Baseball

Series Preview – Cubs vs. Phillies: Blow Up The Chicken Man

By Sam Fels 1168 0

vs.

RECORDS: Cubs 64-54   Phillies 60-58

GAMETIMES: Tuesday-Thursday 6:05

TV: NBCSN Tuesday and Wednesday, WGN Thursday

AND HIS HOUSE TOO: The Good Phight

PREVIEW POSTS

Depth Charts & Pitching Staffs

Phillies Spotlight

After escaping Cincinnati with a split that you’re more glad to get against a sub-.500 team than would normally make sense, the Cubs will attempt to actually surge forward on the road in the Keystone State, including one game in the middle part of the state lovingly referred to as “Pennsyl-tucky.” It starts with a three-game set against the Phillies, who are doing a damn fine impression of the Mets these days.

It all started so well for the Phils, as they were 33-24 on June 1st and atop the East. They then watched the Braves go nuclear, the Nationals not far behind, and of late the Mets have become something of a farce, all the while piling up a 23-27 record in June and July. August hasn’t started much better at 4-7. losing series to the White Sox, Diamondbacks, and Giants. Yuck.

It’s not hard to figure out why. This team doesn’t really hit all that well, nor do they pitch all that well either out of the rotation or the pen. That’s a rough combination. The offense should be better, at least that’s what you’d think when you hear the names Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins, and J.T. Realmuto. The latter has been everything they wanted defensively, perhaps the best actual receiver in the league. But his offense has been exactly average, as additional Ks to what he did in Florida have kneecapped him. Harper has merely been ok-to-good, but not the star he has fooled a lot of people into thinking he is every year. He pops that for seasons here and there, but not every year. Hoskins has been everything they want.

But there were too many dead spots. Left field was one after Andrew McCutchen had knee-death, which they’re trying to fill with Corey Dickerson now after getting him from Pittsburgh. They still get nothing out of center. Second base is another black hole. Jean Segura has been ok at short but he’s never going to provide much more than average offense. You know you’re in trouble when you’re trying Jay Bruce at all.

We went over the rotation’s problems, and they’e throwing out Jason Vargas and Drew Smyly in this series, both midseason acquisitions. Arrieta is sounding like he’s not going to be able to put off the surgery on his elbow bone spurs until after the season as he’d hoped to do. So they’ll have to fill that spot, and internally now thanks to the passing of the one deadline to rule them all.

The pen has been extremely beat up, as all of Seranthony Dominguez, Adam Morgan, Victor Arano, Tommy Hunter, and supposed closer this year David Robertson are on the shelf. And all save Robertson were key contributors last year. That’s part of the reason Eflin and Pivetta are in the pen now, but when you’re closing games with Hector Neris, you’ve broken the glass.

For the Cubs, they’ll hope to get both Brandon Kinztler and Craig Kimbrel back from the DL this series, though likely the former much more than the latter. They somehow have survived their reliever-ocalypse this past week, at least so far. Kyle Ryan is coming off the Bereavement List today as well, so that will help.

Other than that, the Cubs merely have to keep the momentum of Sunday’s win, which did feel important, rolling. This Phillies team is looking for a reason to roll over, and the Pirates are a roll over right now. A first successful road trip since the beginning of time, or so it feels, is just beckoning. Yes, weird things can happen at Citizen’s Bank considering it’s a launchpad, but this is a team that just gave up 25 runs to the Giants over four games, and the Giants have a couple of sock puppets and broom handles in the lineup right now.

Feast.

 

Baseball

Phillies Spotlight: The Cy Young Machine In Philly Is Very Philly

By Sam Fels 1161 0

Fourth place is not where the Phitin’s thought they’d be at this point in the season. Behind the Mets isn’t where anyone plans to be, though trying to plan for what the Mets might be is like trying to chart a Dali painting. Yes, they’re only two games out of a wildcard spot, with only two teams to leap, and two very limited teams in Milwaukee and the Cardinals at that. But they must have thought before the season, after getting Bryce Harper to defect intradivisionally (we get to make up words now), that they were the favorite in the NL East, or at least poised to run with the Braves. They’re nine games back of that outfit, so it clearly hasn’t worked.

It’s a variety of factors. Harper has been merely good, not uplifting to an entire team. The pen has been pretty much a mess all season. The lineup hasn’t hit too many other places, though the acquisition of Corey Dickerson is meant to address that. Still, it’s hard not to look at what the rotation was supposed to be, what it actually is, and wonder if something is amiss.

Sure, betting on young pitchers is always a huge gamble. They get hurt, they lose control, they try things that don’t make sense, the learning curve is rock-wall steep. And they’re still getting good work out of Aaron Nola, though he’s fallen off from his second-tier in the league status of last year.

Still, when they drew it up in Florida in March, the Phillies were probably thinking Nola, Zach Eflin, Nick Pivetta, a returning Vince Velasquez, along with Jake Arrieta would make for a pretty stiff rotation. Well, Arrieta’s elbow is currently a barroom brawl of various, floating entities and might put him on the shelf for the rest of the season. Pivetta couldn’t even make the team out of spring training, even though last year he had one of the best strikeout-rates in the National League. He came up in the middle of this season, couldn’t get anyone out, and is now being tried as a late-inning weapon in the pen, while also making way for human tub of cottage cheese Jason Vargas, whom the Phils picked off the Mets scrapheap. Clearly the Mets miss him.

Pivetta’s problem is he throws basically only two pitches, a fastball and a curve. And while he throws the fastball hard, nearly averaging 95 MPH, it gets hit a ton. Hitters are waffling it to a tune of a .732 slugging percentage. And his curve doesn’t generate that many whiffs, though it does get a ton of grounders. Pivetta would do well to throw it more often, seeing as how his fastball is consistently becoming something the FAA is aware of.

