Mets to make the playoffs; at FanGraphs, 47 of 55 staff members picked them to make the playoffs.The Houston Astros are on pace for

CHICAGO -- Derrick Rose tried watching the video tribute to him and Joakim Noah during a first-quarter timeout in their return to Chicago on Friday night.Noah, though, would have none of it.I watched some of it, but Jo was telling me to stay focused, Rose said. I had to listen to my big brother at that time.Stay focused they did.Perhaps inspired by the emotional homecoming, the New York Knicks shrugged off their early season struggles for a 117-104 victory over the Bulls.Kristaps Porzingis had 27 points and Carmelo Anthony added 25 to help New York (2-3) snap a two-game losing streak. The night, though, belonged to the former Bulls.Rose, Chicagos first-round draft pick in 2008, finished with 15 points and 11 assists (five in the fourth quarter), while Noah, a 2007 first-rounder, had 16 points and nine rebounds. They teamed up to play a familiar two-man game late as New York held off a Chicago rally.Noah hadnt scored more than six points in a game this season and was held scoreless in two of the previous four games.Were still trying to find ourselves as a team, Noah said, but Im not going to lie: this win felt really good.Dwyane Wade led Chicago (3-2) with 35 points on 12-for-20 shooting and Jimmy Butler added 26 points.We didnt come out with the right mentality, Wade said.When asked if the game meant more to Rose and Noah, Wade said: Anybody could sense that.Both Rose and Noah received loud ovations from the United Center crowd during pregame introductions, although there were some boos mixed in for Rose. The Chicago native also was booed every time he touched the ball in the first couple of minutes.I love when the crowd is into it, Rose said. I knew there was going to be some yells, I knew there were going to be some boos. Im from here, Im used to it. Ive been getting it since I was in sixth grade going to play on the West Side and me being from the South Side.New York broke open a close game by scoring 10 straight points to begin the fourth quarter for a 94-81 lead with 9 minutes to play.The Knicks led by as much as 98-83 before the Bulls rallied within 108-102 with just under 2 minutes to go. But Rose ended any hopes of a comeback with a three-point play on the next possession.TIP-INSKnicks: F Lance Thomas was inactive because of a sprained left ankle. He is listed as day-to-day. ... Noah played just 29 games last season before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. Right now, Im just happy to be on the court, he said.Bulls: Doug McDermott, who missed Wednesdays game at Boston with a concussion, was cleared by the NBAs concussion protocol earlier Friday. ... Wade had five 3-pointers to give him 10 in five games this season. He had a total of seven last season.REGRETSOn the day the Cubs celebrated their World Series title, Rose said the biggest disappointment during his time in Chicago was not leading the Bulls to a championship.Only thing I can do about that is say I gave it my all, he said. I really tried. I had multiple times, many times, where I envisioned winning a championship here. It never happened, so Ive got to take (those) visions and take them to New York.MOVING ONNoah said he wasnt surprised management broke up the Bulls core following last season.I think it was time for a change, he said. I look back on (last season) and I was definitely frustrated. There was definitely a lot of adversity going on there. Now I can look back at it and see where went wrong. Its not about blaming one person. Everybody in that locker room is good people. Its just (stuff) happens.We didnt make the playoffs. Everybody was disappointed. It was a team that had high expectations.UP NEXTKnicks: Host Utah on Sunday. Coach Jeff Hornacek spent seven seasons with the Jazz as a player.Bulls: At Indiana on Saturday seven days after shooting 52.3 percent (42.9 on 3-pointers) in a blowout win against the Pacers in Chicago.White Sox Jerseys China . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. White Sox Jerseys 2019 . -- Jacksonville wide receiver Cecil Shorts will likely be a game-time decision whether hell play Sunday in the Jaguars home game against the San Diego Chargers. https://www.cheapwhitesox.com/ . Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on the indoor hard-court at Belgrade Arena. The victory improved the Czech pairs impressive cup doubles record to 14-1. Chicago White Sox Shirts . However, he did make them miss him a little less. Cundiff, who had the unenviable job of replacing Dawson last season, agreed Thursday to a one-year, $1. Cheap White Sox Jerseys .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again.As we head into the final quarter, lets take stock of a season that in many ways has gone as expected: The National League is largely split into the haves and the have-nots, the AL East race is tightly fought among multiple teams, and the AL wild card has many contenders.Which teams have been the biggest surprises and disappointments? One way to look at this is to compare each teams current record with its preseason projected record. I took each teams win-loss mark entering Sunday, projected that over 162 games and compared that win total with the average preseason projection from ZiPS, FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus.Five biggest overachievers: Texas Rangers: +14 Baltimore Orioles: +11 Chicago Cubs: +10 Washington Nationals: +9 Philadelphia Phillies: +9Five biggest underachievers: Tampa Bay Rays: -14 Minnesota Twins: -13 Los Angeles Angels: -13 Arizona Diamondbacks: -12 Atlanta Braves: -12By this accounting, the New York Mets?are not the most disappointing team as many would suggest, as their preseason projections pegged them for 89 wins and theyre on pace for 80. On the other hand, the Mets were favorites to win the NL East, or at least win a wild card, and even the latter now appears unlikely.dddddddddddd Most ESPN voters picked the Mets to make the playoffs; at FanGraphs, 47 of 55 staff members picked them to make the playoffs.The Houston Astros are on pace for 83 wins, just three below their projected win total of 86. They currently, however, will be watching the playoffs on television, which means all 55 FanGraphs voters will be wrong.The Rangers have exceeded expectations thanks to a remarkable 27-8 record in one-run games. The Orioles have overachieved, at least in comparison to the projection systems, but as Orioles fans will happily point out, the projection systems seem to always underrate their team. Some fans will view this as an indictment of the projection systems. See, theyre wrong again. Theres also a margin of error, however, so its really just proof that -- thankfully -- baseball still remains unpredictable.Anyway, I wanted to look at some of the major offseason moves of a few teams and reflect on how theyve affected the current standings. ' ' '