altobrandy31-blog

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Ives puts faith in Madigan to hold the line on tax hikes

* Daily Herald…

Moving the needle on a progressive tax will be Pritzker’s first test of wills with Democrat Speaker Michael Madigan and the Republican caucus.

“There can be no new taxes in this state,” said Republican state Rep. Jeanne Ives, an influential conservative from Wheaton who nearly defeated Rauner in the primary.

“I think Mike Madigan will still run the state,” predicted Ives, adding the speaker “is savvy and knows the state can’t withstand another tax increase.”

Thoughts?

Source: https://capitolfax.com/2018/11/09/ives-puts-faith-in-madigan-to-hold-the-line-on-tax-hikes/

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White Sox Reportedly Up to Eight Years and $250 Million for Manny Machado

With the Phillies meeting with Bryce Harper this weekend, it could well be the case that he becomes their primary focus. And with the Yankees having brought in D.J. LeMahieu and Troy Tulowitzki, it also may well be the case that the Yankees are out on Machado.

If that’s true, it could just be the White Sox and any Mystery Teams left in the race, and it kinda seems like the White Sox are now trying to close the deal:

That would be a very significant offer for the White Sox, and at least a little closer to what it seems like the market should be bearing for a 26-year-old star. Machado was hoping to break Giancarlo Stanton’s $325 million record, but it seems like that’s not going to happen as the pursestrings tighten all around baseball.

Given the White Sox’s acquisitions of Machado’s close friend Jon Jay and brother-in-law Yonder Alonso, it makes all the more sense that they’d try to put the foot down and just get a deal finished for a guy who always seemed like a perfect fit.

Recent reports had the White Sox limited to seven years in their offer, and around $200 million, so either they’ve considerably upped their offer, the original reports were wrong, or these new reports are wrong. The reality? It’s probably a creative contract offer for which the money is kinda unclear to those not directly at the negotiating table. There are ways that an eight-year contract kinda is more like a seven-year contract, and a $250 million offer is kinda more like a $200 million offer.

This could be nearing a conclusion, though, and with it, you’d probably see things on the Bryce Harper front accelerate even more.

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/2019/01/14/white-sox-reportedly-up-to-eight-years-and-250-million-for-manny-machado/

[altobrandy31-blog]

Resetting the Cubs Payroll Situation After the Cole Hamels and Drew Smyly Moves

Last week, we took an in-depth look at the Cubs’ projected 2019 payroll to get a sense of where things stood heading into the offseason – both from a total dollars perspective and for luxury tax purposes – as we head into an expectedly busy offseason.

In short, at the time, we determined that the Cubs luxury tax payroll (which is calculated differently than the actual 2019 payroll, and is likely more important) was right around $210,907,143. That figure included $14.5M in health and pension benefits, as well as $2.25M in miscellaneous 40-man salary, and $42.25M in arbitration raises. There is certainly some estimating going on there, but the numbers are pretty close to a reality.

And remember, that luxury tax number matters quite a bit for the Cubs this winter, because they appear to be already over the first threshold:

Tier 1: $206M Tier 2: $226M Tier 3: $246M

You can check out that post for the full details on the penalties for exceeding each limit, but in short, once you to over the first tier, there are draft-related consequences (and obviously a tax), the second tier just costs you more money, and the third and final tier gets taxed at a disproportionately high rate *and* drops your first pick in the next draft ten spots. Whether the Cubs really believe those penalties are too significant to mess with or not, that third tier feels like a limit they’ll (at least try to) respect.

But even with those numbers in mind (roughly $210M spent and $36M to go), we figured the Cubs had enough space to make some significant moves this offseason. But things have already changed.

In case you missed it this morning, the Chicago Cubs traded Drew Smyly to the Texas Rangers and picked up the option on Cole Hamels. And with those moves, our numbers changed dramatically.

Smyly was scheduled to receive $7M in salary next season, but because he made only $3M last season, his overall hit for luxury tax purposes was just $5M ($7M+$3M = $10M/2 years = $5M in AAV). So by trading Smyly to the Rangers, the Cubs received $5M in luxury tax relief. But that move wasn’t done in isolation.

Simultaneously, the Chicago Cubs picked up the $20M option on Cole Hamels for 2019, which added $20M in actual dollars *as well as* luxury tax dollars for next season. If you’d like to get into the nitty gritty of why, Brett has you covered in the tweet below. But you can skip past that if you just take our word for it.

So with *this* move, the Cubs took a $20M hit to the luxury tax calculation. Which means, in total, the Cubs went to bed last night with a luxury tax payroll of $210,907,143, but are now sitting somewhere close to $225,907,143 – which is right up against that second tier, and would leave about $20M in space beneath the upper-most tier, which we think they might respect.

But here’s the thing: it’s not really $20M, at least not in effective terms. As we’ve learned over the years, the Cubs front office likes to leave about $5-$10M in space beneath whatever threshold they’re respecting for in-season additions and bonuses, because whatever you spend during the season counts against the luxury tax threshold, too. So if you’re conservative, you might say that the Cubs really have only $10M more to spend this winter (in terms of AAV, at least), which … is just not a lot.

Hence, reports like this are not necessarily entirely inaccurate:

But that doesn’t mean they’re stuck. The way we see it, they have a few options. Brett, take it away:

The Cubs can either stop spending altogether (eek!), forget about the consequences altogether (ooh!), or make some trades to relieve more salary. I don’t think the first option is likely, and as neat as that second option sounds, I think the Cubs might explore some trades to shed some salary for other moves first.

Now, don’t get me wrong: I think they definitely could (and arguably should) just say screw it and blow past that last threshold with no regard for the penalties, but I’m just not sure that’s what’ll actually happen. The third tier threshold offers a convenient reason to stop spending at a certain limit (and, let’s be fair: if the Ricketts are spending $246M in payroll, it’ll be hard to call them cheap). At the same time, I don’t think you’d pick up the Hamels option at all if you were really trying to cut salary or stay under the luxury tax threshold – especially, given how many other pitching options they already have in-house.

So basically, the headlines for today are simple: Smyly to Texas, Hamels stays in Chicago, the Cubs luxury tax payroll takes a $15M bump, and the rest of the Cubs starting options as of today (plus Adbert Alzolay, who missed most of 2018 with a lat injury) look like this:

Busy morning. I love the offseason.

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/2018/11/02/resetting-the-cubs-payroll-situation-after-the-cole-hamels-and-drew-smyly-moves/

[altobrandy31-blog]

New! – Your Mildly Anxious Pre-Election Tech-Grouch Haikus

Elections coming. Bad or worse – not good or bad – Is the real question.

—-

New Google inbox Maximizes confusion. But, Google knows best.

—-

Social media: People at each other’s throats Over little things.

—-

That damned noise again. . . Some app, can’t ID which one. This is the future?

—-

(Feel free to add your contributions in the comments.)  

Source: https://chicagoboyz.net/archives/58352.html

[altobrandy31-blog]

Three-Building River North Project Hits City Hall

Written By Editor on June 18, 2019

A proposal to redevelop a River North office building while simultaneously deep-sixing two adjacent surface parking lots has made its way to City Hall on paper.

