Kap & J. Hood
8/13 7 AM: Cubs: Still Under Water!
Hour 1: The Cubs are swimming with no life preserver and can't get back to 500 as the lose 9-8 to the Guardians yesterday. The guys discuss the possibilities of a post-season run. Hinsdale Little League Head Coach Chad Wanless stopped by to talk Little League World Series. Who's responsible for the latest loss, Craig Counsell or the Bullpen? The Cincinnati Bengals plans to rest their starters against the Bears on Saturday, should the Bears do the same?
- Duration:
- 44m
- Broadcast on:
- 13 Aug 2024
- Audio Format:
- mp3
(crunching) - Chicago. This is your morning routine. - Listen to respect my name. - Cap and G hood. - That's right, that's right, we're bad, huh? - Watch the show on Twitch. Follow ESPN 1000 Chicago. - Swing the show on the end, Chicago app. - And on insta-- - 100.3 HD2. And on ESPN 1000 Chicago. Now, no, no, no. David Kaplan and Jonathan Hood. - Good morning, everyone! - Bring 'em out, bring 'em out. - Woo! ♪ Bring 'em out, bring 'em out ♪ ♪ Bring 'em out, bring 'em out ♪ ♪ Bring 'em out, bring 'em out ♪ ♪ Bring 'em out, bring 'em out ♪ - Oh, gah. Welcome in to the Cap and G hood morning show. On ESPN 1000 and we're streaming on the ESPN Chicago app with David Kaplan, Jonathan Hood with you, we've got Jay. We've got Jaymore, we've got you for a three hour ride. Here on this Tuesday morning with open phone lines for you at 312-332-ESPN-3323776 is our telephone number. And cap, you know what we love to do in the summer. Weekdays, weeknights, your turn on the TV and there's baseball on your TV. But you like to have meaningful baseball. For me as a white Sox fan, it was just good to see the Sox win a game, especially against the Yankees. But for you as the Cup fan, you're trying to rally, trying to find a way to win games, keep the momentum going and get yourself into the playoffs. I know that that's the goal. But yesterday's game felt like a playoff game, even though we're talking about a game that took place here in August. The Cubs and the Guardians, in which the Cubs lose nine to eight. Hella ball game, Cubs are behind, they rally and they fall short nine to eight. The Cubs this morning are four games behind in the wild card after yesterday's game. So, could they have a flow of it? It was great, but the result is not what you wanted. - Yeah, it had a three nothing lead. Then you're down eight three, you roar back, you get the sack fly from say at a tie in the eighth. And then, when the day came, I'd still remember it. You said, check Twitter, look at see what the Cubs just did. What, Craig Council's going to the Cubs, remember that? It was like Rosenthal. Council makes decision dot dot dot Cubs. What? - Yeah. - What do you mean? - Call you back, kid. - I'm like, oh my God. Last night, I thought he was awful. Okay, Julian Merryweather missed like three months. Has not pitched multiple innings in a game since April five. It's not as like, it's not as though this guy, that's what he does. Oh yeah, put him in and give you two or three. No, has it done it since April 5th? I looked up these stats. Tyson Miller, who's been really, really good, hasn't pitched I believe since Friday. I don't believe Smiley has pitched since Friday. You had guys that were fresh. You had Lopez up to start the eight, bottom of the eighth, warming up. If he's warming up, why is he not in the game? He's your best reliever right now. You fell into it because he got into a scrape but with the Mets management, they released him. Oh, we'll take him. He's better outstanding. You go multiple innings with a guy who didn't, it's not as though he was amazing in the seventh. There was strong exit velocity against him, strong. Oh, let's go. Because you got batted ball luck, you're gonna go back to this guy for a second inning and he gets the ever living H beat not of him. Here comes Jose Ramirez. Yeah, that's the guy I want him facing for his second inning. Bam, off the right field wall. Now you get one, Dansby tries, he dives for it and can't come up with it. Now you got two men on and then Naylor bounces one in the left field that nobody, you had to be 12 feet tall to catch it. Right, there's your ball game because class A coming in. 0.66 ERA entering action last night. 0.66. Good night, Mindy. Good night, Mindy. Take that. See you later. When he comes in, I don't know, it's like with Goldhammer from ESPN Cleveland tweeted, he says, I don't know who's gonna win the awards but class C is like, class A is RMVP. Correct. He's like, he's the guy. Like, as soon as he comes in, Captain, there's no shot. It means, shut it down. It's just pathetic managing last night, pathetic. Here's Craig Council. We played really good offense today. You know, even had some balls hit with men's scoring position that didn't fall, especially early in the game. So it was a really good offensive night and a nice battle back to tie the game. I mean, they hit two balls for home runs. I don't, maybe, maybe the quantum ball is a strike but, you know, two pretty good pitches. So, you know, give him credit for that. Maybe even the Pearson home runs. Pretty good pitch. So give him credit for that. That's his baseball, unfortunately. I know it's no fun but it's, you know, I thought Julian pitched well and... No, he didn't. Bad ball, you know, a good hitter. You know, we got to have a Ramirez which