Shōta Imanaga Continues His Historic Start

Good morning Chicago fans! If your job’s holiday schedule is like mine, this is the last week of the longgggggggg stretch between New Year’s Day and Memorial Day. Let’s push through the week, and then it’s holidays upon holidays for the rest of the year!

It’s easy to get busy and go through the motions every day. Here’s a reminder to stop and be in the moment. DEFINITELY stop when a police officer asks you to stop, even if you’re the best golfer on the planet. And if you’re nowhere near any crazy incidents and just living an average day, look around at the beautiful sights:

TROPHY TRACKER

1-2-3-4-5-❌-7-8-9-🏆

Results:

L - Braves 2, Cubs 0

Coming off their exciting series win in Pittsburgh, the Cubs couldn’t scratch out any runs against Braves pitching.

• Shōta Imanaga did not have his best stuff but battled his way to ANOTHER scoreless start (5.0 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 K) that included two successful pick-offs 🤩

• Old (minor league) friend Zack Short (and co-host of The Compound Podcast with Ian Happ) drove in the go-ahead run for the Braves. Short was traded to Atlanta recently, and this was his first start.

• Craig Counsell was ejected for the first time as Cubs manager

L - Braves 7, Cubs 0

The stars all showed up for the Braves as the Cubs were shutout for the second straight game.

• Former White Sox pitcher Chris Sale dominated Cubs hitters (7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K)

  • White Sox fans: How does the 2016 Chris Sale trade look now? The return was Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Luis Alexander Basabe, and Victor Diaz

• Jameson Taillon gave up 2 HRs in a disastrous 6-run 4th inning - rare bad outing for the starting staff

W - Cubs 7, Braves 1

No sweep in Atlanta! A complete team effort salvaged a game to close out the series.

• Javier Assad threw a gem (6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) 💎

• Five Cubs hitters had 2+ hits as the offense finally showed life

• Mike Tauchman and Seiya Suzuki hit HRs

• Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a triple and went from home to third in only 11.01 seconds - fastest in MLB this season

L - Pirates 5, Cubs 4

Justin Steele (5.2 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 7 K, 2 HRs allowed) got hit hard, and the offense couldn’t complete the comeback.

• After 2 days off in Atlanta to try and reset his bat, Ian Happ hit his first HR of the year from the left side of the plate

• Both bullpens dominated, and the teams combined for a total of 23 strikeouts

L - Pirates 9, Cubs 3

Paul Skenes vs. Kyle Hendricks ended as lopsided as it sounds as the Pirates quickly put away the Cubs.

• Skenes bounced back from his 1st MLB start against the Cubs with an unbelievable no-hit outing (6.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 11 K, 22 whiffs) 🤢

• Hendricks said he threw two bad pitches all game and the soft hits were falling…which is true. But he was also consistently hit hard (4.2 IP, 11 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 0 BB, 4 K)

W - Cubs 1, Pirates 0

Walk-off wins at Wrigley Field are electric! Christopher Morel was the hero at the end of a quick pitchers’ duel.

• The best pitcher in MLB delivered again. Shōta Imanaga had another shutout performance (7 IP, 0 ER, 7 K)!

• Cody Bellinger had 2 hits and scored the game-winning run (maybe…the ball came loose on a transfer?)

L - Pirates 3, Cubs 2

The Cubs only managed 2 hits as they lost the series to the Pirates.

• Jameson Taillon (4.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) ran his pitch count up early and was charged with 2 of his 3 earned runs when Hayden Wesneski came into the game and allowed the inherited runners to score

• Suzuki and Morel both went 0-for-1 with a sac fly and a walk

Week Record: 2-5

Season Record: 26-22 (2nd place - 2 GB)

Star of the Week: Shōta Imanaga

Shōta has the lowest ERA (0.84) of any starting pitcher in their first 9 career starts in MLB history!!! 🥇

He threw a casual 12 shutout innings this week with 15 strikeouts.

Play of the Week: Christopher Morel Walk-Off Single

I LOVE this view.

