Home Care In Chicago, IL

"Turkey in the Straw" is a terrible song. Grating, plodding, particularly when plinked out on a toy piano. It's also an old minstrel tune, to add an extra layer of offensiveness.

And yet it moves me. In summertime, as I hear the sound, or, even worse, "Pop Goes the Weasel," dopplering toward me, and some powerful primal urge makes me want to grab money — well, really run to my mother and beg her to give me 50 cents, but that isn't a possibility — then rush outside to buy a Chocolate Eclair bar from the ice cream truck. You have to hurry, or you're going to miss it. By the time you hear the music, your chance is already passing by. I don't even like chocolate eclair bars, not being 8 anymore. No matter. Now is the moment to act.

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I call that reaction — the urge to grab something you don't even want because your window of opportunity is limited —"The Ice Cream Truck Reflex," and it's a useful term to remember when confronting any rare, fleeting event, such as this damn solar eclipse Monday afternoon, which I am hoping to muster the strength to avoid, and I am giving you permission to miss, too.

First, been there, done that. In August 2017 I drove down to Carbondale — with my entire family in tow — and occupied a spartan dorm room at Schneider Hall, which Southern Illinois University charged us $800 for three nights in classic soak-the-strangers fashion. (A bargain, actually. The Carbondale Holiday Inn charged $550 a night). For the big moment, we jammed into Saluki Stadium — along with 14,000 other dupes — and kudos for SIU contriving to charge visitors $25 for the privilege of watching what they could see just as well for free by standing in the parking lot and looking up.

Or not see. The day was cloudy. Though that, too, built up the tension, released during the 10 seconds or so when the clouds parted and we actually eyeballed the eclipse. What was it like? "Hot, sweaty, exciting to see bite out of r. side of sun," I noted in my journal. "V. dramatic."

Was it worth three days? Plus that $800 dorm room, and the other expenses (paid for by the paper, true, but I was still offended, on its behalf).

Almost anything you do with your family is by definition worthwhile. A lot changes in seven years — I'd drive back to Carbondale right now for three days if, through some magic, the boys could be unchained from their respective legal oars and lured back home. The fact that something noteworthy might occur in the sky would just be icing on the cake.

So why not look now? Being safety-conscious, I'm worried about blinding myself. A partial eclipse, such as that seen in the Chicago area, even for a few seconds can permanently damage your eyesight. If your eclipse glasses are a cheap knockoff, you can burn your retinas. Is a momentary marvel worth the risk of harming your eyesight forever?

A marvel that really isn't that marvelous when you think about it. Just as a Chocolate Eclair bar doesn't come close to a bowl of real ice cream that can be bought any time at the Graeter's two blocks away, so a solar eclipse isn't nearly as spectacular as a good sunset. It's just rare.

Rare can be good. Fifty years ago, I made a point to step outside my house to see Comet Kohoutek, a big deal in 1973. The thing itself was almost nothing — a faint streak of light. But I saw it, or thought I saw it, and to this day remember standing there, by the sliding glass door in the rec room my father built with his own hands at the back of our suburban ranch house, gazing up at the night sky.

Does an eclipse matter? It does if we say it does. The boys are gone. My wife will be downtown Monday, at work. Maybe that's the trouble: There is something sad about witnessing a marvel alone. So I won't. Unless I do. Grab a cereal box at 2 p.m. — near totality in Chicago is at 2:07 p.m. — quickly construct a pinhole viewer and rush into the front yard to see the crescent shadow wax and wane, secondary and solitary and threadbare though the experience might be. Pretend it matters. Maybe there will be a neighbor or two in the street, and we can jawbone while waiting for the celestial spheres to align. You never know unless you go find out.

CHICAGO -- Shota Imanaga has played alongside Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani with Team Japan, but the Cubs' lefty had never faced the slugger prior to Sunday afternoon. As rain fell on Wrigley Field, Imanaga peered into the batter’s box in the first inning and watched as Ohtani settled into his stance.

“He's very tall,” Imanaga said via his interpreter, Edwin Stanberry. “He has a presence about him.”

Facing Ohtani was a great early test for Imanaga, just as taking on the Dodgers this weekend was an early litmus test for a Cubs team that hopes to take the October stage this fall. With an 8-1 win on Sunday, the North Siders passed this exam by taking two out of three from Los Angeles and its intimidating lineup.

And Imanaga continued to pass his own tests. In the first inning, the lefty engaged in a nine-pitch battle with Ohtani and ended things with an inside fastball that eluded the slugger’s bat for a strikeout. Overall, Imanaga held the first four hitters of L.A’s offense to a 1-for-8 showing in another strong performance.

