Apparently there was a Cubs scout watching Verlander’s game last night FWIW. Kinda funny that in today’s world there is still a need for an actual traveling scout for anything other than the draft.
^Well…damn.
Arietta was a fixer upper, I think Verlander just has a ton on miles on his arm. I don’t know if there is anything in the Wizard of Boz’s* bag for Verlander.
But what do I know?! He was awesome last year, and definitely deserved the Cy Young. Maybe he just isn’t used to the new “juiced” balls…
Go get him, Jed!
*Chris Bosio
The Rams couldn’t even get 20K in the seats last year, although California is a huge state in terms of population, so the solution then is to put a very crappy team along side them (the Chargers).
To be fair, that’s more of an LA issue than a football one. I mean the Raiders are still pretty well-supported. But, yes, the SoCal thing never makes sense and the teams have never been popular unless the team was really good. And, as bad as the Rams could be, the Chargers will be even worse. I still understand why the Chargers left since it’s really NOT a good investment to build a new stadium where they were but LA’s a bad choice.
I don’t know how you can watch non-specialized sports networks and avoid what’s going on with the NBA.
Well, that’s it. I don’t watch them. It’s barely even sports news anymore and it’s just talking heads…I avoid any ESPN that isn’t an actual game. I get most of my coverage just from articles and podcasts. Most national people who cover NBA are awful at it anyway.
Apparently there was a Cubs scout watching Verlander’s game last night FWIW. Kinda funny that in today’s world there is still a need for an actual traveling scout for anything other than the draft.
I guess there was scouts from a bunch of teams. I found this silly too. What more do they need to see? Almost feels like it’s justifying their job a lil bit.
Buccos got lit up last night. Really thought last night was a gimme win but bad defense plus the Giants taking advantage of that huge right field with no Polanco= blowout. Hopefully Williams can pitch a good game today and we can take 2/3 and move on to SD.
After being called out looking on a pitch in on his hands, Cubs’ renegade third-baseman Kris Bryant got ejected from the Cubs/Sox game for arguing balls and strikes. Given his propensity for profanity, and generally disrespectful attitude, it is little wonder that this diva has racked up one ejection (including yesterday’s) over the course of his 2.5 year career. Mr. Bryant might want cool it, his arrogance and reputation for violent outbursts are catching up with him.
Because The Cubs were at home, we saw the White Sox broadcast, which means listening to play-by-play guy Hawk Harrelson. The dude is a clown. 
What’s the correlation between them being at home and getting the White Sox broadcast locally? Doesn’t make much sense to me…
My new favorite player! Truckin’, like the Duda man!
The Raiders have a built in fan base. Las Vegas is embracing them and has a ton of Raider merchandise already. I don’t think the Rams or Chargers would do well in Vegas though.
Anyway, I still feel the NFL is over exposed? Over reached? Too extended? Rearranged but not refined?
Mystified and misshapen? Not sure what the right words are, but viewership and attendance is down and it seems they’re trying to get land huge TV and corporate deals when they product they have isn’t as good as it once was.
It’s kind of like in football, when an AFC and NFC team play each other, the game shows on the away teams network. (CBS would carry a Steelers / Lions game played in Detroit) I don’t know why they do it this, but the broadcast is usually that of the away team when the two play each other. Other times WGN will show one broadcast and CSN will show the other. Once they did the switcheroo for one inning, and once they had a combined inning. For the last regular season Cubs / Dodgers game of 2016, they aired Vin Scully’s call on the Cubs’ broadcast! That was a real treat.
Either way, I got stuck with Hawk Harrelson squawking about how Sox pitchers need to plunk more Cubs, because Lackey lacked control yesterday and hit 4 Sox batters. Lackey is an A-Hole and has been his entire career, but yesterday he just sucked. I might be a Cubs homer, but no pitcher would intentionally load the bases by hitting 3 out of 4 batters.
Duda Dew!
Because The Cubs were at home, we saw the White Sox broadcast, which means listening to play-by-play guy Hawk Harrelson. The dude is a clown
Ug, Harrellson is an all-time annoying announcer. He does that terrible “He Gone” line every time someone strikes out which gets old after the first time he does it but he won’t stop it. And then there’s “put it on the board” line which may be the dumbest catchphrase in sports. I feel sorry that they’re subjected to this moron on a regular basis. On the bright side, I heard he’s retiring so they’ll soon be liberated.
Anyway, I still feel the NFL is over exposed? Over reached? Too extended?
I dunno…it seems the same as ever to me. I mean maybe attendance is down due to folks having nice TV and games being expensive but that’s an issue with all sports. NFL is still king. Though I’d rather they not expand any more but I say that about all sports too.
It’s kind of like in football, when an AFC and NFC team play each other, the game shows on the away teams network. (CBS would carry a Steelers / Lions game played in Detroit
Actually, they don’t do this anymore either. That used to be the way but I’ve seen NFC games on CBS and vice-versa and I’m not sure what the rules are anymore.
Either way, I got stuck with Hawk Harrelson squawking about how Sox pitchers need to plunk more Cubs,
No surprise at all. I find there’s nothing more pathetic and “fake tough” than a pitcher hitting a guy with a baseball. That’s something a 4 year old does to his brother.
Hey Sean - The Mets traded your boy!
Goddammit! Is anything I know true?!
