Pick 6: Cubs welcome the Pirates to town

0:00It's PICS6 with Ha and Peyton, where we debate the top six sports stories of the day, and then open it up to you, the Chicago Sports Fan. Call us at 312-644-6767, or you can tweet your thoughts at Ha Peyton. PICS6 with Ha and Peyton starts now. And here we go, the Cubs welcome the red hot pirates into Rigglyfield from the red line. For the weekend, with Showed Him and I got on the mound today, and one game behind the fillys for that top wild card spot. What happens over at Clark and Addison over the weekend? What a good question. What a good question. I have no idea. I know Dustin used a shaking your head. For all you watching a twitch, Dustin shaking his head. We're not supposed to say I don't know. Rule number one. I don't know for a fact because this Cubs team makes you never know. You never feel good. You're never certain about anything.

1:01Oh, Alex Bradwood stinks. No, he doesn't. He's great. Oh, the Cubs are great. They want ten in a row. No, they stink because they lose ten in a row. This is the best bullpen that they could put together. Yeah, that was the story maybe in July. I don't know what to expect for this Cubs team. The pirates are coming in hot. The pirates I think believe they can make the playoffs. They're chasing a wildcard spot. They're one game over 500 now. It's unlikely, but they can't be dismissed like you thought that you could dismiss them. Wilbur Dotael on the mount. I thought today was Schien's day. It's Saturday. Okay. Why did they push Schien's back to Saturday? I don't know. Because Shota's pitching. Shota splits are good during the day. I'm glad he's pitching in daylight. And Schien's I think during the day and wriggly his struggle, but tomorrow's a day game as well. There's no night games. So maybe they just wanted an extra day of rest. I could understand that. Last night, Jared Jones was lights out.

2:01I mean, that guy, they have some good young pitching on that pirate staff. So the Cubs, what version of them will you get this weekend? You better get the urgent version. Get the council better. Manage from the gut rather than the analytics. That's very simple over simplifying things. But based on our most recent example, you'd like to see some signs of life at Wrigley Field. Some signs of urgency from the Cubs. Because things are slipping away very quickly. I don't care what the fan graphs percentage is say. The I test says the Cubs are failing. And right now they have three games at home to change the trend and do it now. Well, I do know what's going to happen at Clark and Addison. They're going to play baseball. 1245 pregame right here on the square. That's what we do. That's what we know for sure. I believe the Cubs will win two of three. They will not sweep. They will not get swept.

3:01I really am looking forward to that matchup though on Saturday. Like that's a really good pitching matchup. I mean, the Cubs are massive favorites today. Almost minus 200. They're minus 199. That's a huge favorite in baseball. Pirates coming in red, red, hot. And then Sunday, Matthew Boyd is throwing for the Cubs. So we haven't done it. We kind of teased it yesterday, David. We haven't done your circle of trust. You're who's pitching when? Who gets the ball first? We'll do that later. We'll do later. I think Matthew Boyd's probably part of that. And that's going to be another day game. So three day games over at Riggly, a Clark and Addison. Cubs win two of three. I too believe the Cubs win two of three. And I think Shoda Amanaga sets the tone in the daylight. He is coming off of a great performance against the Marlins, pitched into the seventh, right?

4:04Obviously, I think Shoda Amanaga has had his moments of doubt, certainly. But I do think today is a day that he can set the tone for the Cubs who need a boost back home and can win two out of three this upcoming weekend. I want everyone to zoom out for a minute. OK. I said to lecture. The Cubs are a playoff team right now. I know that tone. The Cubs are a playoff team right now. I know they don't play at Riggly. I know it wouldn't be ideal situation for the Cubs if the playoffs started tomorrow. But I do think it's important to remember that this is a very good baseball team who just played the best team in baseball. And maybe it was humbled a little bit. But I think the turnaround begins today. They have it once in Saturday. I know. It's been a long week.

