👋 Good morning!
Oops.
Last night’s Cubs loss was one of those migraine-inducing ballgames.
Ian Happ’s misplay, Dansby Swanson’s misstep, and deadline-addition Michael Soroka’s shoulder injury…
They’re moments Cubs fans will want to forget — but won’t be able to as the NL Central slips further away.
The bigger concern? Kyle Tucker has only four extra-base hits in the last month. In the same stretch, Seiya Suzuki is batting just .193.
Where’s Joe Maddon with a petting zoo when you need him?
⚾️ DIEHARDS ONLY ⚾️
We’re knocking the Friday 1:20 Club out of the park and onto a Wrigley Rooftop.
Join DIEHARDS ONLY at this premium event when the Cubs host the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 15th!
Your event ticket includes all you can eat and drink throughout the game, a CHGO Cubs shirt of your choice and a CHGO hat!
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE: We’ve added August 18th vs. the Brewers at no extra cost!
Two games on the rooftops for the price of one!
Opportunity’s Knockin’
It’s Week 1 of the preseason! This is when things begin to get real. The Bears host the Miami Dolphins at Halas Hall for a joint practice session on Friday, and then will play a full exhibition game on Sunday.
The depth chart we see come Sunday won’t be the same one we see Week 1 of the regular season, but it’ll be a decent guide for how things have progressed throughout camp.
Let’s take a look at where some of the battles on the Bears’ roster stand:
LEFT TACKLE: The last we heard, it was still a three-man race between veteran Braxton Jones, second-year Kiran Amegadjie and rookie Ozzy Trapilo.
All three have had their moments — good and bad — throughout camp, but Amegadjie is still sidelined with a leg injury, and Jones hasn’t quite regained the full strength in his leg since requiring ankle surgery at the end of last season.
Head coach Ben Johnson said last week that he’d use the player's day off to huddle with the staff and see where they’re at with the competition. That day was Friday, and since then, Trapilo received all of the first-team snaps on Saturday and the bulk (in rotation with Jones) on Sunday.
RUNNING BACK No. 2: D’Andre Swift looks good through the first two weeks of camp. After a down season in a lackluster (to put it nicely) offense, Swift is primed for a big year back with Ben Johnson.
Behind him is one of the toughest competitions to evaluate thus far: third-year Roschon Johnson vs. rookie Kyle Monangai. Primarily used as a short-distance back last year, Johnson struggled behind the Bears’ offensive line. However, to his credit, he looks a step quicker this summer.
It’s a gigantic preseason for him, though, as Monangai breathes down his neck on the hunt for the No. 2 spot. So far, Monangai’s the one receiving a healthy chunk of the public praise from his coaches, especially when it comes to nailing the details.
SAM LINEBACKER: The strong-side linebacker won’t be on the field all the time in Dennis Allen’s defense, but the winner of this competition should still get plenty of run behind and alongside Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards.
Third-year Noah Sewell, despite having played just five defensive snaps last year, has the edge over fourth-round rookie Ruben Hyppolite II to the naked eye.
On Sewell’s development, Edwards said: “Physicality-wise, he jumps off the tape at all times. Any type of lead [or] stretch run to Noah Sewell, it’s getting turned back because that’s kind of what he does.”
Arguably the most impressive part of these competitions is the involvement and viability of the rookies.
The writing was always on the wall for Trapilo to win the job when the Bears selected him in the second round. Had Jones recovered faster, or if Amegadjie wasn’t sidelined during a critical week of the battle, maybe it would have shaken out differently. But the Bears really like Trapilo. This shouldn’t be a surprise.
The Kickoff Classic ⛳️
FORE! Join your favorite friends and Diehards from CHGO at 9 a.m. on August 22nd when we kick off the NFL season with our third annual Kickoff Classic at Cog Hill #2 — The Ravines!
You can sign up as an individual, twosome or a foursome, and your entry fee includes 18 Holes with a cart, limited-edition CHGO tee gifts, contests, giveaways, and lunch during a post-round ceremony.
DISASTER: After exiting last night’s game with a shoulder injury, Michael Soroka said, “You’re always concerned when you have to come out of the game. It’s never fun. I'm embarrassed.”
Craig Counsell said after the game that Soroka would head to the injured list, though he couldn’t provide specifics on the severity of the injury.
Despite his velocity having dipped roughly three miles per hour over his last few starts, Soroka said he had an MRI before the trade deadline and that the results were clean. Soroka was Cubs president Jed Hoyer’s lone rotation-capable deadline acquisition.
Following Soroka’s departure, Ben Brown tossed four solid innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on some nasty luck in the sixth inning.
WE HARDLY KNEW YE: The White Sox released Noah Syndergaard from the Triple-A Charlotte Knights on Sunday night. Syndergaard was working on a minor-league contract and could’ve been a contributor for the ML team post-deadline had he found success and regained form in the Sox’s system.
Instead, Syndergaard struggled mightily in two starts with the Knights, allowing nine earned runs and a whopping five home runs in eight innings of work.
OLD FRIEND ALERT: Adrian Houser made his debut for the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night, four days after he was dealt from the White Sox for a prospect package that included INF Curtis Mead.
Houser lasted 5.2 innings, surrendering 11 hits, one walk, and five earned runs while striking out three. It’s the most hits and earned runs Houser has allowed in a start this season.
Meanwhile, Mead was recalled from Triple-A on Sunday to replace Miguel Vargas, who landed on the 10-day IL with a strained oblique.
SO LONG, FAREWELL: Ex-Blackhawks interim head coach and former assistant Derek King was named the head coach of the AHL’s Hershey Bears on Monday.
The Bears are the AHL affiliate of the Washington Capitals.
King led the Blackhawks to a 27-33-10 record after the dismissal of Jeremy Colliton in 2021. Before serving as the interim coach in Chicago, King had been the Rockford IceHogs’ head coach since 2018.
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