The location of 308 West Erie (Base map via Apple Maps)

In the diagram above, you can see the parking lots along North Franklin Street that are going away are outlined in red.  The building that will be preserved, 308 West Erie, is outlined in green.  

The parking lot to the north at 600 North Franklin is going to be replaced with a 16-story building.  Retail on the bottom, and offices on top.  The parking lot on the south at 301 West Huron is going to become a seven-story building with retail on the bottom and offices up top.

April 2019 rendering of 308 West Erie, 600 North Franklin, and 301 West Huron.

Continuing a recent trend, both office buildings will have outdoor terraces.  The days of the sealing office workers in a box to keep them fresh are coming to an end.  It doesn’t work for raspberries from the Daley Plaza farmer’s market, and it doesn’t work for people, either.

Address: 301 West Huron Street

Address: 308 West Erie Street

Developer: NWC 308 W Erie LLC

Architecture firm: NORR

Size: 30,209 square feet

Zoning: DX-5 → BPD

Floor area ratio: 8.1 (5.0 base plus 3.1 bonus)

Floors: 301 West Huron – 16

Floors: 600 North Franklin: 7

Maximum height: 301 West Huron – 226 ½ feet

Maximum height: 600 North Franklin – 104 feet, four inches

Roof height: 301 West Huron – 210 feet

Roof height: 600 North Franklin – 90 feet, three inches

Automobile parking: 137 spaces

Parking access: via east-west alley

Office access: via West Huron Street

Retail access: via West Huron Street, North Franklin Street, and West Erie Street.

Loading docks: 2

Loading dock access: via east-west alley

Location: 308 West Erie Street, River North

<![CDATA[#map_1 clear: both; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin-top:0px; margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px; margin-bottom:0px; left: 0px; border-radius:0px; box-shadow: none;#map_1 imgclear: both; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; margin-top:0px; margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px; margin-bottom:0px; border-radius:0px; box-shadow: none;]]>

Author: Editor

Editor founded the Chicago Architecture Blog in 2003, after a long career in journalism. He can be reached at chicagoarchitectureinfo@gmail.com.

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Source: https://www.chicagoarchitecture.org/2019/06/18/three-building-river-north-project-hits-city-hall/

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Local Politicians Happy to See Mayor Emanuel Go

Chicago’s centrist-Democrat Mayor Rahm Emanuel had few fans left among Logan Square’s progressive politicians. So the mayor’s shocking announcement last month that he wouldn’t seek re-election prompted some less-surprising responses around here. Reactions ranged from hope for a more-progressive future to a fair share of “Why not me?” musings.

The 35th Ward’s energetically progressive, Democratic Socialist Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa let anyone listening know how much he welcomed Rahm’s retirement.

I will do everything in my role as 35th Ward Alderman, and during my re-election campaign for 35th Ward Alderman, to ensure we are having a constructive and transformational dialogue about the future of our city. Today is a new day for our Chicago.

— Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa🌹 (@CDRosa) September 4, 2018

“Two Cities” and “Murder Mayor”

Alderman Rosa speaks at an event for 4th District State Representative candidate Delia Ramirez. Photo: Michael Dhar

Rosa, who has worked to bring more local control and accountability to budgeting, zoning and other issues, said local leaders should take advantage of Emanuel’s departure. “Chicago must belong to her people, her children, her working families, her neighborhoods,” Rosa wrote in the above tweet.

The alderman has long criticized Emanuel’s centrist policies, and Rosa has not been alone. Pushing corporate tax breaks, privatizing city services like transit cards, and angling hard to attract Amazon to Chicago, Emanuel has always worked for business, critics have said.

This has helped Chicago’s wealthier downtown and Northwest neighborhoods prosper, while poorer, minority neighborhoods on the South and West sides lack resources, creating “a tale of two cities,” critics said.

Logan-area Alderman Scott Waguespack, who serves with Rosa on the city’s Progressive Reform Caucus, said the “two cities” story would define Emanuel’s legacy. “On the South and West sides, you see a different city than downtown, or where I am, on the Northwest,” Waguespack said, speaking on a Sept. 4 episode of wttw’s Chicago Tonight.

Speaking to The Nation in a piece memorializing Emanuel as “the Murder Mayor,” Rosa called the end of the Emanuel era an opportunity to turn back that corporate-focused tide.

“Now is the time for Chicago’s progressives to seize this moment and imagine a city free of corporate Democratic control,” Rosa said.

That “Murder Mayor” moniker, originally coined by former Chicago Teachers’ Union (CTU) President Karen Lewis, referenced the city’s shooting violence during Emanuel’s terms, as well as other criticisms of the mayor. “Look at the murder rate in this city,” Lewis said in 2013. “He’s murdering schools, he’s murdering good jobs. He’s murdering housing.”

The term took on new significance in 2015, with Emanuel’s handling of the Laquan McDonald case. This week, Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was found guilty of second-degree murder for shooting McDonald 16 times in 2014. Emanuel, now infamously, fought the release of the shooting footage.

Even as most observers look to what awaits Chicago post-Emanuel, Alderman Waguespack reminded his constituents that the mayor still has nine months to affect the city.

“Many issues that the mayor wants to move ahead with before the election have yet to be opened to discussion in requested public hearings,” Waguespack said on his office’s Facebook page. Those topics include Elon Musk’s proposed train linking downtown and O’Hare and the Chicago Public Schools sexual abuse scandal, Waguespack said.

Who’s Running from Logan Square?

Some Logan Square leaders had some more-personal things to say about Emanuel’s exit than “good riddance,” however—things more along the lines of “take a chance on me, Chicago.”

Waguespack, rumored in the past to be interested in the mayorship, again floated his own name in the wake of Emanuel’s announcement.

“I think, like everyone in the city, we love the city, and we want to see it do better,” he said on Chicago Tonight. “So, there’s openings there for people to really think about progressive openings for the city.”

“Including yourself,” host Phil Ponce asked Waguespack, who responded, “I think so.”

Waguespack was considering a mayorial run as early as last year, John Kass reported in the Tribune. Back before Emanuel announced his first run for mayor, there was a push for a Waguespack candidacy, Kass wrote. But then Emanuel announced he would run in 2010, taking over the race.

Block Club Chicago mentioned both Waguespack and fellow Logan Square-area Alderman Joe Moreno (First Ward) as rumored candidates. Speaking to the Tribune, Moreno didn’t rule out a run, saying that none of the current candidates have “shown they’re a progressive who can get things done” like he has.

Out of the Race

Other rumored candidates included both retiring Congressman Luis Gutierrez, whose 4th District covers part of Logan Square, and his likely replacement, Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia. However, Gutierrez quickly threw his own support behind Garcia, who himself decided this week against running. Garcia had forced Emanuel into a surprise run-off vote in the 2015 mayoral race.

As a favorite on the left, at least locally, Alderman Rosa might seem like another potential candidate. But his public statements so far suggest he’s focusing on his current job.

