So much for the mantra the Cubs will pick things up after the all star break. The offense is stagnant and broadcasters have said that no one will reach 95 wins this season. Changes need to be made up and down in management and it’s scary to say that Joe Maddon might be amongst the changes. A manager can only work with what he has been given  and what is missing is numerous and have been mentioned here before: Bullpen. Lead off hitter. Get rid of Addison Russell for a bag of baseballs if need be. Demoting him only means he’ll be back this season. The Cubs are imploding within the division with the exception of the St. Louis Cardinals who have managed to find themselves at the top of the division. That certainly isn’t because they’ve gone on some magical run but because the rest of the dumpster fire of a division is doing nothing to try to win it. The Cubs still have some very young and talented players so there is no need to blow things and start over. Maybe a mid season trade can give them a boost. But it might be a bunch of trades to right the ship. God forbid if the Cubs did let Maddon go (Epstein needs to go with him), likely they’ll go after a younger manager probably a current bench coach. I’m sorry to say if only a few of them go and not the entire front office we’ll be saying the same things next year.

All eyes on the Atlantic League, a minor league that has started using “robotic umpires.” Now there are not actually any robots on the field in fact there are still umpires to n the field. The robot is currently for calling balls and strikes. A strange thing Is that the on field umpire can overrule the robot. Players have said they don’t have any problems with it beyond there being a delay between the pitch reaching the catchers glove and the call. So a called third strike may not get to the field before the player is halfway down to first base on a 3-2 count. Players have said they like it because the robot calls strikes in different parts of the zone that an umpire usually calls a ball. There is even an idea of stealing first base. I’m not going to consider player feelings on this one. That’s just dumb. That’s just MLB over thinking things if they’re even considering this. There was already talk of putting a runner on second base to start an inning in extras. I didn’t quibble with the pitch clock or other moves coming next season; such as a relief pitcher facing three batters and the reconfigurations of the trade deadline. But messing with the fundamentals of the great game is just bad magic.

There is talk of the state building a casino in Chicago. There are a ton of hotels going up in downtown just need to build a hotel around a casino like they  do in Vegas. Where would you build one in the city? What kind of element would it bring in? I was in favor of one years ago like my college days when I said marijuana should be legalized. With age we all know things change. I’m against legalization of marijuana because of the low paying jobs that drug test to keep “certain people” out. A dedicated casino would bring in revenue surely but unless you build on Lake Michigan with crazy security it’ll turn into a strip club culture with ridiculous amount of crime. So let’s keep it safe and reputable with a hotel around it that way only the people staying at the hotel can participate. That last part I kind of just threw in because I’m not sure how much that will matter or affect the hotels revenue by being selective in that way. But with the building boom that already has begun it’s just a matter of adjusting (which is not as easy as it sounds). Imagine how many jobs can be created by this from construction to the people working the tables. And a centralized location for gambling which former Governor Quinn was against it because of Illinois history with organized crime. Indiana has been doing it for years and I haven’t heard of anything crazy going on there. Matter of fact they are the reason why this needs to happen in Chicago. Once again not a dedicated one but a hotel.