Cubs Bats Catch Fire On First Homestand

Good morning Chicago fans! The stars were out this weekend, and I’m still holding out hope that the Bulls can figure out a way to trade for the WNBA #1 pick and draft Caitlin Clark.

In Chicago, we saw 4 elite Japanese baseball players on the field at the same time, including the best player in the world, Shohei Ohtani. Well, Seiya might be better right now 🤷‍♂️

TROPHY TRACKER

1-❌-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-🏆

Results:

L - Islanders 2, Blackhawks 1

Another decent effort was wasted by the Blackhawks as the offense was a no-show. The Hawks had a 1-0 lead headed into the 3rd and could not hang on.

• The Bedard/Dickinson/Kurashev line provided the only offense and goal (by Dickinson). When Connor Bedard was on the ice on 5v5, the Hawks were 13-1 in scoring chances.

• Petr Mrazek played very well and stopped 27 of 29 shots, but the game-winning goal sneaked in on a lucky bounce for the Islanders.

W - Blackhawks 3, Stars 2

The Blackhawks ended the Stars’ 8 game winning streak as Petr Mrazek stood on his head and kept the Hawks ahead of the Central Division leaders.

• Mrazek was especially grateful for the 2nd intermission since the Stars had so many scoring chances. Mrazek stopped 42 of 44 shots to get the win even though the Stars outshot the Hawks 44-17 😲

• Colin Blackwell returned from injury, and Taylor Raddysh was a healthy scratch

• Connor Bedard, Seth Jones, and Andreas Athanasiou all scored in the 2nd period to give the Hawks an early 3-0 lead

L - Wild 4, Blackhawks 0

Our favorite game of offensive explosion or shutout continued…Rookie Jesper Wallstedt, a 2021 1st round pick, posted his first career shutout as the Hawks suffered their 13th shutout of the season.

• Kirill Kaprizov led the Wild with 2 goals and 1 assist

• Surprisingly, the Blackhawks dominated at the faceoff circle 34-16

Week Record: 1-2-0

Season Record: 23-49-5

Star of the Week: Petr Mrazek

Mrazek is still playing very good hockey as we head towards the end of the season.

He had a .945 save percentage in his two starts this week 🔥.

Play of the Week: Lukas Reichel assist to Andreas Athanasiou

News & Notes:

• Connor Bedard was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for March

  • 3-time winner this season (November and December)

  • First player to win Rookie of the Month 3 times since Connor McDavid in 2015-2016 👀

• Signed prospect Nick Lardis to a 3-year Entry Level Contract ($896,667 cap hit)

  • Lardis is expected to return to the OHL next season

• Absolutely loved the Player Poll by Mark Lazerus and Scott Powers - check it out here

  • So many quotable lines from the players as the guys just went at each other

  • Poor Korchinski getting ridiculed for his style

  • Looking forward to GM Jason Dickinson and HC Nick Foligno running the Blackhawks in 2034 🔥

TROPHY TRACKER

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Results:

L - Hawks 113, Bulls 101

The 10th seed Hawks comfortably outshot the Bulls in a Play-In Tournament preview.

• Bulls only shot 39.4% from the field and 25.0% from 3 - Hawks shot an impressive 47.5% from 3

• DeMar DeRozan scored 31 points, Andre Drummond had 13p/18r

W - Bulls 108, Knicks 100

Javonte Green put on a SHOW the day after being signed for the remainder of the season. Green singlehandedly brought the energy and scoring to bring down the Knicks (25 points, 13 rebounds).

• Coby White (14 minutes) and Alex Caruso (32 minutes) both left the game with ankle injuries 😞

• DeMar scored 20 points, Ayo Dosunmu scored 24 points with 14 points just in the 1st quarter

L - Magic 113, Bulls 98

The Bulls struggled mightily as they followed their trend of alternating wins and losses.

• Javonte Green started for the injured Alex Caruso and played well again (15p/8r)

• A 14-point 1st quarter, 21 turnovers, and a 6-20 3PT shooting performance tell the whole story. This one was ugly on all sides.

