Chicago Sports

Trading fan favorites and productive veterans have been a way of life for the Cubs over the last two seasons.

So have injuries and recurring ailments.

Second baseman Nick Madrigal returned to the 10-day injured list for the third time because of a mild right groin strain before Saturday’s 5-2 loss to the Giants was the latest in a series of ailments that stunted the Cubs’ ability to at least hover near the .500 mark for an entire season and evaluate their young talent with no medical red flags during their current rebuild.

The Cubs currently have 12 players on the injured list. That’s not completely outrageous, considering the Reds have 16 players in the IL, including five with season-ending injuries. Five of the 10 players on the Rays’ IL are on the 60-day list.

But the recurring setbacks, such as reliever Rowan Wick’s left oblique strain in 2020-21 and shortstop Nico Hoerner’s four trips to the IL in 2021 (twice for right oblique ailments), harnessed their attempts to develop at the major league level.

Madrigal will be one of the first projects for Blaine Kinsley, who was recently hired as the Cubs’ new strength and conditioning coach, manager David Ross disclosed.

Kinsley spent the last five seasons with the University of Arkansas baseball program and has worked in professional baseball, including two seasons (2011-12) with the Cubs’ Class-A Peoria.

“We’ve had a high injury rate, and so that’s definitely part of his expertise,” Ross said. “And he’s been around a lot of winning. I think he’ll bring a lot to the table, not just in that area. I think having somebody overseeing the department is also helpful for making sure everyone is on the same page.”

Kinsley, who takes over a department once headed by Adam Beard, is expected to work this offseason with Madrigal in the Phoenix area, Ross said.

Madrigal was recovering from a right hamstring tear when he was traded in July of 2021 from the Sox, but he missed 20 games in May because of back soreness and nearly two months due to a left groin strain.

Prior to Madrigal’s latest setback, he was .283 with a .349 on-base percentage in 27 games. His development is an important part of the Cubs’ evaluation process, especially when deciding whether to pursue a prized free-agent shortstop which could result in Hoerner moving to second.

Ross thought it would behoove Madrigal to seek input from Hoerner, who has recovered successfully from injuries, as well as Kinsley.

“Getting back from a serious hamstring injury was one step,” Ross said. “Being able to take care of his body to stay healthy the entire season will be the next one.”

Infielder Patrick Wisdom was activated from the IL to replace Madrigal.

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A never-ending quest for a quality Bears offense with staying power begins again Sunday at Soldier Field.

And I mean never-ending — the Bears have been one of the most chronically challenged offensive teams in the NFL — really since the 1970 merger, but especially in the last 30 years. Since 1992, in fact, the Bears have scored the fewest offensive points of any team in the NFL — 17.7 per game. That’s three decades and two generations of suffering, if you’re scoring at home.

The Bears have been so inept offensively for so long, many Bears fans didn’t know to be quiet when the offense has the ball until Jay Cutler told them to. That’s not their fault. How were they supposed to know? Even the rare good Bears offenses in the past 30 seasons have had the lifespan of a butterfly — often beautiful, but gone within a year.

The Bears have finished in the top 10 in the NFL in scoring four times in the last 30 years — and each time they have quickly regressed to sub-standard. They were ninth in 2018 (actually 12th in offensive points), but 29th, 22nd and 27th the next three seasons. The same thing happened when they finished second in 2013 (23rd, 23rd, 28th, 29th the following four seasons) and second in 2006 (18th, 14th, 19th, 21st) and when they were eighth in 1995 (26th, 28th, 25th, 25th, 28th).

And that includes some classic teases: Gary Crowton’s debut in 1999, when the Bears scored 20 points in the first half against the Chiefs in the opener — then were shut out in the second half and finished 25th in scoring. Or Marc Trestman’s debut in 2013, when Jay Cutler threw game-winning fourth-quarter touchdown passes against the Bengals and Vikings in Weeks 1-2. Or Matt Nagy’s debut in 2018, when the Bears and Mitch Trubisky opened with a 10-play, 86-yard touchdown drive against the Packers — and we know how that turned out.

Every time it looks like the dawn of a new era, the Bears’ offense pulls the rug out from under Bears fans. That brings us to the 2022 season and Luke Getsy, who came to town with the huge advantage of not being Matt Nagy and now has to prove it on the field.

