Hockey

Game #7 – Knights vs. Hawks Spotlight: Man It Was A Stone Groove

By Sam Fels 1200 0

Upon trading for Mark Stone, the Golden Knights signed him to an eight-year extension worth $9.5M. It’s in the top-20 among cap hits in the league, except everyone above Stone have either major hardware, 90+ point seasons, or something similar (aside from Jack Eichel, who at least has youth on his side). It caused me to write this. Surely this was another excessive move from the Knights, who in just to seasons had capped themselves out and cost themselves a player like Gusev or Erik Haula or one or two others.

Looks like a nailed another one.

Mark Stone has 12 points through the Knights first nine games, and what the Knights might have guesses is that getting out of Ottawa would boost his production and game. Stone only put up 11 points in his 18 games in Vegas last year with just five goals. But if you looked beneath the surface, you could see that if things came correct, Stone is going to bust out in serious fashion this season.

All of Stone’s metrics took off upon arrival in the desert and haven’t stopped this year. His individual shots per 60 minutes went from 6.15 in Ottawa to over 10 in Vegas. His individual expected goals from 0.65 to 0.9, and it’s over one this season. His attempts from 11.3 per 60 to 17.3 last year, and 14. 1 this year. Scoring chances or high-danger chances have both gone up nearly 50% at least.

The only reason Stone saw his production drop in Vegas last year is that he suffered from some wicked, fiendish S% treachery. He was shooting over 19% in Ottawa, and only managed 9.3% in Vegas. Well here comes the argument…we mean the correction, because he’s shooting over 20% so far this season. His career mark is 15%, so while he’s not this guy, you wouldn’t count on a huge drop-off fro the rest of the year.

So yeah, the 54 goals and 109 points he’s on pace for right now would probably be worth $9.5M, huh?

So while we want to make fun, it just might be the Knights are set up. The entire top six is locked in long -term here, which means it might not matter much what’s on the bottom six. Cody Eakin, Tomas Nosek and Ryan Reaves are all free agents next year, but those spots could be filled with kids or vets who only require $1M-$2M.

Sure, there’s some holes on defense. Holden and Merrill will be free agents, but as the Knights have already proven, their fates don’t really rest on the quality of their defense, John Merrill and Nick Holden are not going to sink any team with their departures, and if they do that team probably sucked anyway. Again, they could fill those spots with kids and probably be fine thanks to the top six and their style.

Perhaps George McPhee just deserves credit for identifying a player who was being somewhat wasted in a defensive system run by a coach who is a genius only in his own mind and thinking he would flourish in the way Vegas play. Hell, that’s what he did with his top line. It hasn’t spread to Max Pacioretty yet, but with the way Stone is playing, it might not be long now.

It also suggests we should just shut up.

Hockey

Game #7 – Knights vs. Hawks: Hedley Lamarr’s Pugs, Mugs, And Thugs

By Sam Fels 1237 0

Ryan Reaves – As if it could be anyone else. Perhaps the most annoying portion of the Knights, and it’s a crowded field, is the idea they love to spout that they somehow rehabilitated this guy. And not that his improved numbers have anything to do with playing with actually talented fourth liners like Tomas Nosek or William Carrier or Ryan Carpenter last year, as we’re finding out. And the more people react to Reaves’s shit, the more he revels in it and the more it multiplies. This guy is a herpe.

Cody Glass – If you were looking for a rookie to add to the Most Punchable Face Team, here’s you’re winner in a landslide. Take Matt Duchene’s rich-kid gape and multiply it by ten and you’ve got Glass.

All The Fans In The Stands Tonight – We wouldn’t have thought so, but it only took one season for the Knights to have some of the more obnoxious bandwagon fans on Earth. And we know they’re not all traveling from Vegas around the country. This is the Avs from ’99 all over again. Maybe a Tuesday night will keep them at bay a bit, but if you’re heading to the UC tonight you’ll see. These are the grown-up versions of the kid in your class who always wore a Niners Startup jacket.