Gabriel Piemonte, a candidate for Fifth Ward Alderman, shared some thoughts on Rosa, too.

Last Boss Mayor?

Chicago’s next mayor, whether she or he comes from the Logan area or elsewhere in the city, could mark a transformation in Windy City politics, wrote Edward McClelland in Chicago magazine. And progressive alderman like Rosa and Waguespack could play a big role in that change, McClelland said.

“Could the Chicago City Council, after six and a half decades under the thumb of boss mayor beginning with Richard J. Daley, finally reclaim the powers granted it by the city’s founders?” he wrote. There’s a chance, he said, because “the body’s Progressive Caucus, a group of independent aldermen which … includes Scott Waguespack and Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, is certain to grow.”

Featured Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Source: https://logansquarist.com/2018/10/07/logan-square-leaders-happy-to-see-emanuel-go/

[altobrandy31-blog]

law firms plan move to new Wacker Drive tower - Crain's Chicago Business

A new skyscraper going up on Wacker Drive has lured a pair of big law firms from another building on one of the city's most famous corporate thoroughfares.

In a double departure from 77 W. Wacker Drive, the Chicago offices of law firms Morgan Lewis & Bockius and Jones Day are both planning to relocate to the 55-story tower underway at 110 N. Wacker, sources familiar with the firms said.

Neither firm has finalized a lease, but both are in advanced negotiations to move to the building when it opens in 2020, sources said. Morgan Lewis is negotiating a lease for close to 80,000 square feet at the 1.4 million-square-foot building, while Jones Day is closing in on a deal for around 140,000 square feet, according to sources. Those deals would be similar in size to the space each firm occupies at the current building.

If completed, the leases would notch a big win for the developers, Chicago-based Riverside Investment & Development and Dallas-based real estate investor Howard Hughes, which broke ground at 110 N. Wacker in June. Added to a 500,000-square-foot anchor tenant deal with Bank of America and a 60,000-square-foot lease with Chicago-based mergers-and-acquisitions adviser Lincoln International, the law firms would bring the tower to more than 50 percent leased about two years before it opens.

The pair of leases would also illustrate the impact of new supply on the downtown office market. Even with historically low unemployment and strong demand for office space downtown, new towers with more efficient designs and amenities that help companies attract and retain employees have poached tenants from older buildings.

Skyscrapers that debuted over the past two years at 150 N. Riverside, 444 W. Lake St. and 151 N. Franklin St., for example, have plucked tenants seeking about 600,000 square feet from the Central Loop, according to data from MB Real Estate. And more than half of the space those tenants left behind remains vacant, according to MB.

That trend—recently propelled by landlords giving tenants huge amounts of cash to build out new offices—is poised to continue at 110 N. Wacker and with the projected 2023 opening of the 1.2 million-square-foot Salesforce Tower Chicago at Wolf Point. Houston-based developer Hines will be looking to fill another 700,000 square feet beyond what Salesforce has leased. And on the horizon: Riverside intends to develop a 1.5 million-square-foot office tower at Union Station, just a third of which would be anchored by BMO Harris Bank if it finalizes a deal with the Toronto-based bank.

The 51-story tower at 77 W. Wacker is now in line to fall victim to tenants' flight to new construction. While the high-profile building has location and proximity to the revitalized Chicago Riverwalk working in its favor to lure tenants, both departing law firms are competing for talent with other firms that have recently upgraded to newer buildings. McDermott Will & Emery and DLA Piper, for example, both left the Central Loop for the new tower at 444 W. Lake last year.

Cleveland-based Jones Day, which was one of the anchor tenants at 77 W. Wacker when it opened in 1992, has 164 attorneys in Chicago, according to Crain's 2018 list of the city's largest law firms.

Morgan Lewis, which is headquartered in Philadelphia, entered the Chicago market in 2003 with nine attorneys and grew to 49 by 2016, Crain's reported at the time. Today it has expanded to 95 attorneys, according to the firm.

The departures of both firms would pose a big leasing challenge to the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, which has owned 77 W. Wacker since 2008. Jones Day is the second-largest tenant in the 960,000-square-foot tower, which is 89 percent leased today, according to real estate information company CoStar Group. That's slightly better than the 87 percent average for downtown office buildings at the end of the third quarter, according to CBRE.

The building has filled large leasing gaps before. Its largest tenant, United Airlines, put most of its roughly 250,000 square feet up for sublease in 2012 as it prepared to move its headquarters to Willis Tower. Capital One picked up 65,000 square feet of United's space later that year, and the financial company is now the tower's largest tenant with more than 167,000 square feet, according to CoStar Group.

Spokesmen for Morgan Lewis and Riverside Investment & Development declined to comment, and spokesmen for Jones Day and STRS Ohio couldn't be reached for comment.

Source: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/commercial-real-estate/law-firms-heading-new-wacker-drive-tower

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Singer-guitarist Haley Fohr hunts for a path forward with a colorful Hideout residency

Since fall 2017, Haley Fohr has been on the road playing songs from Reaching for Indigo (Drag City), the sixth full-length by her primary musical project, Circuit des Yeux. The singer-guitarist is finishing the tour and the year with a three-night weekly residency at the Hideout entitled Intentions of Sociable Creativity Through Light & Sound, which will retire the album's material, celebrate Fohr's relationship to Chicago's experimental- and improvised-music communities, and point toward the music she'll make in 2019.

When Fohr moved to Chicago in 2012, she rebooted the music she made and the way she made it. A native of West Lafayette, Indiana, she'd already spent around five years touring and recording, mainly solo as Circuit des Yeux. Even at that early stage, her well-trained and extraordinarily deep voice set her apart from her counterparts on the underground noise and punk circuits, imparting an air of authority to even her most rudimentary home recordings. Once Fohr settled here, her studio output evolved from grainy DIY snapshots to colorful panoramas that matched the dramatic potential of her singing, thanks in part to input from local musicians such as Matchess, Bitchin Bajas, Ryley Walker, and Moon Bros., with whom she developed working relationships.

Fohr's collaborative engagement with other Chicago artists also led to collaborations outside Circuit des Yeux. Fohr recorded and toured with Mind Over Mirrors, worked with members of Bitchin Bajas to develop the alter ego Jackie Lynn (which she used to explore a hybrid of country and electro), and played low-profile improvised gigs at venues such as Cafe Mustache and the Hideout with cellist Lia Kohl, vocalist Carol Genetti, and drummer Ben Baker Billington. During these encounters she set aside song structures and even words in order to explore what her voice could do in unfettered settings.

The three unique programs that Fohr has planned for her Hideout residency will celebrate the adventuresome, spontaneous spirit of those low-profile shows. She has associated each one with a different color, and they'll all feature light environments provided by Brownshoesonly, aka Chicagoan Nick Ciontea. The first evening consists of a first-time improvisational encounter with percussionist Hamid Drake and a piece for voice and horns played with Will Miller and Liz Deitemyer. For the second, Fohr will tell stories with Joan of Arc singer Tim Kinsella, then submit her voice to electronic settings and treatments created in collaboration with composer Olivia Block. And on the final night, an eight-piece version of Circuit des Yeux will play the songs from Reaching for Indigo using string arrangements that Fohr wrote with her closest collaborator, producer and multi-instrumentalist Cooper Crain (of Bitchin Bajas and Cave).