5:05It's been a really long week in Cubs. They're due. They're due. That's a good question. Well, speaking about Cubs, there's the voice of Ron Cumer. He'll join you at 8 AM, a Friday staple right here on 104.3. The score, the White Sox just got swept by the pirates, managing two measly hits. And now head to your hometown, St. Louis, for a three game series against the Cardinals. What's your biggest concern, the starting pitching or the slumbering offense can the socks win the series? The White Sox were held to five hits in three games. Oh my gosh. Against the pirates. They've lost six of eight games. And the Ale Central lead is now down to 1 1-1-1-1-2 games over Cleveland. To me, the offense is the bigger concern right now. The starting pitching has been wobbling, but I think in the grand scheme of things, you simply cannot win games, let alone a playoff series.

6:08If you score three runs in three games, and you get shut out in the finale when you're trying not to get swept. So I think this is a big opportunity for the White Sox. To bounce back this weekend in St. Louis, the Cardinals are very beatable, just ask anyone in my hometown. We've been calling this White Sox team resilient all season long. This is an opportunity. This is the weekend to prove it, to say it again, to have everyone say it, because everyone's talking about the fatigue. This is a young group. They, you know, this isn't, this is new for them. They're inexperienced blah, blah, blah. I love what Ozzy said yesterday. You're young. You don't get tired. Like, keep playing. I think they take two or three. And I think we're having a very different conversation about this team on Monday. I hope, I hope you're right, which is usually hard for me to say, not that I hope you're right, but in this situation, you know, 20 years ago, Dustin, like the White Sox Cardinals series,

7:10it's like the two teams I hate the most in all of baseball. That, that's what this would be. I'm wondering, I'm wondering if, when we get back here on Monday, and the White Sox are in Cleveland taking on the Guardians, will they still be in first place? Will the Guardians be on top? The Guardians are spending the weekend in Minnesota. I think the Cardinals are greater than the twins. I know the Cardinals have not had the year they wanted to have, obviously, but I think the Cardinals are a better baseball team than the twins are. And I wonder if, when we get back here, if the White Sox are actually a half a game back potentially of the Guardians with three games head to head with the division on the line. It's a short question. Off it, you know, we could keep going about, you know, Ruthie talked about the hits. They struck out 11 times last night. They've lost eight of 11, just moving that little, I mean, they're not in a good space.

8:10I'm Murakami had the one home run the other day, right? But he had had a streak of like five to eight straight strikeouts. Oh, he's really struggled. Yeah. I, they better win two out of three. They are clinging to a game and half lead in the division, one and a half up with 16 to play. Not to mention, we had hoped that the White Sox would be in that number two seed territory. The Astros won yesterday. So here they come. Oh, wait, the Blue Jays are still to be heard from. Oh, there's more. The Rangers are chasing a postseason spot. A lot of teams with a lot more veteran experience and maybe better pitching than the White Sox have are in the mix. And the pitching, we began the week, that was the biggest problem. Sean Burke has been his last outing, not good. And then you wonder about the depth of the rotation. But pitching has not been the bigger issue of late

9:11as Ruthie points out. It's offense. They've got three guys who have hit 30 or more homers and they need to start hitting homers again. You need Sam Antonacci to find a way to hit by a pitch three times in a game to get on base or whatever. If not, he's going to elbow somebody. But this is the biggest problem. Scoring runs, getting hits, getting on base. There was a, I believe a Zoom conference with Kayla Bonomer yesterday. They might only player the month for the White Sox. Did anybody ask him how quickly he can get to the Chicago? Because that's not as crazy as it sounds. When they added Tommy Fam, I wondered if they added a guy that's 38 years old who got hurt pretty quickly. That's what happens when you're in your late 30s, still play Major League Baseball. I would have preferred that bring up the kid. He's got 36 dingers in the minors. They need something. They need to spark. They look tired. And teams that can't hit look even more tired.

10:11And the White Sox, they better take two out of three. Because I don't want to come in here Monday morning and say second place White Sox. If you got your best answer, some of these questions are Dennis Allen. And we're not going to hear from him for another couple of weeks, I would imagine. That is the voice of Brad Biggs. Biggs time, 7 AM this morning, Bears DC, Dennis Allen, heaped praise on Panthers, QB Bryce Young on Thursday as expected. I see a guy that's got the ability to hurt you with his mobility. He's got a lot of big talented receivers, tight ends, things of that nature to throw the ball to. So I think that's the most important thing to do is to keep him from being able to create plays with his feet. I think are going to be really important. I think his decision making, I think, has sped up from maybe where the last time I saw him. And so he's got a lot of big talented receivers, tight ends, things of that nature to throw the ball to.