It’s been a similar story for Eflin. Until July 1st, Eflin was actually pretty effective, with a 3.34 ERA. Though he had a 4.44 FIP which suggested he rode his luck a bit, it didn’t suggest he would spend all of July decomposing into a puddle of sadness. Eflin’s ERA in July was 11.88, he walked nearly five hitters per nine innings, and he was giving up 2.70 homers per nine innings. Again, Eflin really only threw two pitches, though he had a two-seam and four-seam fastball. Whatever it was, along with a slider hitters tuned him up in July for a slugging percentage over .700 on all pitches. He’s now in the pen too for science experiment Drew Smyly.

Velasquez is now in his second season removed from a major injury, and the strikeout and walk numbers look pretty good. He’s been undone by some bad sequencing, with his left-on-base percentage criminally low for a second-straight season. But he’s still got an ERA over 4.00 and a FIP over 5.00, and mostly it’s because he’s getting hit hard when he gets hit (46.1% hard-contact rate). Again, V-squared only used two pitches mostly, a fastball and a slider. He spots in a curve here and there, but only about 7% of the time. Of late, like the other two, his fastball is getting mutated into some sort of element. He only throws his slider 20% of the time, but he might consider upping it.

That’s three young pitchers the Phillies were hinging on, as well as an aging Arrieta who everyone knew was a declining value bet, and it’s left them barely .500. Something has to change a bit.

Football

Sons Of Wilber Marshall – After The 1st Preseason Game

By Sam Fels 1430 0

We gathered our Bears crew in the aftermath of the preseason opener to take a temperature. We won’t tell you about the thermometer application. And away we go?

Did we learn anything important from the Bears first preseason game?

Tony Martin: What popped for y’all? Nick Kwiatkoski still can’t cover the pass. I’m hoping the Bears go a different direction when his rookie deal expires.

-I sleep better at night knowing Ted Larsen is available in case of an injury on the offensive line. He was wrecking dudes out there last night.
-Kickers kicked some kicks! I’m so sick of all of this. If I have to see another message board post about getting that kicker from Baltimore I’m gonna finally admit I’m going bald and pay for Restore hair treatment (can you tell I was on I-90 today?).
-Ian Bunting looked okay at times, but did he play basketball in college? That makes all the difference.
Brian Schmitz: In an effort to suck myself off, I was happy to see my earlier prediction about John Franklin III come to fruition as he was all over the place last night. Franklin was 3rd on the team on tackles and contributed on both kick returns and kickoff coverage. He will be given a real chance to make this team and thus far, he’s looked good. 

I saw what I needed to see from David Montgomery. Seven touches for 60 yards and a TD. I’m ok with not seeing the rook again until week 1, where he should be the starting RB. 
This time of the year is backup quarterback heaven. This is where guys make teams, showcase for other squads, and most importantly, make career money as a trusted backup. Chase Daniel is everything you want in a reserve QB whom you hope will never play. Guys knows the offense and most importantly, knows his own limitations. I don’t ever want to see him on the field this year, but he’s a solid insurance policy. 
Finally, what we learned from game 1 is that the Bears still don’t know who their kicker will be. Average showings from each on Thursday were expected and unappreciated. I’m convinced the Bears week 1 kicker is not on this roster. 
Tony: JF3 looked good, but I still think he needs to be a 4 phase special teamer to make this roster. As long as you can still contribute to the open threads, I say good luck, but don’t throw out your back trying to taste your successes.
Wes French: Brian, please don’t make any permanent body modifications to go about fellating yourself for JF3’s “breakout” in preseason game one. He was impressive against some paltry competition, but I think we’ll need to see more and, as Tony alluded, especially on Special Teams if he’s going to make the cut. I’ll now flip my thinking completely and overreact to Montgomery’s performance by agreeing we should pack him in bubble wrap and make sure he gets to September untouched.

I’d go as far as to say I was bummed to learn that Baltimore dealt kicker Vedvik to division rivals Minnesota over the weekend. Fry and Piniero are leaving a lot to be desired for what has been the biggest need for Chicago. having already dealt some (potential) draft capital for not-so-steady Eddy, I’d think Pace waits out other teams and picks through those cut as preseason comes to a close later this month. 
Then again, I’ve been out of the loop for a few days, moving my life a mile away and getting sick in the process. Did I miss any glaring transactions or anything else from around the Bears/the League? I know Miller rolled an ankle but sounds like he’s a go for week one…
Tony: I’m hoping for Vedvik to have a great career in Minnesota. May he hit 100% of his kicks against Green Bay and exactly 0 against the Bears. I’m not invested in the Lions enough to even pretend to want to put an arbitrary number on this hypothetical. Seriously, the Lions are the NFL version of the cousin whose name you never bothered to learn because you only see them at holidays and you try to avoid them.