Even with Justin Fields at quarterback, there’s not a lot of buzz about the Bears’ offense. The Bears’ most prominent offseason additions were wide receivers Velus Jones and Byron Pringle and center Lucas Patrick. The offensive line is unproven at best. And Fields has nothing more than moments on his resume.

One play or one game is unlikely to indicate an offensive breakthrough. So expectations heading into the 2022 season are modest. Here’s a checklist of what might indicate the beginning of a new era:

First-and-10 success — The Bears were 25th in the NFL last year in first-and-10 yardage (5.0). The Packers were second (6.3).Third-and-short plays — The Bears had the fifth most third-down plays of four yards or more in the NFL last season (185) –and were last in conversion percentage (25.4%).Score in the third quarter — The Bears scored 57 points in the third quarter last season — 24th in the NFL. The top 10 teams in third-quarter scoring last year were a combined 108-62 (.635), with eight making the playoffs.Rank higher in points scored than yards gained — often a sign of an efficient offense. Every Bears playoff team since 2001 has had a positive points/yards differential.A running back gain 40-plus yards on a reception. The Bears haven’t done that since Tarik Cohen’s 70-yard touchdown in 2018.Score 24 or more points against a playoff team. It happened just twice in 26 games under Nagy — and only once without garbage points (31 points vs. the Patriots in Nagy’s sixth game in 2018).Read More

In building the “next great Cubs team,” Chairman Tom Ricketts appears all-in on the current rebuild mission with many major-league auditions and stockpiling of minor-league talent for the second consecutive second half.

“You can’t buy a championship team in baseball,” Ricketts told reporters Saturday after the induction of outfielder Jose Cardenal, venerable announcer Pat Hughes and the late Buck O’Neill in a Cubs Hall of Fame ceremony. “You have to build it. That’s what we’re doing.”

Ricketts added that Jed Hoyer, the president of baseball operations, has “gotten a lot of flexibility. Let him decide what he wants to do.”

The Cubs have about $89 million earmarked for six players for 2023. That doesn’t include All-Star left fielder Ian Happ, who can become a free agent after next season.

Regardless of the hype surrounding pitching newcomer Hayden Wesneski and top outfield prospect Brennen Davis and Pete Crow-Armstrong, Hoyer has made it clear the Cubs need more power.

It’s a contrast from the roster they constructed eight years ago, when the likes of young position players such as Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Kyle Schwarber were supplemented by free-agent pitchers such as Jon Lester and John Lackey that helped them win a 2016 World Series.

Hoyer and his politburo already have looked to the future, as he and Ricketts attended a High-A South Bend game Sept. 1, and Hoyer has watched the Double-A Tennessee and Single-A Myrtle Beach affiliates last month.

Nico Hoerner’s ascent at shortstop has provided an in-house option should the Cubs shift their monies away from a deep free-agent shortstop market this winter.

But Hoyer won’t show his cards.

“There’s no question there’s holes to fill on this team moving forward,” Hoyer said Wednesday. “There are a lot of nice good stories on guys stepping forward and make it clear they’re part of our plans. But even with that, there are a number of holes, and we clearly look to fill them. We’ll look to where we are financially. I think all of that is true.

“(But) it doesn’t behoove us to go into specifics about who were’e going to go after.”

Pitcher Marcus Stroman believes the Cubs are “close” but admitted any moves are out of his control.

“I think if we add a few pieces, we can compete in the division right away,” Stroman said.

Blue heaven

Cardenal, 78, quipped “I wish I still had my Afro” after plaques of him and Hughes were revealed.

Cardenal and Hughes received blue jackets with a Cubs Hall of Fame logo on the left lapel. Cardenal appreciated the support of Crane Kenney, the President of Business Operations, rock legend and admirer Eddie Vedder and former First Lady Michelle Obama, as well as the Wrigley Field fans.

Cardenal recalled in the 1972 home opener the fans booed him after he lost a fly in the sun in right field.

“What you want me to do?” Cardenal said with open hands to the fans, who began to cheer him.

“Since that day, they accepted me,” Cardenal said. “And then after that, I was confident. The fans were right behind me. It was great.”

Hughes was moved to enter a group that included broadcast legends Harry Caray and Jack Brickhouse.

