Final Thoughts on Chicago Sports

Cubs come home a half game out of first

The Cubs won four of six on their road trip to St. Louis and Cincinnati while the Brewers dropped six of eight against the same two teams.  The Brewers are pretty wretched on the road, and it's starting to look more and more like the Cubs are going to take this division.  They're in pretty good shape in the wild card race, as well.  And now the 64,000 dollar question.  Should they make another move before the July 31st trading deadline?

Sure, if you can get something decent without giving up the farm.  Here would be my wish list:

1. Ken Griffey, Jr. - They get him and the offense will be complete.  I'm not sure they can afford to give up Marshall at this point unless they immediately were to fill that hole with another....
2. Starting Pitcher - I'm about two crappy starts away from pulling Marquis from the rotation.  I don't know who's available, but I do know that I probably won't survive  two-and-a-half more years of Marquis.  I don't expect him to pitch the way he did in April and May, but if he could, say, keep his ERA around 4.20...that's all the Cubs would need.  Is that too much to ask?
3. A lights-out lefty reliever.  Ohman's OK.  Eyre is pretty shot.  Speaking of, you knows what annoys me?  When Eyre comes in (mostly to mop up), he gets two quick outs, then struggles mightily to get the third out.  It can never be easy with that guy.  And then Len and Bob start offering words of encouragement for him, because he's a great guy and he's had five scoreless appearances in a row.  Well you know what?  In half those appearances, someone had to come bail him out, and in none of them did he record a 1-2-3.  So don't sugarcoat it.  Just cut him and be done with it.

And that's really about it.  I'm somewhat content with Jacque Jones at this point, mostly because he's actually been hitting lately and his horrendous arm doesn't seem to showcase itself from Center Field as much as it did from Right.  Still, any move to displace him would be welcome as well. 

Let's go Cubs!

Bears acquire Darwin Walker

The Bears traded a fifth round pick to Buffalo to acquire a veteran Defensive Tackle to replace Tank Johnson.  Walker was traded to Buffalo in the offseason and naturally he was upset about it.  (Wouldn't you be?)  So the Bears took their disgruntled whiner off their hands, and in the process picked up a five-year starter who can get to the Quarterback.  Oh, and he's happy to be here and away from Dick Jauron.  (Wouldn't you be?)  Walker should immediately vault to the starting lineup if not be the first guy off the bench in the rotation on the line.  What a great pickup for the Bears.  One huge concern of this team has been filled.  Pair that with the Briggs and Archuleta signings, and the defense is both deep and has no holes.  I don't really see how the defense can finish outside the top 5 in 2007.

Still some concern on the offense, of course, but hey!  The offense looked great on the first day of Training Camp!  So we got that to look forward to. 

Bear Down!

Lance folds and signs with Bears

Turns out Lance Briggs ain't no dummy after all.  He signed a one-year deal for the same $7.2 million dollars he vehemently rejected multiple times over the past several months. 

"There's a difference between the Chicago Bears team and the Chicago Bears organization," Briggs said. "The Chicago Bears team? The coaches, players, city and fans? Yeah, I could stay there forever. I love it. But the Chicago Bears organization? I don't want to be there anymore. I won't play for them and I'll do everything in my power to keep from playing there. Whatever options are available to me, I'll take advantage of them. But going back and playing for the Bears again, no, I don't see that as an option. Not one more day. Not at all." - Lance Briggs in March

Funny how one's attitude changes when he loses his options.  He couldn't sign with another team for a big extension, he couldn't sign with the Bears for a big extension.  It was $7.2 million or nothing.  Here's another funny one:

"Lance decided it was in his best interests, and those of the Bears, to play football in 2007, and to be in camp on time preparing to do so," agent Drew Rosenhaus said Monday evening. "He wants to create the most positive atmosphere possible for himself, and he did not want this to be a distraction to the team. It's a good compromise for everyone involved." - Rosenhaus

What exactly was the compromise?  The Bears won this round.  Lance gets a million bucks up front as sort of a bonus to save face, but really, this is the same deal the Bears offered back in April.  Sign the deal, and we won't franchise you next season and you'll be free to leave.

Oh well, no sense gloating.  I thought the Bears would be OK without Briggs but they're obviously far better off with Briggs in the lineup.  Just one less thing to worry about in 2007.  Will Jamar Williams and Michael Okwo replace Briggs adequately?  Won't have to find out till next year. 

