Cubs disfunction accelerates

There's been a lot going on in Chicago sports lately, most of it not good. Let's start with the Cubs. The Cubs were embarrassed by the Washington Nationals 6-1 Tuesday night. The Nationals stole seven bases off the Cubs battery of Jake Arrieta and Miguel Montero. What went on after the game was even more newsworthy.

Yea, it's Jake's fault, that's the ticket!

Montero threw Arrieta under the bus for being slow to the plate. While it's true Arrieta is slow to the plate, Montero has a wet noodle arm and has been sliding defensively for some time. The only decent throw Montero made Tuesday night was when he threw Arrieta under the bus. To get the ball to second base on a steal attempt Montero needs to hit a cutoff man. Montero still swings a decent stick, but a fast team will run him out of the park. He's 1-31 in throwing out base stealers.

Grab a shovel boys!

Anthony Rizzo then buried Montero Wednesday morning on ESPN 1000 saying, “When you start pointing fingers I think that labels you as a selfish player.” The offshoot of all of that is Montero is no longer a member of the Cubs. To his credit, Montero apologized to Arrieta and Arrita said he loved Miggy. Bottom line, in the words of Hawk Harrelson, “He gone.”

Next up

The Cubs called up Victor Caratini who was tearing up to the tune of .343/.384/539. Caratini isn't considered to be a good defensive catcher but does have a strong arm. In some respects the scouting reports on him are similar to the ones on Willson Contreras.

Anybody still think it's early?

In the meantime, the Cubs continue to play like a team with a huge collective hangover. The Cubs organization has a lot of smart guys in it. It's time to do something smart.

How about them Knicks!

Speaking of doing something smart, the Knicks fired GM, Phil Jackson. Jackson seemed unqualified to take the job, apathetic about doing the job and didn't seem to work hard. Beyond that, I have no idea why things didn't work out.

It seemed like the only smart thing Jackson did as the Knicks GM was draft Kristaps Porzingis. Jackson seemed to be tried to rectify that by listening to trade offers for Porzingis. With the firing of Jackson the Bulls are the leaders in the race for biggest dumpster fire of a NBA front office.

Enjoy it while you can

The White Sox scored a rare feel good win with a 4-3 victory over the Yankees. Jose Abreu's two out, bases loaded single. Jose Quintana was once again excellent, going 6.1 innings and allowing only 1 unearned run. The White Sox defense in general has been bad. Tim Anderson in particular seems to have taken a step backward defensively. His development will be something to watch for the rest of the season.

More next time.