• DeMar led the Bulls with 30 points, Nikola Vucevic only scored 8 points on 1-9 shooting

Week Record: 1-2

Season Record: 37-41

Star of the Week: Javonte Green

This man is popping up in every section of this Bulls update…and for good reason.

He starts out in the G League, signs back with the Bulls, gets a bit of playing time, and ends up starting at PF and providing a ton of quality minutes on a very shorthanded team.

Green scored 40 points in his 2 games this week, and it looks like he will be an impact player once we get to the Play-In Tournament.

Play of the Week: Javonte Green Reverse

News & Notes:

• Signed Javonte Green for the remainder of the season and waived Terry Taylor

  • Green will now be post-season eligible

• Doug Collins was named to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

• There are 4 games remaining in the regular season, and the 9-10 matchup vs. the Hawks in the Play-In Tournament is locked in. The seeding is still up for grabs to determine home court.

• More talk surfaced regarding Lonzo Ball and the potential for him returning to 5-on-5 basketball before the 2024-2025 training camp. Hopefully his rehab continues to progress well.

TROPHY TRACKER

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Results:

W - Cubs 5, Rockies 0

Wrigley Field was electric as the Cubs shutout the Rockies in their 2024 home opener!

• Shōta Imanaga had a dominant MLB debut: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K

  • 2nd pitcher in MLB history to throw at least 6.0 shutout innings with 0 walks and 9+ strikeouts in their debut

• Christopher Morel had a Little League inside-the-park home run in the 6th inning that scored 3 runs as LF Nolan Jones misplayed a would-be single by Morel, and the ball rolled all the way to the ivy

• DJ Moore, Cole Kmet, Teven Jenkins, and Ja’Tyre Carter from the Bears were all in the building 🐻

W - Cubs 12, Rockies 2

Cubs bats were VERY alive and put on a show at Wrigley with a 14-hit night. Slow starts for the offense because of cold Aprils? Not this season!

• Seiya Suzuki, Christopher Morel, Garrett Cooper, and Cody Bellinger all homered 💪

  • Bellinger’s homer came right after Cubs fans were chanting “Cody, Cody” 🔊

• Javier Assad pitched a great game: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

W - Cubs 9, Rockies 8

It was cold and rainy, an 8-2 lead vanished in the blink of an eye, and the Cubs somehow found a way to sweep 🧹🧹🧹 the Rockies in a whirlwind baseball game.

• The Cubs bullpen (Julian Merryweather, Yency Almonte, Hector Neris) gave up 6 runs in the 8th inning to tie the game 8-8

• Seiya Suzuki homered for the 2nd straight game and finished 3-5 with 1 HR and 4 RBI

• Ben Brown fared much better in his 2nd MLB outing. He entered the game after Luke Little pitched 1 inning as the opener. Brown finished with 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5K.

W - Cubs 9, Dodgers 7

The Cubs won another slugfest - holding off the talented Dodgers with tough at-bats and multiple web gems.

• Dodgers starter Bobby Miller, from Elk Grove Village, IL, was forced out of the game in the 2nd inning (5 ER) after striking out the side in the 1st 😲

• Dansby Swanson and Michael Busch (first as a Cub) both hit a HR

• Nick Madrigal, Nico Hoerner, and Michael Busch flashed the leather as the infield played excellent defense all game

L - Dodgers 4, Cubs 1

The Cubs failed to capitalize with runners on base in the first two innings, and the Dodgers pitching staff took care of business the rest of the way.

• Yoshinobu Yamamoto shut down the Cubs with 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, and 8 K. He gained some momentum when he struck out the side after loading the bases with 0 outs in the 1st inning.

• Jordan Wicks (4.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) was effective against such a strong lineup, and his only 2 ER occurred when Jose Cuas came into the game in the 5th inning and allowed the inherited runners to score.

• 29 combined strikeouts for both lineups 🤢

W - Cubs 8, Dodgers 1

Despite a long rain delay in the middle of the game, the Cubs took the rubber match behind Shōta Imanaga and clutch hitting. How about a series win against the Dodgers?!?!