is, you know, that would have been a big out, obviously. It looks like I think he left a change up or a slider up a little bit. Tough got a retire. And then I thought he made some pitches in the next two guys. Unfortunately, they got the ball through. Well, yeah, I mean, we did make their bullpen work. They had some guys there staying away from tonight probably but we did, we did go into their bullpen pretty good and hopefully, you know, hopefully that pays dividends later in the series. No, that is a bunch of crap that he just said to you and very disappointed. Now again, I'm not there in the locker room. That's a previous life. I'm not there in Cleveland, previous life. But guess what? I did not hear one person ask him. Why would you go to merry weather for two innings? The inning before he got a double play. You heard what I think he pitched well. Do you know what the exit velocity was on the double play ball? Corning my guy, Sam Over, who covers the Cubs. 107. That ain't a slow roller for those out-the-horners. That hit hard. Rocket. And they got a double play ball because Niko Horner is a beast, offensively. So a 107-mile-an-hour double play ball, you decide that's who I'm bringing back for another inning to face Ramirez and to have Josh Naylor, two of the best hitters in the sport. Professional hitters. I mean, just horrible managing. The dumbest managing-- and it pissed me off. You can't imagine. Yeah, and here's the Cleveland Guardians cap that are battle-tested. They play solid baseball all year round. But once again, sometimes I'm watching the Cubs, especially when they lose a tough game like this. And I wonder, is that just counsel saying, well, this is what I got to work with. I think that Ross was like that as well toward the end. He's like, well, what do you want me to work with? The last thing you want, Cap, is to be he'll be on the precipice of getting to the playoffs. And once again, you fall short because A, managing, but B, ineptitude in that bullpen. Right? You don't want to deal with that again. Correct. And the bullpen, since June 27, has been the best in baseball. Why? OK, you navigated the seventh with merry weather, even though they hit the ball hard off them. Why would you not go to your best reliever there against their best hitters? Who's the lead-off hitter? Ramirez, he's an all-star. All right, Lopez, you're already warmed up. You're in. Yeah. No, I'll stick with merry weather again. Bam, off the right field wall. I mean, I was furious. And Lopez gives you the clean inning that you were looking for in that spot. Oh, I was furious. I came in to the kitchen. I just bought a ninja creamy. I'll tell you about that later. I'm going to eat my healthy ice cream that I made. It comes tight at its 8/8. I'm like, here we go. And guess what? My manager let me down. He let everybody in, cub nation down. He let his team down because he made a stupid-ass decision. Well, one thing for sure is that this cub's team, at least as of late, is not a team that lays down. There was a time early in the summer that if the guardians had the lead, that's it. The cubs would not come back. And you saw some great offense, especially from Danzby Swanson in a big spot. Swanson, looking for some green grass. It'll find it out in left field. Suzuki scores. Paratus comes in. Here comes Nico Horner to the plate. And he'll slide in safely on the overthrow Swanson to third. And it is a one run game. And the hidden streak now at seventh in a row for Swanson has three more score. Swanson's cooking, not just for you. No question that he was cooking yesterday. He was cooking in a big spot. He's been much better as of late. He has. But, hoodie, come on, man. I mean, what are we doing here? You've got to make sound decisions. If you told me, guess what? Merry weather pitches, multiple innings. He does it all the time. He navigates it, and we get beat? OK. He had done it since April 5th. And he spent three months on the injured list. And now, against Ramirez and Naylor. And I can't remember who the middle hitter was that got the hit that Danzby couldn't quite get to. That? That's what we're doing. That is stupid baseball. You should have to answer for it. Here's a question, though, about Craig Council. And we come back around this again. I was wondering why David Ross was let go. And I realized that, from the Cubs standpoint, they thought they were upgrading in Craig Council. What has Council done this year? Like, in a situation like this, game on the line, you want to push the right buttons cap. It's two things-- pushing the right buttons, and also the team has to execute. Especially when you're behind the game, you come back to tie it, and then you lose it on a decision like that. So what does that say for Council? What does that say for him so far this season? Because, to me, there is no letter grade. It's just he's there. Is there anything particular like, boy, you know what? The way he inspires, the way how he speaks through the media, the way he pushes the right button? I haven't seen any of that this year. He's fine. I don't-- he's fine. He's a solid baseball man. Eight million a year? The best manager in the sport that everybody has in the game says. That guy's the best strategist in the game. OK, then where's the issues here? The fact is that your general manager president, Jed, who's done some