GOOD MORNING, CHICAGO FANS

Happy 4th of July! And Happy PCA Day! Hope you had a great holiday weekend.

PCA hit 2 bombs on his #4 day, and the baby blue Cubs hit a franchise record 8 home runs at Wrigley Field. Who needs any other fireworks show?

CHICAGO CUBS

W - Cubs 5, Guardians 2

The Irreplaceable Mr. Boyd

• Matthew Boyd was lights out at Wrigley again (7.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 K)

• Cubs scored 3 runs in the 2nd but made all 3 outs on the bases 😬 Carson Kelly was thrown out at home on a passed ball, and two Cubs were picked off 1st base

• Daniel Palencia fired 102 mph laser beams for the save

W - Cubs 5, Guardians 4

Seiya and Shota TV ™️

• MLB RBI leader Seiya Suzuki went 2-for-3 with 3 RBI

• Shota Imanaga got the HR bug, but all 3 were solo shots (5.1 IP, 3 ER)

• Cubs hitters walked (8) more than they struck out (7)!

W - Cubs 1, Guardians 0 (F/10)

Shaweeeeeeeeeeeep!

• Matt Shaw grabbed Michael Busch’s bat and hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in the 10th to finally plate the game’s first run

• Guardians scheduled starter Luis Ortiz was placed on leave by MLB due to a betting investigation. Cade Horton threw 7 shutout innings!

• Reese McGuire threw out 3 runners on 3 stolen base attempts!

W - Cubs 11, Cardinals 3

Home run record on PCA Day!

• Cubs hit a franchise record 8 home runs!!! That included hitting back-to-back jacks THREE times! How about that for America’s pastime?

• Busch went 4-for-4 with 3 HRs, PCA went 4-for-4 with 2 HRs

L - Cardinals 8, Cubs 6

A Keller Conniption

• Brad Keller let a 5-3 lead disappear by giving up 5 ER in the 8th inning - he had previously given up 8 ER all season

• Busch hit his 4th HR in 2 days and Kelly also homered

W - Cubs 11, Cardinals 0

Sunday Night Baseball Beatdown

• Cubs put up a 5-run 3rd and never looked back

• 5 Cubs had 2+ hits and Nico Hoerner finished a HR shy of the cycle

• Boyd was dominant in primetime, striking out 9 batters in just 5 innings

Star of the Week ⭐ Michael Busch

13-for-23 (.565 AVG), 4 HR, 7 RBI

Feeling great about last week’s Mild Take!

Play of the Week 🎥 Jon Berti flip to 3rd (as the pitcher!)

⭐ Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker were named NL starters in the All-Star Game!!!

• First Cubs OF to start the game since Kosuke Fukudome in 2008

• First pair of Cubs OF to start the game since Frank Demaree and Augie Galan in 1936 😲

⭐ Matthew Boyd was named to the All-Star team for the first time in his 11 year career!!!

⭐ Seiya Suzuki (25 HR & 77 RBI) and Michael Busch (18 HR & 5th in MLB with a 165 wRC+) didn’t make the team despite being MORE than deserving. Both have been elite players this season. Hopefully they’ll make it there as injury replacements…

⭐ Former Cub Javier Baez is the AL starter in center field! PCA and Baez were traded for each other in 2021 and are now both starting the All-Star Game in CF!

Michael Busch is the 3rd Cub to ever have a 3-HR game against the Cardinals…and all 3 players did it on the 4th of July 🤯 (Moises Alou in 2003, Hank Leiber in 1939)

Placed Jameson Taillon on the 15-day IL with a right calf strain, called up Jordan Wicks. Taillon may miss over a month…

And the rotation continues to change. I looked at some trade options for the 2nd half and who may be the Best 5 in the future:

The Iowa Cubs faced 45-year old Rich Hill on Wednesday. THAT Rich Hill who pitched for the Cubs from 2005 to 2008. He allowed 5 earned runs including a HR to Kevin Alcantara.

Speaking of Alcantara, he and Owen Caissie have been on FIRE at AAA Iowa. Alcantara had a recent 14-for-25 stretch with 4 HR, and Caissie is 10-for-16 with 4 HR in his last 4 games 🔥

Owen Caissie and RHP Jaxon Wiggins were selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game!

SCHEDULE 📅 T/W/TH/F/SAT/SUN

CHICAGO BEARS

OFFSEASON

Training Camp begins July 19th!