Everything Else

Game #7 – Knights vs. Hawks: Lineups & How They Were Built

By Sam Fels 1074 0

Notes: Alex Tuch is technically allowed to come back tonight from being on LTIR, but there’s been no word on whether he will or not..Stone is shooting 20%, so he’ll come back to somewhere around Earth soon enough…They moved Stone to play with Eakin and Pirri last night and it was utter disaster so we’re expecting the normal look tonight…Pacioretty also dragged down the top line, leading us to believe they’ll go with what they have for most of the year…

Notes: Dach and Strome together is an odd fit, and that line doesn’t have a puck-winner. Which you have to have against this team, so look for some shuffling around mid-game…If Andrew Shaw takes another offensive zone penalty because he’s lazy and stupid send his ass to the fourth line for a game or two and let that marinate…You fear for Seabrook and Maatta tonight, they are not built for this at all…

Baseball

We Know Your Nature – Cubs 2019 Player Reviews: Jason Heyward

By Sam Fels 1166 0

For most of the season, the story or narrative around Jason Heyward was that he’d finally come good with the bat. There seemed to be more power, there were better ABs, so much so that he got himself elevated to the leadoff spot. Where he was a crime against nature. And as the season went along, and we came to realize the flubber contained within the baseball, Heyward’s season didn’t seem to be so much a revival as it was just riding along with the tide. And in the end, it was pretty much the same completely average offensive season 2018 was. Except it didn’t come with stellar defense, though that really wasn’t his fault. Let’s take a trip, take a little trip…

2019 Stats

147 games, 598 PAs

.251/.343/.429

21 HR  78 RBI

11.5 BB%  18.7 K%

101 wRC+  .343 wOBA  .772 OPS

-1.7 Defensive Runs Saved  1.9 WAR

Tell Me A Story: On the plus side, Heyward’s 21 homers are by far the most he’s hit as a Cub. His on-base was the best of his Cubs career. His slugging was, again, the highest of his career on the Northside. So that all sounds good. The problem is that EVERYONE was hitting more homers than they had in years, which raised the slugging percentage of just about anyone. So when you look at league averaging stats like wRC+ or OPS+, Heyward’s doesn’t stand out in the least.

Still, there are some caveats. Heyward’s August was simply woeful (58 wRC+), but that’s where he was installed in the leadoff spot. Now, I’m not sure why batting somewhere else should make any difference, because the idea is still the same. Have a good AB, try to get on base, and try to hit the ball hard if you can. But it obviously does, and because it’s become such a Bermuda Triangle area for the Cubs, there might even be a bigger mental block for anyone trying to take it on. We’ll just leave it as something weird just happens there. When batting 5th, 6th, or 7th, Heyward’s wRC+ was 162, 120, and 101.

Second, if only against righties, Heyward’s numbers look really good. .350 wOBA and a 115 wRC+. And seeing as how he had 112 PAs against lefties, you can certainly say he was trotted out against southpaws just far too often. You don’t want to admit Heyward is just a platoon player based on his paycheck, but we can see how the season played out. It’s what he is. Perhaps the next manager will see these, or more likely be shown these, and only keep Heyward in spots where he has success.

Heyward saw a big jump in his walks this year, but also a pretty big drop in his contact numbers. His contact-rates were still above league average, though. There was an uptick, and not a small one, in his swinging strikes. A small crawl up in that category in fastballs is worrying for a player who crossed the threshold into his 30s, because that doesn’t tend to get better as a player ages (what does though, really?). The bigger uptick is whiffs on sliders is also a warning sign, as it might suggest Heyward was starting to inch a little more into cheating on fastballs, or getting there. At least trying to get started earlier, which left him susceptible to pitches that look like a fastball until breaking down.