Christopher Morel is such a fun player, he even bat flips on a potential game-winning single.

The crowd’s long pause before the call at home was epic!

Roster Moves:

• Monday: Albert Alzolay placed on the 15-day IL with a right flexor strain, Jose Cuas recalled from AAA

• Tuesday: Added Tyson Miller by trade, DFA’d Richard Lovelady

• Wednesday: Keegan Thompson placed on the 15-day IL with an illness, Luke Little recalled from AAA

• Friday: RHP Colten Brewer placed on the 15-day IL with back tightness, RHP Porter Hodge recalled from AAA

• Injury-o-meter: 16 IL stints for the team this season ☠

• Reportedly calling up INF Luis Vazquez from AAA

• C Curt Casali opted out of his contract (he had been at AAA) and signed a major league contract with the Giants

News & Notes:

• Traded for reliever RHP Tyson Miller from the Seattle Mariners for AAA INF Jake Slaughter

  • Yes, I’ll fess up, it only took 16 hours for my Mild Take from last week to be shattered into pieces. Jed Hoyer actually pulled the trigger on a deal for a reliever. I still think it’s an odd move this early in the season.

  • Miller was actually drafted by the Cubs in 2016 and was in their system until being waived in 2021. He briefly reached the majors in 2020. Hopefully Jed Hoyer knows him really well and believes in his potential!

  • Miller signed a minor league contract with the Mariners this past offseason and was recently DFA’d. He had only pitched 42.2 innings in the big leagues in his career.

• Traded for LHP Jeff Belge from the Tampa Bay Rays for LHP Richard Lovelady (DFA’d on Tuesday)

  • Belge is a tall lefty who has never surpassed AA despite quality strikeout rates

  • Receiving anyone for a DFA’d player is worth it to me, and hopefully the Cubs’ pitching lab and development team targeted someone they could help improve

• MLB Pipeline released their updated Top 100 Prospects list. Their list now features EIGHT Cubs 🎖

• AAA OF Brennen Davis homered 7 times in 8 games!

• Nico Hoerner has not played since Monday due to a hamstring injury but was never placed on the IL 🤷‍♂️

• Dansby Swanson (and possibly Nico) is expected to return from the IL tomorrow

TROPHY TRACKER

1-2-3-4-5-❌-7-8-9-🏆

2024 Schedule Release:

🤔 Divisional games are stacked up later in the season, starting in Week 11

🐻 Weeks 1-3 features all 2nd year quarterbacks. The matchups will be fun vs. Caleb Williams, but it may be even more fun for the Bears defense!

✈ Week 6 vs. Jacksonville will be in London, and Week 7 follows with a bye

🙂 Thank goodness we don’t have to sit through another Week 1 Packers matchup. Give the Bears time to gel before facing them in Weeks 11 and 18…

News & Notes:

• Signed 6 players who participated in rookie mini-camp with a tryout

  • WR Freddie Swain

  • TE Tommy Sweeney

  • WR John Jackson (Caleb Williams’ best friend)

  • CB Leon Jones

  • DT Dashaun Mallory

  • LB Paul Moala

• The Detroit Lions gave QB Jared Goff a 4-year, $212M contract extension 💰💰💰

  • $73M signing bonus - largest in NFL history 😲

  • That’s the price of business to keep quarterbacks these days, but paying someone who isn’t in the elite tier of the NFL that much money seems useless. Good news for the Bears!

  • With Goff locked up, Jordan Love soon to be extended by the Packers, and the Vikings recently drafting JJ McCarthy, the NFC North QB picture is very clear for the next few years. I firmly believe Caleb can be the best in the division.

• DC Eric Washington will participate in the NFL’s coaching accelerator program

• Former Bear C/G Lucas Patrick signed with the Saints

• Former Bear P Trenton Gill signed with the Broncos

TROPHY TRACKER

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News & Notes:

• The IIHF World Championship is underway and Blackhawks players are making an impact!