11:12So I see a vastly improved player. All right, was Allen just keeping praise, being respectful, or do you believe he has the ability to carve up that Bears defense on his way to a victory? Which quarterback has the better afternoon? Well, I think Caleb Williams is going to be the best quarterback on the field and have the better numbers on Sunday. But I don't think that you should look at Bryce Young and see the version that you want to see, or maybe we saw earlier in his career. He has a capability to turn his career around as he began to do last year. There are limitations. And I think part of those limitations are rooted in his size or his stature. He's smallish. And so that puts him at a disadvantage. At the same time, he is a playmaker. And he does have the ability to get hot. And he's got a number one receiver and Tepic Millen, that is a guy that is dangerous. So there are some weapons. And I would not underestimate him.

12:13Not in week one, not in season four, because he might be a guy that's playing for a lot in his career. And certainly wanting to get off on the right foot this season in his home building. So as we saw last night with Brock Purdy, as we saw from Drake May, quarterbacks that are utilizing their escapeability or their mobility, that's something that Bryce Young can do and hurt you. So he can get out of a lot of jams on third and seventh, where you might think he has him, you have him sacked, and he escapes and slivers through and gets a first down. You want to limit those types of plays, you want to play. I think more safe behind him than taking risk because you do have potentially two rookies in that secondary. And if you are able to keep things in front of you, you're going to limit how much Bryce Young can hurt you. I would not underestimate him, but I don't think he can take over this game. Bryce Young should be every Bears fans

13:14second favorite quarterback of all time. I mean, of all time, just a quick reminder, Bryce Young equals DJ Moore, Darnell Wright, Tyree Stevenson, Caleb Williams, and Luther Burton III. That's what Bryce Young did for the Bears. They clearly won that trade. Now they need to win with those guys we just mentioned, minus DJ Moore, so no longer there, with Buffalo now. We'll help them go to the Super Bowl and win it. That's a whole other story. And they now need to win the game that got them all these guys for Bryce Young. And they picked up, Carolina picked up the fifth year option on Bryce Young. I would be shocked if Bryce Young gets paid by the Panthers. I think Bryce Young will have a career in this league. I don't think it's with the Panthers on some huge hundred plus million dollar contract. If they win the division though, it's gonna be hard to say,

14:16let's take a chance on a new guy. Right point. Or let's sign Tyson Bayesian. No, stay away. Oh, not upset David, Ruth. No, that's my job. That was my job. I really upset, man. It's only six six. Why would he leave Seattle? Stop. All right, let me answer the question. Dennis Allen has to do this, right? Like Dennis Allen has to go out there every week. He's going to put the opposing quarterback on a pedestal because that's what he's doing in his meeting rooms. And that's important. And I don't think he's lying. I think he has some really good insight on, and he explained it really well on what Bryce Young is probably gonna look like this year. He has better pieces around him. They really ramped up that offense, adding some big pieces to defense. And this is a big year for Bryce Young. It's make or break, right? Like I don't necessarily see them. If the unless this thing goes real south,

15:18I don't necessarily see them moving on from Bryce Young. The problem is then you have to pay him like a starting, you know, that's a whole other story. But with that being said, Bryce Young didn't play much in the preseason. You know who else didn't play much in the preseason? Caleb Williams. Or Matthew Stafford. I mean, that's the fear going into me. Or Drake May. No. You know, so that's sort of the fear. There's an unknown that comes with week one. And I think that's the best thing you can do is prepare for Bryce Young and all things and all shapes and sizes. I don't we talk about Bryce Young in his size. He has some large pass catchers, right? Tec McMillan. They also had a Darren Waller. Oh, he's a huge red zone threat. Yeah. He's late 30s, right? Yeah. He's been around for a while. It'll be interesting to see how they use him. And they've been a little strange about talking about how they're going to use him. So it'll be, we'll find out. But Caleb Williams has to have the better day.

