Kap & J. Hood
7/8 8 AM: Shot or No Shot
Live from State Street in the heart of Chicago, you are listening to the new home of the Chicago Bears, ESPF Chicago. And this is Captain J. Hood, W.M.P., W.T.B.C., HD2 Chicago, a good karma brand's radio station. Checkmate 1-6, land here suppression on target. That's why I see him in my shot. Shot or no shot, with Captain J. Hood on ESPF 1000 and ESPF Chicago, and that's why I see him in my shot. All right, one of our favorite segments here on the station is shot or no shot. It's brought to you by ESPN Bet, live in Illinois, download the ESPN Bet app. Get a hundred dollars in free bets when you make any sports book bet. We say good morning to Charlie Babbits. Good morning, boys. Happy Monday. What's your middle name? Robert. Charlie Robert Babbits. Charles Robert. Charles Robert Babbits. Oh, yeah. There's some formality. It's my middle name, too, Charlie, than Shea Winger, Norling. Winger's a pretty good middle name. It is. I like it. They're a decent band. Oh, my God. There's a band name, Winger. Yeah. I remember Debra Winger. I mean, mine's Ushruff. It's as Arab as they come. It's OK. What's blacks? How old do you know your radio partner? Patrick. It's Patrick. There you go. What's yours, Kevin? Robert, same as Charlie's. Mine's Lawrence. Is Robert, like, the equivalent for women? It's always Elizabeth. Like, I know, like, five girls that have their middle name as Elizabeth. There are a lot of Edward middle names. OK, yeah. OK. Mine's Edward, tell me. Yeah. I mean, if you want to get into it, my full, full name is Adam Ushruff Mustafa Muhammad Abdul Karim Abdullah. But we don't need to get into full semantics and formalities here. Let's just get into shot or no shot. All right, boys. News of the weekend was that the Bulls said goodbye to Demar DeRozan in a signing trade with the Sacramento Kings. The Bulls ultimately got two seconds and Chris Duarte. This is clearly the sign of a rebuild, but shot or no shot. You have to trust Akmi at this point, AK Mark Eversley. I don't have a choice, but they're the worst front office in the NBA. It's not close. Yeah, there's a difference, I think, between trusting and living with. This is a very staying together for the kids vibe. We're like, we have to put up with them because they're just there and they have to stay together because Kobe is showing promise. It's not like I can get in the car and go fire them. It's not like I was showing promise. So no shot. I don't have to trust them. But if you're a Bulls fan, what else are you going to do? You're not going to-- you're going to not watch the Bulls. And now at least there's some direction. We know the direction. They're going to be bad. Correct. The goal is to finish in the top 10 so you keep your number one pick. Well, the goal should be to finish those the worst team in the NBA or one of the top three worst teams in the NBA. But that doesn't guarantee you anything. Detroit picked fifth this year. I understand that, but it gives you better odds. I'd rather finish-- rather than finishing seventh or sixth again, I'd rather finish then the bottom one, two, or three. Yeah, I don't think they're going to be that bad. Well, they could be. Well, if Lonzo Ball comes back and Zach Levine still here, they're not going to be. Lonzo Ball coming back. OK. I'm not saying he should. I'll believe it once. I'd move his money. Just put him in a deal. Yeah. I'd move all of them. Yes. Fuch. Yes. All of them. I would try to be the worst team in the NBA. If it got to a point where somehow they were good enough to go into the last three games of the season and they're on the outside looking into the top 10. But if they lose two of those three games or something, are you at a point where you would be OK sitting those guys trying to lose so that you can guarantee yourself a top 10 pick? Yes. Because then we're Dallas did it. And everybody gave them a lot of crap for it. But they ended up with Lively as a result. Yeah, absolutely. That's the example. You do that. You definitely try to be the worst as bad as you can be when you're not going to be a playoff team like this. They should have done this two years ago. And they could have had a shot at Wienbanyama. You don't have to go back that far. Three months ago, they should have traded Drummond for two number two picks. They should have traded whoever else they are. Alex Russo for at least one number one pick. That is the dumbest management I have ever watched. No, they needed that extra. What did it come out to? Thirteen, fourteen million that they got the playoff bonuses and being under the apron. Because they didn't actually add anybody. OK, but even if they didn't add anybody. How do you get thirteen or fourteen million dollars? Didn't I thought it was Sylvie that had the numbers that said that because they were under the apron, they got more money. And then they also got playoff. They also got the play in one game. The gate. Yeah, but that was still like four, five million dollars. Yeah, but you share that. You don't keep it all. They get that. They should have it. It's split amongst them, but that's what you get. That was their share. Yeah. Yeah, that's just bad management. Not trade guys for money and picks. It's fine. It's fine. It's fine. It's fine. It's fine. It's fine. Get them more money. It's just bad. Keep some in the good favor with the Rhysource because they keep getting traded for cash. That's fine. It's fine. AK and Mark Eversley are the worst