The Bears made another signing this week, locking up Peanut Tillman for the long haul.  Tillman will join Nathan Vasher in the secondary for the next six years.  A great pair of moves by the Bears.  It's somewhat easy to find a solid linebacker.  In the last fifteen years, even in the down years, the Bears have always had one or two decent LBs in the lineup.  Whether you're talking about Urlacher, Briggs, Roosevelt Colvin, Warrick Holdman, Barry Minter, or even Dante Jones.  They've always found decent Linebackers.   At corner?  Hardly.  Between Donnell Woolford and Peanut Tillman there was a whole slew of crap.  The Bears are wise to not mess around with the good thing they have with Vasher and Tillman.

Bear Down!

Bears Biggest Concerns going into 2007

As previously noted, again and again and again, the recent history for the Super Bowl losing team is not good.  Of the last seven losers, only the Seahawks have returned to the playoffs the following year.  So with the dawn of Training Camp upon us, let's take a look at what the Bears will need in order to buck the trend and get back to the Super Bowl.

• Health.  First and foremost, the Bears need to stay healthy.  If they stay healthy, I think the roster is good enough and young enough to not experience much of a dropoff this year, if at all.  They lose one or two key guys, though, and they could very well go 6-10.  Here's one man's view of the most important Bears:
• Brian Urlacher - We saw how good the team was in 2004 without the face of the franchise.  5-4 with him, 0-7 without him. 
• Tommie Harris - Now that Tank is gone, Harris' return from injury is vital because this line simply doesn't have much depth.  I bet the Bears are now wishing they kept Ian Scott.  He wasn't a star but he was dependable, and dependable would look awfully good right about now.
• Olin Kreutz and John Tait - The whole offensive line, really.  The starters are very soild, but they're also very old.  Two guys go down and this line would tumble like a deck of cards. 
• Mike Brown - I'm hesitant to put his name on the list because he's become so fragile, and with the addition of Archuleta, he's not quite as important to the success of the team.  Still, there was a noticeable dropoff when he got hurt last year, and it'd really be nice to have him in the playoffs.
• Cedric Benson - I like Adrian Peterson and Garrett Wolfe, but neither exactly gives me the warm fuzzies.
• Speaking of, Benson needs to take a huge step forward.  He got his wish, he's the man.  He better have a big year this year or the fans will turn on him faster than you can say Rashaan Enis.
• A receiver needs to step up.  The Bears didn't draft anyone, and no big-time free agents were signed.  So they're going with what they got, and what they got ain't a lot.  I like Berrian a lot, but he's more of a complimentary player than a star.  Moose is supposed to be a star, but he's more of a possession guy than his salary would suggest.  Mark Bradley might be the best receiver they have, but it doesn't matter how good you are if you can't stay on the field.   Surprisingly enough, G-Reg Olsen might be the answer hear, or at least that's what I'm hoping.
• Finally, Rex Grossman needs to step it up, big time.  I think the Bears have no choice but to go into the season with Sexy Rexy lined up under center, but he can't have a repeat of last year's disaster.  Sure, his 23 TDs were great, but his 20 picks and dozen fumbles were inexcusable.  He needs 25+ TDs and less than 15 turnovers this year or we're looking at a repeat of last year, at best. 

And there you go.  Bear Down in 07!

Izturis, Bonds, Wood, and Kendall

Cesar Izturis, Barry Bonds, Kerry Wood, and Jason Kendall.  What do these guys have in common?  They're all in the news this week.

• Cesar Izturis got traded to Pittsburgh for a PTBNL.  I was hoping for a nice set of steak knives, but a (most likely) minor-league-never-will-be will have to do.  I suspect Ronny Cedeno will be back up with the big club before you know it, as Theriot's the only real Shortstop on the roster.  Cedeno, in case you hadn't heard, has been tearing it up in AAA.  That's nice to see, but I wouldn't expect him to be much more than a bench player with the big club.  The Riot is on fire.
• Barry Bonds hit two homers today, and Wrigley was electric every time he came to the plate.  Hate him or really hate him, Bonds is, both literally and figuratively, larger than life.  PEDs or not, he's easily the best hitter we've seen.  (Unless you saw Willie Mays or Ted Williams -- but Bonds is it if you're under 40.)
• Kerry Wood is rehabbing in Arizona and feeling no pain.  He's been a punch line around here more times than one, but I really hope he can come back from whatever has been ailing him.  He truly put the Phenom in Phenomenal, and it'd be a justice to see him contributing on the mound in a pennant race. 
• The more I think about the Jason Kendall trade, the more I like it.  And that's after watching him muff two balls in his debut Tuesday night, and go hitless in his first eight plate appearances as a Cub.  Here's why:

  • Despite his current average, he's not a .226 hitter. A lot of people talk about "small sample size" when ridiculing Hendry for pointing out Jason hit .295 over the last 26 games and .286 in Interleague play. But you tell me what's a small sample size, the first 9 weeks of 2007 where he hit .215 or the last three years where he compiled a .295/.370/.351?