Yeah I really can’t remember how the NFC/AFC thing works for tv channels. I feel like though, when the Steelers did play the Falcons it was on CBS when they were in Pittsburgh and Fox in Atlanta 
^Are you saying you’ve seen an NFC vs NFC game on CBS? that’s crazy talk…down here it’s Titans on CBS and Falcons on Fox every week. I gotta feeling I’m gonna fall deep into the NFL this fall cause of the way I’ve just fallen in love with sports again over the past year, so I’ll have to find a place better than Buffalo Wild Wings to watch my Steelers this fall…fall…can’t wait
And I liked the “he gone” thing that White Sox announcer does 
Actually I looked into it and I was kinda wrong…they usually do stick with the NFC/FOX and AFC/CBS thing but I guess a few games were moved around last year due to scheduling where one channel had way more games than the other. This article kinda covers it. So I was a bit wrong in that they only do it with these weird exceptions. But it has happened.
Pirates dropped 2/3 against the damn Giants during the week, one game was basically lost because Marte missed a pop fly to right field. If they can’t win the series against the Padres this weekend my hopes will drop drastically, especially if Polanco isn’t coming back for a while and they don’t find a way to fill his gap. I don’t know why you wouldn’t at least trade for one decent OF, since if they do make the playoffs Marte will be suspended again and everybody says OF players don’t cost much these days.
Cubs/Brewers series this weekend will be fun to keep up with. Could see the Cubs taking it easily and maybe sweeping the way they’re playing. Sucks, I have the day off and there aren’t any games till about 7:00.
Big series. There is still a bit of baseball left in the regular season, but it is a pretty big series for the NL Central.
Cubs / Dodgers / Yankees (and Padres?) are all trying to score big in the Sonny Gray sweepstakes. This makes me uneasy because The Cubs are out of farm players, so they would have to move someone from the MLB roster, which would come down to Ian Happ, Kyle Schwarber, or Addison Russell. Russell was originally part of the A’s system, but The Cubs got him in a trade for Hammels and Samardzija. Happ is still kind of a question mark. He was The Cubs premier prospect going into this season (along with Jimenez, who they traded for Quintana), but aside from his power he looks pretty average so far, so I doubt he would be enough. And I don’t want to even think about The Cubs trading Schwarber. Maddon killed him by making him leadoff for as long as he did. Since coming back from AAA, he has been crushing balls. (Though Schwarber was custom built to be in the AL)
Man I just don’t see the Cubs giving someone up off the Big League roster, but like you said they may have to. The way the starters have been in this second half so far for them, ya just gotta wonder if it’s worth it.
Pirates called somebody up to hopefully fill in the defensive hole in right field. I think he was just called up yesterday, and he’s starting tonight against the Padres. It’ll be cool to see someone new in the field, really all they’ve done from the minors this year is bring up and drop down different pitchers. I don’t think this kid has even been in AAA very long this year from what I remember, but their biggest talent (and outfielder) in the minors apparently got hurt not long ago.
Looks like Jed and Theo are listening to your suggestions.
I like Willson Contreras a ton, he is a threat at the plate, and he is very difficult to steal on, but he has to work on calling the game, which will obviously improve with time (he was never a catcher before he was drafted). David Ross was a very good fit for The Cubs in 2015 and 2016. He was clearly too old to be an everyday catcher. He was great as a designated catcher, teacher, and clubhouse leader, he left an odd shaped hole in The Cubs roster. Miguel Montero was a pretty good offensive catcher, and he called a good game, but he was a detriment defensively and in the clubhouse. I was kind of bummed to see him go after he called out Arietta to the media, but ultimately I agree that it was the right choice. Theo believes in “high character” (although he did sell his soul when he traded for Chapman last year), and Montero no longer fit the bill. Avila is more than a designated catcher, and his offense can be pretty potent (against righties). Also, the dude knows how to call a game, calling one no-no (Verlander did his part I guess), and Galarraga’s “Perfecto” (I’m counting it!).
Also, I am glad to see that The Cubs didn’t squander their chance to pass The Brewers. They were 5.5 games back coming back from the break, and are now 2.5 games up on them. This was identified as a “soft” part of their schedule, but they still had to play three in Milwaukee.
Man the Dodgers cashed in. Watson hasn’t been the reliever of the old days, but he’s been pitching better the past month or so I think…He blew quite a few saves towards the beginning of the year though. And I think the Yankees are now the favorite in my book in the AL East, they gon be good. Dodgers are in ATL this week, thinking about going down for the game on Wednesday. Might be seeing the 2017 World Series Champs.
Yeah. I like to think that The Cubbies still have a shot, and anything can happen in the playoffs, but realistically, those Dodgers have a sick team, and should win the pennant. Dodgers / Astros looks inevitable, but anything can happen in the playoffs, including Kershaw choking… again! Although, to his credit, he beat up on The Cubs pretty good in his first NLCS outing, he was just gassed for game 6, and even then I wouldn’t say he choked, he was just beaten.
There is a trend in the MLB where all the skippers in the league have seen what Madison Bumgarner can do in the WS, and now every manager thinks that his ace can throw 3 out of 7 games. Mad Bum is a freak. Kershaw is objectively the better pitcher and Kluber is just as good as Bumgarner, but they don’t have the physical and mental endurance that Bumgarner has. Kluber, Kershaw, Miller and Chapman were all overused in the playoffs and all their performances suffered. I’m sure this is temporary. Especially after last years WS, managers have to see that abusing their best arms can be bad during the playoffs.
I liked the Justin Wilson/Avila deal to the Cubs. Those are two dudes where I have absolutely zero faith they’ll be putting up numbers this good next year so it doesn’t seem like that big a loss. I was torn on Verlander where we could really use relief from his salary but I kinda like the guy…I guess part of me is glad he’s still here even if it’s not in our best interests. I believe the fact that there’s three divisions which are almost already over likely cut down on potential trade partners this year.
Saw Mike Judge crush a HR against the Tigers last night. So I guess I can see that…