(I also posted this at another blog...)
One of my favorite musicians in the Chicago bar band scene was bass
player Tom "Pickles" Piekarski. Besides playing with John Prine, he
also played with the Famous Potatoes, Mike Jordan and the Rockamatics,
Betsy and the Boneshakers, and finally, The Bad Examples.
I loved watching him, listening to him, and talking with him between
sets and after or before shows. Pickles always had time and interest in
chatting with people.
Here's the obit from the Chicago Sun-Times: The Tasty Force of Tom Piekarski
*****
Monday, August 12, 2013
Thursday, July 18, 2013
And I didn't even mention...
The BlackHawks!
I know I haven't been very good at updating my sports blog, and I do tend to focus on stuff like deals and roster moves because that's often what interests me the most about Chicago sports. It always has been like that for me - I was a stats junkie as a kid and even though I'm not really up on sabermetrics, the ideas behind it fascinate me. I used to play entire seasons with my own version of the major leagues via baseball cards and a deck of playing cards. (Aces were home runs, red kings were triples, black kings were singles, queens were doubles, jacks were singles, 10's were walks, 9's and 5's were sacrifice flies if there was a runner on third, and the rest were just outs. I didn't mess with stolen bases or double plays or errors.) I used to log trades in a notebook, then play games with my card deck, using my revamped rosters. It was fun.
Anyway, here I am writing about the trading deadline in baseball (which is something I always pay attention to in all sports) and I'm not even mentioning that:
THE BLACKHAWKS WON THE STANLEY CUP!!!
AGAIN!!!
Two Cups in four years is pretty darned good. I have to admit, watching as they worked their way through the Detroit, LA and part of the Bruin series, I didn't think they could do it. They looked less aggressive and slower to the puck, but when push came to shove, they put the puck in the net when they needed to!
So congratulations, Blackhawks, and congratulations to all the die-hard Hawks fans. And thank you, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, for finally capturing my son's imagination and making him into a hockey fan!
*****
I know I haven't been very good at updating my sports blog, and I do tend to focus on stuff like deals and roster moves because that's often what interests me the most about Chicago sports. It always has been like that for me - I was a stats junkie as a kid and even though I'm not really up on sabermetrics, the ideas behind it fascinate me. I used to play entire seasons with my own version of the major leagues via baseball cards and a deck of playing cards. (Aces were home runs, red kings were triples, black kings were singles, queens were doubles, jacks were singles, 10's were walks, 9's and 5's were sacrifice flies if there was a runner on third, and the rest were just outs. I didn't mess with stolen bases or double plays or errors.) I used to log trades in a notebook, then play games with my card deck, using my revamped rosters. It was fun.
Anyway, here I am writing about the trading deadline in baseball (which is something I always pay attention to in all sports) and I'm not even mentioning that:
THE BLACKHAWKS WON THE STANLEY CUP!!!
AGAIN!!!
Two Cups in four years is pretty darned good. I have to admit, watching as they worked their way through the Detroit, LA and part of the Bruin series, I didn't think they could do it. They looked less aggressive and slower to the puck, but when push came to shove, they put the puck in the net when they needed to!
So congratulations, Blackhawks, and congratulations to all the die-hard Hawks fans. And thank you, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, for finally capturing my son's imagination and making him into a hockey fan!
*****
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Baseball Trading Deadline...
So here we are at the All Star Break, and both the Cubs and White Sox are about 14 games out, thought the Cubs have the better record.
Both teams are sellers as we approach the deadline for non-waiver deals. Both teams have a few chips. The Sox have Alex Rios and Jake Peavy, both of who they would love to more. The Cubs have Matt Garza, who may be the best available pitcher in baseball, if not for the fact that he is a free agent at the end of the year.
Others could go as well. I've read that the Sox wouldn't mind moving Alexi Ramirez and of course they'd let Adam Dunn go at the drop of a hat, if there was a taker. They've already moved lefty reliever Matt Thornton to the BoSox. The Cubs have already moved Scott Feldman, and I would guess they would consider trading Edwin Jackson for the right amount of prospects. Likewise with David DeJesus, Kevin Gregg, and Nate Schuerholz, if the deals make sense. Like Dunn, the Cubs also would move Soriano provided they don't have to eat every last bite of his contract, and Carlos Marmol.