“Once I got to town, they treated me great from day one,” Hughes said. “I wish they could be here today because they were good to me, I admire them greatly and had a lot of fun with them.”

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Chicago Fire look to keep slim playoff hopes alive

Here we are in September and for the Chicago Fire it is Déjà  Vu all over again. Chicago’s Major League Soccer team heads into this Saturdays’s match against Inter Miami in 13th place in the Eastern conference and once again playing in Bridgeview at SeatGeek stadium.  With only five games remaining in the 2022 season the Chicago Fire are 8-8-13 and sitting on 32 points, 7 points out of the last playoff position.  So is there any hope? FiveThirtyEight has the Fire at at  a 4% chance of making the postseason.

But even 4% looks hopeful in light of the Chicago Fire’s recent on field performances. With that said hope burns eternal in the hearts of all true fans, and Fire fans are no different.  So if the Chicago Fire want to defy the odds to be able to play meaningful games later this Fall they will need to start with a victory tonight against David Beckham’s pink warriors.

Saturday night lights. 🔥 #cf97 pic.twitter.com/KTLb6CS5ca

— Chicago Fire FC (@ChicagoFire) September 10, 2022

Inter Miami FC started the season in poor form and with a clearly frustrated DP in Gonzalo Higuan.  While it seemed that Miami was headed towards another disappointing run they have somewhat turned things around and now sit in 9th place just 2 points out of the playoff picture.

Part of Miami’s success is due to their mid season signing 2020 MLS MVP Alejandro Pozuelo from Toronto.  Since signing with Miami Pozuelo has provided a much needed spark to their offense.  Miami coach Phill Neville also appears to have regained the locker room after benching a sulky Higuan earlier in the season, a move that perhaps reminded the club that the team is larger than any player.

When the Fire last met Inter Miami at the beginning of the season the two sides drew to a 0-0 tie.  Tonight a Fire team that has gone scoreless in their last 4 matches will have to manufacture some sort of offensive creativity if they want to keep any embers of a playoff dream alive.  This task will be even more difficult as the team is once again shorthanded with Fabian Herbers,  Stanislov Ivanov,  Kacper Przybylko and Jaro Torres all out with injuries.

In Major League Soccer this is the time of year and the type of game where you hope the highly paid designated players will step up.  With the only healthy DP on the Fire being Xerdan Shaqiri there is a lot of pressure on the former Liverpool man to show he can live up to his record breaking salary.  Unfortunately Shaqiri has yet to make much of an impact this season and is known more for asking to be subbed out in key games than choosing to step up in them.

Nothing is impossible, but there are a lot of things that are unlikely. The Fire winning tonight and going on to make the postseason are unfortunately one of those things. If that reality there will be a lot of questions for this club and their billionaire owner Joe Monsueto to answer.  Chief among them for Fire fans is should sporting director Georg Hietz be allowed to stay with club after three years of declining results and despite record salaries and investment.

 

 

 

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Gaga Slonina is perhaps the only reason left o watch the Chicago Fire this season.

As the Chicago Fire limp towards the end of another massively disappointing season their young goalkeeper is providing fans with one much needed reason to continue to root for Chicago’s MLS side.

Gabriel “Gaga” Slonina is only 18 but he has been with the Fire since he was 14 years old and set the league record as the youngest starting keeper at 17 when he took over the first team role last season.  With 12 clean sheets  this season he is just four shutouts away from tying Tony Meola’s all time MLS record of 16 matches in front of the net without allowing a goal.

Slonina’s quality has not gone unnoticed by the US national team who successfully recruited him amidst a strong campaign from Poland to bring the teen to his famiy’s native country for international football. He was also recently sold to global super power Chelsea FC for a 10 million dollar transfer fee. It is in London where Sloinia’s club future lies starting next season so the final games he plays with the Fire will be his last representing his home club.

With Gaga Slonina imminent departure Chicago area fans will have only a few more opportunities to watch this world class player represent their city.  So despite the Fire continuing to disappoint Gaga Slonina provides more than enough reason to travel out to Brisdgeview or down to Soldier Field to watch a player who may very well may be the future face of American soccer.