• Imanaga was pulled due to the rain delay, but he looked sharp again (4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 K)

• Cubs scored early and often - Michael Busch started them off with a bases clearing 3-run double in the 1st inning against his former team

Week Record: 5-1

Season Record: 6-3

Star of the Week: Shōta Imanaga

It was a great week of Cubs baseball, so there were a lot of options here…

Seeing Imanaga start his MLB career like this at Wrigley Field is special.

⭐ 10 innings, 0 earned runs, 12 strikeouts ⭐

Play of the Week: Nico Hoerner Web Gem

News & Notes:

• Julian Merryweather was placed on the 15-day IL with a right shoulder strain. Daniel Palencia was recalled from AAA and immediately recorded a 3-inning save on Sunday.

• The NL Central had an impressive start to the season - every team is at .500 or above, and the Cubs sit in 3rd place at 6-3 due to the Pirates’ and Brewers’ hot starts.

• In the offseason, there were rumors about the Cubs targeting SP Shane Bieber from the Guardians in trade discussions. Bieber is now scheduled for Tommy John surgery and will miss the remainder of this season.

• The offense is already clicking and extremely fun to watch

  • Happ and Swanson have a .430+ OBP and .900+ OPS

  • Seiya has 12 RBI in only 9 games - a 216 RBI pace for the season 😂

  • There are tough at-bats throughout the entire lineup - only 3 hitters have a strikeout rate above 20%

TROPHY TRACKER

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News & Notes:

• Caleb Williams had his Top 30 visit with the Bears on Wednesday and went to dinner at Sophia Steak in Lake Forest with current players and front office members on Tuesday night.

  • Ian Rapoport reported that Caleb Williams only had 1 visit scheduled. Caleb to the Bears. This is happening.

  • Having current players hang out with Caleb sounds like a genius move to make sure he will be a fit for this team.

• Other players made their Top 30 visits with the Bears last week, including WR Rome Odunze and DE Dallas Turner.

• Courtney Cronin does a great job diving into the team’s options with the #9 pick in this piece.

Colin Blackwell

Masterton Memorial Trophy team nominee

This trophy is awarded to a player who shows “perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey”.

As I’ve clearly documented, Blackwell has played great and been a huge part of the Blackhawks this season after returning from the sports hernia surgery he had in March 2023.

Blackwell sounded very appreciative of the honor as someone who doesn’t necessarily get the spotlight. I’m still happy he wasn’t traded at the deadline 🙂

I’m sold on Luke Richardson as the long-term Blackhawks head coach.

Evaluating head coaches is difficult. Finding a great one is even more difficult.

Making decisions about a head coach in the midst of a full rebuild is nearly impossible.

After nearly two whole seasons (26-49-7 in 2022-2023 and 23-49-5 so far in 2023-2024), the results have been abysmal. The blowouts have been plenty, and on many nights, the effort isn’t there. So why buy into a coach and the program he is building?

For one, the talent isn’t there. You can’t win many games without good players. Last year was a barren roster that was meant to reset their competitive timeline and give the organization a high draft pick. This year, injuries halted any hope of tangible progress from the full roster assembled by Kyle Davidson.

Playing .500 hockey over the last month is extremely impressive for a team still missing key pieces and focusing on the development of multiple rookies. Connor Bedard was recently outspoken about the importance of developing a winning mentality. Seeing success and understanding how to win at the NHL level is helpful in a sport that is not generally kind to rookies. The team is going nowhere this season but is playing hard for each other and for their coach.

Luke Richardson seems to be building a culture. This is the Blackhawks program. The GM is bought in, the players are bought in, and I believe he can lead them into contention when the talent arrives. Do we really think Foligno, Dickinson, and others would be so adamant about staying in Chicago long-term and helping lead this team into a winning era if they didn’t support the head coach?

Thanks for reading! I hope you can all safely watch the eclipse today. Let me know if the eclipse or the Bulls’ future is darker…

Oh yeah, the White Sox won 1 game this week!!