Wes, I think you’re spot on about Montgomery because the more I think about it, the more I think he should be saved for the season. However, I say that because I am super interested in how the competition for the 3rd/4th running back spot goes. I’ve been thinking a lot about it and I think the Bears are going to approach this depth chart a little bit differently, with players like Patterson being on the depth chart as either a running back or wide receiver. So, let’s say the Bears choose to keep a combined 10 of the bunch for the 53. We’ve got:
AR12
Tarik
David Montgomery
Anthony Miller
Taylor Gabriel
Patterson
Mike Davis
Riley Ridley
Javon Wims
And then one of:
Kerrith Whyte Jr/Marvin Hall/Taquan Mizzell Sr (or two if they choose to not keep a FB).
I wanna see the competition for that last couple spots heat up, and as much as I like seeing Montgomery play, I’m here for those reps!
Wes French: I would also like to see more of Whyte/Hall/Ridley/Wims in the next few weeks. I think you’re right that the personnel they have makes it a bit fluid on RB/WR roster selections, but the back end of that list is going to need to show out on special teams as well. I know I keep bringing STs up, but the offense and defense are pretty well set in terms of starters and even most backups. Anyone that has ideas on being the next man up for one of those positions is going to have to contribute via the kicking/return/punt teams in addition to showing they can step in at WR/RB/DB/LB to make this team. That makes me think a guys like Mizzell and Wims have an inside track over Whyte and Hall. The Bears did not sign Davis to play in the kicking game, and Patterson actually hurts those bubble guys with his ability to return kicks in addition to his versatility on offense. 

We haven’t talked much about the defensive side of the ball, but I think fans are sleeping a bit on the lack of depth behind the pass rushers up front. If Kyle Fitts is the best we’ve got to put in rotation after Mack/Floyd….yikes. 
Brian: You’re spot on about the defense; but I guess no news is good news. I’m extremely confident the defense will be who we think they are. 

We need to pump the brakes on Cordarrell Patterson. The guy can’t catch, which is fine, because Devin Hester couldn’t catch either, but in regards to the return game, Patterson is no Hester. I’m also suspect about his character. There has to be a reason he continues to sign one-year deals. 
Tony: I think there’s quality depth on defense since Aaron Lynch will most likely also take rotational reps, and they have solid backup ILBs even if I’m not crazy about them. The DL has a dank rotation in place, especially with Jonathan Bullard still on his rookie contract, but the secondary worries me. The depth chart after Kyle Fuller and Prince Amukamura is as bare as my fridge in college. Brian, maybe some autofellatio might lock up your boy JF3 for a roster spot. Keep us posted.
Brian: Just had to google autofellatio. 1. Gross. 2. IT is going to think I am real sicko. O well.
Wes: You brought this on yourself. I think this is a good place to wrap this one up. Until next time, take care sports fans. 
Baseball

Jon Lester Is Fine, You’re Fine, I’m Fine, Everything’s Fine. Just Maybe Not Dandy, Too

By Sam Fels 1123 0

(30 for 30 voice)

What if I told you that Jon Lester is actually better than last year? You probably wouldn’t believe it, right? That tends to happen when you have as ugly a start as Lester did on Tuesday against Oakland. Or when you’re as happy to beat yourself up as Lester is, because he never sugarcoats anything for you. If he thinks he sucks, he’ll tell you. Maybe in comparison to the rest of the starters of late, especially Darvish and Hendricks, he can look worse than he might actually be. But it’s true, and it’s probably even better depending on where you slot Lester realistically on the staff. That’s the thing about the Cubs staff, they don’t really have “an ace.” They don’t have a #5 either. It’s kind of shapeless. Which can be good. Sometimes bad.

I will always use any excuse to get this into a post.

Still, every peripheral on Lester is actually better than last year, and not by tiny margins either. He’s striking out more hitters, he’s walking less, he’s getting more ground-balls. In fact, his K and BB numbers look pretty much exactly like his first two years here, when he put up a 2.92 FIP in ’15 and a 2.44 ERA in ’16. That’s a good starting point.

But he’s not putting up that end-product, and it’s easy to point out why. Lester is giving up basically twice as many homers as he did then. In 2015 he gave up 16 all season. The next year it was 21. Hell, last year it was 24. This year he’s already given up 21. But Lester’s HR/FB rate (15.7%) isn’t even the highest of his career. That came in 2017, just a tenth of a point higher. So is that because he’s old and slowing down? Or because of bad luck and a baseball hopped up on goofballs? The strikeouts and walks suggest it’s more the latter than the former.

The bad luck theme continues for Lester. His BABIP is .340, a full 50 POINTS higher than last season, and 41 points higher than his career-mark. Yes, Lester is giving up way more hard-contact than ever before, at 39% which is eight percentage points higher than last year and a full 12 over his career-mark. You know who else is giving up more hard-contact? FUCKING EVERYONE ELSE. If you go by the StatCast method, his 88.3 average exit velocity is decidedly middle of the pack. He shouldn’t really be dealing with this much damage.

Lester has also been unlucky in his left-on-base percentage, which speaks to sequencing of hits. After all, you can have five hits in one inning and give up three, or give up five in three innings and surrender none. He’s benefitted from some big-time luck in the past on that, with percentages over 80% two of his seasons in Chicago (average is about 75%). This season it’s just 70%, which is on the low-side and around his ’17 mark where he also couldn’t get much to break his way.

That doesn’t mean Lester hasn’t changed his approach, and we went over some of this last season. Lester has gone to a cutter more and more this season, as his four-seam fastball has lost a full three MPH from his career norm and barely breaks 90 MPH. He only uses the four-seam 30% of the time, the lowest mark of his career by a distance. And his cutter usage is up to 34%, the highest mark also by some distance in his career.

It used to be that Lester would only use his cutter to get in on the fists of righties, like so:

This season, he’s trying to find both sides of the plate with it:

And it might just be that Lester has to do that, because the cutter doesn’t have enough juice to consistently get inside on righties, who have the ability to turn on it.

Even off the plate inside, if not low, is getting pumping bomber’d. Whereas he’s been much more controlled outside, as long as it’s not thigh-to-waist. Which basically means Lester is trying to morph into Tom Glavine. It’s a transition, to be sure. In addition. Lester has always lived at the bottom of the zone, if not lower. But as we know these days, hitters are focusing on lifting that pitch, and pitchers are trying to be up in the zone more. Lester is as well, but he did spend over 10 years doing something else. So to expect him to instantly be able to pick his spots high in the zone would be a touch unreasonable.

