By Jim Coffman

They pulled it off.
It was audacious and then some to pack for an extended stay on the West Coast when the Hawks traveled to Vancouver for Game 6 of their second-round NHL playoff series last week. By all accounts the local hockey organization made it clear to the team that they were to be prepared to stay in the Pacific time zone for far longer than it would take to play the potential deciding game of the series.

Beachwood Baseball The Cub Factor. The White Sox Report. Agony & Ivy: A way of life.

In other words, they assumed they were going to beat Vancouver (and avoid Game 7 back in Chicago) and then settle in near San Jose. They already knew the Sharks would be hosting the first two games of the Western Conference final.
I mean, I don’t think I have to believe in superstitions to be confident that there is a fine line between being prepared and sure of yourself and . . . calling down the biggest jinx in hockey history.
Also, the Hawks knew the next series wouldn’t start for a handful of days after the one with the Canucks concluded. Especially considering how well they played after their two flights to Vancouver in the second series, why not come back to Chicago for a couple days and then head out to San Jose?

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Posted on May 17, 2010

By Andrew Reilly

So Sox brass is upset with the team’s performance, and that’s all well and good, what with the whole “don’t lose control of your club” thing generally being an admirable way to run a ballclub.
But.
The thing is, when this is over, the heads that roll will probably not be those of the Mark Teahens and Randy Williamses of the world. Those players in particular may go but we will see again what we have seen before. They’ll bring in fresh cannon fodder and wonder why the guy with a history of terrible fielding can’t contribute defensively. They’ll build a bullpen out of swiss cheese and wonder out loud why no lead is safe. They’ll stock up on guys of dubious offensive merit and wonder why the bats can only deliver just enough runs to lose.
On the plus side, their newly-acquired ace is well on the road to becoming a great six-inning pitcher and two-thirds of the new outfield could finish first and second in comeback player of the year awards; I hesitate to throw “MVP” out there because teams this bad tend to not produce players of serious consideration in that category.
So with that, they brace for showdowns with three models of everything the Sox are doing wrong. The Angels’ player development and clinics in fundamentals showing how to lay down bunts that aren’t popped up and how to advance runners beyond second base. The Tigers showing how much fun you can have when your owner is crazy enough to not care about losing money. The Marlins giving a veritable master class on drafting and how to really win on the cheap, rather than just filling in the gaps with low-rent second-tier players.

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Posted on May 17, 2010

By Marty Gangler

After another week of pretty much torture watching this year’s version of the floundering Cubs, one has to wonder – once again – why we watch these guys.
Yeah, I know, it’s “what you do” because, well, you’re a fan, but one doesn’t have to look any further than our crusty old manager for some words of wisdom.
Good old Uncle Lou chimed in with another doozy after the game this week that Big Z blew up.
When asked (again) if Big Z is the answer in the 8th inning, Lou said he didn’t have a lot of options.
First, that is a shot at the GM for building a bad team. Second, he’s right – and neither do we. I’d like to not watch the Cubs at all sometimes, but I don’t have a lot of options. So I kind of know what Lou is going through.

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Posted on May 17, 2010

By Thomas Chambers

Our man on the rail, Thomas Chambers, is on special assignment this week in an undisclosed OTB. So we’ll leave this year’s Preakness Preview to lesser experts and just wish you good luck at the betting window.
1. Marco D’Angelo breaks it down.

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Posted on May 14, 2010

By Dan O’Shea

Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro made his major league debut last week in stellar fashion, with a home run, a triple and a half dozen RBIs. And we thought we were kidding last week when we said the Starlin Castro Watch had begun.
After his debut, it was less than an hour before I saw Castro picked up off the waiver wire in one of my leagues. Is that jumping the gun just a bit? Yes, though it also might offer a glimpse at just how bad things are, fantasy-wise, at shortstop this year.
No. 1 shortstop Hanley Ramirez has just started to pick up the pace, but he’s been streaky this year. Top SS picks like Jimmy Rollins, Troy Tulowitzki, Yunel Escobar and Rafael Furcal have been injured. Miguel Tejada is well past his prime. The top SS performer thus far, Alex Gonzalez (no, not the former Cub), was not even ranked in the top 1,000 players overall in pre-season.
So, it may not be just hopeful Cub fans who made Castro a popular pick-up last weekend. Still, there are a few more realistic options if you need a SS:

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Posted on May 12, 2010

By Jim Coffman

How could the teams that faced off in convincing Vancouver victories in Chicago in Games 1 and 5 of this Western Conference semifinal series have been the same squads who did battle when the Hawks absolutely took it to their hosts in Games 3 and 4 in British Columbia? Is it the game itself? Is there something about hockey that makes these sorts of series’ almost inevitable?
One thing we know is that goalie play could not be more pivotal. And it isn’t just the giving up of goals, it is the timing and tenor of the scores that slip through, especially early in games, that sets the tone for everything that comes after.

