Pick 6: Another injury in the Cubs bullpen

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! What was worse, the Cubs scoring five against the Miz and losing, or Jacob Webb, bruising his right arm, and possibly being unavailable for the rest of the season out of the bullpen? X-rays were negative on Jacob, fortunately. He's got a, you know, he's in a little bit of pain and he's got a pretty big bruise, or it's going to be a big bruise, so he's a little sore, but X-rays are negative. X-rays negative, so what was worse? The right forearm, yeah, and the kind of the meat part of the forearm. Sorry, Craig, what was worse? Well, the meaty part of the forearm is not the forearm part of the forearm, you want to hurt.

1:01You don't want to injure any part of the forearm, or any part of the right side for a pitcher. I think Dr. Council, fine, X-rays are negative, don't know if the Jacob Webb, that wakes up this morning, will feel like he can pitch this week. Hopefully, he can pitch this month. I don't know. We're not supposed to say that, but how can we speculate? I don't know, but I suspect this, with Cubs pitching and injuries this season, aren't we all conditioned to fearing the worst? Don't we expect more bad news? From Palencia to go down a long list of guys, Cabrera, who? Exactly, he's coming back, right? He's coming back. We're gonna crack talk about the A-Sray. Yeah, his blisters healed, but I feel like Jacob Webb put himself in a position,

2:04or Christian Yelich, put Jacob Webb in the position with a 102 mile-prower line drive off his meaty forearm to be suspect the rest of the season. So until we get good news, I'm gonna assume bad news, and now I don't know what happens to the ninth. And I'm not encouraged, there is no silver lining, that Jacob Webb has not been great in the last 10 days. I still think he overall has been reliable, and was part of your presumed big three. And we talk about the Brewers Big Three with Ashby, with Yeree Bay, with McGill. The Cubs ideally were had Palencia, Zephyr John, and Webb. I don't know that you trust either one of the Cubs Big Three, and now it's even harder to say that because of Jacob Webb's injury. So I think that was tougher than losing to a Brewers team, even though you chased the Miz with five runs. It's 605, and we gotta take counsel in his word.

3:05It's 605 on a Thursday. Losing to the Brewers when you had the Miz have career worst, career worst things happen to him, and you couldn't hold on, you couldn't take that, that is worse this morning. If Webb's arm was broken, the conversation would be different. But at 605, in a minute it'll be 606, we don't know what is going on with his arm. He seems like a tough guy. He seems like a tough guy. There's enough ad villain, enough ice. I don't think he's going to be afraid. I don't think is, I mean, we're worried about, where are we getting a month or pitching again? I mean, you almost sound like Kyler Gordon's injury here. I mean, is he going to have to make a tiktok, David, for you to be okay? Is that what's going to happen? Pictures are delicate flowers. I don't think he's a delicate flower. We're going to have to ask Tommy Tottie, how delicate Mr. Webb is at 825. I'm split with this. It's hard for me because, yeah, you had the miz on the ropes and you couldn't capitalize.

4:10That right there is the way that that game started, I was thinking that this offense was holy cow. Like, this is an opportunity for them to get a dub, but also to get after him. With his worst outing of the season, they couldn't capitalize to me just a little concerning. Where the offense went flat as the game went on. But when it comes to Jacob Webb, Dustin, it's a part of your grip strength is a part of your spin rate. How you can grip a baseball, a lot of that comes from right here. I just don't know from your form. I don't know how long that goes, right? And so for these guys that like to throw the breaking balls and all that stuff, that might take a little time. Not saying it's the rest of the season, but I think it's going to take some time to let that forearm here. Could it be the meteor, the forearm, the more intense the injury is? I don't know, but have you ever, have you ever got hit here and then tried to grip something