Here's how I feel about trade deadline deals. There are a couple of reasons to make trades. First, you want salary relief. (See Alfonso Soriano.) Second, you have a young player coming up the ladder who you want to make playing time for. Third, you can get players who likely can help you in the future.
As a Cubs fan, I've seen too many of the "salary dump" types of deals where the players coming back are little more than minor league roster filler, no matter how management tried to spin them. That was a different management team. This year it's different. It seems perhaps the Cubs have people in place who can actually evaluate talent.
Still, I wouldn't trade a guy like Kevin Gregg for nothing. Cash in on him, yes. He's been really good as closer since being signed off the major league scrap heap, and if someone wants to give the team one of those players who can help you in the future, not just minor league filler but a true prospect, by all means deal him. But to trade him for this year's version of Micah Bowie, I don't think I'd do it. First, he doesn't cost much. Second, there is no young player pushing for innings in the closer role. Third, he is helping the team win a few games.
See, I feel these two teams still have an obligation to their fans to try to put a major league quality product on the field. This obligation will continue unless they slash ticket prices to minor league levels or something not much more than that. If someone tells me that they are "building for the future but sacrificing the present", I will tell them that I don't feel I should pay premium prices for an admittedly inferior product, especially one that is inferior by design. I'm all for getting better, but I still don't have to spend my money on bad baseball.
Right now Kevin Gregg makes the Cubs a little better. If they can get a real prospect for him go for it. But don't deal him just to be trading him, and have some B-level prospect come back to the organization in return. I feel the same way about Schuerholz, Scott Hairston and others. They are major leaguers and I'd like to see them stay around.
Unless they bring back real prospects in return, as we all expect Matt Garza to do. Maybe not that quality of prospect, but still - guys with a major league future.
Let's see what happens now...
*****
Both teams are sellers as we approach the deadline for non-waiver deals. Both teams have a few chips. The Sox have Alex Rios and Jake Peavy, both of who they would love to more. The Cubs have Matt Garza, who may be the best available pitcher in baseball, if not for the fact that he is a free agent at the end of the year.
Others could go as well. I've read that the Sox wouldn't mind moving Alexi Ramirez and of course they'd let Adam Dunn go at the drop of a hat, if there was a taker. They've already moved lefty reliever Matt Thornton to the BoSox. The Cubs have already moved Scott Feldman, and I would guess they would consider trading Edwin Jackson for the right amount of prospects. Likewise with David DeJesus, Kevin Gregg, and Nate Schuerholz, if the deals make sense. Like Dunn, the Cubs also would move Soriano provided they don't have to eat every last bite of his contract, and Carlos Marmol.
Here's how I feel about trade deadline deals. There are a couple of reasons to make trades. First, you want salary relief. (See Alfonso Soriano.) Second, you have a young player coming up the ladder who you want to make playing time for. Third, you can get players who likely can help you in the future.
As a Cubs fan, I've seen too many of the "salary dump" types of deals where the players coming back are little more than minor league roster filler, no matter how management tried to spin them. That was a different management team. This year it's different. It seems perhaps the Cubs have people in place who can actually evaluate talent.
Still, I wouldn't trade a guy like Kevin Gregg for nothing. Cash in on him, yes. He's been really good as closer since being signed off the major league scrap heap, and if someone wants to give the team one of those players who can help you in the future, not just minor league filler but a true prospect, by all means deal him. But to trade him for this year's version of Micah Bowie, I don't think I'd do it. First, he doesn't cost much. Second, there is no young player pushing for innings in the closer role. Third, he is helping the team win a few games.
See, I feel these two teams still have an obligation to their fans to try to put a major league quality product on the field. This obligation will continue unless they slash ticket prices to minor league levels or something not much more than that. If someone tells me that they are "building for the future but sacrificing the present", I will tell them that I don't feel I should pay premium prices for an admittedly inferior product, especially one that is inferior by design. I'm all for getting better, but I still don't have to spend my money on bad baseball.