Perhaps the most worrying aspect of Heyward’s season is the drop in defense. But that almost all comes from his shift to center, which started even before the acquisition of Nicholas Castellanos, as Albert Almora‘s skeleton fell out and forced more people into right as Heyward moved to center so the Cubs could get any offense out of those spots. Heyward still grades out above average in right. He wasn’t a disaster in center, but he’s not a plus fielder there. Which is why some like me have argued against re-signing Castellanos, because the outfield defense would be so bad. We’ll see how the Cubs feel about it. Again, as he moves into his 30s, it’s not very likely that Heyward is going to get better in center, and probably not even in right field. But he can be a plus right fielder for a while yet, you’d think.

Contract: $21M in 2020, signed through 2023. Has opt-out.

Welcome Back Or Boot In The Ass: The Cubs don’t have much of a choice here obviously. Heyward is not going to opt-out, unless he’s the nicest guy in the world. Trading him isn’t really an option either, unless some team sees intangibles that only they can see and Heyward is moved to agree to such a move. And why would he? Also, his adult presence in the clubhouse probably shouldn’t be overlooked, as the Cubs don’t have a lot of vets who’ve been around long enough to be comfortable voicing anything.

So he’s going to be on the team, and that’s not a bad thing as long as he’s only asked to do what he does well. Which is play right field, hit in the back half of the order, and only against righties. That probably affects what the Cubs will do this offseason, as they’ll need to find someone(s) who can play right and center against left-handed pitchers (which might keep Happ around?). If they keep crowbarring Heyward in the lineup against lefties and/or in center, they’re going to have some if not all the same results.

As Heyward ages, he’s going to have to adjust to get to more fastballs somehow. Shorten or quicken his swing, which is hard to do at his age and something he’s already tried to do once. Being vulnerable against sliders is probably only going to be more of a feature in the coming years. It won’t wreck him yet, though, or it shouldn’t. Heyward is still a plus to have on the team if used properly.

Baseball

We Know Your Nature – 2019 Cubs Player Reviews: Albert Almora

By Sam Fels 1494 0

As the Cubs have searched for a manager, and my fears about the offseason in general grow thanks to having far too much time on my hands and struggling to escape the cynicism of my youth, one thing I’ve tried to reassure myself with is that it’s not really in Theo Epstein’s DNA to do something completely moronic. Something you’d see the Mets or Edmonton Oilers do. Sure, some moves haven’t worked out or not gone as well as hoped, but almost every one of them you could see the logic behind at the time. The math added up.

Except for his first draft pick here in Chicago. That might have been a complete and utter whiff. Seems to be a theme in Chicago sports these days.

2019 Stats

130 games, 363 PAs

.236/.271/.381

12 HR  41 RBI

4.4 BB%  17.1 K%

64 wRC+  .271 wOBA  .651 OPS

-1.1 Defensive Runs Saved  -0.7 WAR

Tell Me A Story: This season started much like 2018 did, with a lot of people contending–even screaming from the truly unhinged–that what Albert Almora Jr. really needed was just consistent playing time. That being jerked in and out of the lineup and never starting more than three days in a row, if that, was stunting his development. It ended just like 2018 did, where it’s pretty clear that there isn’t anything to develop.

There was only one stretch of the season where Almora looked like a Major Leaguer, and that was May with a 107 wRC+. That was almost entirely due to hitting six homers in the month, and seeing as how he managed six more in the other five months, one wouldn’t count on that to happen too often again, if ever at all.

This is where the “WE NEED CONTACT” Big Audio Dynamite tribute argument kind of falls flat for me, though it’s cherry-picking admittedly. Albert Almora makes plenty of contact. He doesn’t walk much, but he doesn’t strike out much either. The problem is almost all of that contact is soft, and most of it is on the ground. So where does that get you? A negative-WAR player’s what it gets you. But hey, if you think the answers to the Cubs problems are having more guys ground out to short more often, well you go as far as you can with that, Big Shooter.

To be fair to AA, his hard-contact rate in July and August was actually pretty good, and his ground-ball rate declined throughout the season. But that’s also when his playing time dried up, which he also earned, so it’s hard to tell if that’s progress or just a few spasmed ABs out of a shallowing collection of them. And I don’t think the Cubs are going to bother to find out anyway.