front office in the NBA. Maybe they'll sell those second round draft picks and get some more money like they've done in the past. Not this regime, but they've done it before. Charlie. All right, gentlemen, the White Sox lost yet again yesterday. This time it was in the form of former White Sox, Jake Berger, walking off Michael Copac in the bottom of the ninth. Give me that burger to go. He's a copac is now eight for 13 in save chances. And his ERA is at 545. Shout out, no shot. Michael Copac has been the biggest disappointment of the rebuild. Oh, that's absolutely a shot. Now, Juan Moncata would be right there with him. Moncata came in having signed a massive deal. Copac was a prospect, but a prospect with a ton of upside and go back and all one quick Google search and go see what Peter Gaiman said when the Sox made that deal. That guy can win multiple Cy Youngs. You always consider. Cy Youngs. You always consider part of the rebuild, right? Yes. Yeah, then no shot. Eloy is the biggest disappointment. Eloy over Moncata? Yeah. Yeah. Eloy was a prospect when they got him. Moncata was already in the big leagues having signed a big deal. But I think that the the bat that you were going to get with Eloy, everybody thought he was going to be much better and be able to stay healthy. Yo, and Moncata was supposed to be Robinson Canoe. He was. I think it's Moncata. It's still a no shot that it's Copac though. Moncata was the number one prospect in baseball. Yeah, that's fine. It's still not it's still not Copac. But when you have Peter Gaiman's coming out who's an accomplished Hall of Fame journalist who covers the Red Sox and says that guy win multiple Cy Youngs. What? Well, for me, it's that we haven't seen really anything from Copac. I mean, he's had a couple of nice relief stretches and you know, sometimes he put together a couple of good starts in a row. But the moment he gets like a call he doesn't like, it's over because he's as soon as that happens, the next pitch is going to be three feet off the plate. That's why you so easily rattled. It's kind of wild to watch. See, that's why I believe in what kind of what Theo did. When he came to the Cubs, you you draft bats. You pay for pitching. That's what he did pay for pitching. Yeah, because then they're already established. Yeah, you got to pay for him, but you're not spending a lot of money on your offense. So you can pay for pitching, but the White Sox won't do it. So I think it's Mocata or it's Eloy. It's the two of them over over Copac. I put them one, two over Copac, for sure. Yeah, I go Mocata, Eloy, and then Copac. Okay, agreed. Charlotte. Okay, we'll get into more PFF stuff in a little bit around the NFL, but in their list of breakout offensive linemen, they mentioned Braxton Jones as a potential breakout. One of the reasons for this was the addition by subtraction of Justin Fields's propensity to kind of create his own pressure. Shot or no shot, Caleb Williams will make Braxton Jones a true breakout performer this year. He gets the ball up quicker. Yeah, and if he does that, that should help the left tackle for sure. Braxton Jones was good when he was healthy. Like he's played really well when he's healthy. He played every snap two years ago. He did his rookie year. I think it's for the Jones conversation. I always feel like it's important to distinguish. He's certainly exceeded expectations for a fifth round pick. Yeah. Now, where does he rank as far? Like, now, where is he in the neighborhood of quality starting offensive tackles? I mean, I think that he is good. I think that, I don't know if he's going to be a breakout star. I think that there are, like, it's hard to be a breakout star on the offensive line. You know, if you don't hear their name, they're usually doing their job. I think as long as he stays healthy, he can have another season like his rookie year, where he played really well. He did his job, maintained health, all that kind of stuff, and can be an integral part of your offensive line. Like, you don't need five star offensive linemen at every position you're not going to. Every team has offensive line issues. Every single team. Except Detroit. They have, but they still have, I guarantee you, if you listen to sports radio in Detroit, there's one guy that they've got an issue with on their offensive line. Maybe, but they do have three number one picks on their line. That's fine, that's fine. But you can build, and when this team had a healthy offensive line, when everyone was healthy, they played well. The problem is you didn't have a lot of depth on this team, which is they fixed this off season, and they couldn't stay healthy. You had, you know, Nate Davis was in and out, Kevin Jenkins was in and out. You know, Darnell Wright played with half a shoulder for most of the season, because he got injured pretty early, but still tufted out for the entire season. So, I think if they can stay healthy, this will be a better offensive line. I don't think that Braxton Jones is going to be the star though. I think that if everyone stays healthy, Nate Davis has a chance to, like, really redeem himself, to, in the eyes of the, you have to play him, he's making how much money? No, you don't play based on money. I understand that, but he's going to get every opportunity. Yeah, I'm not convinced Nate Davis is a starter. I'm not convinced. We'll see. I think he can redeem himself. Brian Bates may be starting at, right guard. He might be. And I think Darnell Wright