Calling from Prague on a travel day during her recent European tour with Circuit des Yeux, Fohr spoke about the residency and what's next on her agenda.

Bill Meyer: Each night of the residency is going to have a color theme? Haley Fohr: Each one is inspired by a frequency, which corresponds to a color and also a signature. The first night is orange, which is creative openness and sociability. The second night is green, which is the heart chakra, which lends itself to openness and self-love. The third night is indigo, which is in the spirit of Reaching for Indigo, the record I did on Drag City. Cooper Crain helped me arrange sheet music to be played with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra this last weekend (at Le Guess Who? festival, Utrecht, Netherlands), and it's pretty much the same songs that are on Reaching for Indigo but expanded to an eight-piece ensemble that features a string quartet, timpani, and vibraphone. We'll be performing that music, but I'll be utilizing my people in the Chicago music scene instead of some work-for-hire chamber ensemble. I'm really looking forward to it.

Attendants and participants are encouraged to wear the celebrated color of each night! I hope that people are excited and have a good time with the idea behind it, which is Intentions of Sociable Creativity Through Light & Sound. The idea is that Chicago is kind of weird in the winter, and I just hope that it encourages people to come out, enjoy the company, and have a good time.

Besides your concerts as Circuit des Yeux, you've played shows at the Hideout, Cafe Mustache, and elsewhere with Ben Billington, Carol Genetti, and others. Were those shows conceived as experiments? Most of those collaborations came within a very specific period of time between 2015 and the beginning of 2018. I had a very intentional goal of collaborating as much as I could, and the idea was to enjoy the resources of being in an urban environment in which many great musicians reside. In the process I did learn a lot—I think I kind of spread myself a little thin at times, but mostly just learning to see how people work and trying to pick up on their language. Truthfully I don't think I'm really that great of an improviser when it comes to working with other people—I find it still to be a challenge. But because it's a challenge, it's what I want to do.

One thing I took from those shows was that it seemed like you were finding new things that you could do with your voice. Can you say more about that? It's like a meditative thing for me. In some ways it's like I'm trying to find new places in my voice. I've found a comfort with this idea of newness and letting moments fall as they happen. Just because I live in Chicago, people invite me to do things. I honestly enjoy doing solo vocal sets in a more nontraditional or sort of casual environment, because it's not a performance, you know. It's just about, like, me going into a state and celebrating my own body. It could be really universal if you're open to that idea of just getting rid of context of any one situation and just, like, being real for a moment and saying we're all here, we have a body, and we've chosen to congregate in this moment and here we are.

You're performed under several guises. What's the difference between Haley Fohr and Circuit des Yeux? Circuit des Yeux is for my mental health—it's really more emotional. It's more whatever I'm feeling at that moment. And I think with Haley Fohr, I'm more of a composer.

What do you have ahead in 2019? Reaching for Indigo: Gaia Infinitus is saying good-bye to this record. It's sort of like putting to rest the Circuit des Yeux cycle that I've been in for the last year and a half. In 2019 I'm doing solo vocal shows under my name, Haley Fohr, in several cities. I'm doing Pitchfork Midwinter in February, and then I'm going to do San Francisco. It's called Wordless Music, and it's pretty much what I've been doing in Chicago for the last year and a half at these small venues. The idea is just to tap in with what it means to have a body and just to be able to physically exert myself, yeah, to open up this other world.

Haley Fohr Hideout residency Intentions of Sociable Creativity Through Light & Sound Light environments by Brownshoesonly All shows 9 PM, $7, 21+

Wed 12/5: Orange Set one: Hamid Drake & Haley Fohr Set two: Piece for Voice and Horn in the Key of G, featuring Will Miller and Liz Deitemyer

Wed 12/12: Green Set one: "Storytime with Tim Kinsella & Haley Fohr" Set two: Piece for Voice and Electronics, featuring Olivia Block

Wed 12/19: Indigo Circuit des Yeux Presents Reaching for Indigo: Gaia Infinitus, plus DJ Cheryl Bittner

Source: https://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2018/12/03/singer-guitarist-haley-fohr-hunts-for-a-path-forward-with-a-colorful-hideout-residency

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Khalil Mack gets Bulls uniform for Christmas, shows off jump shot

Khalil Mack has made himself at home in Chicago since arriving via trade from the Oakland Raiders.

The Bears pass rusher has been a force with his new team, anchoring a dominant defense while posting 12.5 sacks, six forced fumbles and a pick six for the NFC North champions.

He has apparently embraced the local basketball team too, as bad as they are.

Mack posted video on Instagram on Christmas of himself dressed in a Chicago Bulls uniform sporting his name and No. 52.

[Play in our Week 17 DFS contest: $1M prize pool. $100K to first. Join now!]

Not just the jersey, mind you. But a full uniform, complete with shorts.

The real-life version of Khalil Mack on an NBA basketball court is coming soon, his name is @ZionW32 😳

(via @chicagobulls) pic.twitter.com/OO0Pi4IqWB

— Yahoo Sports NBA (@YahooSportsNBA) December 25, 2018

He then showed off his handles and jump shot complete with a Christmas soundtrack in what appears to be a makeshift basketball court built in an oversized closet.

Imagine trying to stop Khalil Mack on the fast break pic.twitter.com/5A5CnhdUiO

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) December 25, 2018

While the Bears can’t spare him, the 9-25 Bulls could surely find room for the services of a 6-3, 252-pound athlete build like a tank.

Here’s guessing even head coach Jim Boylen wouldn’t find any problems with Mack’s effort as a professional athlete.

More from Yahoo Sports: • Alabama players to miss game over violations • Robinson: Coach Williams has created a problem for Browns • Redskins tolerate players’ legal issues, but not dissent • Raiders put on show in potential Oakland swan song

Source: https://sports.yahoo.com/khalil-mack-gets-bulls-uniform-christmas-shows-off-jump-shot-000430822.html?src=rss

[altobrandy31-blog]

Family Friendly Haunted Movie At Margate Park Tonight

Join your friends and neighbors for Margate Park's Third Annual Family Friendly Haunted Movie Night!

The Addams Family starts Christina Ricci, Raul Julia, and Anjelica Huston.

$5 includes admission, popcorn, a hot dog and a drink.

The show starts at 6:30pm at the Margate Park Fieldhouse, 4921 North Marine. There is limited parking in a lot east of the fieldhouse, and street parking on Marine Drive.

Source: https://www.uptownupdate.com/2018/10/family-friendly-haunted-movie-at.html

[altobrandy31-blog]

There Were Zero Things Better This Week Than That Absurdly Historic Klay Game

Welcome to Good Stuff, HuffPost’s weekly recommendation series devoted to the least bad things on and off the internet.

