Cubs Starting Rotation Keeping Them Afloat

Good morning Chicago fans! The Cubs may have the best starting staff in MLB, and LeBron James lost in the playoffs. What more could you want? And if you’re a LeBron fan, please explain yourself.

We are fully entrenched in springtime baseball with Pat Hughes on the radio and the windows down! Cubs relievers add some beats per minute to that experience, though…good thing the starters have been unhittable 🔥

TROPHY TRACKER

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Results:

W - Cubs 3, Mets 1

Who needs hits in the first 7 innings anyways? Luis Severino took a no-hitter into the 8th, but the Cubs rallied to get back into the win column.

• Christopher Morel hit a game-winning 2-run HR in the top of the 9th against Mets closer Edwin Diaz

• Jameson Taillon looked sharp again in his 3rd start since returning from injury (7.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K)

L - Mets 4, Cubs 2

Poor defense and another HR served up by Adbert Alzolay couldn’t bail out the slumping offense as the Cubs lost their 3rd game over their last 4.

• Another error by Dansby Swanson in the 6th inning kept the inning alive, and the Mets took advantage with a 3-run HR by DJ Stewart

• Javier Assad lowered his ERA to 1.97 on the season - he hasn’t given up more than 2 ER in any start

• I get the team is injury ridden and facing a lefty…but Patrick Wisdom hitting 2nd again? What are we doing?

W - Cubs 1, Mets 0

The pitching staff should call up Petr Mrazek to share notes about standing on their heads trying to preserve a shutout. While the offense has no scoring chances…and they did it! Another pitchers’ duel ended with a wild double play in the 9th inning!

• Shōta Imanaga dominated again (7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K) and lowered his SEASON ERA to 0.78 🏆

• Ian Happ ➡ Nick Madrigal ➡ Miguel Amaya turned a double play on a flyout to left with a perfect relay to the plate

  • The review took forever, but Pete Alonso’s hand was in the air over the plate as he was tagged to end the game

L - Mets 7, Cubs 6 (F/11)

For every game the Cubs steal, they blow a lead and lose a close one. The Mets came from behind to secure a series split in the Francisco Lindor flu game.

• Lindor was sick and did not start. He came off the bench in the 6th and hit a 2-run double, then won the game on a walk-off 2-run double in the 11th

• Starling Marte had 2 assists from right field JUST in extra innings. He gunned down a runner at the plate in the 10th and 11th. 3B coach Willie Harris had some questionable decisions…

• The Cubs stole 6 bases 😲, their most in a game since 2008, after only stealing 11 in their first 31 games.

L - Brewers 3, Cubs 1

[2024 Cubs game on repeat]. In manager Craig Counsell’s first game against his former team, the Cubs had a 1-0 lead before Adbert Alzolay gave up 3 runs in the 8th inning.

• Morel hit another homer to provide their only offense against starter Joe Ross (6 IP, 1 ER) who returned this season after two Tommy John procedures kept him out of baseball in 2022 and 2023

• Hayden Wesneski looked amazing in a starting role as the Cubs starting pitching depth continues to thrive (6.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K)

W - Cubs 6, Brewers 5

This game had it all: May the 4th Star Wars Day at the ballpark, Caleb Williams and some Bears teammates at Wrigley Field, oh and the Cubs bullpen almost blew another lead 🤷‍♂️

• Jameson Taillon was masterful (6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K) and Hector Neris narrowly escaped with his 6th stressful save of the season

• Morel, Patrick Wisdom, and Nico Hoerner all hit HRs

• 2 more errors for the Cubs as the defense continued its sloppy play so far this season

W - Cubs 5, Brewers 0

The Cubs pitching staff was unhittable as they took 2 of 3 in the series to move into a tie for first place in the NL Central!

• Javier Assad (6.0 IP), Yency Almonte (2.0 IP), and Daniel Palencia (1.0 IP) combined for the shutout

• Dansby Swanson remembered he’s a good baseball player - he had a couple great defensive plays to lead a much cleaner defensive team effort, and he hit a HR

Week Record: 4-3

Season Record: 21-14

Star of the Week: Christopher Morel

Morel is back! The offense has been non-existent for weeks now, but Morel provided a spark this week with 4 HRs in 6 games. He also walked 3 times in Sunday’s game and has shown improved plate discipline.

Play of the Week: Double Play in the 9th for the W

News & Notes:

• New franchise record 18 wins through April

• Prospect RHP Cade Horton was promoted to AAA - maybe a MLB promotion later this summer?? 👀

• On Saturday, Miles Mastrobuoni was recalled from AAA and Matt Mervis was sent back down to AAA

  • Mervis had another tough stretch in the big leagues, hitting 3-26 with 8 strikeouts

• Shōta Imanaga was named National League Rookie of the Month and is on a historic run:

• Justin Steele returns to the mound today!!! He made a rehab start at AAA on Wednesday and allowed 3 ER in 3.1 IP.

• Kyle Hendricks made a rehab start at AA on Thursday and allowed 2 ER in 5.0 IP. Next up is a start at AAA on Tuesday.