If Almora was taken in the first round due to his athleticism, and you’d never followed him before, you’d swear he suffered some sort of bad knee injury in the minors or something. He’s slow, and he doesn’t have natural power because he doesn’t really have that much bat-speed. Even his instincts, which somehow had him stumble into being a decent centerfielder, went away this year as he graded out negatively in the field. Which would lead one to ask what it is he does at all. And that would be a question no one has an answer for right now, other than really upgrade the hair in the clubhouse.

But he rescues dogs, so he’s a good guy.

Contract: Team Control, Arbitration eligible in 2021

Welcome Back Or Boot In The Ass: Well, he can’t be on the team next year. All he’s earned is a fifth-outfielder role and if the Cubs have any hope, however slim, that Almora can develop into anything he’s not going to do it with four ABs a week. What the Cubs probably need to do, because he has options left and they never actually let him do it before calling him up, is play full-time in AAA for a full season. Or most of it. Almora never hit in the minors before joining the 2016 team. He just had a glove and promise. Now he doesn’t seem to have either. He’ll get you nothing in a trade, and I doubt you could even make him a throw-in to another deal at this point. He costs nothing, so there’s not much harm in letting him get at least three or four months in Des Moines to play every day and see if he can’t discover something, while Happ and Heyward and possibly an acquisition figure out centerfield at Wrigley.

At 26 at the beginning of next season, you don’t want to say that there’s no hope for Almora. But also by 26 we should have seen something, anything, to suggest there’s anything to be excavated out of him. Have you? No, you haven’t. And he’s not going to get faster, which probably means the defense is going to struggle to be plus before too long. If that ship hasn’t sailed already.

Maybe a new manager can whisper something to him, and stop putting him in spots to fail like Maddon had a habit of doing (he’s leading off again, is he Joe? How does Binny’s pay you exactly?). But everything with Almora needs to be considered a longshot at this point. And before too long, it’ll probably be in another uniform.

Baseball

All The Boys In The Band Know How To Get Down – 2019 Sox Player Reviews: You’ve Tried The Best, Now Try The Rest!

By Andy Jonathan 1153 0

So here we are, at the end of the position players who had the majority of the impact on the 2019 White Sox team. What’s left is the detritus, the flotsam, the garbage in the Death Star trash chute. Some of these guys will have a job with the Sox next year, but a good chunk of them will not. This is going to be an abbreviated stats write up, as I don’t think 2,000 words on AJ Reed will do anything for anyone. So without further ado, here is…

 

The Rest

 

ADAM ENGEL

2019 Stats

.242/.304/.383

6 HR 26 RBI 26 R

0.8 WAR +2 DRS 

Tell Me A Story: With the miserable off-season Rick Hahn had in 2018 the Sox were left with no real plan for the outfield other than Eloy Jimenez in left. They let Avisail Garcia walk down to Tampa Bay to have a career year, but made up for it by signing Friend of Manny and Human Stick Figure Jon Jay to a one year deal. This left center field pretty much Adam Engel’s by default. At this point, Engel is a known quantity. He plays plus defense at a premium defensive position, and swings what appears to be a soggy pool noodle when he’s at the plate. He’s a prototypical 4th outfielder at best, but that’s very good to have on a team that has deigns on postseason play. The Sox did not, and thus Engel started 90 games this year. To his credit, he finished the season very strong at the plate, and bumped his average above the Mendoza Line.

Contract: $516,000 under team control until 2021, then 3 years arbitration eligible.

Welcome Back Or Boot In The Ass: Unless something really wacky happens, Engel will be back in a Sox uniform in 2020. He’s great as your 4th OF, or a late inning defensive replacement and won’t actively kill you at the plate.

 

RYAN GOINS

2019 Stats

.250/.333/.347

2 HR 10 RBI 13 R

0.2 WAR +1 DRS

Tell Me A Story: Ryan Goins was picked up off the prospect trash heap by the Sox in 2019 and intially sent to AAA as an extra body to fill out the Charlotte roster. He responded to the move by hitting .322 down there and playing above average D for the Knights. The Sox rewarded him with a callup in July when injuries began to hurt both the infield and outfield. He actually started out pretty hot, hitting .300 in his first month before falling back to earth and ending at .250 for the season. All in all not too shabby for a guy with the ability to play anywhere in the infield or outfield.