“He's awesome,” Cubs first baseman Michael Busch said. “That guy, just watching his presence on the mound, there's something about him.”

Here are three takeaways from Sunday’s win over the Dodgers:

1. Shota extends scoreless streak Imanaga was cruising through the Dodgers’ lineup before a two-hour and 51-minute rain delay interrupted his outing in the fourth inning. Up to that point, the lefty was building off his impressive Major League debut against the Rockies and compiling similarly-stellar results.

“He did his job today and he couldn't do anything more than that,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “Mother Nature got in the way of it, but he pitched really well. His pitch count was certainly in a position for him to get deeper in the game.”

Over four innings of work, Imanaga kept Los Angeles off the scoreboard and ended with three strikeouts, no walks and two hits allowed. Through his first two MLB starts, the lefty has racked up 12 strikeouts against no walks in 10 scoreless frames. He leaned heavily on his heater on Sunday and generated eight swinging strikes overall, giving him 28 whiffs on the young season.

Imanaga was not ready to read too much into such a small sample of work.

“The season's going to be really long,” Imanaga said, “so it's not necessarily anything to build confidence. I just want to make sure I stay healthy and then be able to pitch the whole season.”

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Busch shines vs. former team Busch definitely took note of when the Dodgers were going to be visiting Wrigley Field this season. The Cubs' rookie first baseman -- acquired from Los Angeles in a trade on Jan. 11 -- acknowledged as much when asked earlier this weekend if he had this series circled in his mind.

“In a sense,” Busch told reporters. “I also had throwing on a Cubs uniform -- that's pretty special. Being able to play against former teammates, it’s definitely one that was circled. But at the same time, it's another series. It's another chance for us to get a win.”

Busch played a key role in both of Chicago’s wins in the series.

In the 9-7 victory on Friday, Busch launched his first career homer in a Cubs uniform and made a couple slick plays, including snagging the game-ending lineout off the bat of James Outman. After collecting a double in Saturday’s loss, Busch connected for a three-run double in the first inning on Sunday to send the Cubs on their way to the win column.

3. Cubs’ defense shines in series Chicago’s defense -- anchored by Gold Glove shortstop Dansby Swanson and Gold Glove second baseman Nico Hoerner -- made a stream of highlight-reel plays throughout the series. That continued in the finale on Sunday.

In the third, Swanson ranged into the hole to snare a Miguel Rojas grounder and threw across his body, while on the run, to Busch for the out. Hoerner -- who contributed a game-saving diving stop in the fourth inning on Friday -- added a leaping catch to steal a hit away from Will Smith in the seventh on Sunday.

“The more and more I play with them,” Busch said, “the more and more they keep surprising me just a little bit more of just how good they are. And I know they're so good. I mean, they're two Gold Glovers up the middle. And each and every day I play with them, they seem to do something that's just awe. They leave people in awe.”

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Jordan Bastian covers the Cubs for MLB.com. He previously covered Cleveland from 2011-18 and Toronto from 2005-10. Subscribe to his Cubs Beat newsletter.

The Chicago Bears are gearing up for an important 2024 NFL draft, where they’re set to welcome a new franchise quarterback in Caleb Williams and another blue chip player inside the top 10.

Chicago currently only has four draft selections after making a couple of moves this offseason — trading for wide receiver Keenan Allen (for a fourth rounder) and offensive lineman Ryan Bates (for a fifth rounder). But general manager Ryan Poles recently explained that he’s comfortable with just four picks.

“The way this is set up and [with] some of the draft capital we’ve been able to create in the first two years, I feel pretty comfortable about it,” Poles told ESPN. “It’ll be boring if we don’t do any trades, but I feel pretty good about where we’re at.”

NFL.com’s Chad Reuter released a five-round mock draft where the Bears stuck with those four picks in the first four rounds, and they landed some solid talent. Here’s a breakdown of the players sent to Chicago:

Height: 6-foot-1Weight: 214 poundsRAS: N/APFF rank: 1

Reuter: “No surprises here. Williams’ pocket movement, high-arcing deep balls and off-platform playmaking ability could make him a top-five quarterback in time.”

Breakdown: Caleb Williams to the Bears is as close to a guarantee as you can get less than three weeks out from the draft. Following Justin Fields being traded to the Steelers, Chicago is all-in on Williams, who is stepping into arguably the best situation for a No. 1 pick quarterback maybe ever. Williams’ impressive skillset, including his arm strength, accuracy and creativity, coupled with an arsenal of weapons sets him up for a solid rookie season.