will be the best lineman that they have. I think with a full training camp, and not dealing with the personal issues that he was dealing with last year, that he can be much better than he was last year. I think he had a lot to deal with last year, and he can be much better. I hope you're right. Doesn't sound like they're thrilled with him up there. Uh, Charlie. Okay, so Steph Curry spoke at Team USA Camp and talked about, sort of the chapter ending on the Warriors Dynasty. He talked about their one last championship, that was a little bit, uh, unexpected. And he said he doesn't think a run like the Warriors had can be replicated again, because of how hard it is for players to stay together. Shot or no shot, Steph is right. Dynasties in the NBA are a thing of the past. Hmm, uh, that is not true. That he's wrong. That is no shot. You can build a dynasty. Takes a lot of work and a lot of, uh, fortuitous play breaks. You know, well, look at the team that's next up, right? It's probably the Celtics. The Celtics would be next up. They just won. They kept all of their guys. They paid their guys a ton of money, which is going to be the problem. In a few years, when this money starts to come in and the TV deals aren't what people expected them to be. That might be one of the reasons the Celtics are for sale. It, they need to do it. Obviously, they need to do it now for them to be considered a dynasty. If they, they need to not, you have to win back to back. You have to win more than two. You have to win more than two, but you have, but what Chris and I have always talked about on Black and a Dollar Week, night six, 30, unless the White Sox are on, which case, check us out on YouTube, youtube.com/appeleckandabdala. Sorry, I had to do that. Um, you have to win back to back in order, like you can't win three and five. You can't go one off, one on, one off, one on, right? You can't do that. So to be considered a dynasty, you have to win back to back. So if they can, if they can repeat this year, and then maybe take a year off and then win another one, then yeah, I would consider them a dynasty. I think the Celtics have the best chance. They're still the best team going in. They won. They won what? They won one. Okay. If they win again this year, then they'd have to win right after that. They'd have to win three and four. You have to win three and four years. So if you win three and four years. You got to be the Black Sox. Yeah. You got to win, that's a dynasty. You got to win three and four years. Okay. So the next, the next option, he's just not number two. The next option would be the Celtics. I think they can. I would say, I don't remember what the phrasing was, but Seth Curry's wrong. You can still do it. Agreed. Charlie. That's for shot or no shot. No, can I squeeze in one more? Of course. Can I squeeze in one more? No, let's go ahead. You can absolutely eat your donuts. Shot or no shot, summer's over. No shot. It is after July 4th. I know director of content, Danny Zetterman will agree with me. It is after July 4th. Rookie's report to camp next Tuesday. We get media access with Ryan Polls and Matt Eberflus next Friday. Training camp starts in like two weeks. Summer is over. No shot. You're getting back to school commercials. You're getting Halloween decorations at Costco. I saw this weekend. Congratulations summer. It's been great. Enjoy it. Shot or no shot. Summer's over. It's going to be. We're going to have at least 10 more days of 90 degrees. Doesn't matter. You, Tracy. The mentality is there. We're in fall mode now, Cap. Fall the worst. The worst. Fall mode. Guys, what do you think? Since you have got- You love fall. I'm the best fall. I'm the best fall guy. Summer over. Shot or no shot. Yeah. Summer's over. It's fall. It's always winter for Kevin. Dressing in black all the time. Not a shot. Listen into- Deepak's wearing jeans again. I know he is. He's crazy. Do you like fall better in summer? Yeah, I love fall. You're out of your mind. Fall's the best, dude. No. It is. It is not. October, November. Oh yeah. Yeah. That crisp air in the morning. I will say the older I get, the more I dislike the heat and the humidity of the summer. Yeah, me too. I hate the humidity. Give me 90 and humid. I want to try. I want to try. I don't need to be wet all the time. That's your- Kevin J.hood cut of the day. That's it. Uh, 3-1-2-3-3-2-3-7-7-6. We'll get to more of your calls and we'll have a quick segment of around the NFL. It's all coming up next. Kevin J.hood our back. First time caller. Huge fan of your guys show. Chicago's home for sports. ESPN Chicago. Pitbull sucks. He sucks. I'm just a fan. I'm not a football evaluator. I love the Green Bay Packers. The guy is drunk. But there he goes. This is not Detroit, man. This is the Super Bowl. I love winning. He starts to come at a moment. This is a really thickly built guy. I mean, what's that? So you're looking for all of these things here. All righty. Time to go around. That national football league. We do it every day. At this time, here's Charlie Bevin. All right. Something that jumped right away to me today. Matt Eber Flus is the betting favor to win coach of the year. Plus 900. Well, I'm picking the Bears to be a playoff team. I have them 10 wins. They're about when you go from a 14 game losing streak where nationally the perception was he was about to get fired. Yeah. And he's probably going to get a contract extension. If what I'm projecting or predicting happens. Oh, yeah. Yes, he's