That doesn’t mean I’d expect Lester to mow everyone down for the last six weeks of the season, and as you saw yesterday finding the outside corner with his cutter for him is still tricky. But it really isn’t as bad as Lester himself would like you to think it’s been. If he gets any sort of market correction in the season’s last month and a half, he’ll look something like you remember.

 

 

Baseball

Series Recap – Cubs Split With Reds: Fine, Whatever, Good, Let’s Get Outta Here

By Sam Fels 1381 0

Game 1 Box Score: Cubs 12, Reds 5

Game 2 Box Score: Reds 5, Cubs 2

Game 3 Box Score: Reds 10, Cubs 1

Game 4 Boxscore: Cubs 6, Reds 3

Considering all that’s happened against the Reds this year, how annoying they’ve been, how every hitter turns into Barry McGwire Mays against the Cubs, I’m taking this split of four games and sprinting for the airport. Series wins against the Phillies and Pirates would mean a 6-4 roadtrip and yes I’ll have some of that. Sure, it’s still a below-.500 team and you’d like to think the Cubs will find the form to beat teams like that more routinely. But hey, when you get a boil off your ass you don’t really worry about how elegantly you did it.

The thing is it was so close to being better. There was a lot of people trying to remove their own tongues through their neck on Friday night, but if Javy Baez’s hard-hit grounder is two feet to either side of where it was it scores two and it’s 5-4 with no outs and two on. Shit happens sometimes. Sometimes Hendricks or any starter doesn’t have it on that day. You live with it, it’s just that there have been so many other boneheaded losses it gets harder to do.

Most of all, after I complained and moaned after St. Louis that the Cubs didn’t fight or scratch or claw their way back into ABs and games on the road, today they did. Hell, you could argue they did on Thursday too when Hamels gave up a big lead and they just poured it on some more. But today especially, against Luis Castillo-whom they weren’t really close to in the game’s first five innings–they took advantage of some lackadaisical location and selection and found a way back. Helps the Reds pen hasn’t been any good since the break, but you take it.

Oh, and they made Thom Brennaman cry. Good day all around.

Let’s…

-I thought Jon Lester had fucked it today, but that wasn’t totally fair. The 3-0 pitch to Eugenio Suarez wasn’t as bad as a I thought:

That’s more good hitting than bad pitching. He even tried to stay away from Apollo/Aries/Yahweh Aquino, and he still went outside the zone and got it. He kept it close enough, which after that outing on Tuesday is good enough for now.

The real upset was that the pen was flawless, with only one hit and one walk in four innings or work. They may have lucked into Rowan Wick, but he was the main star, going two innings and going through the meat of the Reds lineup to give Strop the easier part. He even figured out to give Aquino nothing below his nose or above his ankles.

-I kind of had it wrong all weekend on Aquino, too. He had a decent 7.9% BB-rate in the minors this year, so he’s not the hack-a-thon I thought/hoped he was. Still, when he’s raining fire down upon you, the Cubs could have figured out to not be over the plate as much if only to avoid damage. Then again, when you’re already down eight…

-Very weird start for Darvish, who gave up four runners all night and all of them scored. He didn’t get away with one mistake, which almost seems unfair. Have that start again and he might go eight shutout next time.

-I want to believe that this IL stint is the rest Cishek needs that Maddon would never give him, instead of the abusive use shredding the hip he’s already had surgery on before. That’s what I want to believe.

-I was just thinking to myself that with the ball being a Titleist, 22 homers for Bryant seemed a touch on the low-side. I’ll take the 23rd and shut up now. The Cubs are seriously just one Bryant binge away from hiding from the Brewers and Cardinals.

-And good on Joe for letting Mills take the last four innings in a blowout to not have to use anyone who will matter. That left Phelps, Wick, and Strop fresh for today. I still want to believe Maples will matter one day, but I’m probably the only one now.

-Y’know, if Ian Happ keeps hitting, it doesn’t really matter if Ben Zobrist makes it back or not.

-My one quarrel with Friday is that with two outs and Amir Garrett on the mound, one of the tougher lefties in the division, Schwarber shouldn’t be given that AB. I know that Bote or Almora is hardly a step up, but presumably Bote is still here because he might actually hit a lefty sometime. Fairly sure Schwarber won’t, especially in a clutch situation. Oh well.

Onwards…

Everything Else

Friday Foofaraw: Premier League Preview Part II

By Sam Fels 1338 0

Let’s keep it rolling…

Manchester City: (Adam Hess is a Sky Blue, so we went to him for this…before we fire him.)