Height: 6-foot-3Weight: 247 poundsRAS: 8.84PFF rank: 16

Reuter: “With the draft’s top three receivers already finding new homes by this pick, the Bears take Turner to team with Montez Sweat.”

Breakdown: The Bears still have a pressing need at edge rusher opposite Montez Sweat, so adding arguably the top edge rusher in Alabama’s Dallas Turner, an athletic freak, would be a huge get for this defense. Turner has a quick first step, speed and explosive skillset that would make him an ideal candidate to pair with Sweat.

Height: 6-foot-2Weight: 198 poundsRAS: 9.44PFF rank: 182

Breakdown: The Bears have a dynamic duo at receiver in DJ Moore and Keenan Allen for Williams, and there’s still an opportunity to add to that in the draft. If one of the big three receivers isn’t available, Chicago could address the position in the third round. In this scenario, they land a big slot target in McCaffrey, a quarterback turned receiver. Getting to learn from the likes of Moore and Allen would only help his development and fine tune his skillset.

Height: 6-foot-6Weight: 313 poundsRAS: 7.85PFF rank: 171

Breakdown: Offensive tackle isn’t the biggest need on the roster, and they have a couple of solid bookends in left tackle Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright. Chicago could certainly look to upgrade at left tackle, and he noted how deep this offensive tackle group is. But Rouse projects to be a solid depth option at tackle. He’s got size and intelligence, but he needs to build strength. While Rouse has played primarily at left tackle, he could develop into a solid swing tackle option.

The Bears’ 2024 draft picks have been finalized (they previously traded away fourth- and fifth-round selections this offseason).

Every Monday throughout the 2024 baseball season, I’ll post this article noting three players who have done well for the Cubs over the past week (or a bit more, in the case of this first 2024 article), and also those who we hope will turn things around.

Sh?ta Imanaga, your table is more than ready

The lefthander from Japan has made two starts and both of them have been excellent. Truth be told, he likely would have gone longer Sunday if not for the rain delay, because he’d thrown only 43 pitches in four shutout innings against the Dodgers.

Overall, Imanaga has allowed just four baserunners in 10 innings (all singles) and struck out 12. He’s leading MLB in ERA (0.00), WHIP (0.400) and leading the NL in FIP (0.78). He’s thrown 97 strikes in 135 total pitches.

Here are his nine K’s vs. the Rockies last Monday [VIDEO].

Ian Happ is on a nice little streak

Happ is off to a fine start this year, batting .333/.442/.472 (12-for-36) with eight runs scored and seven walks — all this after missing a lot of Spring Training with a hamstring injury.

Mike Tauchman has been a very valuable player

Tauchman has played in just six of the nine games so far, starting only four of those games. And he has a weird batting line: .182/.500/.273. Yes, a .500 OBP despite that low BA. That’s because he’s walked seven times in 18 plate appearances. He doesn’t have enough PA to qualify, but if he did, that .500 OBP would be tied for second in the NL. And the seven walks are tied for fifth in the league, even with just the 18 PA.

Oh, yes, he plays defense, too [VIDEO].

Honorable mention: Dansby Swanson (eight-game on-base streak) and Seiya Suzuki (.286/.357/.514, second in the NL with 12 RBI)

Kyle Hendricks needs to right the ship, and fast

Kyle’s WHIP and ERA are in the stratosphere, not where you’d want to see them. Kyle had a decent enough year in 2023, and there were hopes he could repeat that. It’s still early, of course, plenty of time to turn things around. Career-wise, too, March/April has been his worst month(s), with a 5.17 ERA before May 1. (Even before this bad start, it was 4.88 before May 1.)

Give The Professor some time, is what I say. He’ll be fine.

What’s going on with Nico Hoerner?

Nico had a bad Spring Training (.176/.192/.255, 9-for-51, no walks). He’s off to a rough start: .133/.333/.133 (4-for-30), though his six walks have boosted his OBP.

It’s early and a small sample size, but... it’d be nice to see Nico get going.

And yes, he plays defense, too [VIDEO].

Miles Mastrobuoni is an afterthought

My guess is that Mastrobuoni is on this team largely because he bats lefthanded. He’s played in just five games, hasn’t started any of them and is 0-for-5 with a walk.

I suspect he might wind up optioned to Triple-A Iowa when Patrick Wisdom is ready to return from his rehab assignment, which could be later this week.

How many games will the Cubs win on their West Coast road trip?

The Cubs beat the Dodgers convincingly Sunday afternoon, 8-1, taking two of three from the team that was supposed to just rip through everyone this year and dominate the sport on the way to a World Series championship.

