Cubs Plant Their Flag Against Division Foes

Good morning Chicago fans! I hope you had a great weekend! I’m disappointed Michael Jordan never got to wear the ‘See Red’ City Connect jerseys as a member of the White Sox. Since they were revealed a few decades too late, now it just looks like every White Sox player was traded to the Red Sox organization 🤷‍♂️

CHICAGO CUBS

W - Cubs 9, Pirates 0

Home Run Derby!

• The Cubs struck out ZERO times in the game - first time since July 3, 2013

• 4 home runs provided all the needed offense (Carson Kelly, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki, Dansby Swanson)

• Shota Imanaga threw 5 strong innings before leaving with leg cramps (6 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K)

L - Pirates 4, Cubs 3

The third base problem won’t go away

• A Jon Berti error opened the door for an Andrew McCutchen 2-run double in the 7th inning as the Cubs let a 3-2 lead slip away

• There was a long delay due to a scary moment at PNC Park - a fan fell onto the field from the 21-foot high outfield bleachers. The fan was in critical condition but is now awake and making positive progress.

W - Cubs 8, Pirates 3

Paul 3-Dinger Skenes!

• Cubs hit 3 HRs in the 5th inning off of ace Paul Skenes to take the lead and force him out of the game - this was the first time Skenes had given up 3 HRs in a GAME in his career

• Suzuki hit 2 moonshot home runs

• Colin Rea continued his shocking Cy Young-like season (6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K)

W - Cubs 10, Brewers 0

Wrigley North invasion

• The Brewers used an opener, and it immediately backfired - the Cubs scored 2 runs off of Tyler Alexander in the 1st inning and 7 runs off of ‘starter’ Quinn Priester in the 2nd

• PCA hit 2 HRs and Michael Busch hit his first career grand slam!

• Ben Brown was dominant with only 74 pitches thrown in 6.0 IP (0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K)

W - Cubs 6, Brewers 2

The PCA show goes on!

• PCA stayed hot with a 3-R HR off of old friend Jose Quintana

• Homers keep carrying the offense! 3 in this game (PCA, Swanson, Tucker)

• Jameson Taillon shut down the Brewers lineup (6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K)

L - Brewers 4, Cubs 0

Don’t Sho me another injury, Shota

• Imanaga was pitching a shutout when he hurt his hamstring running over to cover first base in the 6th inning - he will undergo tests today to determine its severity

• After Imanaga left the game, Julian Merryweather allowed 4 quick runs in a disastrous turn of events

• Freddy Peralta baffled Cubs hitters (6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K)

Star of the Week ⭐ Dansby Swanson

9-for-22 (.409 AVG), 3 HRs, 3 RBI

Play of the Week 🎥 PCA golf swing HR

Called up RHP Chris Flexen from AAA, optioned Tom Cosgrove to AAA

Prospect Moises Ballesteros had an impressive 19-game hitting streak come to an end yesterday in AAA. He has a .381 AVG, 1.003 OPS, 4 HRs, and 11 BB to 13 K in 28 games so far this season 💪

Daniel Palencia asked PCA which at-bat he would hit a HR in Saturday’s game, and PCA said the 2nd. He got it exactly right, and it sounds like Palencia made some money amongst the bullpen guys.

Carson Kelly has been hitting cleanup in his recent starts, and his dream season has not slowed: .368 AVG, 1.320 OPS, 7 HR, 22 RBI, 252 wRC+, 1.5 fWAR

Dansby Swanson was moved down to 8th in the order after a brutal start to his season. The move by Craig Counsell must have flipped a switch because he had a much better week at the plate. His season numbers are still bad: .215 AVG, 29.5 K%, 90 wRC+

The Cubs are 21-14 after taking 2 of 3 from the Brewers. The 2024 Cubs…were also 21-14 after taking 2 of 3 from the Brewers.

I feel GREAT about my preseason predictions. I cautiously landed on an 88-win season but remained confident in a playoff run because of PCA and Kyle Tucker.

From the Bears Make Statement In Free Agency With Trenches Overhaul newsletter before the Cubs season: “Tucker and PCA will carry them through the ups and downs and claim the division crown. I’m extremely high on PCA this season and as the face of the franchise in the future!”

Well, both players are playing like superstars. PCA is 4th in MLB with 2.2 fWAR. He’s up to 9 HR, 12 SB, 140 wRC+, and leads the league with 7 OAA defensively. Tucker is 10th in MLB with 1.7 fWAR. He has a ridiculous 24 to 19 walk to strikeout ratio, 9 HR, 8 SB, and 164 wRC+.

These 2 players could…and NEED to be…manning the outfield at Wrigley Field for the next decade. The Cubs have 2 stars in town, and that can hide a multitude of flaws in the rest of the roster.