  • Further, the Cubs have playoffs on their mind. Sure, Triple-A-backstop Geovany Soto is probably a better hitter right now. But who would you rather have catching in the playoffs? A rookie with 3-months big league experience or a vet that the A's pitchers raved about? The Cubs know Soto's defense better than anyone. And besides, let's say Soto hits .280, Kendall .250. That's one hit every two weeks. Or roughly one hit every other playoff round. 

  • FINALLY, Kendall's only under contract for 2007. With the combined .140 hitting Bowen and Hill, and the injured Blanco, this really was a no brainer.

All in all, I'm just happy the season isn't over yet.  Meaningful baseball with August right around the corner.  Let's go Cubs!

Cubs Acquire Kendall

During a great comeback win against the Giants tonight, the Cubs traded Rob Bowen, a minor leaguer, to Oakland for Catcher Jason Kendall and cash.  Interesting move.  I would have loved it about five years ago, but now I'm not so sure.  My initial thoughts were, "Great! They're making a run at it and now they've got a catcher!!!"  You always want to see your team buying at the deadline instead of selling.  It's a good feeling.  But Jason Kendall, currently hitting .226?  I'll let the Cubs spin this one, courtesy an email to my inbox tonight:

The Chicago Cubs acquired catcher Jason Kendall on Monday from the Oakland Athletics for catcher Rob Bowen and minor-league left-hander Jerry Blevins. Kendall, 33, is batting .226 with 10 doubles, two homers and 22 RBI in 2007, but had hit .297 with eight doubles and two homers over the past 25 games and batted .286 in 16 Interleague games vs. the NL. The 12-year veteran is a career .298 hitter with a .375 on-base percentage in 1,625 Major League games with Pittsburgh (1996-2004) and Oakland (2005-07).

So he's been doing better lately, and he's moving to the inferior National League.  Oh, and according to Hendry he's a better second-half hitter.  Let's hope so!  Because .226 is quite Rob Bowen-like.  I suppose at this point it must be noted that Kendall is a very good defensive catcher as well.  He calls a good game, is extremely durable, and is often credited with some of the success of the Oakland pitching staff.  So he's got that going for him.

I guess I'll put it this way:  if Kendall can manage to hit .260 with a .330 OBP, and call a good game behind the plate, I have no problems with this deal.  If he continues to hit .226?  They may as well have stuck with Blanco and Soto.  So we'll see.

As for what they gave up, not so much.  Rob Bowen is solid on D, but can't really hit for shit.  About all he did positive with the Cubs is take a few walks, which I suppose is a reason Billy Beane liked him.  The prospect Blevins has fantastic numbers this year in A and AA ball, but I honestly never heard of him before tonight.  Let's hope we never hear from him again.

Finally, after the game, Baseball Tonight said the Cubs traded Sean Marshall for Kendall.  This was a good half hour after the mid-game announcement regarding Bowen-Blevins.  I practically swallowed and choked on my own tongue at the thought of giving up Marshall for Kendall.  Not that Marshall is the next Tom Glavine or anything, but losing him would have been counter-productive and a huge hole would have opened in the rotation.  Thankfully, that was just a rumor. 

Let the Kendall era begin, and let's hope for the best!  Go Cubs!

Cuban to buy Cubs?

Mark Cuban submitted an application to bid on the Cubs, who are to be sold after the season.  The media, of course, is going ape shit over the news.  I'm sorry, but filling out an application doesn't really excite me.  Settle down.  Besides, he probably just did it to get his name in the paper.  But if he IS serious, who knows if MLB will even approve the sale.  Selig and company probably wouldn't want his antics soiling up the national past time. 

Would I want him taking over?  Absolutely.  Yes, he's kind of a dork that embarrasses himself, his team, and his city on occasion; but you can't argue with his results.  He's turned the Mavericks from laughingstock to a first-class organization.  A perennial contender, a desirable target for free agents, and their games are amongst the most entertaining in the league.  But its the perennial contender bit that I like most.  No, his team hasn't won a championship yet, but you can't blame him for his star player's choking tendencies.  Besides, baseball's different from basketball.  The Cardinals proved that all you have to do is get to the playoffs, then any team can get hot and win the World Series.  With Cuban in charge, the Cubs will get to the playoffs.  Once there, its elementary.  Or so they say.  I wouldn't know.  Neither would my father.  Or even my grandfather, were he still alive.