Right now Kevin Gregg makes the Cubs a little better. If they can get a real prospect for him go for it. But don't deal him just to be trading him, and have some B-level prospect come back to the organization in return. I feel the same way about Schuerholz, Scott Hairston and others. They are major leaguers and I'd like to see them stay around.
Unless they bring back real prospects in return, as we all expect Matt Garza to do. Maybe not that quality of prospect, but still - guys with a major league future.
Let's see what happens now...
*****
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Bulls Post-Season Wrap-up
So the Bulls season ended with one of their better games in the playoffs as they took the Heat to the final seconds and had a good look - no, two good looks - at tying the game with a three. But alas, it didn't happen, and the Heat take the series in 5.
Mark Silverman on ESPN1000 just asked what the big picture was for this Bulls team next year.
I submit that it should be a fairly rosy picture. Everyone should be healthy to start the season, and everyone should be in their proper places. The starting point guard should be Derrick Rose, and Kirk Hinrich and Nate Robinson (if they resign him) should be playing the amount of minutes and against the players where they should have the better of the matchup. Hinrich showed his worth this year, I think - he's not a scorer, but he does do a better job of passing and defending than most any other Bull. Depending on matchups, he could start at the two guard or back up the point guard.
Carlos Boozer seemed, to me, to play far far better when Hinrich was playing point guard than when he wasn't. Would this be a way to get some real value out of Boozer? What if he was putting up a double double a night in part against second teamers? Start Boozer, play him 3 or 4 minutes, bring in Taj until the second team comes in and make sure Boozer and Hinrich get plenty of minutes together.
Backup center: A weakness for this year's team. Mohammed was okay in his limited minutes, but the Bulls ended up using Taj as the back-up center quite a bit, it seemed to me. Or Boozer, with Deng at power forward.
Jimmy Butler matured into a bonafide NBA player this year. Is he the starting two-guard next year? I think he's more of a small forward. Would I rather have Deng at SF? Sure, but Deng might also be the one guy on this team who could bring back real value in a deal. It would depend on what they could get for Deng in a trade as to whether I would consider moving him.
I'm not enamored with Marco Bellinelli, but I certainly wouldn't rule him out as the long range spot-up shooter and another backup two guard. I'm certain that Hamilton, who appeared to be poorly used in the playoffs, is going to be bought out and I won't have a problem with that, though I wonder if Rip's lack of contribution throughout the latter part of the year was his problem or Tom Thibodeau's problem. Thibodeau is a great coach, but he does seem to 1.) overwork his players a bit, too many minutes and too much pedal to the metal, and 2.) underutilize some players for whatever reason. As examples of the second, see Rip, Marcus Teague, and maybe even Vlad Rad. The guy ended up buried on the bench and really wasn't given any opportunity to contribute as far as I could see.
There will be a somewhat higher draft pick this year, and that may translate into a useful player, but with Thibodeau's tendency to sit young players, will it matter? With Rip going, will there be a spot for a veteran PF or center who can back up in the front court? Will some players look at the Bulls and say, now there's a team that can compete with Miami and I just might have a shot at getting to the Finals and getting a championship with this team, so I'll take the veteran's exception, or even the minimum, to play for them? (So many players seem to do that with Miami. There has to be someone who will do it with the Bulls...)
The Bulls got some real experience in the playoffs this year for players like Butler, Bellinelli and even a little bit for Marcus Teague. Can that translate to a much improved squad next year? Let's hope.
That's my big-picture view of the Bulls. Now it's on to watch the BlackHawks on their road to the Stanley Cup, then focus on the Cubs' rebuilding efforts this summer...
*****
Mark Silverman on ESPN1000 just asked what the big picture was for this Bulls team next year.
I submit that it should be a fairly rosy picture. Everyone should be healthy to start the season, and everyone should be in their proper places. The starting point guard should be Derrick Rose, and Kirk Hinrich and Nate Robinson (if they resign him) should be playing the amount of minutes and against the players where they should have the better of the matchup. Hinrich showed his worth this year, I think - he's not a scorer, but he does do a better job of passing and defending than most any other Bull. Depending on matchups, he could start at the two guard or back up the point guard.