Contract: $975,000 in 2019, 3rd year of arbitration in 2020 estimated at $900,000 by MLBTR.

Welcome Back Or Boot In The Ass: A tough one here. At $900K the price is right for a utility infielder/outfielder. Most of it depends on what the Sox do with Leury Garcia. If they think the $4 million is too much for him and he walks, Goins most likely stays. If Garcia stays, Goins probably starts the season back in AAA while he waits for another opportunity.

 

DANIEL PALKA

2019 Stats (Don’t Look)

.107/.194/.179

2 HR 4 RBI 4 R

-1.3 WAR -4 DRS

Tell Me A Story: In 2018 it seemed like the Sox had found a diamond in the rough when he hit 27 home runs and slashed .240/.294/.778. Granted his splits were terrible against lefties and his defense was hilariously bad (-13 DRS in LF) but he was one of the few feel good stories the Sox had in 2018 and was probably the main reason the Sox didn’t actively pursue someone like Michael Brantley in the off-season. The shine came off almost immediately in 2019, as Palka went 12 games to start the season without a hit and was summarily demoted to AAA. He reappeared a few more times during the season, but whatever fix he had down in Charlotte (where he hit .263 with 26 HRs) never came back with him. Ohhh man. I like DP, I really do. He seems like a funny guy online and very approachable. This season, however, is one for the record books and one he and the Sox want to forget as soon as possible.

Contract: $567,000 in 2019 and 2020, arbitration eligible in 2021

Welcome Back Or Boot In The Ass: This is tough, as we have all seen what Palka can do when his mechanics are working at the big league level. Most likely Palka starts down in Charlotte again next season and only comes up if the need arises. The Sox will (hopefully) address the left handed power shortage through free agency.

RYAN CORDELL

2019 Stats

.221/.290/.355

7 HR 24 RBI 22 R

-2.2 WAR -2 DRS

Tell Me A Story: Ryan Cordell is the definition of “a guy” who “plays baseball” for the “major league Chicago White Sox” in 2019. Honestly, he’s a career minor league player who has ground his way through the lower levels and finally got a break with the Sox in 2019. He played decent, looks handsome and had an awesome pinch hit home run against the Tigers in July. That’s about it.

Contract: $555,000 in 2019, under team control for the next 3 years.

Welcome Back Or Boot In The Ass: Unless Cordell plays his way onto this roster by having an unbelievable spring training he’s most likely destined to be back in AAA next season. The Sox have better options up and down their lineup.

DANNY MENDICK

2019 Stats

.308/.325/.462

2 HR 4 RBI 6 R

0.2 WAR 0 DRS

Tell Me A Story: Danny Mendick was drafted by the White Sox in the 22nd round of the 2015 draft. He moved steadily up through the lower levels of the minors hitting around .260 during his journey but always with consistent power. The Sox decided to give him a shot in September and purchased his contract during call ups. He responded pretty well, hitting for power consistently again during his time at the big league level. He played decent D in the infield and is an intriguing piece for the Sox going forward.

Contract: $550,000 in 2019, under team control for the next 3 years before arbitration

Welcome Back Or Boot In The Ass: This will be an interesting story line in spring training. Mendick has shown pretty significant power at every level of the minors, and may turn out to be more than just “a guy” for the Sox in the infield. A lot depends on what the Sox do with Leury Garcia, but Mendick has a decent chance to be on the opening day roster in some capacity. We shall see.

MATT SKOLE

2019 Stats

.208/.275/.236

0 HR 6 RBI 7 R

-0.5 WAR 0 DRS

Tell Me A Story: Honestly, I’d rather not. Skole is the latest in a loooooong line of failures by the White Sox to properly staff the DH position. He played in 9 games and was utterly unremarkable in all of them.