right there. So if they if they win double digit games, if they make the playoffs, if their defense is as good as it was in the second half of last year, if Caleb Williams wins Rookie of the Year, he is absolutely winning coach of the year. No question. You're right. He is absolutely getting an extension. For sure. Yes. They probably line both. They probably line polls, Eber Flus and Caleb all up, right? They give them extensions that they would all expire at the end of Caleb Williams fifth year. Correct. So they would do that. Absolutely. Afterward, it's Robert Sala is the next biggest favorite, which is like it's a very weird one too for those guys, just because Sala's a guy who probably was on the hot seat this off season. Yeah. I think there were probably conversations about Eber Flus at the end of last year, at least at some point during the season. Seeing these two guys who were probably not thought of particularly highly around November of last year, being the two favorites to win Coach of the Year, I don't know. That's like a kind of a crazy turnaround for me. Um, I think that for him to be considered Coach of the Year, you'd have to go pretty far. Like it's Super Bowl or Bust for him. Unless it's some crazy like, or maybe at least-- I don't know what that looks like for Robert Sala. Maybe at least AFC Championship game or Bust. If Roger stays healthy the entire year, like you have to-- they've got such high expectations and his seat is already burning hot that yeah, I could see him winning if they get far, if they win a bunch of games. Robert Sala was one of the hot coaching candidates when he left the 49ers as the-- I want him to coach you there. And it has been a dismal failure while he's been there. I don't know if it's a silly, but you can't really-- I mean, they lost it. They put everything into Aaron Rodgers last year, and when he gets hurt the first game. Like, if-- So if-- Did you win or did you lose? Okay, so if Caleb Williams gets hurt in the first game, and they lose because it's Tyson Bajan out there for the entire season, that's on, that's on Matty Eberfloose. It's part of pro sports, man. No, no, no, I understand that. But the quarterback position in the NFL, if you lose your starting quarterback, any team for an extended period of time, you're true. So is Andy Reid going to get fired if Patrick Mahoney wins a Hall of Famer and-- Different level. But my point is that it shouldn't-- Like, if your quarterback goes down in the first game, and you're playing the rest of the season with Zach Wilson and managing that situation, like, that's tough to you. You're not going to win a bunch of games like that. The Colton's got to the playoffs with-- without Anthony Richardson last year. Right. The Brown's been in four different quarterbacks. If you're a good coach, you can make a work, I think. You can't be a disaster. I think that's being a good general manager and having a better backup to your starting quarterback, whereas they were kind of stuck with Zach Wilson because the front office drafted him. They had Flacko the year before. Yeah, but Flacko went on a crazy-- won it again, went on a crazy run. I don't think if Joe Flacko has to come in again this year, he's doing the same thing he did last year. He's still assembling the staff. He's still bringing in the offensive coordinator, Nathaniel Hackett. I mean, I don't know. I just-- the solid thing is just a little-- it's just always been odd to me, because his defense is always very good. Like, I never know what to do with a guy like that, where they pin everything onto the court-- like, all their season based on the quarterback and don't really know who to blame if that quarterback doesn't work out. Yeah, no, I agree. I think it's tough because, again, it's the most difficult position to play in sports, and if you lose your starter, you're basically screwed. All right, but if he goes down, Rogers-- Yeah. Game one again. Yeah. Heaven forbid. And they finish six and 11. Robert Salaz done. All right. I mean, it might be because they're in Roger Watson's mouth, coach killer. Maybe, Charlie. All right, on Friday, we discussed PFF's position group rankings, where they had the Bears secondary and ranked 19. They also released their offensive line rankings. Can you guess where-- if I told you the over-under was 10 and a half, where would the Bears be? On the Bears on PFF's offensive line rankings? Correct. I already saw this. I know the answer, so go ahead, Cap. It should be, like, 12, somewhere in there. They're basically on the dot, 11. Yeah, so this is interesting to me because they're one spot behind Dallas and one spot ahead of the Chargers. Does that sound right? Like, do you think that they're about that? And can you compete for a division with the 11th best offensive line? Yeah, you can compete for a division with a top half offensive line. No offensive line. No offensive line is perfect. There's no single-- Well, the Eagles have had the last few years with Lane Johnson Hall of Famer, Jason Kelsey Hall of Famer. Like, that's rare. That is a one in a million. Exactly. So, yes, you can compete with that. Absolutely. I think, too, that it shows that they're not as bad as people think. Like, I know that the guy that normally sits in Charlie's chair, Shane Norling, will say that sacks are a quarterback stat and that Justin Fields ran into more sacks than they would-- They're much more than they would have liked him to. Yes. Throw the ball, get rid of