CAMPEONES! CAMPEONES! OLE OLE OLE! With back to back Premier League Championships and the best two-year run in the history of the Prem, along with the completion of the straight Domestic Sweep in 2018 it’s hard to say City have much more to accomplish in England. City did need to go on a historic 14-game win streak to close out Liverpool in the Prem last year, but when you got it you got it, and Pep’s fucking got it. It will be interesting to see how City approach the League this year given that they have had that incredible success these past two years.
Where my focus lies for City and Pep is Europe, where they need to finally have a good run in the Champions League and prove that they are for real on the European stage. They’ve almost reached a point where you can set your watch to them bowing out in the quarterfinals. And what’s even more frustrating is that they haven’t actually been beaten in their elimination round in two the last three years, going out on away goals in 2017, getting smoked in 2018 (they went out 5-2 on aggregate to a club with actual European pedigree, mind-ED) and then lost on away goals again in 2019. Pep has never had huge success in Europe, but he does have a UCL title under his belt, so he can do it. It’s time for him to do it for the Blues.
Manchester United: BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! If there’s one thing everyone who contributed to this can agree on is that we can have a hearty laugh at ManUre. They’re hierarchy is a mess being flooded with nincompoops, they got bullied into hiring a former player because the current players were so overjoyed not to have to deal with Jose Mourinho’s Eeyore act anymore even though it’s clear he’s way in over his head, and their playing staff simply isn’t good enough. They’ve punted Romelu Lukaku, whom they somehow ruined, so they can turn over the central striking duties to Marcus Rashford, even though he hasn’t proven he can handle that yet. Paul Pogba will be in the biggest sulk you’ve ever seen, which is saying something considering he’s French. The defense might be ok with Lindelof and Maguire, but only just. The midfield blows, the attack is short, and having lived through this nightmare with Liverpool some years back I can’t wait to enjoy it for another season. 5th seems prime for them. One day, a great manager is going to take all their money and straighten out the entire club by sheer force of will. But until that happens, we have to enjoy this slapstick theater while it lasts.
Newcastle: Going down, and sadly it’s what their owner, though not their fans, deserve. This club, given its size and support, should be challenging for Champions League places, and has in the past. But they have one of the biggest dickhead owners in sports in Mike Ashley, who has taken the most passionate fanbase possibly anywhere and turned them off this club. He chased away a genuine class manager in Rafael Benitez–the only reason they got promoted and stayed up the past two season–because he wouldn’t back him with transfers. He replaced him with English football’s version of Randy Carlyle in Steve Bruce, because he’s from there and won’t raise a fuss. They’ll play an awful brand of football, they’ll never score, and down they’ll go. And this time, they may not come back. It’s truly a crime, but maybe regular seasons in the lower divisions will finally chase Ashley off and this club can get the owner it deserves.
Norwich City: They blew away the Championship in the back half of last year, and seem content to stick with the squad that did that. They played some sumptuous football last season, scoring 93 goals in 46 league games. But they weren’t great defensively, they haven’t added to that defense, and now they’re facing Premier League attacks. There is some logic in not getting out over your skis financially upon promotion and then fucking yourself royally should you go back down. This seems to be a long-term project for Norwich, and they’ll play some stuff at times. Maybe they can hang on for 17th, and Newcastle and Palace might keep them propped up amongst the old guard threatening to go down. Still, it’ll be an adventure.
Sheffield United: As far as I’m concerned this team is always managed by Neil Warnock, even if it isn’t. It might as well be. They’ve gone the opposite route from Norwich upon ascension to the EPL, spending 40M on Championship talent to boost their Premier League hopes. They’re also the opposite of Norwich in that this is pretty grind-y, sandpaper-y style here, and you can expect a lot of balls lumped into the box and a lot of hard fouls. They like a kicking in Yorkshire, after all. I would tip them to return from whence they came though, along with Newcastle and Palace.
Southampton: If Bournemouth doesn’t become your second team, this one might. Southampton have specialized in developing talent, playing an entertaining style, and staying afloat by selling that talent to bigger clubs (usually Liverpool). They fucked up by hiring Mark Hughes as manager for a while, but have put that right by replacing him with Ralph Hasenhuttl, or Baby Klopp, basically. Goals might be a problem as they’ll depend on Danny Ings before his glass body breaks again, and unproven-at-this-level Che Adams. Still, Hasenhuttl had this bunch playing over their head when he got settled, and I’d expect that again…to the point where he might be offered greener pastures next summer.
Spurs: (Old friend of the program Greg Boysen chipped in for this one. I can’t fire him)

I will be the first to admit that I am still a novice when it comes to soccer as I only started to follow the Premiere League when NBC picked up the broadcast rights here in the States. I chose the Spurs as my team because of a good friend who grew up in England cheering for them with her father. It did not take very long before I realized they were the perfect team a life-long Chicago sports fans should be cheering for. They have just enough talent to get your hopes up only to kick you right in the reproductive organs by the end of the season. 

Last year was no exception. For a good portion of the season, they looked like they were going to keep up with Liverpool and Manchester City make it a three-team race for the title. Then the calendar turned over to 2019 and the team’s lack of depth caused them to slide down the standings and barely hang on to fourth place. Sound familiar?

The cherry on top of last season’s shit sundae was pulling a miracle out of their collective ass to get the Champions League final only to lose it. It wasn’t just that the lost the game to Liverpool (up yours, Fels!), but they lost to them in one of the worst games in European football history!

Will this season be any different? Probably not. They brought in guys like Tanguy Ndombele, Jack Clarke, Giovani Lo Celso and Ryan Sessegnon but their success will still depend on Harry Kane. Yes, Son Heung-min and Moussa Sissoko had good years, but the Liverpool game showed just how important Kane’s health is to the club’s success. 

The new additions should add to their overall depth, but they still don’t have a traditional center forward to support Kane and there are major question marks at right-back. The right flank is going to challenge my new found sobriety this year. 

So, I am sure will be feeling great about the table at Christmas only to curse my Spurs fandom before I head out to a Super Bowl party in February. 

Watford: Watford are one of the weirder clubs around. Their ownership seemingly likes to change managers every season, though they’ve stuck with Javi Gracia again this time around, mainly because other teams wanted him. They generally buy a raft of players, and none of them can dislodge Troy Deeney from forward. They’ve been quiet this time around, though they’ve brought in Danny Welbeck, who has still convinced a large number of pundits over there he can still be good because he banged in a couple goals for England once. How he made that England team is anyone’s guess. He’ll get hurt, he’ll have one good game when he’s not hurt, and that will be that. Other than that, a steadying ship means they’re probably not going too much farther than last year’s 11th place, which for this club is pretty good. Any higher and Gracia is getting poached by someone. They do attack, they can be easy on the eye, and you’ll forget they existed as soon as they’re done playing your team.