Contract: 55,500,000 pennies were put in Skole’s bank account. Which is good work if you can get it.

Welcome Back Or Boot In The Ass: If Matt Skole comes back in any capacity next season things have gone horribly wrong and I’m probably not watching it.

 

GONE AND HOPEFULLY FORGOTTEN

Jon “MIA” Jay

Charlie “I’m Not The Coldplay Guy” Tilson

Nicky “Nicky” Delmonico

Yonder “Fuck” Alonso

AJ “Fat Sami Zayn” Reed

Football

Three Things We Learned From Week 7 – This Is Some F*cked Up Repugnant Sh*t

By Sam Fels 1344 0

Ooof.

The Bears Coach Might Be Broken-Brained – I joked about it in the preseason. It was only semi-serious. But Matt Nagy’s fixation/psychosis about one missed kick last season seemed to be far too big of a story, and one they were pushing themselves. It seemed so odd and so unnecessary, but in the end you didn’t fear that it would get in the way of too much else. The biggest hope was that they were using it as a smokescreen, to cover for Nagy’s offense going cold in December, or to keep hit off Mitch. It was still a leap to think that that weirdness was clouding their view of the rest of the team.

What my book presupposes is…maybe it did?

Matt Nagy had two weeks to reshuffle his offense, figure out what might work, and to prepare to slide a QB who had been out injured–and lacking confidence anyway–back into the lineup gently. He was facing a team without its two biggest offensive weapons.

And he came up with that.

As Brian said in the recap, they ran the ball seven times. It feels like there are two Matt Nagys, or at least he thinks there are. There’s the one calling the plays, and then there’s the one who shows up at the postgame press conference and wonders why they didn’t run the ball or the run game didn’t work. Not that the Bears went exactly anywhere with those seven rushes, but seven isn’t enough to know that you can’t do anything.

It also puts your questionable quarterback into a nearly impossible situation. He’s got to win a game all by himself, something he probably can’t do when he’s healthy and in rhythm anyway. But they didn’t move him out side the pocket. They didn’t try and give him any obvious throws. Your line still sucks, and there weren’t any changes in scheme or anything to help them out either. Even just trying to run the ball at least lets them do something different, gives them a moment.

The special teams suck. They have for a while. Throwout the kick return, which is more individual brilliance than anything. They had two punts blocked. They had two big returns against called back because the other team held or blocked in the back. They lose that battle every game.

The entire summer was fixated on one kick and another kicker and having them locked in the American Gladiator Death Ball. And now we can’t help but wonder if that fixation blinded them to the fact their O-line was leaky, their QB might not be good, their special teams don’t do anything, and their defense is predicated on two guys and having both of them.

Insert “THE GODDAMN PLANE HAS CRASHED INTO THE MOUNTAIN!” gif. 

Their Quarterback Is Bad – I’ve tried to defend Mitch, mostly because I just want a Bears QB to be good and I still have all my Jay Cutler tools still lying around. And as above, he didn’t get much help from his coach. As Brian pointed out in his recap, when the line is bad things get hurried, and when things get hurried they look unsure. They look hesitant.

And that’s the thing I can’t get past with Mitch. His throws don’t have any conviction. I’d almost live with wrong decisions if he stepped his back foot in the ground, stepped into a throw and did it with confidence. It might be wrong but I believe in it! Though that would just give us Rex again, I suppose.

But almost every throw Mitch makes look like a pitcher trying to aim instead of throw. There isn’t any feel of, “This is where the ball goes now.” It feels more like, “I guess this is where the ball goes? Maybe?” Which is why passes float, miss their targets, or are just heaved into triple coverage.

Take away his first read, and he feels like he doesn’t know what to do. Take away Allen Robinson and he loses all confidence to make another play. He’s not even running anymore.

Mitch has ten games to save his Bears career. That’s it right there.

They Don’t Have An Answer Without Akiem Hicks – Akiem was an All-Pro last year, rightly lauded in this town, if not downright worshipped. And he still might be under-appreciated.