very-- let me be clear here. The Michael Bush trade. Outstanding. The signing of Imanaga. Outstanding. He's done some really good things. Fixing his bullpen on the fly this year when they were horrible. Outstanding. Entering two straight seasons without a closer. And please, don't you dare over there at 1060. Tell me in West Addison. What we had out a lie. What are you talking about? He's not a closer. He does not have the balls to be a closer. He's a set up guy. Good stuff. And now he's out for over a year with Tommy John. So you better find a closer before next season. I don't want to hear you go, well, we'll find one on the fly and see who emerges. Are you trying to win or not? Well, Cap, you have to hit the right buttons as a manager, though. That's why I'm asking you specifically about Craig Council. Yeah, it's on Jed because we've been talking about it all season because you had to know last year you were close to be able to get to the playoffs, but you didn't have enough pitching down the stretch. Do you want to go through this again, where you're playing good baseball at the end? And the reason why you don't get in is because of pitching. But also, it's about the expensive manager that they were able to acquire. And that guy's going to be able to push the right buttons, Cap. He had a bad night last night. Well, I mean, that's only fair. I mean, I know that we talked about this earlier this season, where Council, it's almost like what Jesse told us. He's observing because he doesn't know the ball club that well. He knows he's in the uniform with the Cubs, but he's observing who he can trust and who he can't trust. It's August, man. And now you're kind of back it. You're trying to get yourself back in the race. You were three, and now you're four back. And put his decisions like that. They'll keep you underwater, trying to get to the wild card. Totally agree. That was a terrible, terrible-- there is no scenario that that was a good decision. Even if he navigated it, it was a stupid decision. Also, let's bring this up as well as an side cap in Menaga. Second and third time around, and it's Cleveland. It's a team that's been-- it's one of the class teams in baseball, especially the American League. Second to third time around. They're 70 and 49 for a reason. They're really good. I mean, Menaga is an All-Star, and has been the best pitcher for my money all season long. Now, he did-- in the fourth inning-- and again, these are not excuses-- just a fact. He got a terrible call that should have been a strike to get him out of a situation. And that was not-- obviously, you can't review it. I'm not for robo-umps. Never going to be for robo-umps. They got to be better. That is a strike in every strike zone in the world. There's no doubt he was squeezed, but Menaga always dances on the corners, doesn't he? He does. It's tough for the hitter, because it's like, should I swing at this, or should I take it? Because it's always close. And depending who's behind the plate, if it's on the corner, some will call it, and some won't. And you got to adjust. And it was not good for Menaga. It was not. No. Then second or third time around. It was not good. His line last night. Seven hits and five innings. Seven runs, but three earned, because there was an error by Paredes. That has to get cleaned up. One walk, three strikeouts. He gave up two home runs. And then Nate Pearson in an inning, gave up a run. Merry weather, imploded in the eighth. And then Lopez came in with a perfect inning with a strike out. There's your ball game. And you're not hitting class eight. He's got 36 saves. There's no one, no one with intense saves of him. No. And there were a lot of people that wanted the Cubs to trade for him this last winter. His contract, I don't know what he was thinking, is so team friendly that they asked for such an insane package from anyone. That's why he's still pitching in Cleveland. He's so good. He should be sponsored by Rollaids. Yes. He's the award should be the Emmanuel Class A award. It's it. Once I saw him come through the gate cap, that's all. That'll be all. No one's hitting him. But what such a to me felt like a playoff game I was watching yesterday. It was a hell of an entertaining game. By the way, ERA for Class A now down to 0.65. It's all over. Point. Yeah, he's he's awesome. He's awesome. Absolutely awesome. But the way that the Cubs came back in that game, though, cap, because you more times than that, OK, well, you can shut the light off. Here they come getting into that bullpen of the Guardians. Now, I had to have a strategy by councils. Like, well, you know, we went through a villa and and Barlow and somebody and Sandlin, Class A, we went through there. We'll be able to get them back today because we went through that bullpen. They're battle tested, Craig. You think their arms are going to be tired today? They're used to being out there. Correct. What kind of strategy is that? You're correct. I know it'll be a fine. Please tell me that Class A is not available today. I have to look up his game log. But that guy is so freaking good. By the way, Paredes is good, right? I think I think someone else can get that ball. There's some questionable plays that they're based. He has to be a vacuum over their cap. He's got to be better, man. He does. So Class A would not will not pitch tonight. No