Monday night, I found myself in the very top row of the United Center in Chicago, where I bore witness to an absurd bit of history, and what is quite possibly the most entertaining version of basketball ever invented: A Klay Game.

The game itself wasn’t that good, by normal standards. By the end of the first quarter, the Golden State Warriors had run up a 20-point lead on the hapless and injured Chicago Bulls. By halftime, the Dubs had 92 points and were winning by 40. It was pointless. Except for Klay.

Except for Klay. Thompson, that is, the Warriors’ gunner of two-guard who, up to that point in the season, had been trash. Thompson entered the evening having made just five of his first 36 three-point attempts of the season ― a 14 percent clip that was nearly 30 points below his career average from distance. But on Monday, he reverted to his old, dumb self, which unlike Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant ― his superstar teammates whose dominant nights always feel like reminders that they have absolutely broken basketball ― tends to feel more normal. Klay is the old dude at the gym who uses screens the right way, finds himself in the corner, and pummels you with an endless barrage of buckets ... if that old dude was also 6′6″ and one of the greatest shooters of all time.

He hit his first three less than 90 seconds into the game. By the end of the first quarter, he’d made five more. At halftime, he had 10, and at one point, he had made nine out of 11 threes. He finished the game with 14, setting a single-game NBA record in just 27 minutes on the floor. He had 52 points.

The amazing thing about it, though, wasn’t that he broke the record, but how. A Klay Game is a special phenomenon: on the occasions where Klay isn’t just hot but reaches thermonuclear status, the Warriors’ other superstars cease to even consider themselves a part of the game, and instead funnel the ball to him with a relentless, single-minded focus. So each time a Bulls shot clanked off the rim and landed in the hands of a Golden State player, they looked for Klay. In the corner. At the top of the key. Barely across half-court. It didn’t matter. Curry and Durant were passing up open shots to find him. Draymond Green, on one possession, set five screens in an effort to free Thompson from his defenders. They still got theirs, but the night was Klay’s, and they knew it.

So did the crowd. By the start of the second half, no one was paying attention to the score, or the Bulls. Not even their fans. Each time Klay touched the ball, the crowd urged him to shoot. Each time he did, the air burped with the anticipation that he was about to hit another one. And more often than not, it went in. The Warriors are dumb, and even though its cool in some circles to hate them now, I can’t. Not when they play basketball like this. And not when they can decide, on any given night, to let Klay be Klay, and remind us that there are still endless wonders in an NBA season, even when its ultimate outcome already feels certain. ― Travis Waldron

Kurt Russell As Cool Santa

I don’t really know how to explain the new trailer for “The Christmas Chronicles.” There’s Kurt Russell as cool Santa Claus throwing concerts in prison and bemoaning images on cola cans for making his butt look big. There are very CGI elves who don’t totally look like gremlins, but I wouldn’t want to feed them after midnight. The Netflix movie’s premise seems to revolve ― maybe? ― around the potential death of Christmas, which won’t be saved unless some kids travel around the world with Chris Pratt’s evil dad, who seems more worried about breaking out “Star Wars” references and dunking presents down chimneys. Hmm.

It feels like a Christmas miracle this is happening at all, so I for one will be counting down the days until it arrives in my queue. ― Bill Bradley

WHY IS LIZZO PERFECT?

A Very Good Paperback

Simon & Schuster

I know. I know! This book came out in February. But I missed it then, and this week I finally circled back to the book I’d heard glowing things about for months. If you haven’t read Halliday’s masterfully engineered debut yet, you should do the same thing.

The novel opens on the blossoming romance between Alice, a young editor at a publishing house in New York, and Ezra Blazer, an elderly acclaimed novelist who bears an unmistakeable resemblance to Philip Roth. Also an aspiring writer, Alice soaks up Ezra’s attention and guidance, as he showers her with blackout cookies, rolls of cash to spend at upscale department stores, and sacks of edifying books to read. Rather than fully flipping a narrative so often told from the older male perspective on its head, Halliday relates it from a remove that hovers between clinical and whimsical, as if their relationship is a case file put into the language of a fairy tale.

Then, just as Alice realizes she must choose between her own future as a writer or a real partnership with the ailing Ezra, Halliday throws us into another story. Amar Jaafari, an Iraqi-American economist, has been detained in Heathrow en route to see his brother in Kurdistan. In between dealing with the crushing bureaucracy ― repeated interrogations that cycle through the same questions, vague and inexplicable explanations for his detention ― he reflects on his life, the two countries that have been home to his family, and the violence that has surrounded his brother and other loved ones.

The novel ends with an eerily convincing transcript of a “Desert Island Discs” interview in which Ezra, some ten years on from the start of his relationship with Alice, recommends his all-time favorite songs, reminisces, and flirts with the interviewer.

A dazzling puzzle box of a book, Asymmetry melds ambition and restraint in its exploration of power, artistic imagination, empathy, geopolitics, and love. It’s recently out in paperback, so there’s absolutely no reason not to read it immediately. ― Claire Fallon

A Night of Short Horror Films (By Mostly Women!)

Nitehawk

"Cat Calls" (directed by Kate Dolan)

Every year, Nitehawk Cinema in Brooklyn hosts a short film festival. And every year, Caryn Coleman, director of programming and special projects at the theater, co-curates a midnight showing dedicated to mini horror flicks, the kinds that only require eight to 19 minutes to rattle your already fragile existence and catapult your adrenaline levels in glorious micro waves of fear.

This year’s showing will take place on Thursday, Nov. 8 at 9:30 p.m. And its lineup is like a pleasant middle finger to Jason Blum, a man blithely unaware of the many female directors working in horror today.

“When I read the Jason Blum article I had watched two brand new horror films directed by women in the previous 24 hours,” Coleman told HuffPost. “Genre films by women is nothing new to me or to the many people clued into what’s happening in horror. Therefore, what he said is a prime example of how out of touch certain parts of the film industry establishment are; they are completely unaware of a reality that is right in front of their face simply because they don’t care enough to look.”

Coleman and her co-programmer Sam Zimmerman have paid particular attention to women’s voices at her festival over the years. “This year we’re thrilled that our program not only features 70 percent female directors,” she said, “but that nearly all address the real horror of what it’s like to be a woman in the world.”

Three films to watch at the Shorts Festival’s “Midnite” screening this year are “Rape Card,” “Pumpkin Movie” (“I saw it the night of the Blasey-Ford testimony and it was utterly prescient, couldn’t get it out of my head,” Coleman said), and “Cat Calls.” Tickets are on sale here. ― Katherine Brooks

Rosé In October

Nestled halfway into Quavo’s new album, “Quavo Huncho,” is a track that dares to bring rosé out of the summer slums and into the autumn breeze. Understanding the pink-tinted bubbly should be a year-round affair, “Champagne Rosé” had the rapper “poppin’ bottles” in — gasp! — October. More significantly, he did so with the help of two incredible collaborators. One of them (Cardi B) comes as no surprise; the other (Madonna) is a left-field swerve that proves to be one of the record’s highlights.