• Craig Counsell said Seiya and Belli could both potentially return to the lineup this week 😁🚨

TROPHY TRACKER

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News & Notes:

• P Trenton Gill was waived after the Bears selected P Tory Taylor in the 4th round of the draft

  • My favorite memory of the Trenton Gill era was ST Coach Richard Hightower speaking highly of Gill’s character by saying his daughter should marry a guy like Gill someday

  • Tory Taylor is known as the Crocodile Punter - does that mean the Bears went from a fish to a crocodile? To pair with LS Patrick Scales???

• GM Ryan Poles did a great interview on The Pat McAfee Show - you can watch here

  • He made it clear that Rome Odunze was a can’t-miss prospect on their board

  • There was a lot of punter talk with the former punter - Poles said drafting Taylor will make opposing teams “uncomfortable” by always pinning them deep in their own territory

  • Cool insights on draft rooms and what NFL drafts look like for front office executives

• Vikings offered both 2024 1st round picks and their 2025 1st round pick to the Patriots to try to move up to #3 in the draft to select Drake Maye

• The rookies have new jersey numbers:

• Former Bear WR Chase Claypool signed a 1-year contract with the Buffalo Bills. I’m not saying they’ll go 0-17 this season, but their odds are now much better.

• Steelers running back Jaylen Warren mentioned that their special teams coach thought about having Justin Fields return kicks 🤔

TROPHY TRACKER

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News & Notes:

• Connor Bedard was named a finalist for the Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year)

• Tampa Bay Lightning lost their 1st round playoff series 4-1 vs. the Panthers

  • The Blackhawks 2nd 1st round draft pick this season (acquired from the Lightning) is now guaranteed to be at #20

• Rockford lost their 1st round playoff series, so the valuable playoff experience for Lukas Reichel and others was a shorter run than expected

  • Kyle Davidson loaded up the AHL squad with talent before the playoffs to hopefully make a run and provide more meaningful opportunities for their players

• Ben Pope wrote an insightful piece about Kyle Davidson’s philosophy on burning entry-level contract years, as the team looks to re-sign Lukas Reichel this offseason. Read it here.

• NHL Draft Lottery is Tuesday night

  • Blackhawks have a 13.5% chance to pick 1st for the 2nd straight year

TROPHY TRACKER

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News & Notes:

• Alex Caruso won the NBA Hustle Award 🥇 (can’t make every Bull come in 2nd place, NBA)

• Director of Performance Health Chip Schaefer was let go

• Lonzo Ball picked up his player option of $21.4M for 2024-2025

  • This was expected from Ball who hasn’t played since the 2021-2022 season - hopefully his rehab continues to progress well

• 🚨 BULLS, BLACKHAWKS, AND WHITE SOX TV NETWORK NEWS 🚨

  • They are reportedly partnering with Standard Media Group on a new TV network starting in October.

  • Two weeks ago, it was reported that the teams would be moving from NBC Sports Chicago to Stadium, and there was concern about access for Chicagoans. Jerry Reinsdorf is also a majority owner of Stadium.

  • We'll have to wait for more news, but hopefully the new network will strike early deals with cable and streaming services so games are available to everyone. This may mean there’s an extra network we need to pay for…Everyone get ready to change your TV plans in the fall!

Julian Phillips

The Bulls rookie spent time with kids in Operation Basketball this season. That team is really full of good guys who love to serve the Chicagoland area.

Here’s a video highlighting his time with the kids. It’s clear that Phillips understands it’s bigger than basketball, and these kids need to develop character and life skills that will benefit them for their futures.

Winning the lottery will not change the Blackhawks' rebuild timeline.

If the Hawks somehow come away with the #1 pick again, they will have another superstar to pair with Connor Bedard. 17-year old Macklin Celebrini would give them another franchise cornerstone for the future.

It also means Celebrini would slot in as 2C behind Bedard and play in the NHL right away as a rookie. I’ve read some speculation that if those two are both Hawks next season, they would have to add more veteran talent to the team, and the timeline for contention would be accelerated.

I think it may alter a couple roster decisions this fall, but I don’t see it impacting the long-term plan for Kyle Davidson.

Even if Celebrini is in the NHL right away, he will need time to develop and get used to the pro game. The other top prospects in the system still need time before they make it to the pros. Theoretically, Oliver Moore and Sam Rinzel could sign starting in the 2025-2026 season. Others may be a year or two later.

The full breadth of talent from Davidson’s first 3 drafts (2022-2024) need to be in the NHL before this team can compete for a championship. Is that 2026-2027? 2027-2028? It’s too early to tell.

But Davidson will remain vigilant in free agency and not tie up their cap space no matter who they select in the draft this June. This is a long rebuild, but the end continues to look more promising.

Thank you for reading! As always, feel free to reply with your thoughts or feedback on today’s edition!

Whatever you wore last year on NHL Draft Lottery night, we are all begging you, PLEASE wear it again tomorrow night. We need those ping pong balls to bounce the right way!