16:22The expectations are higher for Caleb Williams. He has the better coach. He has the better play collar. There's a lot of newness on the headsets in Carolina as well. So I think Bryce Young has qualities that can threaten you. But I do think the bears have enough to shut it down. Those are questions to ask him. All right, here we go. Veteran safety Xavier Woods. He popped up on the injury report with a groin raising questions about his availability on Sunday. How important is it for Woods to play Sunday and why? Or why not? At this point, who cares? I mean, it's just like next man up, next man up, next man up. Like they're all sort of figuring it out together. No, I'm being a little facetious. It is important because you heard Dennis Allen talk about Xavier Woods yesterday and how his experience and the veteran leadership that he brings to the field is very different

17:24than that of a young player who needs a lot of coaching and development. So it's a big deal. And I'm sort of joking. But from a skill level standpoint, I don't know what the drop off is, necessarily. The experience I understand, but the drop off from Xavier Woods to next man up, whether it's, you know, Cam Lewis, Elijah Hicks, right? These are some of your options there. Like, I don't know what that talent drop off is. I want to remind everyone that Xavier Woods was on the street before he was a bear. And there's a reason that he was non-signed before he was a bear. So we don't really know what we haven't seen a ton of him. We know that he's physical. We know that he has experience and he made some plays in the preseason and training camp joint practices, et cetera. But I'm not panicking over this because I think already the defense is in the secondary is where you see the most concerns anyway for him to be out there and sort of

18:25compliment the Dylan Theanman lack of experience would be huge. But if he's not out there, Dylan Theanman, you're a first round pick. Go play like it. But they need somebody with Dylan Theanman, don't they? I mean, I was shocked. I mean, if you were watching on Twitch, I almost hurt my, I needed a Matt Sui Neckroll to support my head from breaking my shoulder. I mean, wow, if he's out, I think that's a huge thing if he's out. I think 75% of him is probably better than the next man up. I mean, of course, they're going to have to put somebody else out there. Maybe I'm over valuing woods and the whole connection to Dennis Allen, but it seemed to, that has seemed to work a little bit for this defense. I don't think they've given this defense maybe as much support from free agency as they do on the other side of the ball. And the money obviously is being spent on the offense. But they have had success with guys kind of off the street who have connections with the defense of coaches

19:27because of past experiences together. So I think this would be a big loss for the Bears. I do too. I think that because you want something you can count on in the way of certainty. Now, Xavier Woods is not going to be a turnover machine, one would think. He's not going to be somebody that is explosive defensively, but you need a, I don't want to diminish his role, but he's a placeholder. And he's somebody that can get as deep as the deepest and keep everybody lined up. And there's value in that. He will be making, if he's healthy, is a 120 second NFL start. That's why Dennis Allen was at the front of the room on Thursday talking about that giving him a sense of comfort or confidence. Because he doesn't really have to make plays, but you can't allow big plays to be made. There's a difference there. The Bears went from when they lost Kobe Bryant,

20:27and they had to pivot to, this is plan B or C. This is the emergency plan. Yes, it's not something you want to do, but they did it. They went from being a team that wanted to play downhill with their safeties, as they would say, to playing back line. You have to be as deep as the deepest. You're not going to be as aggressive. You can't be in as many man-covered situations. You can't attack to the degree that you may want to or envisioned because you have limitations with some of your talent. You also have an experience with Dillanthineman. That's where Xavier Woods comes in the handiest. Because if he can't play, then Cam Lewis would be the your starter at free safety, one would think. And then you would start Malik Muhammad as a nickelback. As it looks now, Malik Muhammad may get some action, but I would be surprised if Dennis Allen were to start two rookies in the secondary. Because I just think that he did not sound like a guy that yesterday, let me put it the other way.

21:30He sounded like somebody valued experience. And I think that's what Xavier Woods offers more than anything and coaches they like to be able to go to bed at the night before the opener and look at their depth chart and understand that they've got a guy who has made 121 NFL stars before. That's how you feel good about your game plan. So I think if he plays, Bears' defense will feel very good. If he doesn't, I think Bryce Young could have a better day. That's just because they're gonna be more possibility for a big play. All right, that's Bears' defense. When we come back, press Taylor talked about the Bears' offense. In the middle of it, Deandre Swift. We'll talk about him next. It's the pick six. Ruthie is in for Jarrett. It is Harron Peyton, Chicago Sports Radio, 104-3 of the score.