matter the situation. That's fair. He's pitched on the 10th, the 11th, and the 12th. There's no way they're using him four straight days. No way. You have to find a way to beat them tonight. Tonight is as important a game as you played in a long, long time. Yeah. You got a chance here. Against the class of baseball, one of the better teams in the league. Correct. And the Cleveland Guardians. There's no question about it. And they are starting a heavier Assad tonight. Ah. You're good. He'll settle it down, Cap. It'll be fine. I hope that that is an accurate statement. A pitching matchup tonight is Boyd against Assad. Boyd against Assad. Matthew Boyd, former Tiger, I think. He's coming off the couch. He's terrible. In the Guardians, rather, their rotation is like a mass unit. They're all dead. You have to win tonight. Yeah, I don't believe he's pitched yet this year. So we'll take a look at that. So 3 1 2 3 3 2 ESPN, 3 3 2 3 7 7 6. Shane, let's open the phone lines. If you got a chance to watch that game, tell them a ball game. But the Cubs fall short 9 to 8 against the Guardians. We want to get your thoughts. If you don't hold, you will be on the air. Would you think of Craig Council's decision by staying with Merryweather yesterday? Again, Cubs had a chance to win that game. And then the bullpen, once again, one of the issues with this team. The reason why they're 59 and 61 this morning. So 3 1 2 3 3 2 3 7 7 6 is our phone number. We're talking Cubs with you on the cap and Jhood Morning Show. OK, it's about that time. You're tuned in to the cap and Jhood Show. Everything ain't hardcore, you know, you know. Chicago's on for sports. ESPN, Chicago. It's a cap and Jhood Morning Show on ESPN 1000 and streaming on the ESPN Chicago app. Here's hoping that you're going to have a great Tuesday. Yeah, we're going to have a very special guest coming up at 750. Yeah, we're going to talk to the head coach of the Hinsdale Little League team for a few minutes. They are in the Little League World Series. Like, how cool is that? We got a team from our area. You had Jackie Roberts, the team won it, didn't they? Yes. They won it. I don't think we've had anyone since make it. I just think it's a great story, especially. It's a local story. Chad Wanless is going to be with us. I know he's been doing the rounds, but we got to talk to him because we got to give him the great mojo. You wish him all the luck. Yeah, how cool. Yeah, and I don't remember who went from this area before Jackie Robinson West went, and that's a legendary program in Chicago area. So yeah, I'm looking forward to having a few minutes with him and send him off to win us a championship. So awesome. Awesome. So we'll talk to the coach coming up at 750 Shatter. No shot at 8 o'clock, 3-1-2-3-3-2 ESPN, 3-3-2-3-7-7-6. It's our telephone number. If you're just joining us, we were talking about the Cubs. The Cubs are four games behind the wild card. They're 59 and 61 this morning after losing to the Guardians by the score of 9 to 8. And you say, well, it's a lot of runs. Now, you should have seen the ebb and flow of that game. If you missed it, we're talking about four runs in the top of the seventh. And again, a game that's in the balance, Cubs score again in the eighth, and then the bottom of the eighth, that's where it fell apart. Mary Weather is on the mound, and in a game in which the Cubs could have had a really signature win on the road against one of the best teams in baseball, they fall short. And again, the reason for it is twofold. One, bullpen issue again. Two, Craig council making that decision. Correct. The bullpen let them down. Imanaga-- OK, you got squeezed out of pitch, and it was a bad call. That's fine. You can't give up-- the Cubs in mass can't give up two home runs to Noel. They just-- that can't happen. Yeah. And they end up losing the game when Mary Weather comes back for his second inning. That was a terrible, terrible managing decision. So the phone lines to talk to you. We're also talking about Craig council. We haven't had a lot of conversation about Craig council because I think for some Cubs fans it's been waiting to see. Let's take a look at what he brings. And all I know is that when you pay through the nose for a Craig council, like you move heaven and earth, you go to David Ross's home. If you're the Cubs, hey, David, we appreciate everything you've done. We're going to upgrade here. Oh, really? Craig council? OK. And now look where the Cubs are. Again, on the precipice, but again, falling short against the Guardians 9 to 8. Simon's in Houston, Texas, listening on the ESPN Chicago app. Simon, good morning. Good morning. What's up there, sparkles? I hope you guys are doing well. How are we getting tired of council? His managing pitching is driving me nuts. I'm tired of seeing these starters give up a huge run. They need to pull them. You know, my dad and I made the trip up. It caught the Cubs playing the Cardinals a couple of weeks ago and it showed us outing. And the second or third time through the lineup, he got three outs, but all three hits were very hard hits. I turned to my dad and said he's toast. It's time to pull them. Next inning, bam, home run cubs are down. These guys need to be pulled sometimes or he needs to make much better pitching decisions. I'm not sold on council. And based on what I'm seeing, I