West Ham: I’m not sure I want to live in a world where West Ham are acting sensibly. Well, somewhat sensibly. This is still a side that shipped 55 goals last season and still mostly spent their kitty on attack. But that attack, with Felipe Anderson, Lanzini, and now Sebastien Haller looks mighty tasty. They can get bullied by lower, less skilled sides and they’re not good enough to play with the big boys consistently, though they can definitely jump up and bite one or two of them on a given day. Declan Rice is the truth anchoring the midfield, but Mark Noble still gets a place here and he died three years ago. Yet another team below the top four that can be entertaining as hell, in both good and bad ways.

Wolves: They may have a sordid arrangement with super agent Jorge Mendes, but that’s the way the world works and it gets manager Nuno Santo some prime players you wouldn’t think would land in the Midlands. Ruben Neves has stuck around for a second season, which no one saw coming. Raul Jimenez also signed up full-time, which will mean goals which is where teams like this generally struggle. Wolves won’t. Jesus Vallejo on a season-long loan in intriguing, as he could end up boosting the defense something fierce. If you’re anchoring the Spanish Under-21s, there’s something to you. Joao Moutinho is also still here for creativity. Possible best of the rest? Possibly more if Chelsea, Arsenal, and United can’t get their shit straight? Feels like them and Everton might be dreaming big this season.

Everything Else

Friday Foofaraw: Your Premier League Preview Part I

By Sam Fels 1209 0

If you’re new around here, summer Friday afternoons is when we occasionally go off the reservation and just write about whatever we feel like. Today…what you two talkin’ about? FOOTBALL!!!

By the time you read this, the Premier League season will have kicked off at the home of the greatest, bestest, most lovable, awesomest club in the world. But that doesn’t mean we can’t send you off into the weekend with some footy related silliness! So as is tradition now, let’s run through the Premier League to wrongly predict who will do what when!

Arsenal: If you know an Arsenal supporter, and you do because they’re the most annoying person in your life by some distance, you’ve seen this movie before. Every summer is slightly encouraging, especially now that Unai Emery is getting to mold his squad more in the way he wants. Nicholas Pepe and Dani Ceballos certainly look intriguing, especially the latter as the Gunners needed serious help in defense and he can certainly shield it.

But at the end of the day, this is still a team owned by Stan Kroenke that just isn’t going to run with the biggest of boys. I still don’t know what it is Granit Xhaka does for a living other than having a first name of “Granit.” The midfield lacks dash, because Ozil won’t ever play and won’t be interested when he does, and it lost a fair amount when Aaron Ramsey shuffled off to Italy. Aubameyang and Lacazette will still score, and thanks to Chelsea’s transfer ban and Spurs’s growing exhaustion there might be an opening in the top four for them. But it’s more of it coming to them than the other way around.

As we say every year, Arsenal’s season will go one of two ways. They’ll start out great, get everyone’s hopes up, and then everyone will get hurt and they’ll somersault over the line. Or everyone will get hurt early, they’ll stumble around until February, close with a flourish, and it will start all over.

Aston Villa: (Decided to go right to the source for this one, and asked old friend and longtime supporter Andrew Cieslak to give us the lowdown) 

Aston Villa finally returns back to its rightful place in the Premier League after three long years in the desert. The Villans are the 5th most successful English club of all time but then again longevity is a hell of a drug. They returned to the top flight after kicking Steve Bruce to the curb midseason and bringing on Brentford manager and boyhood Villa fan Dean Smith (no, not that one) whose attacking style won hearts and minds and eventually the Sky Bet Championship Playoff Final. 

This season the only real goal is survival and while simply hoping for three teams to end up with fewer points is one way to do things, Aston Villa decided to spend nearly 170 million Euros on 12 players this summer and may not be done yet. To those suggesting they’re “doing a Fulham” I’d ask what’s life like living in a fish bowl but they’d probably have a hard time understanding what with all the water and do fish even have ears? 

Prying Douglas Luiz away from Manchester City is no small feat either but he’s still mostly potential. If Football Manager is any judge, he’s worth 90 million pounds more than Villa actually spent. With new keeper Tom Heaton in from Burnley, Tyrone Mings back on a permanent deal alongside long six foot four Belgian Bjorn Engels in central defense, and Jack Grealish and John McGinn in central midfield – it’s all about the spine. Will anyone be able to score goals? Your guess is as good as mine but if they don’t, it’ll be a long season. 

Bournemouth: A lot of people’s second favorite team to watch, because Eddie Howe sends his charges out to play instead of just heading for the panic room, throwing their hands over the ears and hoping they get out alive. They also couldn’t defend for shit, which made them even more entertaining. They’ve bought a couple of the Championship’s more promising defenders to help with that, and with Callum Wilson and and Ryan Fraser they’re always a threat to get goals. They probably can’t finish higher than 10th, but given the size of this club that’s a minor miracle anyway. Great entertainers for when your team isn’t playing and you’re hungover on a Saturday or Sunday morning.

Brighton: I’d honestly forgot they existed. I was sure they had been relegated. Anyway, they fired Chris Hughton and hired Graham Potter, who everyone seems pretty excited about. They still count on Glenn Murray for goals, who’s as old as I am and that’s not a good thing for a pro athlete. Apparently there are some kids waiting to come through. They’re not appointment television, let’s say.

Burnley: The fairytale ended, as they were no longer able to bore teams to death and allow Sean Dyche to pull a mini-Allardyce routine and talk about how great he is for parking the bus because his team costs so little. You lose your credibility when you actually put Joe Hart in goal for a portion of the season, but at least he figured that one out. Hart is still around. They’re still going to try and grind out points by being as obstinate as possible and nick goals where they can. It won’t be pleasant for anyone other than Burnley supporters.