Dominating the song with a high-pitched autotune, Madonna’s is the first voice we hear. She stretches “champagne” to three syllables and turns wine into sex the way only she can (“Please drink me up”). Her presence is the yin to Quavo’s full-throated yang, perfectly accentuated by a flute that graces the intoxicating beat. And then, before the four-minute bop ends, Madonna nails a verse that again lets her bend and elongate words with a crisp, clarion cadence: “Let me entertain you / Get inside your vein, too / Intoxicate your brain, ooh / Crazy, what I’ll make you.” It’s a frothy morsel, likely to remain an under-appreciated footnote in all three artists’ repertoires. But listen to it and try not to hit the repeat button a dozen times. You can’t do it. ― Matthew Jacobs

Witch Hunting

Halloween may be over, but witches rule all year long. If you haven’t yet checked out two spooooky witchy reboots ― The CW’s “Charmed” and Netflix’s “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” ― the time is now. Both series take beloved ’90s shows and turn them into something darker, more complex and more overtly feminist. Neither show is perfect, but they both have done something interesting and timely ― and, dare we say ... magical? Plus, with all the talk of “witch hunting” powerful white men, it’s about damn time we saw some real witchy women get their due. ― Emma Gray

Martha Rosler Forever

In the 1975 video “Semiotics of the Kitchen,” one of multidisciplinary artist Martha Rosler’s most famed works, Rosler stands at a makeshift kitchen station in front of a refrigerator and stove. It looks like a cross between a Rachael Ray cooking demo and a Francesca Woodman photograph.

“Apron,” she says, as she pulls one over her head. “Bowl,” displaying a bowl to the world while pantomiming stirring. “Chopper,” plunging it into the bowl violently. “Egg beater ... fork ... grater,” she continues, rubbing the fork up and down the grater, emitting a jarring racket. She continues down the alphabet, naming different kitchen appliances and simulating their use for the viewer like an alien mimicking domestic rituals. When she picks up the nutcracker, Rosler glares at the viewer while spreading and shutting the tool’s legs with vigor. The video, critiquing the oppressive, domestic roles women are often forced to embody, becomes a jagged dance to the tune of a grating metallic symphony.

This is Rosler’s most well-known piece, but far from the only one worth knowing. A retrospective at the Jewish Museum spans Rosler’s five-decade career. Featuring installations, photographic series, sculpture, and video, the exhibit probes far beyond “Semiotics of the Kitchen” to show us one of the most witty and dogged feminist artists of our time. In one photo collage, blond women snap selfies in a mod mansion as flames blaze outside the windows. In an installation, various women’s lingerie and sleepwear congregate around a white mattress. The cluster of thongs and spanx and granny panties alludes to the stories clothes tell about the women who wear them. Or perhaps just the stories we buy into.

The show opens on Friday, Nov. 2 and is up until March. All feminists, Jews and bad chefs are encouraged to attend. ― Priscilla Frank

The Drawing of Lines

Screenshot

We’re all blessed to have lived long enough to discover that the Gateway Pundit apparently does have a line, and that line’s name is Jacob Wohl. ― Ashley Feinberg

Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/there-were-zero-things-better-this-week-than-that-absurdly-historic-klay-game_us_5bdccf96e4b09d43e31efd6c

[altobrandy31-blog]

a couple Bulls players got some likes, but a certain coach got a lot of dislikes

The Bulls played a game over the weekend against the 76ers. They lost by 20 points, but JaKarr Sampson scored a career-high 29 points, so they had that going for them. There are two games left, and that’s all I have to say about that.

More interestingly, The Athletic published results from an NBA player poll they conducted over the course of the season. Their beat writers talked to 127 players in all, and while not every player answered every question, they still got an impressive set of answers.

Most glaring was “which coach would you not want to play for”, and even with players not being able to vote for their own coach, Jim Boylen got 21.1% of the vote (11 out of 52) for this question.

The near-mutiny was of course referenced when discussing Boylen in Sam Amick’s blurb, but Boylen did get some credit because he “recalibrated” with the young core and Zach LaVine offered to pay his fine.

Boylen has taken a lot of heat this season, and for good reason, but management has been consistently singing his praises and indicating he’s going to be back next season. This poll certainly isn’t a good look, but the Bulls likely just believe you have to be in their building to truly appreciate Jimbo’s ways.

(Hilariously enough, Tom Thibodeau led the way with 34.6% of the vote, and Fred Hoiberg actually got two votes for coach you’d want to play for.)

The Bulls did get a few other mentions in the survey:

Kris Dunn got 2.6% of the vote for best defender (three votes out of 114).

Shaquille Harrison somehow got a vote for player you’d sign first when building a roster from scratch, but I’m assuming that was either a troll vote or a drop-down voting error that was meant for James Harden.

Wayne Selden Jr. got a vote for who talks the most trash. I had no idea.

Zach LaVine got 1.7% of the vote for most underrated (two votes out of 116), while Robin Lopez also picked up a vote in this category.

More RoLo love

Speaking of Robin Lopez, it’s hard not to appreciate his performance as this year has gone on. After struggling out of the gate and looking like he was on his way out midseason, Lopez turned into a low-post scoring machine starting in February and has been a valuable veteran presence in the middle.

Lopez’s funky post game got some much-deserved love in Zach Lowe’s weekly column at ESPN last week:

The Bulls have averaged 1.1 points since the trade deadline when Lopez shoots from the block, or dishes to a teammate who finishes the possession, per Second Spectrum. That is comfortably above average, and legit impressive considering the surrounding, umm, talent.

Lopez is tossing in patented floor-scraping ice cream scoop shots, where he palms the ball almost at knee level, extends his arm, and flips a weirdo hook over his head.

When he enters pivot mode, it sometimes looks as if he’s the only player standing on a very slow-moving turntable ... Lopez is one of the league’s beloved teammates. He revels in grunt work. He stayed upbeat even as fellow Bulls contemplated a full-scale mutiny, and good players around him kept disappearing. It has been nice to see him show off his scoring ability.

Watching the RoLo offense can be difficult, but it certainly keeps Stacey King on his toes.

Shaquille Harrison has been grinding

Every year, Zach Lowe comes up with his “Luke Walton All-Stars.” These players are, in his words, “an ode to bit players who bounce around the fringes of the NBA before landing in new roles where things click.”

While former Bull Joakim Noah got the prime real estate on this list thanks to his renaissance in Memphis, Shaquille Harrison also got a spot thanks to his relentless defense and improving offensive game.

Naturally, Jimbo loves him some Shaq Harrison, and Shaq Harrison loves him some Jimbo:

Perhaps it won’t surprise you, then, that Harrison doesn’t mind the hard-charging style of Jim Boylen, the Bulls’ new head coach -- including the hours-long practices that nearly fomented rebellion in Boylen’s first week in the top job. “It wasn’t new to me,” Harrison says. “I’ve had coaches who had practices like that. A lot of guys were hurting, but it was another day in the office for me. I think I’m kind of a Jim prototype.”