Ryan Poles has done a solid job revamping the Bears roster since he took over in 2022. Unfortunately, incompetent coaching staffs and a complete mess on the field have lowered my confidence in the rebuild. I wrote about each Chicago team’s rebuild and where they stand. Read here:

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

OFFSEASON

🚨 Acquired F Sam Lafferty from the Buffalo Sabres for a 2026 6th round pick 🚨

Hat trick for Kyle Davidson! This is the 3rd time he has traded for Lafferty (January 5, 2022 and June 26, 2024), so his affinity for him has clearly not wavered.

Lafferty was a hard working defensive forward in his first Blackhawks stint, and his offensive production reached new heights even from a bottom 6 role. He had 32 points in 97 games before being packaged with Jake McCabe to Toronto for a 1st round pick that turned into Vaclav Nestrasil last week.

I see Lafferty as the symbol of Davidson’s ideal on-ice team. Davidson brought him to Chicago in one of his scarce moves before being named permanent GM. Lafferty helped establish the vision of never taking shifts off. His motor and energy will be welcomed back this season!

Signed F Dominic Toninato to a 2-year, 2-way contract ($850K cap hit)

Started discussing contracts with 2026 restricted free agents Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, and Spencer Knight on possible extensions!

Gave qualifying offers to Wyatt Kaiser, Arvid Soderblom, and Louis Crevier. Soderblom elected for arbitration. Did not extend an offer to Philipp Kurashev who signed with the San Jose Sharks.

Development Camp was last week!

CHICAGO BULLS

OFFSEASON

🚨 Re-signed G Tre Jones to a 3-year, $24M contract 🚨

It actually happened!!! I’ve been urging the Bulls to keep Tre Jones around ever since March. Check out my Mild Take from the March 17th newsletter: (Bears Make Statement In Free Agency With Trenches Overhaul) 👀

His impact on both ends of the court was evident immediately after he was traded to the Bulls as a part of the Zach LaVine deal. He quickly earned starts, was clutch at the end of games, and was frequently praised by Billy Donovan. Everyone could see he was a winning player and had the right DNA to excel in Chicago.

Trading Lonzo Ball cleared out the backup PG spot, and they handed it to Jones on a silver platter. He and Ayo will make up a tough and exciting backup guard duo!

Summer League roster was announced! Matas Buzelis is the main attraction, and he may just dominate play. See the full squad here. Their first game is Friday!

Signed F Emanuel Miller to a two-way qualifying offer

SAY WHAT?

A CITYWIDE SALUTE

Matthew Boyd

Boyd was named to the All-Star team for the first time in his career and immediately praised each individual who has helped him out this year. Name after name. He seems like the ultimate teammate and most humble player in Chicago. Enjoy his reaction here:

MILD TAKE

Passing on free agency was the right approach for the Blackhawks.

I don’t understand fans who were clamoring for a bunch of signings.

It makes sense for those who don’t follow the team or don’t understand what it will take to build a contender again. If you’re one of those fans, that’s fine. I’m here to tell you that spending money on mediocre veterans and taking roster spots away from the kids is a bad decision.

As the rebuild progresses, the Hawks’ impressive core at each position will prove, or disprove, its worth. Most of the foundational players are still prospects, and there are no guarantees as to who will develop into a winning player. So what does that mean? They need more time. 2025-2026 will be about the young players. So will the next season. And the next.

Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar have proved to me that they can be stars for the next decade. How about the defensemen? Will Sam Rinzel and Artyom Levshunov reach their ceilings as advertised? Will Kevin Korchinski become the top-flight offensive D-man they are still hoping for?

Kyle Davidson can predict, but he doesn’t have these answers. Passing out cash just because the salary cap went up wouldn’t help. The young players need to play. A bottom-of-the-league finish (again) would be fine. This will be Year 4 of the rebuild. Building a hockey team takes FOREVER. Let’s be patient.

HITTING THE LINKS

Jon Greenberg - Did Bulls take step forward or step back? They’re in same place they always are (The Athletic)

Charlie Roumeliotis - Blackhawks 2025 development camp notebook: Anton Frondell excited to join forces with Connor Bedard (WGN Radio)

Scott Powers - Blackhawks’ new rebuild stage factored into quiet offseason for GM Kyle Davidson (The Athletic)

TWO MINUTE WARNING

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Thanks for reading! Someone write up the petition to get Seiya to the All-Star Game!