5:12before? It's hard to do. Have you? Yeah. I mean, trying to hold a foot, but I don't have the meaty forearm. I mean, I've taken some shots. All right, Papa. Hey, no. I haven't had my spinach yet today. I haven't had it yet, but it probably sounds like it because I'm awake. Let's go, baby. Let's go. You know, I actually, that was going to be my first question to him. We just need a little corn cob pipe. What was your evaluation of the return of Davis Martin for the white socks against the Astros? And is it too early to start wondering about magic numbers? I was pleasantly surprised with Davis Martin in his return back. I mean, five and two thirds, give it five hits, no runs, one walk, three strikeouts, 80 pitches, 55 of those are strikes. So I love seeing that you come back off the IEL, you start to feel like yourself a little bit. It can always go one way or the other. You could be rocky. You could have a rough start. But for him, he, to me, was the player of the game, gave the white socks an opportunity

6:15and a chance to win that game last night. And no, Dustin, I don't think it is. I don't think it's too early. How many games up 20, 20, was it magic number 21? Magic number is 22. 22? Hey, I don't think it is. Why not? Let's have some fun here. Let's have some fun. There's still a first in the vision. Let's go. I'm down south side as you know what time it is. It's never too early. If you're a white socks fan and to your enjoy this. Yes. But I'm not enjoying as a cubs fan this morning seeing that the brewer's magic number is 14. Oh, 14 is the brewer's magic number. Davis Martin last night through three innings, 28 pitches, 21 strikes. He looked good. You, you, you're dying as a fan for somebody like this. He went into, he went deep into that game on his return, right? He's not got as many miles on that arm as other guys because he missed some time.

7:18And you're looking for somebody to, to be that guy. And you know, the guy you traded for who's supposed to be that guy throws this afternoon. Tonight, this afternoon, it'd be really nice to see Louise Castillo look like a guy who's owed 30 plus million dollars last year and is looking like a guy who can take the ball and game one of a playoff series for you. That would be a welcome sight because what's happened down in Houston as the socks, unfortunately, they've lost two or three right now is that Sean Burke has responded after an eight walk outing and looked like the guy who was a top or the rotation starter. And last night, even though the bats didn't show up, you saw Davis Martin look like the guy he was through the first three months of the season, a top of the rotation starter. Okay. So if that has elevated the standard and reset it where it was, the first half of the season for White Sox starting pitching.

8:19Now Louise Castillo goes out and if he meets that standard, you can see why the socks have optimism with their one, two, and three guys, which is in the playoffs. All you need, I mean, you need three starters. Anthony K could fit in here and there. Sean Newcombe could fit in here and there. You know, we're grand tailor could fit in anywhere. So Davis Martin, five and two thirds last night was significant in terms of return because you talk about Awees and injuries and all the things, the blister surfacing. I don't know if Davis Martin went on the I L because of a blister or because he had a tired arm, whatever the case is, it worked. As for magic numbers, absolutely. You're right, JP. They've got 23 games left and they're feeling like Taylor Swift. 22 is the magic number. 22. That's retainable. Unbelievable. And that is that is something that you want to talk about embrace and enjoy because this

9:22has been a special season. It's been so magical. They're giving out magic. Wines Friday night at the rate. I'm not talking necessarily about a pick six or something like that. That's the voice of Brad Biggs. Bigs time. 725 this morning with Haw and Jared Peyton in his annual feature, the four letter networks Dan Graziano speculated that he wouldn't be surprised if the Bears traded for a defensive end, but didn't say before the season or during. Do you think Ryan Poles will pull that trigger if so when? Well, I love these kind of stories that speculate and leave people wondering. And I know that's an annual thing and it gives national guys reasons to pose possibilities based on conversations. They may have off the record with executives and coaches. Dan Graziano is doing his part to contribute to the speculative nature of what happens next with the Bears roster. But I've looked at it this way. You want to name names? I think I'll name names.