Carlos Boozer seemed, to me, to play far far better when Hinrich was playing point guard than when he wasn't. Would this be a way to get some real value out of Boozer? What if he was putting up a double double a night in part against second teamers? Start Boozer, play him 3 or 4 minutes, bring in Taj until the second team comes in and make sure Boozer and Hinrich get plenty of minutes together.
Backup center: A weakness for this year's team. Mohammed was okay in his limited minutes, but the Bulls ended up using Taj as the back-up center quite a bit, it seemed to me. Or Boozer, with Deng at power forward.
Jimmy Butler matured into a bonafide NBA player this year. Is he the starting two-guard next year? I think he's more of a small forward. Would I rather have Deng at SF? Sure, but Deng might also be the one guy on this team who could bring back real value in a deal. It would depend on what they could get for Deng in a trade as to whether I would consider moving him.
I'm not enamored with Marco Bellinelli, but I certainly wouldn't rule him out as the long range spot-up shooter and another backup two guard. I'm certain that Hamilton, who appeared to be poorly used in the playoffs, is going to be bought out and I won't have a problem with that, though I wonder if Rip's lack of contribution throughout the latter part of the year was his problem or Tom Thibodeau's problem. Thibodeau is a great coach, but he does seem to 1.) overwork his players a bit, too many minutes and too much pedal to the metal, and 2.) underutilize some players for whatever reason. As examples of the second, see Rip, Marcus Teague, and maybe even Vlad Rad. The guy ended up buried on the bench and really wasn't given any opportunity to contribute as far as I could see.
There will be a somewhat higher draft pick this year, and that may translate into a useful player, but with Thibodeau's tendency to sit young players, will it matter? With Rip going, will there be a spot for a veteran PF or center who can back up in the front court? Will some players look at the Bulls and say, now there's a team that can compete with Miami and I just might have a shot at getting to the Finals and getting a championship with this team, so I'll take the veteran's exception, or even the minimum, to play for them? (So many players seem to do that with Miami. There has to be someone who will do it with the Bulls...)
The Bulls got some real experience in the playoffs this year for players like Butler, Bellinelli and even a little bit for Marcus Teague. Can that translate to a much improved squad next year? Let's hope.
That's my big-picture view of the Bulls. Now it's on to watch the BlackHawks on their road to the Stanley Cup, then focus on the Cubs' rebuilding efforts this summer...
*****
Friday, April 26, 2013
Bears' Draft - round one
Just a quick post to note that the Bears drafted OL Kyle Long out of Oregon with their 20th pick in the first round of the NFL draft.
Seems that it was a bit of a surprise. I heard one guy saying that the two surprises of the first round were Buffalo taking the QB they took and the Bears, who everyone thought would either go for Tyler Eifort if he was there, or a defensive player, probably a linebacker like T'eo (from Notre Dame) or Alec Ogletree, but maybe the corner (Trufant) who was drafted two picks later.
As of the end of the first round, T'eo and Kevin Minter are still on the board, along with some fairly highly thought-of QB's and a bunch of other guys who were at least discussed as potential first rounders.
The Bears only have 5 picks, and have to make every one of them count. Round Two starts tonight at 6:30 pm CDT, and the Bears once again have the 20th pick.
What are the chances of T'eo or Kevin Minter dropping to them?
Should they consider a QB if Barkley or Smith drop that far? (That might not be such a bad idea...especially if their new coach really likes one of these guys...)
*****
Seems that it was a bit of a surprise. I heard one guy saying that the two surprises of the first round were Buffalo taking the QB they took and the Bears, who everyone thought would either go for Tyler Eifort if he was there, or a defensive player, probably a linebacker like T'eo (from Notre Dame) or Alec Ogletree, but maybe the corner (Trufant) who was drafted two picks later.