Damn, I need a championship.  Lets Go Cubs!

What the Cubs have to do to catch the Brewers

The Cubs trail the Milwaukee Brewers by 4.5 games at the All-Star break.  It's certainly a manageable number, but it's not exactly going to be easy to make up that much ground.  Let's look at the facts:

• Thus far, the Brewers have played .557 ball, the Cubs .506. 
• As noted by Buster Olney at ESPN.com, the Cubs have the easiest NL schedule in the second half.  The bad news is the Brewers have the second easiest schedule.  
• The Brewers have been very lucky with injuries, though, while the Cubs have been somewhat average.  (Nothing monstrous, but Soriano and Aramis have already been on the DL with Floyd in and out of the lineup.)  For the Brewers, Bill Hall is already out indefinitely, and the fragile Ben Sheets is almost sure to spend some time on the shelf.  He's their Kerry Wood.
• The Brewers have outperformed their expected winning percentage by one game, the Cubs have underperformed theirs by five. 

Sounds like the division is ripe for the taking, right?  Think again.

Here's a chart showing what the Cubs will have to do in order to pass the Brewers in several scenarios.  The Cubs have 75 games left, while the Brewers have 74.

As you can see, it ain't gonna be easy.  I would think the Cubs have a decent shot if the Brewers play .500 or worse.  But if the Brewers keep up their established pace, the Cubs are pretty much dead in the water.

What should the Cubs do?  Well, Hendry has to make a deal or three.  His wish list should be as follows:

1.  A big bat to play RF.  I like Ken Griffey, Jr.  Rumor has it Cubs would have to give up Marshall and someone like Murton, at the minimum.  Maybe Pie.  Not sure if I'd give them Pie, but just about anyone else.

2.  A proven starting pitcher would be nice.  Marquis, Hill and Marshall have all been faltering somewhat lately.  It wouldn't be out of the question to see at least one of these guys continue to stink for the rest of the year, leaving a huge hole in the rotation.  Wade Miller is not the answer.

3.  Hank White healthy.  Or a defensive catcher who can hit his weight.  I don't ask for much, but you've got to be able to find a good defender that can hit .250, right?  Right?!

4.  A solid reliever.  The pen isn't really a problem at the moment, but it'd be nice to have one more arm.

And that's about it.  I'd like to see some meaningful baseball in September, so let's go Cubs!

Bears, Bulls: Signs, Signs, Everywhere there's Signs

There was a few big signings in Chicago sports this week.  Starting with the most recent, the Bulls signed Andres Nocioni to a five year deal worth $38 million.  It's a good deal for both the Bulls and Noce.  Noce had a pretty awful playoffs this past year, but that was more due to his foot injury than anything else.  He was pretty stellar in the previous two playoffs, and he always seems to bring his "A" game in the big ones.  He's not a star, but he's a great role player that you need when trying to get to the next level.

The Bears made a big signing this week by inking their number one draft pick, Greg Olsen, to a five year deal.  I was worried about the Bears ability to sign G-Reg, with Drew Rosenhaus being his agent and all.  But he's the first number one pick to sign, so kudos to Drew and the Bears for not letting the Lance Briggs situation creep into the Olsen negotiations. 

Speaking of Briggs, the NFL Network is reporting that the Bears have contacted him about signing a long-term deal.  Where the heck did this come from?  I can't find any confirmation on suntimes.com, but the Trib has an interesting article by David Haugh that implies that Rosenhaus contacted the Bears.  It seems that they may be working on a one-year deal with a higher salary than the $7.2M guaranteed by the franchise tag, or they may be working on a multi-year deal worth more than $20 million.  Who knows?  All I know is, keeping Briggs would be a great way to help prevent a "post-championship collapse."   Without Briggs, they are one key defensive injury away from 8-8. 

Speaking of key defensive injuries, Tommie Harris is recovering nicely.  And as that article above correctly pointed out, Harris, too, is a Rosenhaus client.  Yippee!  Advice to Angelo:  better get your checkbook ready!

Bear Down!