  • Connor Bedard has 5 goals in 6 games

  • Philipp Kurashev scored a shootout winner

  • Lukas Reichel has 5 points in 4 games

• Roman Kantserov did NOT win the KHL Rookie of the Year award

• Every Shift Episode 7 dropped on YouTube. Here are a few highlights:

  • Inside look at Nick Foligno being a dad in the offseason - he’s a dad on the ice during the season too 🤷‍♂️

  • Frank Nazar’s debut

  • Kyle Davidson wore the same suit as last year on Draft Lottery night

• Corey Pronman’s first mock draft for The Athletic has the Blackhawks selecting RHD Artyom Levshunov at #2 and RW Igor Chernyshov at #20

• A former Blackhawks employee is suing the team and claiming she was sexually harassed by someone working with the team in 2022. The Blackhawks released a statement saying they investigated the claims and did not find solid evidence, and the accused party was never an employee or independent contractor for the team.

TROPHY TRACKER

❌-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-🏆

News & Notes:

• Hired Wes Unseld Jr. as a lead assistant on Billy Donovan’s coaching staff

  • Unseld Jr. has head coaching experience with the Wizards (2021-2024) and fits the experienced profile Donovan wanted

  • He also worked as an assistant in Denver for 6 years - so basically Arturas Karnisovas is still trying to re-build the Nuggets here in Chicago 🙄

  • He was a top head coaching candidate when AK was first hired with the Bulls in 2020 - until Donovan became available

• Hired Dan Craig as another lead assistant coach

  • Craig previously worked under Ty Lue with the Clippers and Erik Spoelstra with the Heat

• Assistant coach Josh Longstaff left the Bulls to work under new Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee

  • He is now the third assistant to either leave the organization or transition to a new role with the Bulls

• Lonzo Ball discussed his rehab on his new podcast, What an Experience. He said he is at 70% right now and able to play 👀 A dunk video circulated the internet last week!

• GM Marc Eversley is reportedly a candidate for the Pistons President of Basketball Operations position

Christopher Morel

Morel brought a group of kids onto the field after Friday’s game at Wrigley. The kids were from the Dominican Republic and part of the Go Baseball Program.

I bet this was important to Morel who grew up in the Dominican Republic and wants others to knows they can follow in his footsteps to MLB. This story aligns with what he has shown since reaching the majors. He consistently interacts with fans and has been selfless with his time.

The Bulls should re-sign DeMar DeRozan.

Both parties want to reunite, and DeMar was outspoken again this week about wanting to return and take care of “unfinished business”.

My preferred option for the Bulls moving forward is to rebuild. Keep a couple young guys and tear down the rest. They are a couple years late to the rebuild party, but it could still work. Based on Arturas Karnisovas’ comments over the last few years, a full scale teardown is not in the cards. So I’m looking ahead as if “competing” and “retooling” are their goals.

Financially, DeMar should only come back if Zach LaVine is actually traded away. LaVine carries a $43M price tag for next season. If the Bulls can’t find a trade partner who wants LaVine, then their options for roster improvement are more limited. They may need to utilize the cap space freed up from DeMar’s absence.

With LaVine gone, and the focus being on player development for the young talent (Coby, Ayo, P-Will, etc.), DeMar would have a massive role on this team. On the court, he is still excellent. He averaged 24.0 ppg last season and was the ultimate closer in the 4th quarter. He changed his play style on multiple occasions to involve more of his teammates. Billy Donovan has praised his leadership from a basketball IQ standpoint on multiple occasions.

Off the court, you already know how much I respect DeMar. He is a genuinely supportive teammate and a significant voice in the community and the league. His ability to relate to people and help those in need is impressive.

Keep DeMar around as the veteran leader. Keep him in Chicago like he wants. AK was creative with his roster building in 2021 by completing a handful of trades. We haven’t seen anything like it since. I don’t expect creativity or actual improvement, but there are ways to make this a more complete team with DeMar still in the mix.

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The Cubs won’t lose today! Happy day off to all.