Beachwood Baseball The Cub Factor. The White Sox Report. Agony & Ivy: A way of life.

But back to the uneven play. At least there was a transition between the Canucks dominating Game 1 and the Blackhawks overwhelming their foes in Game 3. The second game of this series was a tight-checking affair where the Hawks had to rally for three goals in the third period to eke out a win that wasn’t secured until an empty netter in the final seconds. There was no transition between Games 4 and 5. The Hawks were an unstoppable force in the former but just never got going in the latter.
Of course, there is the worst-case scenario: Game 5 could have been the transition, from the Hawks in command to Vancouver claiming the overall upper hand. But surely that isn’t the case. The Hawks have two more chances to close this thing out. One is on the road, where they have rocked. And then there is a possible Game 7, which they worked all year to ensure would be on home ice. As long as they don’t give up a goal in the first minute of both of those games, they should be fine. Shouldn’t they?

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Posted on May 10, 2010

By Steve Rhodes

Marty Gangler is on special assignment investigating conditions on Tom Ricketts’ bison farm. If he’s not back next week, please contact the authorities.
Just like the White Sox, the Cubs’ season is going exactly according to plan.
Unfortunately, it’s Jim Hendry’s plan.
True, Hendry didn’t expect Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee to disappear, but that’s just because Hendry’s not really paying attention. They always disappear.
Here’s how the Cubs can fix their season before it’s too late:

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Posted on May 10, 2010

By Andrew Reilly

In a way, they’re doing everything exactly according to plan.
They have two great starting pitchers.
They have a woefully underachieving designated hitter.
They have two lousy outfielders.
They have a pair of major problems in the bullpen.
Except, you know, none of those are the right problems executed in the manner expected of them, instead entirely misplaced and made all the worse by leaving nothing better in their wake. That should’ve been Andruw Jones costing the team run after run after run, not Carlos Quentin. That should’ve been Scott Linebrink and Randy Williams softly tossing clay pigeons, not J.J. Putz and Bobby Jenks. That should’ve been Alexei Ramirez regressing as both a hitter and a fielder, not . . . wait, scratch that one.
But really, all they have to do is keep doing exactly what they’ve been doing, except do it even less. Move Alex Rios to the leadoff spot to get that much-needed speedy on-base percentage action at the top. Upgrade the infield defense by moving Juan Pierre to third, because he can’t possibly be a bigger liability than Mark Teahen. Bat Paul Konerko second so there’s someone on base once the theoretically powerful heart of the order comes up. Move the newly unreliable Gavin Floyd to the bullpen, the newly finesse-devoted Jenks to the rotation, the newly abysmal A.J. Pierzynski to Charlotte – shake it up! All of it! Because, come on, what’s the worst that could happen? Humiliation? Defeat? Abysmal attendance? Please. Those things have tried to stop these White Sox and those things have failed like so many corner outfielders flailing desperately towards a fly ball just out of reach. Let those other teams have their pointless runs and hollow victories; these White Sox have moved on such pedestrian endeavors.

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Posted on May 10, 2010

By Thomas Chambers

Like any Kentucky Derby, the 136th gave us a couple of dozen story lines.
You had trainer Todd Pletcher winning his first Derby with Super Saver, a horse that was down on his depth chart earlier this year. You had Calvin Borel winning his third Derby in four years, and his third Triple Crown race in the last four. We rehashed the good trips and the bad trips and asked the inevitable question: “Who’s going to the Preakness?”

Dis and Dat Ofman takes a Taser to the local sports scene.

But if you care about the game, and know what you want out of it, you can’t be anything but disheartened and disappointed with the failures of many of the people who touch this race. The humans who find it impossible to reach, or even attempt to reach, the zenith of performance they ask and demand of the 20 magnificent Thoroughbreds. Nineteen colts and a filly we figure aren’t as smart as us, but who never fail to deliver it all, or fulfill every expectation.

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Posted on May 7, 2010

By George Ofman

The most annoying part of the recent Bulls press conference announcing the dismissal of Vinny (we hardly got enough time-outs from you) Del Negro was GM Gar Forman claiming he was just starting the process of contacting potential replacements. Really? Seriously?
*
Is it me or are the White Sox fading into oblivion and it’s only the first week of April? Their batting average with men in scoring position is so low, archeologists might find the remains of Abner Doubleday first.
*
Someone suggested the Cubs trade Carlos Zambrano to the Sox for Mark Buerhle. It won’t happen because Buehrle would balk at being an 8th inning set-up man. Then again, the way’s he’s been pitching . . .
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Posted on May 7, 2010