would rather just have Ross than this. Well, Simon, what letter grade would you give council so far as a manager for the ball club? Maybe a C minus. I mean, what do we have to hang our hats on? I mean, we're paying them all this money. And I mean, if you-- oh, we need to put the ball club around them because he's a top five manager. But if he's a top five manager, why are we worse than last year? I mean, I'd rather just roll with Ross but he just needs to play. Hold on. You've blown 21 saves, 15 of those turned into losses. That isn't the manager. That is your front office not giving you what you need to get this thing over the finish line. That is not on Craig. And in his defense-- and I've been hard on him when I think it's justified-- in his defense, since I believe the 27th of June, they have the number one or two bullpen in all the baseball. So his pitching decisions have been excellent in large part. Now, their starting rotation. Their starting rotation is a pretty damn good. Tyone's had a much better season than he did a year ago. Steel-- steel's a beast. Imanaga went to the All-Star game. And he's had a bunch of injuries to navigate there as well. But when you go into a season and you don't have an Emmanuel Class A or Josh Hader or somebody that you hand the ball to and go, here you go, big guy. And you know that 90% of the time he's going to lock it down. Not much you could do there. But it feels worse than last year, doesn't it, Simon? Yeah, I would say. I mean, either it did Ross. Ross didn't have any of that. We added Shoda. I mean, on paper, we're a better team and we're worse. So it's like, what are we getting for all this money? We're paying counsel. I hear everything you're saying, Cap, and I agree. But I mean, I think we have a slightly better team and we're worse. So I mean-- Well, let's address it and we appreciate your telephone call. That's getting to the heart of the matter. Because it's what we've talked about this season. 230 million or they're about salary-wise. And what are you getting for it? You're getting substandard relief pitching for some of the season. Yes, you're right. It has improved. But again, you're underwater at 59 and 61. Correct. And you're trying to climb your way out of a hole again. Now, we know every season is an easy cap. Every season is an easy. But again, you're kicking your own ass when you don't take care of the off-season. And that's why this winter, when we get there, this hot stove conversation we want to have is going to be amazing. Along with the bears, it's going to be amazing to see what's going to happen here within the winter meetings with the GMs and the owners to see what the Cubs are going to do. Because you can't keep going like this. Because you're strictly the drain for the last couple of seasons trying to dig your way into the playoffs. Yeah, I don't know if there's a free agent in the-- in the free agent seat. I'm a free agent closer, what I'm trying to say. I don't know. I have to look at the list. I'm pulling it up now. But you have got to get that fixed. That is a massive piece of a team that thinks they're a contender. You told me you're the Oakland A's. You're the White Sox, you're the Rockies, whatever. You are a team that has legitimate post-season aspirations at $230 million. Some of it being spent, that guys aren't even here anymore. Mancini and Barnhart. I mean, those are some brutal contracts. But you get out from underneath all of those. But if you go back and you pull up what is available this year in terms of relief pitchers, closers this year coming up in free agency, I don't think there's anybody in there. There is no Josh Hader. I don't believe there is. You know baseball, just like everyone else listening that watches baseball know the game. Cap, if you don't have solidified 7th, 8th, and 9th, you're sunk. Yeah. If you don't have guys where he's like, you know what? When we get to the late innings, we're going to close the door because we got 7th, 8th, and 9th. If you don't have that solidified, you're not going places. When it's fluid, you're not sure that's not going to work. Because in today's baseball, where the pitchers have the advantage of the hitters this year, you're getting relievers cap that are throwing 100 miles an hour plus that air in the-- look at Copac now. Look at Copac. It's since he left the White Sox. He's been amazing in LA. But reliable, right? As a bridge guy. Yep. Reliable. Yep. If you don't have that in those fireballers, you're not going to go places. I don't care how much offense you have. I mean, I'm looking at the list of available relievers. I mean, there's not a lot there. You're going to have to make a deal, or you're going to have to-- maybe Ben Brown, if he gets healthy, he's got a neck thing going on right now. Ben Brown throws really a two-pitch pitcher, high 90s fastball, and a really good curve ball. That's it. That may not play long term as a starter, unless he develops a third pitch. But there's most of the guys that I'm looking at that have done the job-- Kenley Jansen, Ryan Presley, Craig Kimbrell, David Roberts, in a rawness Chapman. No. I mean, Hector Nearest. These guys are all 35 or older. They're not ace closers anymore. So it's probably going to have to come internally. You're going to have to go move having an earth to trade for the kid in Oakland, who's