He’s right. “He’s my kind of guy,” Boylen says. “I have never seen anyone embrace constructive criticism like Shaq. I’ve coached him hard, and he’s taken it in the chest.”

Harrison has been a pleasant surprise this season, and it’ll be interesting to see if the Bulls make an effort to keep him as he continues to work on his busted jumper. He has a $1.59 million non-guaranteed deal until Aug. 15, and then it’s partially guaranteed for $175,000 until becoming fully guaranteed on Jan. 10, 2020.

“Bright futures”

Last week, The Athletic’s Jordan Brenner did a piece on the futures of the non-playoff teams. A dozen sources (executives, coaches and scouts) were polled, and the Bulls came in fourth place behind the Mavericks, Kings and Hawks. The Bulls did get one first-place vote.

One Western Conference executive highlighted the young core, the impending high draft pick and cap space. A former exec likes a few of the pieces, but he doesn’t think the Bulls have a core “inspiring fear in opponents,” and there are too many unproven pieces.

Here’s the longest response, courtesy of “an East exec”:

“They have drafted too many good players for categorical failure. Look at the pieces they have and they’re probably going to get one more this year. I think Wendell Carter is going to be really good — a potential Defensive Player of the Year. Lauri Markkanen is really good. Maybe they’re not seven-time All-Stars, but maybe they’re really good players that add to a winning team. And that Otto Porter trade is one of the most underreported great moves of the past 5-to-10 years. He has two-way ability and he was just scratching the surface of what he could be in Washington. Porter significantly helped Zach LaVine when he got there, because he was able to take pressure off LaVine and allow him to be athletic and score, since Porter can be the guy who takes the best wing player defensively.”

This seems pretty fair. Next season is going to be huge, and thank heavens this season is almost over. Two more games.

Source: https://www.blogabull.com/2019/4/9/18301377/nba-players-dont-like-jim-boylen-robin-lopez-gets-love-and-more

[altobrandy31-blog]

10 historic Chicago LGBTQ sites to visit for Pride

Each June, thousands of people descend on Chicago for Pride month. In Chicago, the Boystown neighbor serves as the epicenter of festivities, culminating with a massive parade on Sunday, June 30. But there are lots of other locations throughout the city that played vital roles in Chicago’s LGBTQ rights movement. Whether you’re a local or just in town for Pride, be sure to check out these 10 historic sites.

Know an important location that needs to be added to the list? Please let us know in the comments below. Heading to Pride and looking for the best places to eat, drink, and party all month long? Be sure to check out this handy guide from Eater Chicago.

Read More Source: https://chicago.curbed.com/maps/lgbt-pride-month-chicago-history-landmarks

[altobrandy31-blog]

Theo Epstein Speaks: Luxury Tax Limits, Internal Improvements, Fan Hopes for Big Moves, Much More

Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein just hopped on The Score with Bruce Levine and Matt Spiegel, getting into a host of the most important topics in the Cubs’ orbit right now, so I want to pop put for you some bullet-point, paraphrased Epstein comments. The full interview will presumably be available later today (UPDATE: It’s now embedded at the bottom of this post), and I’ll add it as soon as it comes out. In the interest of timeliness, though, here are the notes I took as I listened …

The organization is not super proud of the totality of the work the last two years; this is a special opportunity right now, and the theme talking to everyone in the org is that we’re all hungry, not wanting to leave any stone unturned, leaving nothing undone to help the Cubs try to win in 2019

You can’t count on young player development; you try to have more structure and more instruction, more routine, and we’ve made subtle adjustments behind the scenes on that front. You need self-awareness about where the weaknesses are and where the league has adjusted; careers aren’t guaranteed, nor are winning seasons. You have to have a lot of depth, because some guys will step forward, and others will not.

The luxury tax is not dictating our actions or inactions at all this offseason. We’re not governed by it. Sometimes you strategically want to be under it, but this isn’t one of those offseasons where it makes sense for us to do that. We just try to put the best team on the field with what we have available.

Like any business there are budgets, and you can’t spend what you don’t have. There will be offseasons where you don’t want to go over the luxury tax, but this is not one of those offseasons. (Note: As we’ve discussed before, it was going to be virtually impossible for the Cubs to be under the luxury tax this coming season no matter what, so it was never really a question about whether the Cubs had to try to get under the level or whether they could go over it. Instead, it’s been a question about how MUCH over the first tier of the luxury tax the Cubs could go, and that’s been an open question since October. It remains an open question even now.)

You’d conceivably like to improve offense in the outfield, and you have to be honest where you are at a point in time. (Note, this was in specific response to a question about production in the outfield). And maybe you’d talk about moving salaries, moving young players … but when you have critical players coming off of down years, it’s not a flexible time. There are offseasons where you’re set up to be really active, and there are others where you have to work really hard to make even the smallest pieces fit.

I’m just being honest, I think the majority of the improvements are going to come from working inside and guys playing to their level.

In response to a question about whether fans should just stop hoping for a certain unnamed big ticket acquisition: I won’t tell fans how to consume their offseason, I’m very respectful of the way fans choose to root for the team, just like during the season. However they want to relate to the team, if they want to focus on the offseason, that’s their right. It can be fun following the moves and being critical. Once you start playing, there’s a natural exhale and a return to focusing on the game. Which is probably a more healthy state. But for the winter, I’m not going to tell them what to expect. Some things are extraordinarily unlikely, other things are more plausible. Sometimes a big offseason leads to a winning season, and sometimes quiet offseasons lead to great seasons.

Not as much planning ahead about economics of TV deal as you might think. First few years are likely to be similar to what we’ve had in the past, but with continued growth and success, you could see potential for greater growth. Business side is working hard at it, we’re excited about the consistency of other dollars coming in.

Traditionally you see bigger guys sign first in the offseason, then there can be value late. Some teams can be in on everybody, and other teams can be more patient and try to find value late. This is just kind of a change in the industry.

New bench coach Mark Loretta is not just being added as a way to see the front office vision on the field; he interviewed with Joe Maddon, and they already knew each other. He’s just a great mind and great communicator to bring in.

Yu Darvish is ahead of Brandon Morrow right now in terms of health, as Darvish is on a traditional build up/throwing program. He’s excited to be full go in Spring Training. Morrow isn’t far behind, but Opening Day is probably unrealistic by a few weeks. We’ll have a better gauge in Spring Training.

Baseball is the balance between hitting for power to the pull side and also trying to take what they give you and use the whole field. We want guys to have a two-strike approach, but also try to drive your pitch before you get there.

Really excited to get back to the crack of the bat. These guys are motivated. I wouldn’t bet against them.

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/2019/01/05/theo-epstein-speaks-luxury-tax-limits-internal-improvements-fan-hopes-for-big-moves-much-more/

[altobrandy31-blog]

Theo Epstein: Cubs Will Not Extend Joe Maddon This Offseason

At the end of the 2014 season, the Chicago Cubs were happy with the progress some of their young players made (#cookies), the apparent talent of some of their bigger trades (Pedro Strop, Jake Arrieta, Anthony Rizzo, etc.), and their manager, Rick Renteria, but everything changed when Andrew Friedman left the Tampa Bay Rays for the West Coast.