What makes the Bears special, or did, is having two guys on the defensive line that you couldn’t do anything about. You could double both but someone would make a play because you just ran out of guys to have block. And they’d probably get through those double-teams anyway. You couldn’t just run the ball up the middle because Hicks was standing there, asking just what in the fuck you thought you were doing. You couldn’t run outside because the linebackers were too quick.

You can do all of it now. Khalil Mack is watching run plays go up the middle that he can’t do much about. He’s watching quick passes fired out before he has a chance to get there, with no one up the middle moving the walls into the QB. He’s seeing triple teams when they need time. And no one else is doing much about it. Leonard Floyd has gone to that mystical place that Leonard Floyd goes for weeks at a time, that only he can find. There’s a reason Roy Robertson-Harris doesn’t start. There’s a reason you don’t hear Eddie Goldman’s or Bilal Nichols’s name much right now, other than, “Watch this guy get run over and become one with the soil.”

Secondary doesn’t look as good now. Neither do the interior linebackers. They actually have to do all the shit now. And maybe they can’t.

This isn’t going well, is it?

Hockey

Atop the Sugar Pile – Homestand Edition

By Rose Rankin 1580 0

It’s the good, the bad, and the moderately acceptable in the world of the Blackhawks this week…

The Dizzying Highs

Drake Caggiula: Two goals in two games from Caligula earns him a spot in the Highs this week. The first came when he was on the top line against Columbus, and the second came during his stint on the bottom line against Washington, off a great pass from Alex Nylander, showing that while Caggiula is really a bottom six guy, he is producing throughout the lineup (such as it is) right now, so more power to him.

The Third Line: Saad-Kampf-Kubalik is the real deal. Every time they’ve played together they’ve dominated possession, and they can score to boot (example: third goal against the Capitals Sunday). Whether it’s stats or the eye test, they’re passing it. It feels like a resurgence for Saad as well, as he finds a place in the lineup where he can make an impact without all the outsized expectations. Luckily Beto O’Colliton seems to have realized this as well and is keeping them together so far.

The Terrifying Lows

Erik Gustafsson: To be honest, there are a lot of guys on this team that could be here right now. But I don’t make the rules, and I can’t put the entire team in the Terrifying Lows (yet), so we’re going with Gus, who’s been demoted to the third pairing and is still managing to suck balls. He’s had four assists but most of them were a couple weeks ago, he’s got no goals, his possession numbers are underwater, and Calvin de Haan has had to drag his ass around because Keith and Murphy are a more trustworthy pairing then Keith and Gus. Plus, de Haan is an actual defenseman and Gus clearly needs a babysitter. QB’ing the power play was his only redeeming quality and that hasn’t resulted in much of anything lately. We’ve been saying sell high…

The Penalty Kill: As of this writing it was 28th in the league. Same as it ever was.

Pat Foley: Whatta jamoke. Not only did he make a mildly sexist comment about female hockey players’ appearance, but he did it mere weeks after making a mildly racist comment about a player’s name. There isn’t much I can add to what Pullega and Sam have already said, but ultimately it’s up to the Blackhawks as to whether they want to deal with the Hawk Harrelson level of dumbassery that’s clearly here to stay (and I say this as a lifelong Sox fan with many fond memories of Hawk calling games throughout my childhood).

The Creamy Middles

Goaltending: So we’ve all been waiting to see how the Crawford-Lehner duopoly would work out and…it’s too early to say that one guy has the hot hand and the other doesn’t. To be fair though, Lehner looked outstanding earlier in the weekend against the Blue Jackets with a .949 SV%. Crawford has been a little shakier, with an .862 SV% against the Capitals on Sunday but a great performance against the Oilers before that (.964). A few of the goals by the Caps can’t really be blamed on Crawford (e.g, Wilson’s goal when Seabrook was actually interfered with and didn’t just fall on his ass on his own, for once), yet he hasn’t always been sharp. To be clear, I am not advocating to bench Crawford. I am just pointing out that the goaltending has been a mix of great and mediocre and so we’re still waiting to see how this goes.