a beast. They're going to ask you for an insane package. Reliable arms in the back end are paramount for the Cubs. Not just now, but for the future, if you want to really seriously contend. Correct. The Cincinnati Bengals are going to rest their starters this weekend against the Bears. So should the Bears do the same? We talk about it next on "The Home of the Bears," cap and J-hood. Here's to a day's headline, headline, with cap and J-hood. [MUSIC PLAYING] Cubs lost 9-8 to the Guardians. Craig Council with a very questionable bullpen usage decision, leaving Julian Merryweather in for a second straight inning. He had navigated the seventh, given up some hard contact. But in the eighth, it gives up the game-winning run. Cubs do nothing in the ninth against the best closer of baseball, Emmanuel Classe. His ERA on the season now, 0.652 teams back at it again tonight. It will be Javier Asad on the hill against Matthew Boye. White Sox stunned the Yankees, one of the biggest upsets of the baseball season. If you go by the Vegas gambling odds, the White Sox were massive underdogs and gave Grady Sizemore the interim manager. His first big league win as a skipper, they beat the Yankees 12-2 in the series opener. [INTERPOSING VOICES] Great. You'll get the second game tonight, right here. On the home of the White Sox, ESPN 1,000 pass out. Lions stand out running back. Jameer Gibbs left practice with a hamstring injury. He'll be evaluated. Today, Detroit, a ton of injuries to key players so far through training camp. The Jets pass rusher Hassan Rennick has requested a trade. He was traded by the Eagles to the Jets in the off season, has not practiced or gone to OTAs or mini-camp at all. GM Joe Douglas issued a statement late yesterday. We will not trade him. He's already been fined $1.2 million for missing camp. Tune in. J-board. Welcome back. Welcome back. Welcome back to Captain J. Wood on Chicago's home for sports. ESPN Chicago. [MUSIC PLAYING] It's a Captain J. Good morning show on ESPN 1,000 and streaming on the ESPN Chicago app. With you till 10 o'clock, then Mike Greenberg comes in at 10 followed by Blecken of Dalla in for Carmen and Yurko from 12 to 3. Waddell and Sylvie at 2.30 into White Sox baseballs to take on the Yankees as a 6.30 pregame right here on the home of the White Sox, ESPN 1,000. So Cap is going to be the Bears against Cincinnati. But first, on Thursday, there's going to be a scrimmage between the two teams, Cincinnati and the Bears. And then the game will take place Saturday. You can hear every game right here on ESPN 1,000. But we get word from Cincinnati that Cincinnati's going to rest a lot of their starters. Again, I guess that's offense and defense. Maybe offense we'll see exactly how many. But they're going to rest their starters in this game. So the Bears coming off of their victory against the Bills had their starters in there for a few series. And I'm wondering what the Bears should do in this situation. Like, if I'm Matt Iberflus, no matter what happens on Thursday with the practice of scrimmage they're going to have, on Saturday, I'm getting Caleb Williams and the ones out there again. I don't zig when they zag. I'm still doing my program. My program is to get Caleb Williams and the ones out there for a little bit more of an extended time than we saw even Saturday, and then get him out of there. So I agree with you 100%. Bangles head coach Zach Taylor said he is ruling out his starters. They also announced that Amarius Mims, their rookie, is out for several weeks with a strained pectoral muscle. Will not obviously play in the rest of the preseason. But he said, I am not going to play the starters against Chicago. We'll get there our work in in the joint practice on Thursday with the Bears. Look, Joe Burro, I know he missed a lot of time last year with an injury. He is back healthy. Joe Burro's played in a Super Bowl. Joe Burro's played in an AFC title game. Our guy hasn't taken an NFL snap other than 18 of them in a preseason game. I love Caleb Williams. I believe he's the future. I believe he's the guy he needs to play. I'm not telling you he's got to play four quarters. No, but he needs to be out there for at least as long as he was the other day. Get a good sweat up, run the offense, make some plays. I don't care who he's going up against. It could be a mechanic for all I care. Get out there, take snaps, make the cadence, run the offense. That's what he needs to do. - I guess from the bingles standpoint, Cap, why does Zach Taylor have to declare what he's going to do on Monday into Tuesday? - Does they have to tell the lead need to know? Does everyone need to know? Hey, by the way, we're going to rest our starters. I'm not even sure why he was so open to tell everybody that. I understand they get some injury issues. Everyone does. I just thought that that was odd just for that to be wide open like that. - Well, when you get asked that question though, everybody already knows, everybody talks to players so he gets asked what's your plan for Chicago? What's he supposed to say? - We'll get there. You know, we'll talk about it Thursday, we'll evaluate and we'll find out what happens on Saturday. Does everyone need to know the depth chart on Tuesday? I just think that's, it doesn't matter to me. I'm a bearish man. I just thought that that was interesting that he'd be