His promotion and plane ticket to Los Angeles triggered an escape clause in then-Rays Manager Joe Maddon’s contract, which allowed him to leave his team early and eventually be aggressively pursued and paaaaaaaaid by the Chicago Cubs. If you recall, the Cubs parted ways with Renteria, and handed Joe Maddon a five-year, $25M deal almost immediately.

Four years later, Joe Maddon has made four straight playoff appearances with the Cubs, reached three NLCSs in a row from 2015-2017, and won one World Series title. His “worst” season with the Cubs featured 95 regular season wins.

On the surface, that looks and sounds like someone you’d think they’d want to lock down for as long as he’s willing to do it, but, well … perhaps not:

That is but one of many reports tonight confirming a simple message from the Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein: Manager Joe Maddon, entering his final year under contract with the Chicago Cubs, will not receive an extension this winter. Epstein says they’ll talk about it during or after the 2019 season – and, sure, maybe they will – but Maddon will nonetheless enter the year as a lame-duck manager, and that doesn’t always yield a continuing relationship.

To be fair, there are a lot of obvious, non-managerial-decision-related reasons for that. Consider that, at 64 years old, Maddon is already the oldest active manager in baseball. And, with an annual salary that will pay him $6 million in 2019, he’s also one of the highest paid managers in the game. That means that if you extend him, you’ll likely have the oldest and most expensive manager in baseball.

Obviously, yes, Maddon is both sprite and forward-thinking and it’s not like you want to cheap out with such an important role, but to say his age and expected price tag are not part of the conversation wouldn’t be correct. It also wouldn’t be correct to say those are determinative factors, but they’re in there somewhere.

It’s hard not to react from the gut that not extending Maddon this winter is a signal that this’ll be his last season in Chicago. I mean, I don’t want to attach a tone to something I wasn’t in person to hear myself, but …

… that doesn’t sound too promising, does it?

Then again, you’ll recall that Maddon was not out there banging the drums aggressively for an extension, even as his agent noted that he did anticipate this kind of conversation would come eventually. Maybe this is not an unexpected turn:

Maybe all sides really are just fine playing things out and seeing where the chips land. Well, I mean, I guess the Cubs at least must be fine with it, because that’s what is going to happen.

While this is a LONG while off and there are plenty of reasons it wouldn’t make sense, it’s sorta impossible to ignore the fact that Joe Girardi reportedly kept his name out of any serious running for a managerial gig this winter, despite as many as six openings throughout the league. Indeed, there were rumors – and only rumors – that he was holding out hope for the Cubs opening after the 2019 season, but, again, we’ll get there when we get there. We’re not even certain Girardi is a good fit for the Cubs yet.

For now, just know that Epstein was clear that no extension is coming right now – which at least takes the conversation off the table for the time being (while raising other questions, naturally) – and all sides are going to say the polite and proper things, and try to prevent this from becoming a distraction heading into the final year of Maddon’s contract.

Brett Taylor contributed to this post.

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/2018/11/05/theo-epstein-cubs-will-not-extend-joe-maddon-this-offseason/

[altobrandy31-blog]

Nola, Phils aim for split with Cubs, but Lester looms

Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto sensed a special outing was brewing from Aaron Nola before the right-hander even fired a pitch that counted against the Colorado Rockies on Saturday.

"Really, I could tell in the bullpen," Realmuto said. "His stuff was extremely explosive in the first inning. I don't think he missed a spot in the first inning."

The premonition came true as Nola struck out 12 while allowing only one run in six innings. He will look to maintain a strong recent stretch as the Phillies close a four-game road series against the Chicago Cubs on Thursday afternoon.

Following a rough beginning to the season, Nola (4-0, 4.47 ERA) boasts victories in three of his past six starts, and he is 2-0 with a 2.61 ERA in four starts in May. Nola has struck out 28 batters in 20 2/3 innings in that span while walking eight and allowing two home runs -- five fewer than he surrendered in April.

Those are encouraging signs for the Phillies. A resilient Nola typically means an effective one.

As Phillies right fielder Bryce Harper told reporters after Saturday's game, "That was Noles being Noles."

"He doesn't cry in his soup," Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said of Nola. "He's not thinking about the last outing he had. He's already on to the next one. The reason that we saw him come out like lightning (Saturday) is because of the work he did between starts. It's the consistency of that work."

In three career starts against the Cubs, Nola is 1-1 with a 5.12 ERA.

Philadelphia is seeking a split of the Chicago series after losing two of the first three games in the meeting of first-place clubs. The Cubs have rallied to win the past two contests after the Phillies took Monday's series opener in 10 innings.

Chicago center fielder Albert Almora Jr. delivered the key blow on Wednesday, smacking his first career grand slam to provide the go-ahead runs in an 8-4 victory -- the Cubs' seventh win in their past 11 games.

Left-hander Jon Lester (3-2, 2.09 ERA) is slated to get the call for the Cubs on the heels of his worst start of the season. Pitching against the Washington Nationals on Saturday, the veteran allowed five runs on 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings.

The 10 hits allowed matched the most in a single start against Lester since he joined the Cubs before the 2015 season.

"I just couldn't repeat my mechanics," Lester told reporters after the game. "I couldn't repeat pitches. I'd make a good one, and then three bad ones. It seemed like when I made a good one, they'd foul it off. For the most part, I found too many barrels. Even the outs were hard hit."

Lester, who missed two weeks in April while recovering from a hamstring injury sustained during the Cubs' home opener, reached enough innings after Saturday's start to qualify for the National League ERA lead.

Trouble was, Lester's struggles spiked what had been a 1.16 ERA, taking Lester out of the top spot.

Despite the hiccup in Washington, Lester is 2-1 with a 1.88 ERA in four May starts, with 23 strikeouts and three walks in 24 innings.

Lester has a terrific record against the Phillies, going 8-0 against them with a 1.49 ERA in 10 career starts.

--Field Level Media

Source: https://sports.yahoo.com/nola-phils-aim-split-cubs-lester-looms-063415140--mlb.html?src=rss

[altobrandy31-blog]

Left Bank apartments are a short stroll from River North and West Loop hot spots

Left Bank has an appealing Fulton River District location across the street from the new Gibsons Italia at the River Point office tower and park.

Studios at Left Bank start at $1,723, convertibles at $1,907, 1-bedrooms at $2,057, and 2-bedroom, 2-baths at $2,670. Three-bedroom, 3-baths are all rented at this time.

Floor plans and near real-time rent and availability info are online.

Left Bank amenities include a lush private terrace with lounging and grilling areas and a fire pit.

Left Bank is pet-friendly and has on-site management, maintenance and leasing staff, and 24/7 door staff.

Source: http://yochicago.com/left-bank-apartments-are-a-short-stroll-from-river-north-and-west-loop-hot-spots-2/60288/