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Jim McMahon takes a swipe at the Bears

Chicago Bears Super Bowl-winning quarterback Jim McMahon isn’t shy about his opinions. The Bears quarterback made headlines this summer when he said he owned the Packers when he played. That comment was one that the “Punky QB” could back up with statistics.

He’s also opened up about his crazy shenanigans on the golf course. If McMahon is doing an interview, something coming out of it will be worth the listen.

Recently, McMahon was on 95.7 The Game’s “The Morning Roast” to talk Bears football. McMahon made shocking comments about the organization when asked if he was surprised the Bears hadn’t won a Super Bowl since he left.

“Not really, because they’re pretty cheap,” McMahon said in the interview. “They’ve always been cheap. Mike Ditka left Chicago when he was a player. He had to deal with George Halas. He left because they wouldn’t pay him.”

McMahon described the irony that Ditka would complain as a head coach to McMahon that Bears players would leave because of money. He claimed to remind Ditka that he left for the same reason.

The Chicago Bears used to be cheap

There’s a famous saying that Halas threw nickels around like manhole covers. That may have been true in the pre-salary cap era. But the Bears have spent competitive money in the salary cap era with no Super Bowl. The Bears’ issues have been more with the management and players not being on the same page.

Jim McMahon started the interview complaining about other ways the Bears have been cheap. He criticized the training facility the organization had when he played there. McMahon said it was worse than BYU’s.

Jim McMahon isn’t the first former Bears player to criticize the brass this year. Brandon Marshall claimed the Bears are run like a mom-and-pop shop.

 

 

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In July, Fire owner Joe Mansueto said he’d like to bring back sporting director Georg Heitz.

Mansueto needs to reconsider and move on from Heitz.

Barring a miraculous turnaround, the Fire will miss the postseason for the third straight year under Heitz. After averaging exactly one point per game over Heitz’s first two seasons, the Fire actually are on pace to improve. However, as the standings show, not nearly enough.

This can’t continue.

Heitz’s latest misstep is indicative of why the Fire must make a change. Before the transfer deadline, when the Fire were still reasonably in playoff contention, Heitz didn’t reinforce the spine of the team by bringing in either a new center back or central midfielder. With midfielder Gaston Gimenez out for the season and centerback Wyatt Omsberg recovering from foot surgery, the Fire are paper-thin up the middle. But Heitz limited coach Ezra Hendrickson’s options by standing pat when he had the chance to bring in help.

With his contract up at the end of the season, the Fire can’t stand pat with Heitz, who has shown little understanding of how to build a winner under MLS’ salary-cap constraints. He also has struggled with his biggest signings.

While the Xherdan Shaqiri gamble was worth taking, it hasn’t paid off because of his injuries. When he has been healthy, Shaqiri has been good but not good enough to justify his salary. Unfortunately for the Fire, Shaqiri’s availability has been an issue and doesn’t figure to get better as he ages.

For Heitz, missing on designated players and expensive purchases has been common, and the Fire have paid for those mistakes. With the season on the line, the Fire are winless in their last five matches entering Saturday and haven’t scored in 400 minutes. Nobody has stepped up to make something happen. Their attack — which was supposed to have been bolstered by Shaqiri, fellow designated player Jairo Torres and high-priced striker Kacper Przybylko — has produced the fewest goals in the league with 28.

Staying with Heitz would invite more of the same. Giving him additional time and maybe another rebuild could threaten the next two or three seasons, potentially further saddling the franchise with more questionable long-term deals.

That also would hurt the business side of the club. Because the Fire have struggled to win, they’ve given nobody a reason to try their product. On Aug. 27, a perfect night for soccer, only 13,907 turned out at Soldier Field to see the Fire lose 2-0 to CF Montreal. The quality of play only will become more important to the franchise’s goals next year, when casual fans will have to seek out matches on Apple TV+ instead of flipping to the familiar and accessible WGN.

Keeping Heitz in charge of the product would be incredibly risky.

That said, getting rid of Heitz also would carry some risk. Mansueto would need to find somebody to oversee Swiss partner club FC Lugano. Perhaps Heitz could be transferred there and have no role with the Fire. A new sporting director would mean another remodeling, continuing the Fire’s cycle of new executives and visions.

Yet, as the Fire learned when Heitz kept the status quo before the 2021 season, continuity isn’t always a good thing. More of Heitz would be the bad kind of continuity.

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