Kirby Dach: Yes, it’s the smallest of sample sizes, so let’s just be up front about that. But Dach was thrown into the deep end immediately and handled it well. At least, he didn’t cause any problems or make anything worse. And he had a beautiful pass to Kane that should have been a goal on the backhand (I think Kane wasn’t expecting such a spot-on pass), some quality backchecking, and even put his babyface in the right place at the right time to draw a four-minute penalty (the fact that the Hawks ended up DOWN after that wasn’t really his fault). There’s not much else to commend him for, but he wasn’t bad.

Alexander Nylander: I’m being fair here, everyone, give me some credit. You know I don’t like him and will hold against him something that he can’t control (being traded for a player I think is better). However, Nylander had two assists on Sunday against the Capitals and even got elevated from the fourth line (which was actually clicking quite well so no shit-talking here about the fourth line). Over the weekend he’s had a 53 CF% and has generally been helpful wherever Colliton has put him. Small sample size again, but it’s taking the sting out of that trade right now.

 

Football

Week #7 – Saints 36, Bears 25: Saint It Ain’t So

By Brian Schmitz 1908 0

This is what I get? Off a bye week. After a loss. This is how you respond. Go ahead and ask yourself; can you remember a worse 3-3 football team? The Bears suck right now, and I don’t envision a scenario where they are going to get any better.

Before you go off on Mitch Trubisky and how he’s a joke of a QB, lets address the running game. A running game that really isn’t a running game. The Bears tried to run the ball seven times. Seven times in an NFL football game. Who in the actual fuck runs the ball seven times in actual NFL football game? Not in a drive, not in a quarter, not in a half, but in a game. What you ask, did the seven rush attempts yield? A grand total of 17 yards. That means 2.4 yard per carry. Not only did Matt Nagy call for seven rush attempts, he asked his lead back and prize draft pick to carry the ball two times. Again. TWO times. There is not a quarterback alive that can expect to see any sort of open passing lanes when the threat of a run is non-existent. It’s tee off time, 1-Mississippi type of rush that the Bears are facing. This is especially dreadful when you have an O-line that can’t block for dick.

When you have a terrible offensive line, you, in turn, have a quarterback who wants/needs to rush everything. This results in first read throws that are hurried, but more importantly, throws that your quarterback is not convinced he should make. Its easy, and borderline lazy, to say that Trubisky put up his respectable numbers when the game was over. But what do you want the guy to do? Stop playing? Start throwing picks? What he showed me is that he wanted to compete. He wasn’t great early, but he didn’t quit. I appreciate his effort and so do his receivers. Probably none more than Tarik Cohen, who played his ass off in route to nine catches. Cohen competed until the end, something you love to see.

Anthony Miller had five catches, but its clear there is a disconnect and unhappiness between him and Trubisky/Nagy. His poor body language was evident late in the game and he simply quit on some routes late in the game. I don’t know what’s going on with this guy, but its time he makes a name for himself on what he’s done instead of what he’s going to do.

I have never been a big Corradelle Patterson guy, but there is no question that he balled out today. Guy was everywhere and made plays in all phases. He’s going to be an Pro-Bowl special teams players and is someone that the young guys on the team can learn from.

Much like this entire Bears team, this defensive unit isn’t as good as we thought they’d be. 36 points allowed to a Saints offense that was without Drew Brees and Alvin Kamara? Get the fuck outta here. Not only did backup running back Latavius Murray run for his second 100 yard game against the Bears in two games, but Michael Thomas caught 9 balls for 131 yards against a Bears secondary that has continued to struggle this season. Saints QB Teddy Bridgewater continued to impress in a reserve role, throwing for 281 yards, but more importantly, only getting sacked one time.

This is going to be a long week for the Bears. Especially so: Mitch Trubisky and Matt Nagy. Questions are many, answers are few, and we still don’t know who this team is seven weeks into the season.