the football, stop diving headfirst into the offensive line to hoping to pick up a few-- Like, it's not-- It's not sustainable. And I think having Kale Williams will instantly make the offensive line better, having more depth behind those guys will instantly make the offensive line better. And guys will tell you, even more playing time together makes the offensive line. But it takes years for an offensive line to gel and play. And this team didn't have that because they were hurt so often, like-- I thought we were training it for all. No. Uh-uh. Yeah, exactly. Still got that bell? Right there. It's very loud in here. Yeah. It's not as loud when you hear from out there. No. Charlie! All right, so the athletic did a non-quarterback MVP for every team. Can you guess who that is for the Bears? So they said that the MVP for the Bears, who isn't the quarterback would be. Okay. If the MVP is not a quarterback for the Bears, who would it be? Taylor Johnson. Close. I must say Matta Swett. Cap is right. It is Matta Swett. They said he would benefit. Take that. That's fair. It will benefit from more help along the line, but he's now familiar with the system. And Matt Iberflus knows how best to employ him. That should be a concern for opposing quarterbacks. I think the arrow should still be pointing up for Manta Swett. I don't think-- Like last year was probably his best season in the NFL. I don't think when all is said and done, it will have been his best season in the NFL. Just because another year in this system, another year of guys developing along the defensive line, you mean another rush head. See, and that's why I wasn't going to say Manta Swett, because I don't think he'll be as successful because Yinik and Gakwe's as of right now, is not on the other side. And you don't have two elite edge rushers. I want two more roster moves made. Okay. One one. Yannik and Gakwe back. Or some reasonable facts, similarly, if you're able to acquire one. Yeah. And I want if he passes his physical Connor Williams, the center from the Dolphins, who's out there coming back from ACL. Yeah. Okay. There's one more I'd like to make but people didn't like it when I talked about it. I would like to-- He's not going to take the deal, but I would sign Ryan Tanhill for the exact-- for the conversation we had last. Correct, but he does not want to back up. I know he doesn't. I know he doesn't, but if no one signs him, then go to him and say, "Hey." No, he's apparently going to wait-- I know. Like-- Some will get hurt. Yeah, some will get hurt. I know. And then he'll come in and start. I know. See, I wasn't going to say Manta Swett because I think that he won't have a successful season-- as successful of a season, unless they add someone on the other side, which they might, they might not. That's why I went to jail in Johnson. I was going to say Jaquan Brisker, those kind of guys that will have a better year on the defensive side then. But like the statistically, Manta Swett might not be as good because the talent around him isn't as good as it was last year. We'll see. John-- I don't think he can gawk away. He's not bad. Good. Uh, Charlie. Uh, so Joe Burrow basically had this big story about how people-- people in your hurt, they forget about you. I'll give them something to talk about. That was basically the crux of his quote. Are we? Like, I'm just-- the Joe Burrow discourse is getting a little weird. It seems like everybody wants him to-- maybe it's just Bangles fans, but I feel like everybody wants him to be in the same breath as Pat Mahomes. He's not. That's fine. Not many guys are in the same breath as Pat Mahomes. I don't know. The Burrow stuff has turned kind of weird in the last eight months or so. When Joe Burrow is healthy, he's the second best quarterback in the league. When he's healthy, he's got to stay healthy. No, he's not the second best quarterback. Who's the second best quarterback? Josh Allen. No, he's not. Yes. No, he's not. I'm with Cap on this. He throws way too many interceptions. No, it's Burrow. It's Burrow. No, he is not. It's-- Like, is Burrow's aura? No, because Burrow is a better quarterback. And numbers-wise, it's that Prescott. Yeah, numbers-wise, it's that Prescott, but who's been to an AFC Championship game? Burrow. OK. Got to-- I was at that. Yeah, who got to a Super Bowl? He beat Mahomes at Arrowhead. Who got to a Super Bowl? Is Josh Allen? Just feels sometimes reductive to say that Burrow beat Mahomes. Is Josh Allen gotten to a Super Bowl? No, he hasn't. OK. Yeah. I'll take Josh Allen, Burrow 3. No. It's flipped. Thank you. You can't ignore health, though. Burrows had shoulder injuries and knee injuries. Yeah. I also can't ignore the turnover machine that is Josh Allen. I'm taking the-- Like, you take the good at the bad with Josh Allen. Josh Allen had everything handed to him. He had top wide receivers. He had a great offensive line. He's got a good defense. Joe Burrow had a top offensive line. I'm agreeing with you. And when both-- When they both had that, who got to a Super Bowl? Joe Burrow. Not Josh Allen. I'm not saying he's not in the top three. He's number three. Josh Allen wore down my homes for Joe Burrow. How about that? OK. There you go. Well said, Joe. Take that. All right. We have got Jesse Rogers coming up. We will get the latest going time with the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox. Who's on the move? Is Garrett Crochet going to pitch in another team's uniform in the All-Star