10:25If they'd make a trade before Labor Day or if you recall one Saturday morning in 2018 over Labor Day weekend, the Bears traded for Calil Mac and changes their season. Calil Mac in 2018 coming to Chicago changed that year. The Bears are going to have a good season. I don't think they need to make that kind of a deal. If they do, you hear the name Josh Sweat. You hear the name Josh Sweat rumored to be or linked to the Packers. You don't want that if you're the Bears. You don't want that. So maybe you get involved just as a block just because I know his limitations. He might be too expensive. But I think Josh Sweat is a name I thought of when I saw that from Graziano. Now if you go into the season and you get near the deadline, obviously Max Crosby keep an eye on that. If the Raiders start two and five like they're likely to because they just named Crosby the quarterback and they overdraft it for an anemondosa and they've all kinds of problems.

11:28Maybe they move Max Crosby. Yes, I do believe that it would surprise me if the Bears by the end of the season haven't made a move to supplement a pass rush that needs a boost. Well they need a boost. There's no doubt about that. Here's my problem with this Ford Letter Network report and these kind of reports in general. Is that that report specifically did not mention a name other than the names of people on the Bears? We know who's on the Bears. We're looking to add people to the Bears. That's what we're looking to do. What's going on with Booker? Where is Booker? When is Booker going to... If you don't have Booker for a significant amount of time, if Booker ends up on the pup somehow or something like that and he's not back until week five, then you have to do something. Are you going to get all this pass rush from the interior?

12:30Is Dio ready? Do they believe in Dio? Because David, after that report came out, which is about 20 hours ago right now, seven hours ago, Dan Graziano, the Ford Letter Network reports, the Cardinals of Whole teams, they're not interested in trading sweat. Whom they paid $7.2 million option in bonuses before the season. Oh, so which one is it? Well, let's get question four. Brad Biggs, 725. I'm going to... I'm going to go with... I do believe that Ryan Poles makes a move. I just don't think it's... Soon. I don't think it's before Carolina. I don't think it's before week one. I think a lot of this stuff is... He hears a lot of noise from outside of that locker room in Halles Hall. And I don't think he is... I don't think he's moved by well. Now I have to make a move because I hear all the chatter. I think what he's going to do is... And he understands that... That that room when it comes to getting after the quarterback, the guys that are in that

13:32room, it's not finished. He's going to make a move, but he's going to do it on time. I think he's going to watch the first four weeks of the season and see how this thing plays out. And so to Dustin's point, I believe that they know a little bit more about Austin Booker and then we do because he's probably going to be ready because if not, I think they would have a little bit of concern when it comes to getting after the quarterback. I'm not sure if Dio is going to be ready, but I do know he's going to be motivated. So I think the first three to four games is going to be an audition. He's going to be watching and making sure. And then by that time, if things aren't right and this team's all right, then I feel like it's an opportunity. Do you think that Dio would dang Bo can have the kind of season that he was paid to have last year, but didn't I can't be no, I can't. There's too many question marks about him coming back off of injury that I don't know

14:33what kind of player he's going to be. And I've seen a little bit of him, but you still have to be able to be effective and be the guy that that they paid you to be. You need to be available for the whole entire season. That's it. That's it. And it's hard. And I wish I could look into my crystal ball and say he's going to be ready to go, but I kill these. I've never had that type of injury before, DH. I don't know what that's like, but the people that I know that have had it, it's hard. And it's hard to trust your body again and to be as physical and go as hard on the field all the time. So there's, I don't know. So make a move. It's just not going to be as fast as probably Bears fans want him to. If you got any best answers, some of these questions are Dennis Allen and we're not going to hear from him for another couple of weeks, I would imagine. This is going to be another good question from Brad Bigg. So again, it joins us at 7.25 this morning. Dennis Allen had this to say about Jaylen Johnson's preseason progress.

15:33More specifically, the last two weeks, you know, when you talk about really the joint practice against Cincinnati, his mindset going into the joint practice versus Tennessee, I've seen a guy that's really kind of taken a step forward. I think he himself probably feels more like himself and I've been really pleased with what I've seen out of him in particular over the course of the last two weeks. I think his leadership has started to, you know, kind of come to the forefront a little bit and that's needed. You know, we need him to play at a very high level for us to be successful. And I think he understands that. I think he accepts that challenge. I think he's looking forward to it. So how much could a strong season from Johnson go towards helping a Bears defense that needs its great players to play? Well, great. Huge. Having a motivated and healthy Jaylen Johnson, I think goes a long way.