Oh, that’s not how it works? Right, exactly: That’s not how it works. And the Cubs showed this weekend that they’re a talented team and can match up well with just about everyone in baseball.

Let’s start at the beginning of what became a very, very, very long afternoon.

After a scoreless top of the first by Sh?ta Imanaga, the Cubs got right to work on Dodgers starter Gavin Stone. Ian Happ reached on an error (originally ruled a hit after the Cubs won a challenge) and after a pair of strikeouts, Christopher Morel singled and Dansby Swanson walked to load the bases.

That is just a really, really good piece of hitting by Busch, to the opposite field. It cleared the bases and gave the Cubs a 3-0 lead and really, everyone could have just gone home right then, because the Dodgers offense was missing in this one.

The Cubs were not done scoring, no they were not. Mike Tauchman walked to lead off the second inning and Miguel Amaya singled him to second. Another fly ball put Tauchman on third, where he scored on this sac fly by Seiya Suzuki [VIDEO].

By this time it was raining, and the rain got harder as the innings progressed. The Cubs tacked one more on in the third. Nico Hoerner reached on a throwing error by Mookie Betts, and Tauchman doubled him in to make it 5-0 [VIDEO].

You can see how bad the conditions were and the Dodgers — I suppose not used to playing in the rain — made some more mistakes in the fourth. Happ led off with a double and Suzuki was hit by a pitch. A ground out advanced both runners, where Happ scored on the third Dodger error of the afternoon [VIDEO].

At that point the infield was resembling a lake, with Dodgers players complaining (rightfully so, I’d say) to the umpires, and play was stopped... for a very long time.

From BCB’s JohnW53:

Length of rain delay: 2 hours, 51 minutes. Average time of Cubs’ first eight games before Sunday: 2 hours, 49 minutes

When play resumed much, much later (and truth be told, I bailed at the delay), the seventh Cubs run of the day scored on this fielder’s choice by Swanson [VIDEO].

Imanaga, of course, did not return after the delay, but his four innings were just as good, if perhaps not a bit better, than his home opener outing against the Rockies. He allowed two hits, both singles; no Dodger got past first base in the first four innings, and he struck out three. He threw 43 pitches, 32 of which were strikes. Obviously at some point the league will adjust to Imanaga, but it sure looks like the Cubs got a keeper here:

Shota Imanaga to start his MLB career:10.0 IP, 4 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 Walks, 12 K

Yency Almonte threw a scoreless fifth and Mark Leiter Jr. a scoreless sixth. Then Cody Bellinger completed the Cubs scoring with this line drive home run in the seventh [VIDEO].

Did I say line drive? Check out the launch angle on this one! [VIDEO]

Daniel Palencia completed the game on the mound. Palencia was recalled from Triple-A Iowa today as Julian Merryweather was placed on the 15-day injured list with what’s termed a right shoulder strain. That’s clearly concerning, but if Palencia can throw like he did in this one, the Cubs should be all right. Palencia allowed one hit, an RBI double by Shohei Ohtani, in three innings of work while posting his first MLB save. That was a good time for him to have an outing like this, to save the rest of the pen and maybe show the brass that he can stick in the major leagues.

Palencia did get some defensive help from Hoerner in the seventh [VIDEO].

To recap: The Cubs sure showed in this series that they can play with the big boys. They had some excellent pitching and a lot of quality at-bats. The complaint department is closed.

Well, except for the weather. Let me just say that while I’m certainly glad the Cubs won this game, it probably should not have been played, not in these weather conditions, and not with a delay that long. There were potential makeup dates later in the year, and I’m going to put this one on MLB’s seeming desire to never, ever postpone a game at Wrigley Field. It’s mystifying. The Twins and Guardians were postponed in Minnesota today. “But Al,” you’ll say, “that’s a divisional game.” Yep, sure is, and why can’t the Cubs get those in April? There isn’t an NL Central opponent at Wrigley until May 3 (Brewers). I’ll simply reiterate my three potential solutions to forcing the Cubs to play in this garbage weather:

Playing in conditions like today were, as you likely saw, not conducive to MLB-quality baseball. And again — the Cubs won, so we’ll certainly take it. But going forward, MLB has to do better.

The Cubs now head on a 10-day, nine-game road trip to San Diego, Seattle and Arizona, where the weather should be much, much better (and six of those nine games will be indoors). It begins Monday night with a contest against the Padres. Javier Assad will start for the Cubs and old friend Yu Darvish will start for San Diego. Game time Monday is 8:40 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

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