so open to tell everybody. - Yeah, I wasn't surprised 'cause it's a veteran team. It's a bigger deal if Iberflus comes out and says, yeah, we're not playing Caleb. That's a bigger deal and I think that'd be a mistake. Now again, I know that they love Iberflus but quoted as have other guys that playing in a joint practice is better. Shay was telling us before the show. Dan Campbell said, we get way more out of a joint practice than we do out of a preseason game, way more. That's great. We have a rookie quarterback who needs the work. He needs the reps to get him ready for the Tennessee Titans. There's no do-overs if you lose the Titans game. There isn't. - That's correct. - So you lose, you're like, oh my God, we lost a home game already? No, you better come ready to play. They've got talent on that team. You better be ready. - It's kind of like this whole thing with you coaches. You know, you have this conversation of who you're playing today. Well, we're not gonna play them any. Okay, well, we'll peel back and we'll just put our twos against your two. No, the ones have to be able to play. They gotta get into a rhythm. - If I was standing there, I'm Iberflus and you're Zach Taylor and you asked me, you gonna play your guys? No, we're not the same because we're not. No, we're not in the same position. You got Joe Burrell. You guys have accomplished so much that we hope to accomplish. My guy needs the work. He'll be out there. - Hope your secondary has got their running shoes on. See out there. (laughing) Just be a complete a-hole. It's just like, hope your guys are ready. Yeah, 'cause we got, 'cause we're gonna come off the bus running. - We get the whole playbook ready. - Yeah, so be ready. Take care, coach. Yeah, yeah. (laughing) - I'm gonna see. My hope is that Caleb Williams is better than the first game because to our post game analyst, John Yurkovich-Yurko, Caleb wasn't that good enough. - Yeah, it was just a B minus C plus effort from Caleb Williams. I thought what he didn't do, he didn't do anything catastrophic, catastrophic that hurt the team. Yeah, he was victimized by a couple of drops, but I think it's a positive effort as you move forward. You know, this is just the beginning of what the Caleb Williams experience is gonna be about. I thought he handled the pressure well. I thought he got out of the pocket well. I thought he ran when he had to, which was a positive situation for him when they went from, I think they called it single high to like a two man, and there's a good coverage out there and he found the way to run the ball. I think DJ Moore dropped the pass on him and I think Cole Comette dropped the pass on him. But otherwise, I think it was sharp. I think he had one throw, I wish he probably wished as he had back. But otherwise, I think it was a nice solid, good effort for a team that had struggled in training camp. They came out against somebody fresh and somebody new and they looked like they'd actually be somewhat of a viable offense. And as young quarterbacks usually do, they struggle down in the red zone. And that's what happens. It's tough to put the ball into the end zone, especially via the pass. So they struggled once they got down to the end zone. So solid B minus effort. - That's there from here, Cole. - Yeah, I disagree with John. And again, he played 10 more years than I'll ever play in the NFL. And I have great admiration and respect for his football acumen. That was better than a B minus effort. It absolutely was better than a B minus effort. The throw to DJ Moore, the 26 yard gain to Cole Comette. He was outstanding. Was he A plus? No, they didn't get in the end zone. But that is better than a B minus C plus effort. - Well, let's hear from a championship manager/coach coming up because Chad Wanless is the head coach for Hinsdale. Let's get his thoughts because his team could be making history coming up here for the Little League World Series. - Really excited. - We'll talk to the coach coming up next right here on cap and J-hood. (upbeat music) - If you missed something, get the podcast on the ESPN Chicago app. Cap and J-hood are back on Chicago's home for sports. ESPN Chicago. - Cap and J-hood morning show on ESPN 1000 and streaming on the ESPN Chicago app. And Cap, we have a special guest on the Hotline. We do on the car X tire and auto Hotline. (upbeat music) - Rattle, rattle, thunder, bladder, boom, boom, boom, boom. - Who did it? - Don't worry about the car X-Nay. - How about something special that could happen if a Little League World Series right here in our state? - Yes, the Little League World Series will have a area representative. It's the Hinsdale Little League with head coach Chad Wanless. He joins us here on Cap and J-hood. Coach, congratulations, man. Your town has got to be ecstatic. - Thank you guys. The excitement is unreal, unreal. And the support of CrossFit Community, we are grateful, excited, proud, and can't wait to get playing. - Coach Wanless, we've seen you interviewed and you've said on the record that you have a ball club that plays for one another. So what's your process to make sure that that is a constant? - Reminding them, having them look around a couple of times when they're starting to feel a little bit of pressure and stress at regionals, they're 12, and they're playing on a big stage bigger than they've played on