![]() |
Image Courtesy of Bing |
A
rare hat trick in Chicago sports Sunday, the Cubs, Bears and Whits
Sox all won. I'll start with the Cubs. The Cubs 5-0 victory puts
them on the cusp of clinching the NL Central. Jose Quintana pitched
a complete game shutout for the Cubs. Quintana gave up only three
hits while striking out 10 and walking only one. The game was close
until the 7th inning when they added on two runs on a Ben
Zobrist homer. Anthony Rizzo added a two run double in the 8th.
Quintana
may have cemented his place in the Cubs post season rotation. I
think he belongs there, along with Kyle Hendricks and Jake Arrieta.
I'm unsure if Jon Lester gets the 4th slot. That's my
thinking, not necessarily Joe Maddon's. I think that what Lester
does in the upcoming week determines if Lester plays a key role in
the Cubs post season or not.
White Sox continue to show improvement
Lucas
Giolito continues to impress in the White Sox rotation. Giolito went
7 innings in the Sox 8-1 over the Royals. Giolito gave up one run on
five hits. He struck out 5 and didn't walk anybody. He's starting
to look like a top of the rotation pitcher. In admittedly limited
action, Giolito has an ERA of 2.38. I don't think his success is a
fluke.
Avisail
Garcia hit a 2 run homer in support of Giolito. He's currently
hitting .331. Whether this year is an actual breakout season or not
is debatable. Personally, I've come around to liking the idea of
the Sox keeping him.
After
going though one relief pitcher after another, the Sox have gotten to
the point of having a pen that's not completely useless. Going into
next year, major league retreads, Al Albuquerque and Danny Farquhar
could find a spot in the Sox pen. Aaron Bummer may be a member of
next year's pen, because he throws with his left arm. The fact he
has command issues clouds his future.
Bears win overshadowed by Cooper Blooper
A
rare Bears win was somewhat overshadowed by the dumbest play I've
seen by the Bears in over 50 years of watching them. Marcus Cooper
was well on his way to a touchdown on a blocked field goal when he
shut it down and came to almost a complete stop at the goal line.
There he was stripped of the ball. What should have been a Bears
touchdown on the last play of the first half turned into a field
goal.
I'm
old school, but I've come to expect showboating from NFL players.
But the combination of showboating coupled with stupidity on the part
of Cooper is intolerable. The Bears as a group seem to have limited
football IQs. I really think that's one reason the Bears collect so
few turnovers.
Is Glennon stopping the Bears from winnin?
The
Bears seem to be getting better, though they act like a team afraid
to win. Mike Glennon isn't a very good placeholder at quarterback.
While Glennon doesn't have a good corps of receivers to work with,
he's not weaponless. Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen are a great duo
out of the Bears backfield. They should open things up for a poor
Bears pass offense if there was a competent quarterback in place.
I
wonder how long it will be until Bears players get irked at the idea
of Glennon starting over Trubisky? The Bears defense is getting to
the point to where it can keep the team in games. Plus, the special
teams are no longer an embarrassment. Trubisky could make the Bears
an interesting team.
Pick a former Bears qb, any former Bears qb
In
a battle of former Bears quarterbacks, Josh McCown led the Jets to a
20-6 win over the Jay Cutler driven Dolphins. A third former Bears
qb, Brian Hoyer lit up the scoreboard in the 49ers 41-39 loss to the
LA Rams. What do these three guys have in common, besides being
former Bears, they are all cheaper and probably as good or better
than Mike Glennon.
And the Browns are still the Browns
The
Browns lost their third game of the season, 31-28, to the
Indianapolis Colts. I thought the Browns had a shot at win, but,
they again came up short. It looks like another long year for Browns
fans. All in all an interesting day in Chicago sports, and sports in
general.
Before I close, here are the top five reason Marcus Cooper stopped at the goal line:
1. Was
afraid the goal line might have a trip wire on it.
2. Wanted
to mitigate disappointment if there was a Bears penalty on the play.
3. Was
curious how John Fox would spin blatant stupidity/showboating in a
press conference.
4. Wanted
to make for team unity by not outscoring the Bears offense.
5. On
impulse, considered taking a knee to show support for Colin
Kaepernick.
More
next time.
No comments:
Post a Comment