As of the end of the first round, T'eo and Kevin Minter are still on the board, along with some fairly highly thought-of QB's and a bunch of other guys who were at least discussed as potential first rounders.
The Bears only have 5 picks, and have to make every one of them count. Round Two starts tonight at 6:30 pm CDT, and the Bears once again have the 20th pick.
What are the chances of T'eo or Kevin Minter dropping to them?
Should they consider a QB if Barkley or Smith drop that far? (That might not be such a bad idea...especially if their new coach really likes one of these guys...)
*****
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Loyola jumps to a new conference...
...but not that all-Catholic school conference.
They are dropping out of the Horizon League and going to the Missouri Valley Conference.
I hope it helps with recruiting. At Loyola's level currently, upgrading the players/talent is all that's really going to help them.
*****
They are dropping out of the Horizon League and going to the Missouri Valley Conference.
I hope it helps with recruiting. At Loyola's level currently, upgrading the players/talent is all that's really going to help them.
*****
Who are these guys?
Admittedly, I haven't been following along during this Cubs' offseason as carefully as I have in years past, but when they read off the lineup card, I'm surprised by how little I know about most players on the Cubs.
I know a few of them were there last year, guys like Valbuena (the third baseman) and Camp (the pitcher), but most of their bullpen and some of their rotation and even the free agents - I don't know much about them.
So, what do they have, going forward? Who's a part of this team when they're actually trying to be good again? I'd guess Castro, Rizzo, Samardzija, maybe Castillo (the catcher), maybe Barney, maybe Travis Wood and Jeff Russell. DeJesus, Schuerholz (sp?), Ian Stewart and Scott Hairston are probably elsewhere as soon as next year. We can only hope that Marmol and maybe even Soriano are elsewhere as well. And Edwin Jackson got a sizable contract but he's not untradable either.
To tell you the truth, I'm not even sure about Castro and Rizzo. We have to see what Rizzo can do for an entire season. And Castro so far looks better at short, but as late as the end of last year, there was discussion as to whether that was his position or not. (No questions about Castro's hitting.) Soler and Baez are coming, but can they be counted upon to be impact players? We've seen Josh Vitters and Ryan Harvey and a score of others come through and not make any impact. We've seen players like McGehee and Hinske be given up on by the Cubs and go on to have relatively (compared to other Cubs prospects) productive careers elsewhere. I know it's a new regime in charge of everything, including player development, but so far I haven't seen anything to inspire a ton of confidence in this team's player development.
To tell you the truth, as a Cubs fan for over 40 years, I'm really tired of watching, investing time and emotion in the Cubs, and ... of just WAITING TILL NEXT YEAR...
*****
I know a few of them were there last year, guys like Valbuena (the third baseman) and Camp (the pitcher), but most of their bullpen and some of their rotation and even the free agents - I don't know much about them.
So, what do they have, going forward? Who's a part of this team when they're actually trying to be good again? I'd guess Castro, Rizzo, Samardzija, maybe Castillo (the catcher), maybe Barney, maybe Travis Wood and Jeff Russell. DeJesus, Schuerholz (sp?), Ian Stewart and Scott Hairston are probably elsewhere as soon as next year. We can only hope that Marmol and maybe even Soriano are elsewhere as well. And Edwin Jackson got a sizable contract but he's not untradable either.
To tell you the truth, I'm not even sure about Castro and Rizzo. We have to see what Rizzo can do for an entire season. And Castro so far looks better at short, but as late as the end of last year, there was discussion as to whether that was his position or not. (No questions about Castro's hitting.) Soler and Baez are coming, but can they be counted upon to be impact players? We've seen Josh Vitters and Ryan Harvey and a score of others come through and not make any impact. We've seen players like McGehee and Hinske be given up on by the Cubs and go on to have relatively (compared to other Cubs prospects) productive careers elsewhere. I know it's a new regime in charge of everything, including player development, but so far I haven't seen anything to inspire a ton of confidence in this team's player development.
To tell you the truth, as a Cubs fan for over 40 years, I'm really tired of watching, investing time and emotion in the Cubs, and ... of just WAITING TILL NEXT YEAR...
*****
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