before. Reminding them to look around. If you feel that pressure, there's 11 other kids that you lean on, and that pressure is a lot easier when you're taking it on as a team. So we kind of talked through that. But honestly, guys, I don't have to do that too much. They are such good friends, they have built great chemistry. They know they play for each other. They play together in other sports, and they know they're playing for their community and for Hint Dale, and they are just having a ball. - So my brother-in-law, Tom Lawless, is best friends with your brother, and we're on the phone, and he's like, dude, you have no idea how cool this is for everybody in this extended family, so to speak. And this kid, Michael Kipness, comes up. He ties the game against Jasper, Indiana, to get you to extra innings. Like the pressure, the emotions in those moments, take us through that, like that at bat. Like he doesn't come through, we're done. - We're done, and Cap, he was down to the last strike. So you talk about pressure, but he is such a clutch kid. He is confident, he's quiet. He is such a genuinely nice kid. When he steps on a baseball field, or on a football field, he's out there to win, and never lost his confidence. And man, he put a beautiful swing on that one to knock in the run, and again, we had to balance the excitement of keeping it going with the fact that we had to go out and win a game. We still had baseball play, we had to settle them down, but that was a huge shot of momentum for us. - Your love for the game permeates throughout your ball club. When did you first fall in love with baseball, because your players are loving the play of the game as well? - They do, and honestly, all three coaches, and it goes well beyond our three coaches. The coaches across Little League, across our travel program, they do this because they love it. They do it because they love watching these kids grow, developing, and it is a proud community. I started playing, obviously, very, very young, was very lucky to have my dad coach us, and I played a lot of baseball with, you know, Kevin, you said Blackie's best friend, my brother. - Yep. - And so it started early, but all of these coaches love this game, they love what we're doing, and it is so much fun to watch these kids develop. - So who do you get in your first game, and take everyone real quick through the format, how this is all set up? - Yeah, so there's 10 teams on the US side, and 10 on the international side. Two teams on each side get a buy. We were fortunate with the draw early to get a buy, and so we play the winner of the West Region and New England. Those two teams play tomorrow. We play the winner on Friday. It's a double elimination tournament until you get to the championship game, which is very similar to the regional. So if we lose on Friday, we would play Sunday. If we went on Friday, we played Monday, and eventually you get to a US championship game at a international championship game, and then those two winners play for the eventual Little League World Series champion title. - Yeah, it's awesome. Hoodie and I are huge baseball fans. We remember Jackie Robinson West winning it, and what it did, and people got so excited. People are so jacked up for Hinsdale and for what you guys have accomplished. Wherever the ride goes, we're really, really happy for you guys. - Well, thank you, and I listen to you guys all the time, so I know how much you love baseball, and how much you love football, and all the sports, but we are so excited to represent Hinsdale, the Chicago area, and the state of Illinois. - Who have you heard from that you were surprised to hear from your success? I mean, not just us two Jackaloons, but I'm sure there's someone else that you heard from. It's like, "Hey, great job." - Well, you know, there's been a lot of them, but my high school coach, who I haven't talked to in 30 years, reached out, and realized that he and my other coaches and some of the media personalities that used to cover us in Springfield are all watching, and just to hear from those guys that they're rooting on our team and my son, and it has been an unbelievable experience. All of the coaches and parents have had that kind of outreach. It's been amazing. - How many tickets do you get? (laughs) - We get 42 family VIP passes per game, and then admissions-free, so this stadium, and I'm looking at it right now, 'cause if we just finish the rounds roll meeting, it's unbelievable, and the hills in the background, where they have people sitting down, they said they'll get up to 40,000 people for a Pennsylvania game, and for some of the later round games, it's an unbelievable experience, but we get 42 for our families. - Well, we are rooting for you in a big way. Bring the championship home, and then we'll call you and get you back on, okay? - I love it, and truly appreciate you guys taking the time to support. Thank you very much. We'll do everything we can to make you guys proud, and we're gonna go out and have a good time. - Already proud of you for what you've accomplished. - Absolutely. - It's insanely cool. Thank you, Coach Meunless. - Thank you. - See you. - There he is. Chad Meunless, head coach of Hint Sound. ♪ Thunder, matter, boom, boom, boom ♪ ♪ Don't worry about the car at snow ♪ - Super cool. Shout out no shot in two minutes on Captain J. Hood.