game? That's a good question. Will he be here? No. You don't get a point for that. That's a good one. I don't get a point for that. For saying your own good question. No, sorry. I didn't do it for that reason. I just barely popped out. 3-1-2-3-3-2-3-7-7-6. Jesse's next. We are back. This is ESPN Chicago. Cap and Jay Hood. On Chicago's home for sports. Welcome back to Captain Jay Hood Experience. Weekdays from 7 to 10. On Chicago's home for sports. ESPN Chicago. What a goals, Bush. Well struck. Deep right field. Back it goes. And it's out of here. Two right home run. Michael Bush. And the streak continues another day. It's raining bomb skis and Michael Bush. Hold this one. Michael Bush. And you got to give Jed credit on that one. That trade has really so far here on the 8th of July. Looked like he has made a very astute deal. Yeah. You look at his analytic numbers. He's among the top first baseman. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. So and he's getting better each time defensively. So it looks like they finally found a piece there. Jesse Rogers is brought to you by West Coast Men's Health. Helping men with ED and chronic pain for over five years. Go to west coast men's health. Dot com. Just say good morning. Hey, everybody. Good morning fellas. How are we doing today? Busy weekend with the all-star selections. We have Colton Brewer breaking his hand. Jake Burgers walk off. Where do you want to start? Let's start with the Chicago National League Ball Club. They get today off. Then they go to Baltimore and then to St. Louis to wrap up the first half of the 2024 campaign. What do you think is right around the corner for the Cubs? Are they they're three and one after taking one from the Philly since I incorporated an owl into my post game breakdowns? So my question is can the owl lead them back into the wild card race? Yeah. I thought after Thursday and Friday that maybe something was cooking their little win streak and then they get shut out on Saturday. Come back score some run Sunday. So it's been pretty good offense other than getting shut out. But I don't think you can take much away from winning a series against the angels. I mean this could be a good week if they were to have a winning one against Baltimore than St. Louis. But of course there's a double header at the end of the weekend there. So that's always hard to navigate seven games in six days. I don't see much changing. I didn't see some sign that everything was going to turn. And obviously it needs to turn quickly. There are five and a half out of the wild card with seven teams ahead of them. That's a lot of navigating around some teams there to get back in the race. Still well out of the division race of course. I'm not sure I see anything changing. We know they had that win streak last year. You always leave yourself open to that happening. So I think I know scouts are all over Bellinger and some of the relievers. I'm not sure there's other deals to be had if there are. There'd be bigger ones trading a guy that's under contract. So I see them moving Bellinger unless something changes in the standings cap. I think that's what the next couple of weeks are going to be about. They've got the draft in a week along with everybody else here a week from yesterday. And then they'll move into trade season. And unfortunately it looks like it's going to be selling rather than buying. What's the biggest difference between the team last year that went to Jed and said don't do anything if you do anything add and the team this year? Well they were winning at the time Adam. And again we leave that possibility open still. There is still time to do that 10 game win streak or 9 out of 11 or something that jumps them back towards 500. I mean I really think Jed is probably using 500 as at least some sort of an indication here. Like if we get to 500 before the deadline we've got a shot at thinking about this differently. If we're still four or five under I don't think he's going to change his mind. So the difference was they started winning and they started hitting. And playing good baseball I mean it doesn't it doesn't have to be more complicated than that. Offensively they're just in this rut that yes a little bit of life here these last few days and you cling to cling to that hope. But I'm not sure it's going to last. We'll see again Baltimore and St. Louis to step up over the angels. But it's just such a mystery that their record is what there is. I was watching Sunday night baseball last night the Boston Red Sox are not that good on paper but they're 49 and 40. One thing they have is good left handed hitting and that's why they're really good when there's a writing on the mound. So like the Cubs don't have a ton of that though as you mentioned Michael Bush is good. There's so many teams that I think the Cubs should be as good as I think you guys agree and they're well below those teams and other teams as well. So it's really been a mystery first half to watch this team and see where they are the standings. Jesse in terms of looking forward I'm not talking about this year in the wild card. If you had said at the start of the year maybe when they were eight games over I remember the quote from Jed when Hoodie and I had them on opening day. If you're buying a stock you want to buy in the Chicago Cubs. Top five farm system coming off a solid 2023 campaign when people really didn't expect a lot. And now here we sit dead freaking last. Give me your thumbnail going