16:35You can hear it in the voice of DA. He's like, he's one of those other guys that is a football lifer who doesn't just say things, the say things behind a mic. He's very intent with what he wants from his guys and to hear him talk about those joint practices and that Jaylen starting to look like himself again, that gives me hope because David, we look at this team and we watch this team all the time and listen, you want everybody to be great. But what you need is 11 guys, especially on that defense to be good at what they do. But also an added bonus, you need three guys on that defense to be great. And if Jaylen Johnson is one of those guys that is going to be great, man, that solves a huge, huge problem because that's locking down a guy on that defense. I mean, on that offense, who, excuse me, who's your number one wide receiver and you can kind of know that, hey, he's got this on this side.

17:36It's locked down on this side and he's playing well and when he's playing well, man, he's one of the best. But we didn't get a chance to see that and it was cut off due to injury. And I know he fought his way back. But if he is that guy, it helps out Dennis Allen and what he can do defensively as well as they try to figure out some other holes that are still on that defense. Yeah, I mean, if you can't get to the quarterback, you better be able to hold up in the back end of the secondary and Jaylen Johnson. What did he say earlier this year, David? Like, I'm in a contract year. I'm putting out tape for everybody. So he's definitely motivated and you love, you love when players are motivated by their paychecks. I didn't like it when he came into camp and that was the first thing that we attributed to Jaylen Johnson, the fact that he was putting things on tape and he worried about the 31 other teams and all of those things that made him cast him as a little bit selfish. And yet I understand in retrospect what he was saying, maybe motivating himself, but

18:40I think you can accept it better now because you know what he did? He backed it up. He came in talking big and then he's backed it up. And I do think Dennis Allen went out of his way to point out that Jaylen Johnson not just making plays and being technically sound and looking like the guy he was pre-injury, but he's been a leader that they need. And let's face it, even though he's a pro-ball caliber player and maybe the best player at his position on that defense for the Bears, you can never hear enough praise or it's good when coaches build up their guys publicly. Number one, because it's good business. And secondly, it's good for the confidence. It reinforces things that are going positively for Jaylen Johnson. So I like this development. I think that Jaylen Johnson, if he stays healthy, can offset some of these other weaknesses that the Bears have on their defense, including a pass rush, including lack of depth in the

19:42secondary. You have a cornerback that can really erase half the field with the best receiver. It's a different game to call if you're Dennis Allen. So that's the key thing and that's the most important thing because the Bears have a difference making cornerback and he's playing like it and backing it up. I want a selfish Jaylen Johnson. You want him out there proving that? I want him selfish. Yeah, I want him to do. It's a contract here. So guess what, if we're getting your best, you might not be here. I get that, but if you're out here giving your best, oh man, I'll take that any day. Cornerbacks are different breeds. They are. He's dudes. They're going up against the other best athletes all the football fans. Also realize what's going on here. You've got 3.5 seconds that you want the quarterback to hold the ball for, right? Yes. If you have a cornerback that is covering the intended receiver more times and not and he does that extra split second of coverage and he doesn't have that window open, all of a sudden

20:43your quarterback is holding the ball a split second longer, which gives the Austin Booker's the diode angles and the Montess sweats more time to collapse the pocket and get in the way. And think about the receivers just in the division that he has to go up against. I mean, this is, we'll get into that later. Come on. He's the best receiver in the division. That's a great debate, even though Justin Jefferson, I think, is at the top and then there's everyone else speaking of defensive backs. Yesterday we heard from Kyle Gord, no, no, wait. We didn't hear from him, but we saw him in a video. We'll talk about next at pick six continues. It's on Peyton Chicago Sports Radio, one of four three this score.