Chelsea: (Our new guy Wes French is a blue. We went to him for this one…before we fire him). 

Chelsea are in some deep shit for the 2019-20 campaign. Let’s go over the good and the bad from the last 4-5 months or so:
  • GOOD: Backdoored into the EPL top 4 with a not-as-inept a finish as MUFC and Arsenal; Beat Arsenal in the Europa League to win a trophy, land a seeded spot in UCL draw AND keep Arsenal from UCL participation; Retained on-loan Mateo Kovacic and signed Christian Pulisic in the January window, which is really good because….
  • BAD: …Chelsea received a TWO WINDOW transfer ban that has been upheld and saw no new signings in the summer which just so happened to coincide with club talisman Eden Hazard leaving for his dream club Real Madrid, and Manager Mauricio Sarri leaving after one season to return to Italy and lead Ronaldo’s Juve. David Luiz also had a fit last week and was sold to Arsenal for nothing to become their headache.
So, yea. Chelsea tried to buy some good PR with the supporters and hired club legend Frank Lampard to oversee the youth movement after his nearly bringing Derby from the bottom half of the Championship to one win away from Premier League promotion. Chelsea’s loan army is sort of what got them the transfer ban in the first place, but it’s also what they’ll look to use as a deterrent from dropping out of the top four in 2019. The Blues have a history of loaning young players and academy prospects forever and then selling, but now the likes of Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Kurt Zouma and many others will be relied upon to help Chelsea avoid an embarrassing campaign.
The Blues will have more than enough minutes to spread out, especially with youths they actually held and played in Callum Hudson-Odio and Reuben Loftus-Cheek each working back from Achilles injuries. The focus should be on development, with goals of contending for 4th place and securing at least some type of european participation when they are allowed to recruit new signings again, be it the winter or next Summer. Expect a lot of variance from this team this season, with a lot of frustration and some dazzling moments sprinkled in.

Crystal Palace: (Again, we went to a direct supporter for this one, longtime guy The Beverly Brewmaster. Not sure what it says something worse about, me for knowing a Crystal Palace supporter or him being one)

Palace lost its best Clash-themed chant when Aaron “Sharif don’t like it” Wan-Bissaka was sold to Man U, but the real question this offseason was how Wilfried Zaha would answer “should I stay or should I go?” It finally appears that Wilf will stay in Red and Blue… at least until the January transfer window. That’s a big deal considering Palace’s 0-274 record (approximately) without him.

But considering the lack of significant moves besides AWB’s departure, it appears the Pride of South London are destined for another season where middle of the table is the ceiling. While Luka Milavojevic and Andros Townshend can provide moments of excitement, depth at the back and at striker is a concern (especially when Christian “HOW DID HE MISS THAT?” Benteke is pretty much your only option up front). Oh, and the word on the street is that chairman Steve Parish is short on cashflow. Of course, hope springs eternal at Selhurst Park, so in the immortal words of Principal Skinner, “Prove me wrong, Crystal Palace. PROVE ME WRONG.”

Everton: (Somehow, our old head of Cyber Division, Matthew Killion, ended up a blue. So we let him do this one, and it’s a tidy reminder why we don’t let him do anything anymore)

Allow me to preface this preview a bit before we really get into it. I’ve loved this game my whole life but I didn’t start to really pay attention to EPL until about two seasons ago when I decided I needed a team to follow to get me hooked. I chose Everton. Was it the best choice? Who can say? Am I enjoying it? Hell yeah. Do I know how to truly evaluate a team? Hell no. I’m basically the baseball fan still stuck looking only at RBIs, pitcher wins, and batting average. Maybe I chose Everton to see how White Sox fans feel being the perpetual little brother living in Cubs/LFC shadows. Maybe I chose it just so I could have yet another reason to fight with Fels. You can never have too many of those. So take this with as many grains of salt as you’d like.

Last year there were three different Everton teams. The first third was getting their feet under them with their new manager Marco Silva whose defining features are a kryptonite level weakness to defending set pieces and wrist watches that are so large Flavor Flav wants to wear them around his neck. They showed some moderate success going 6-4-3. Then the middle of the season was absolutely abysmal as the team managed only 11 points going 3-2-8. It seemed Marco could be one and done. Yet the final third was one of hope and promise (6-3-3). It’s important to mention those final 12 include draws with Liverpool and Tottenham, two shutout victories against Chelsea and Arsenal and a complete dismantling of Man U at Goodison. They were close to claiming the final Europa spot but fell short to the surprising Wolves team. So which team shows up this year? The one that goes toe to toe with the top of the table or the one that loses to Millwall in the FA Cup?

The subtractions have been somewhat substantial, the most obvious being Idrissa Gueye moving to PSG. Gueye was a monster in the midfield proving himself to be one the leagues best tacklers. His ability to win the ball will be dearly missed. His lack of ability to maintain possession however shouldn’t be overlooked. Kurt Zouma is also gone leaving a massive hole at center-back which Everton looked to fill by signing Marcos Rojo… yikes. Lookman showed promise in brief flashes but evidently couldn’t be bothered in training.

Signing up Andre Gomes gives them great control in the midfield and an even better head of hair. Fabian Delph comes over from Man City where he wasn’t likely to get a chance to crack regular playing time in that stacked midfield. At 29 and a low transfer fee he’s a good potential low risk high reward player but don’t expect him to light the world on fire. Transfer window is still open while I’m writing this but the hopes of signing Zaha from Palace seem to be fading after their shocking dismissal of an offer involving Cenk Tosun (shocking, I know, but gotta love the balls of trying that move). Clearly the biggest addition was signing Moise Kean who at only 19 is already a dynamic and thrilling player who will add a desperately needed finishing touch to complement players like Richarlison and DCL.