SCHEDULE 📅 M/T/W/F/SAT/SUN

CHICAGO BEARS

OFFSEASON

Ryan Poles said the Bears want to give 2nd round pick Ozzy Trapilo a look at left tackle while Braxton Jones continues his rehab. Trapilo, Jones, and Kiran Amegadjie may end up in a 3-way competition for the starting left tackle gig.

NFL insider Ian Rapoport inferred that teams were trying to trade up during the draft to select Colston Loveland. He said the trade calls stopped after the Bears picked Loveland at #10.

Before the draft, I wrote about Ryan Poles’ draft history as the Bears GM compared to his predecessors. I looked at every Bears draft pick since 2012! Read here:

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

OFFSEASON

NHL Draft Lottery - Tonight at 6:00pm

• Blackhawks have the 2nd best odds to earn the #1 pick

• They can’t fall lower than 4th in the draft order

• If they earn the #1 pick, they wouldn’t be able to win the lottery again until 2027 because of the NHL’s rule that a team can’t earn the #1 pick from the lottery more than 2 times every 5 years

• Odds to land each pick: 1st - 13.5%, 2nd - 14.1%, 3rd - 30.7%, 4th - 41.7%

The IIHF World Championships begin on Friday! In addition to the previously announced Blackhawks participants, Arvid Soderblom will compete on Team Sweden.

Connor Bedard turned down an invite to join Team Canada at the World Championships. As a Hawks fan, this is an exciting move that should pay dividends. He probably wouldn’t have had a starring role on the team, there’s a risk for injury, and the offseason gets cut shorter. Hopefully, he can focus on a holistic approach to the offseason and get ready to dominate the NHL in the fall!

Coaching search updates:

• We are still waiting for any official announcements regarding interviews or candidates

• 7 NHL teams currently do not have a permanent head coach

• The Penguins parted ways with longtime coach Mike Sullivan, but he was quickly scooped up by the New York Rangers. Sullivan would have been a great option for the Hawks with 2 Cups and 479 wins under his belt as a head coach. He also had a stint with the Blackhawks in 2014-2015 as a player development coach.

• The Tampa Bay Lightning confirmed that their coach Jon Cooper will remain with the team despite rumors of him leaving

• Charlie Roumeliotis put together his list of potential candidates here

CHICAGO BULLS

OFFSEASON

Josh Giddey finished 10th for the Most Improved Player award - Dyson Daniels of the Atlanta Hawks won the honor

SAY WHAT?

A CITYWIDE SALUTE

Nate Robinson

The Bulls legend received a kidney donation!!!

He had been struggling for years and needed a donor. The last update I covered in this newsletter was all the way back in April 2024, and Robinson believed he didn’t have much time left. His new brother Shane pulled through. Watch the whole powerful story:

MILD TAKE

The Blackhawks need to get the #2 pick.

Winning the lottery is only worth it when there is a surefire elite prospect at the top.

This year’s prospect pool features a lot of talented hockey players, but there isn’t a Macklin Celebrini (2024) or Connor Bedard (2023) level jackpot for the organization that has their card turned over tonight.

Defenseman Matthew Schaefer ranks #1 on most experts’ draft boards, but he isn’t another future face of the franchise. I don’t want the Blackhawks to pick another defenseman with their top selection due to their exciting pipeline of defensemen already in the pros and in the system.

Vlasic, Levshunov, Rinzel, Korchinski, Kaiser, and Del Mastro could already be their core in the future, and they have others who could pan out as well.

I want the Hawks to draft Michael Misa, and they most likely need the 2nd pick to make that happen. He’s a 6’1” two-way center who just had 62 goals and 72 assists in 65 games in the OHL this past season.

Frank Nazar looks like a star center, but a lot of the other centers in the organization may produce more as wingers. Oliver Moore and even Connor Bedard could potentially move to the wing on a Nazar or Misa Top-6 line.

The Hawks need to save their luck for next year. They should be a bit higher in the standings and have lower odds to get the #1 pick, but the top prize just isn’t worthwhile this time around. Bedard is the franchise. It’s time to add another elite forward.

HITTING THE LINKS

Ken Rosenthal - As a kid, Pete Crow-Armstrong never wanted to root for his dad’s favorite team. Now he’s starring for them (The Athletic)

Scott Powers - Blackhawks and NHL Draft Lottery: Everything you need to know (The Athletic)

Patrick Mooney - How the Chicago Cubs are off and running with adaptable offense for Wrigley Field (The Athletic)

Gabby Hajduk - Fast Facts: Colston Loveland (chicagobears.com)

Sahadev Sharma - With refined mechanics, Cubs’ Carson Kelly trending toward offensive breakout (The Athletic)

TWO MINUTE WARNING

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Thanks for reading! Reply with any thoughts on today’s edition! Somebody please wear their lucky Hawks jersey tonight for the Lottery…