forward like. Where is this team six eight months from now? Yeah I think it's a good point and it's funny how your perspective. We say good question. No don't do it I'm trying to coach you into it. He's trying to coach you into it Jesse don't do it. I'm trying to avoid it because I know Adam's they're ready to pounce. But you know your perspective changes right when things go south like this. And somewhat am I getting at it. My perspective is sort of back to 2023 or 2022 even. And the point I'm making is where are the emerging stars on this team. Because again that is what can ground you. That is what can give you a foundation where you're not sixth in scoring one year and 23rd the next year. You need middle of the order stars that can impact the entire lineup. I waivered from that a little bit because they were sixth in scoring last year without true stars. Although I thought Cody Bellinger sort of reemerged as one. He's kind of gone backwards a little bit turned into a single sitter. So cap that's I there are pieces you like. But where is the star player that that doesn't give you this variance on offense. Where are they going to find it are they going to get into one sort of sweepstakes. His own Casey that star that difference making star. He bats he's he's a lefty I like that but he still has to prove it right. So that's where I am with this team. He can do all the the you know window dressing so to speak with with the roster. And yes once in a while that'll hit. You know meaning meaning you'll have a good year like they did last year. But that's still an 83 win year. You get to 95 to 100 with stars and Jed knows that. But in the meantime he's trying to build this team with with one B players. Instead of one eight players and that's the mystery to me. Where's the star or two that's going to be the difference maker in that lineup. And I don't know where that is. I don't. They do have one star. Shotei Manago is voted to the all-star team. This is such a meathead question Jesse you ready for this. It seems like every time Shota is off of his routine he gets beat up the next day. Are the Cubs worried about his routine being messed up by going to the all-star game. It's actually not a bad point or a bad question. I don't think so. Now he may not even pitch. He's scheduled to go Tuesday in Baltimore. Then depending on what they do Saturday or Sunday. If it's Sunday you probably won't pitch Tuesday. If you pitch a Saturday I doubt it'll pitch Saturday. That'd be on short rest. So if you pitch a Sunday probably won't even pitch on Tuesday. So I don't think it's a big deal. But yeah yeah I think you you're worried about all that stuff. When you're coming over from Japan for the first time they've certainly tried to protect them and for the most part he's been really good. He did have a couple of blips as you mentioned with the extra rest. The fact that he probably won't pitch next Tuesday I don't think he's going to impact them all that much. Who knows maybe he doesn't even go. Well we'll see. But he's scheduled to pitch tomorrow and then Sunday unless they skip them along the way. So I assume it won't be a big deal as long as he doesn't pitch at the all-star game on short rest. But if I get what were the odds? Yeah go back to March 1st before you even knew that Crochet was going to be a starter. And the idea that Ima Naga and Crochet would be the lone all-stars coming from this city. The odds would be astronomical. And for people that don't know I mentioned this a few weeks ago. This is the first year since 2009. So 15 years since neither team has sent the position player to the all-star game. So it just is a such a you know a poster trial for the fact that both teams it's just really underachieve this year in a massive way. All right hang on Jesse because we want to ask you if there's any sock snooze. That is coming up next. Captain Jay Hood are back. And you know this man. Chicago's home for sports. ESPN Chicago. We continue with the great Jesse Rogers. Hey buddy. Jesse and I were gambling on the horses together the other day. How'd that go? We won. Oh there you go. Okay. Did we not? Well when when Edzos in your corner you always have a shot. That's exactly right. We got a text Jesse and I from Edzo. Play this horse right now. Damn. And you don't ignore Edzo. You don't ignore it ever. He's a US hockey hall of famer for crying out loud. Jesse is on the Carx tire and auto hotline. I want you to tell us if there's any socks news. Yeah so you know I've been picking up the phone a little bit more now as the calendar turned to July about about the trade stuff. And crochet certainly is on the top of everyone's mind. What's interesting is the chatter to me to me at least has picked up about what exactly do we do with them with with the the innings starting to pile up. A couple weeks ago wasn't hearing it as much. Maybe because he threw 93 pitches in just four innings the other day. And I don't know. Maybe that stuck in people's mind wasn't the best outing for him. So it is going to be interesting. I think he's going to get traded because they're trading him at his peak value and gets his just ready to you know strip this thing down to its bones. But no guarantee about that. It's already down to its bones. Jesus. You said strip it to its bones. They're the worst team in baseball now. I know I know but he's ready to remake this roster and with guys of six years of control not just to. So I yeah I know it's crazy that we haven't even