There’s clearly hope that the toffees can build on a superb end to last season which could put them firmly in the top-six with a dare to dream shot at Champions League. There’s also just as likely a chance they hold down that 8th spot and fail to improve at all… or god forbid drop. Whichever way it goes, at least I’ll have Fels to yell at.

Leicester City: Oh Brendan Rodgers. There is a ton of young talent here, and he’s basically perfect for that as a manager. He’s also the manager who gets your team just good enough to break your heart, I think. Ayoze Perez is an intriguing signing to take up the Riyad Mahrez role that they never really filled last year. However they just sold their main centerback in Harry Maguire and his huge fucking head to United, and there probably isn’t time to fill that gap. Youri Tielamens is a stud in midfield though and will make up for a lot of shortcomings. James Maddison has been the next pretty young thing for a couple season and flashes coming good on that every so often. The fullbacks get forward effectively, so like any Rodgers team they’re going to be incredibly fun…at both ends.

Liverpool: The greatest team in the world…that’s probably going to finish second again. They’re decision to not sign anyone is actually understandable, because it’s hard to get quality players to show up to simply back up. There’s some new competition for places thanks to those returning from injury in Joe Gomez, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Adam Lallana (he said very optimistically as the biggest Lallana fan in the world), but they’re still doomed by any injury to the front three. The hope is that a more settled Keita and Ox being back will mean more goals from midfield, but that’s a bit flying on the wings of maybe. It’s hard to fathom that Robertson and Alexander-Arnold can be as good again as they were last year, and any dip in form or injury will have Gomez, Milner, or Henderson playing fullback unless some kid comes through from the heavens. They’re also going to be exhausted. The other worry is that it will be difficult for Virgil Van Dijk to be the best player in the world again (he was last season, and you can take your Messi fanboys and shove it), so he’ll need a touch more support and a touch more rest. If it’s going to take more than 97 points to win the title, you’d be hard-pressed to really believe that Liverpool can even match that total again. But then again, doubting Jurgen Klopp generally doesn’t work out.

 

Baseball

Series Preview – A’s vs. White Sox: Now Back To The Lecture At Hand

By Sam Fels 1010 0

vs.

RECORDS: A’s 65-50   White Sox 51-62

GAMETIMES: Friday 2:10, Saturday 6:10, Sunday 1:10

TV: WGN Friday and Sunday, NBCSN Saturday

THE RIGHT GREEN AND GOLD: Athletics Nation

PREVIEW POSTS

Depth Charts & Pitching Staffs

A’s Spotlight

The A’s continue their rare week-long stay in Chicago as after an off-day they will decamp to the Southside for the weekend, after a perfectly even series at Wrigley that basically coin-flipped to the Cubs. Each had a blowout, and Monday’s tilt came down to a gust of wind/loud fart from the bleachers to keep Marcus Semien‘s game-winning homer in the park. The Sox meanwhile go from beating up on the remedial class in Detroit to playing a team with real stakes again, a transition that could cause whiplash in some.

Not much could have changed for the A’s in four days, obviously. They still have issues in the rotation, though Tanner Roark and his strike-heavy ways will try and change that again on Saturday. The Sox will see Mike Fiers, whom I will never believe is good but keeps putting up good numbers, including leading the league in batting average against when trailing in the count somehow. Is he the worst pitcher to have two no-hitters to his name? The A’s have two of the names in the discussion, with Homer Bailey still nursing the contusions and lacerations the Cubs put on him on Wednesday.

The pen took a couple bumps too, as Blake Treinen continued his season-long wander through the forest on Wednesday as well. Lou Trivino hasn’t seen last year’s heights either, and it’s mostly on what Yusmeiro Petit, Joakim Soria, and especially Liam Hendriks can do. The A’s sit only a half-game behind the Rays for the second wildcard spot, and it feels like if they’re going to make up that game hinges on whether they can find another arm or two out of the pen to be a blackout, or if they can get some more help from the rotation than just five innings of not setting any fires (no pun intended nor welcomed). Again, they’re still hoping that A.J. Puk and/or Jesus Luzardo, two kids that will be in their rotation next year, can recover from injuries and provide help from somewhere in the season’s dying embers. When you’re Oakland, this is the kind of thing you do.

The lineup remains fine, though barely. Matt Chapman is in something of a swoon, with a wRC+ of 0 the past couple weeks. Semien is picking up the slack of late, and Mark Canha has chipped in, but this is not a bash-and-crash outfit. They score just enough, they catch just enough, and the pen generally holds the lid down even if it’s popping up and pulsating. They get through by the skin of their teeth.

For the Sox, it’s basically about maintaining a couple rolls. Reynaldo Lopez has an ERA under 3.00 since the break, and everyone is hoping this is his coming out party. He shut out the A’s over six innings last time he saw them, and while walks have been an issue his past two starts he’s been able to dodge the alarms. Still, the Sox would like to see him complete the sixth instead of just get there as he has the past couple outings. Giolito has found his dominating best in the last two starts as well after getting brained by the Twins. The Mets and Tigers aren’t exactly dynamic offenses, but at the moment neither are the A’s.

Tim Anderson and James McCann had great series in Detroit, and McCann especially needed it. An odd Friday matinee kicks it off, and starts a stretch where the Sox will see a lot of playoff contenders. The Astros are in after this, and they’ll see the Twins twice and Braves once before August is out. Fine test if nothing else.