News and views: On the Cubs, Caitlin Clark and Billy Donovan’s coaching longevity
A rainy night in Chicago requires some improvisation.
Both the Cubs and White Sox were rained out Wednesday. The Cubs and Brewers will play a split doubleheader on Aug. 18, while the Sox and Cardinals will do a straight two-for-one doubleheader Thursday, starting at 1:10 p.m.
Once the postponement news was delivered, Cubs manager Craig Counsell confirmed Jameson Taillon, Wednesday's scheduled starter, would pitch Thursday.
In the meantime, there needs to be something to read, so let's explore some thoughts inside the ballparks and beyond.
PCA winning MLB's popularity contest
Or at least he's a close fourth in All-Star Game voting. This is just another example of how difficult it has been to measure Pete Crow-Armstrong's true impact on this team.
Kyle Tucker's bat was a huge offseason addition, but he also might be the quietest personality on the team. With PCA thriving, fans are responding, Seiya Suzuki seems to be having more fun and the team's veterans seem happy to yield the title of spiritual leader.
Crow-Armstrong also seems to always have his head on straight. When talking about his all-star votes and massive home run on Tuesday, he turned the conversation to what he could be doing better.
“The (voting) numbers came out, cool,” he said. “But I would like to see myself finish the first half strong. I'd like to see myself just be able to contribute a little bit more than I have in the last two weeks.”
He has 4 home runs in the past two weeks. No one in MLB has more than 5. But Cubs fans can appreciate his thought process.
Caitlin Clark gets roughed up
If some of these WNBA players sincerely dislike Clark, I wish they'd just come out and say it.
She talks too much trash, she takes up two parking spaces, she stole my endorsement deal. Something, anything. Just spit it out.
As it stands now, a large group of WNBA players seems to have hurt feelings that Clark is more popular than they are. “Mean Girls” on the hardwood. Every player in the league will benefit soon from the Clark-propelled salary-cap boost. And for all those expecting her to be humbled by pros, she's quickly made a case as one of the best backcourt players in league history.
The latest incident got plenty of play on social media Tuesday. Connecticut Sun guard Jacy Sheldon poked Clark in the eye, bumped into her, then former Sky guard Marina Mabrey ran in and knocked Clark to the ground. The league admitted the play was wrongly officiated, giving Mabrey a retroactive flagrant foul.
Obviously, this was just another of many examples of rough play against Clark, and the league better figure out a way to slow this down. A brawl broke out later in the game when Clark's teammate Sophie Cunningham fouled Sheldon hard on a fastbreak.
While the WNBA figures out how to enforce common sense, let's challenge any player to come clean and explain why they dislike Clark. It might make the Fever star even more popular, but either speak your truth or stop taking cheap shots.
Cubs bullpen is insanely good
The relievers gave up a run Tuesday, so now the Cubs have a bullpen ERA of 0.94 since May 15. Second-best during that time span are the Rays at 2.46.
How long can this last? Porter Hodge is set to make at least one more appearance for Iowa, but he should be back soon. So the relievers might get even better.
But with four pitchers 36 or older, and several who spent more time as starters during their careers, Counsell was asked if the coaching staff is figuring out ways to keep the late-game outs coming. Or do they just carry on as needed and hope Luke Little or Nate Pearson are up to the task if they are summoned from Triple-A.
“That's what bullpens are, they're usually a combination of guys that have taken a different journey to get where they're at,” Counsell said. “You monitor it every day, we talk about it every day. You just try to give as much rest when appropriate. Yeah, you think about that moving forward, but it's just keep trying to get better every single day.”
Bulls working to extend Donovan
When a rumor leaked that the Bulls denied the Knicks permission to talk to head coach Billy Donovan, this seemed inevitable. If the Bulls were ready to make a change, that was a perfect opportunity.
Why aren't they ready to make a change? Good question. NBA coaches rarely last five years these days, and Donovan has been in Chicago that long with just one playoff trip.
It almost feels like management doesn't want to be bothered with a coaching search. Sometimes it just helps for players to hear a new voice.
At the same time, Donovan probably did his second-best work last season. He developed a fast-paced style, got the team to buy in and watched a similar squad, Indiana, get all the way to the Finals. All that arguably gave the Bulls something to build on for the future, but that part remains to be seen.