few of the test takers. It was a test to see if this 2015 Cubs team is for real real. Sure, you can look at the standings and see that they are in the mix, but what do your eyes say when they play the division-leading Nationals and the World Series runners-up Royals? Can the Cubs truly hang? And the verdict has to be, yeah, I guess so, maybe. This truly is the Cubs’ Year of Maybe. There’s just no other way of answering questions like:

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Posted on June 2, 2015

By Roger Wallenstein

Now that Memorial Day has passed and summer theoretically is here, it’s time for a road trip.
Our White Sox jumped the gun a bit, departing a week ago on the four-city, 11-game jaunt that more than a few pessimists predicted would seal the team’s sorry fate before returning home this Friday. Seeing as the South Siders had dropped 12 of 19 road contests prior to this trip, those sentiments weren’t so far-fetched.

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Posted on June 1, 2015

By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes

Rhodes vs. Coffman! Plus: How The Pundits Get The Ray McDonald Story Wrong; The White Sox Are Boring And We’re Done With Them; The Cubs Are Still A Bit Clownish; and The Blackhawks Are Still Playing!

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Posted on May 29, 2015

By Dan O’Shea

Some of oldest and most-well traveled pitchers in baseball are generating some good fantasy value this year:
* Bartolo Colon, SP, NYM: The 42-year-old has a lot of fans, though mostly because they like to engage in immature mockery of the rotund ace’s hitting and running adventures. As a former and current fat kid, I can tell you revenge is a dish best served to yourself in multiple helpings – oh, and with wins and strikeouts. Colon already has seven wins and 52 strikeouts, and though a rough patch recently raised his ERA to 4.82, he’s resilient, having started 30-plus games each of the last two years. Still available in more than 25% of Yahoo! leagues.

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Posted on May 27, 2015

By Jim Coffman

Frederik Andersen did everything he could to give Monday night’s game to the Hawks. The Ducks goalie let Teuvo Teravainen’s harmless little shot from the high slot slip under his arm for one goal. He dropped his stick on one side of the net and then failed to get over to other side well enough to stop Brent Seabrook’s tough angle chance for the second. And if we thought that was a tough angle . . . there was the Hawks’ final goal of the evening, which Jonathan Toews actually shot from an inch behind the goal line but managed to bank it into the net off Andersen’s skate with 37 seconds remaining to complete a remarkable last two-minute, two-goal comeback.

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Posted on May 26, 2015

By Marty Gangler

Reality is a bitch.
After a season-changing 6-1 week two weeks ago, the Cubs came back to reality last week by going 3-3 – and then they lost the first game of this week to the Nats on Monday. The trend is not our friend.
Sure, the Cubs are still in this mother, but it’s not gonna be simply a case of riding a sweet wave to the playoffs – even if you are looking at this season in Joe Maddon-Colored Glasses.

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Posted on May 25, 2015

By Roger Wallenstein

Anyone expecting gut-retching emotion, a breaking voice, a few tears, or an event dripping with nostalgia was sorely disappointed Saturday as the White Sox retired Paul Konerko’s No. 14 at The Cell.
Instead what we got was a dapper 39-year-old striding confidently from centerfield to home plate amid the cheers of a full house for pre-game ceremonies. Paulie was not only extolled for all the offensive categories where he ranks near the top in team history, but also his leadership role both on and off the field, his commitment to the city of Chicago, and his persona as a hard-worker, loyal teammate, solid family man and student of the game. He played 16 seasons on the South Side despite twice being a free agent when he could have gone elsewhere for more money.

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Posted on May 24, 2015

By Thomas Chambers

Time out! Stop the movie!
Take a deep breath and contemplate this: The considered opinion in this corner is that the Belmont Stakes, the third jewel of America’s Triple Crown for Thoroughbred race horses, will be the last race in the career of this year’s Crown hopeful, American Pharoah.

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Posted on May 24, 2015

By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes

It’s the opposite of what everyone is talking about. Plus: The Bulls Stink; The Point After; Robin Ventura Sucks Again; The Chicago Fire Did(n’t) Do Something This Week; and The Cubs Make Big Moves!

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Posted on May 22, 2015

By Dan O’Shea

There are some good candidates out there for Most Improved Player in baseball this year. A guy named A-Rod comes to mind, with 10 HRs and a .914 OPS, when it wasn’t even obvious in spring training that he could still turn his old hips fast enough to crank the ball for extra bases.
Prince Fielder, 1B, TEX, is another possibility, with his MLB-leading 52 hits coming into this week after a season lost to injury. Elsewhere, Jason Kipnis, 2B, CLE, a former top 25 player who fell much lower during a couple of dismal, injury-riddled years, has returned to his old multi-category-contributing self.

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Posted on May 20, 2015