seen the bottom yet. The one thing I'm hearing from teams is you got to have the right teams interested like I think Baltimore is a perfect fit. For everybody keeps telling me Dorials don't like to give up their prospects. I don't think they're going to give that huge package for for him. Andrew Freeman the Dodgers another great fit. Maybe he'll do it more likely to do it than Baltimore but he also is very calculated. So people are like telling me you need Houston involved Houston with their owner. He's he'd go all in you know if the Mets somehow got back in it you need them involved because he'll he'll push all in though their GM isn't likely to do that. So it's going to be very interesting how gets handles this. He's this he's got this prize possession and there are so many teams that need pitching. He's got to max this thing out. He's got to play teams off each other. And he's got to get the right teams involved. Baltimore would still be the best thing because they've got best team. They've got the best prospects. So we'll see but it's starting to heat up and and yeah the idea of okay how can we use him if we trade from there's now is now percolating a lot more to me than a couple weeks ago. Are they still asking too much for Robert? Yeah I mean I mean I'm about too much but but it's a big big package. I just don't see them trading crochet and Robert in the same trade you know time here maybe in the offseason for one and now you know now for the other one. That's a there was our two huge deals for gets to navigate. I'm not saying it's impossible. I think crochets much more likely than Robert to go. In terms of where this team is like I don't expect them to spend a lot of money in the off-season to try and fix you know replacing a Garrett crochet but their their system has gotten a lot better right? Yeah it is it's moving up and I think that's exactly what gets it's going to count on and Jerry's going to like it. I mean it's a rebuild it is a rebuild from the start and it's going to be a couple bad years and then you advance from there. So we're back to 2000 what is it 19 or 18 with the Chicago White Sox and the only reason you would think differently is because Jerry said differently during his press conference last year but the truth is in in the actions and their actions including especially by Chris gets is is stripping down this team to its bones as I said. So the bottom will come probably July 30th year and then they'll start building this thing back up with prospects cap. So it's going to be a while it's going to be a while that's a shame. No because I don't understand like if you're going to trade one of them in the off-season and you've got like is the deal for Robert going to be better in the off-season than if you don't do it now. He proves he stays healthy. Exactly. The health factor you know position players on July 30th feel like that it's just pictures are just so much more needed and valuable even crochet goes to the bullpen has so much more value. I mean how many team contending teams need a center fielder as good as Robert is. They're going to give up a ton in their farm for that. You know it's just different it's an off-season deal. I can see why though gets is going to set the mark and if a center fielder goes down that team knows okay this is what I have to give up for Luis Robert. So that's part of the reason Adam it's just easier to make those sort of deals in the off-season. Is someone going to have to take the Ben and Tendi money to make one of those deals work? I don't think so. I don't think so because I think gets is going to get the draft capital he wants and he'll do that. I just don't think so. I don't think that the both for Orioles are going to take on a terrible contract. I don't see the Dodgers doing that. I guess there's always a desperate team that might do it but I just don't see that kind of a deal happening July 30th. Now maybe in the off-season that's a different story but forcing a bad contract on a contending team that would take some desperation by that by that team. Jesse have a wonderful rest of your day. We appreciate you greatly. We'll see you later guys. I'll be in with Waddle 236 dirty boy so we'll see you then. When you get into it with Waddle in the pre-show meeting don't punch a wall Colton. Don't worry it's just gonna be whining about the Cubs and playing the Sylvie role so that's what the show is going to be about. Wow have a great rest of your day. All right guys take care. See you. There he is Jesse Rogers on the car X tire and auto hotline. All right when all is said and done where will Caleb Williams rank in all-time Chicago athletes. Oh Charlie. Charlie puts up there the little T's. No he's riding fast he's screening phone calls. I get it when all is set and done versus when all is said and done. There's no way he really not set and done. Wait no Charlie did you actually think it was set and done? I thought it was set and done. Set and done. Well this is news to me. You learn something every day Charlie. Wow. At Portland education boy this school says they're struggling. Hey you just moved out there. Paul University graduate right there. You are beautiful Charlie. All right three one two three three two three seven seven six we're gonna get back into this conversation. Michael Jordan's clearly number one. Who's number two and can. Can. Not today in 20 years when he's done playing here. Can Caleb Williams get to number two? We'll be right back. [BLANK_AUDIO]