Making the Grade: Cubs mid-season report card

The Cubs finished the weekend by taking two of three from the Brewers and eight of their last nine overall.  They are now 40-40, and stand 6.5 games out of first.  With the team exactly one game away from the half-way point, that's not a bad place to be.  Don't get me wrong, I'd certainly rather be in the Brewers shoes right now, but the division is within reach and that's a helluva lot better than this time last year.  So how did the Cubs go from a miserable 66 wins last year to comfortable mediocrity, within striking distance in a lousy division this year?  Simple.  They bullied their way in with cold, hard, cash.  Throw $300 million dollars at a team and you better improve.  Let's hand out some mid-term grades.

Marquis, Lilly, B+
The two big free agent pitchers have come in here and done their jobs.  Throw some innings and give the team a chance to win.  That's all you could ask for, and something the 2006 Cubs had a severe problem with. 

Hill, Marshall, B+
The young lefties have each been shelled a few times, and when they're "off" they're horrible.  But three quarters of their starts range from respectable to downright awesome.  Nice job.

Zambrano, B-
If I were grading the last month, he'd get an A+.  He's been superhuman these last four starts.  If only he had pitched half this well in April and May, he'd be a shoo-in for the All-Star game.  Instead, he's on the "final vote" ballot, waiting for the fans to put him in.  With the rabid support of Cubs fans around the country, he's got a decent shot of making it.  Not that he necessarily deserves it.  One hot month does not an All-Star make. 

Middle Relief, B-
These losers get a B-? Are you kidding?  No, I'm not.  Yeah, they're not great, but that's par for the course with middle relievers.  Honestly, you want to see bad relief pitching?  Head to the South Side.  I'll gladly go with Marmol, Weurtz, Ohman, and Howry.  Don't ask my opinion of Eyre, though.  He's a DFA in tight pants. 

Closer, B
Dempster's done his job this year, and Marmol/Howry haven't been too shabby while Ryan's been on the shelf.

Lee, B
Love the average, love the doubles, love the on-base-percentage.  Miss the homers.  A lot.  I remember when Ryne Sandberg broke his wrist in the early 90s.  He followed up back-to-back 26-homer seasons with a 9-homer season.  He still hit .309, but didn't any power to speak of.  The good news is he eventually did get back to the 25-homer range, and I suspect Lee will eventually get his power back, though not likely until next year.  Still, even without the homers he's still a deserving All-Star.

DeRosa, A-
I was kind of down on this signing, but he's turned into a real asset.  He not only plays a different position every day, he plays them well.  And his bat has certainly been solid enough for a supersub.  He doesn't make idiot plays either, what the Cubs have specialized in.  (picked off, throwing to wrong base, etc.)  Good signing.

Theriot, Fontenot, B+
These rookies have been real pleasant surprises this year.  It seems odd for a Cubs prospect to come up and contribute.  I'm used to guys coming up and hitting .220.

Izturis, C
He is who we thought he was.  Solid on D, not much of a stick.

Ramirez, B
He's hustling, he's doing his job.  He's hitting walk-offs.  He's doing what we expect of him. 

Soriano, A-
A deserving All-Star.  So far, so good, on the signing; though there's still an awful lot of baseball to be played in the next 7.5 years.  I think it's time to explore dropping Soriano in the lineup.  Yes, his speed is great and he steals bases and he likes hitting leadoff.  Got it.  But he's got 15 homers, and 14 of them are solo shots.  That's not right.  I know he hits leadoff, and that means the he doesn't get the RBI opportunities of a cleanup hitter.  Duh.  But he has 96 ABs with runners on base, and in those at-bats he has exactly one jack.  That trivia nugget aside, I'd still drop him down and take advantage of that power.  How about something like this:

Theriot/Fontenot
Lee
Soriano
Ramirez
Floyd
DeRosa
Pie/Pagan
Bowen/Hill

At first glance, Lee hitting second seems ridiculous.  But if he's not going to hit for power, you might as well get the most from that .419 OBP.  Even if they drop down Alfonso, the bottom third is a black-hole.  Michael Barrett's bat is missed.  Speaking of...

Hill/Bowen/Blanco, C+
All three play good-to-great defense; all three hit like shit.  After watching all those balls get by Barrett, though, I'm ok with trying the "defense" approach for a while.

Pie/Pagan, C
Really good defense from Pie, but horrible hitting.  OK defense and OK hitting from Pagan.  I expect more from Pie.  The dude was hitting .385 in AAA, so we know he can hit.  He's just got to stop getting sawed off in the bigs.

Floyd, B
When healthy, he's looked pretty good.  He hasn't hit many homers, but when he gets ahold of one, he really gets ahold of one.  He only has 4 homers this year, but I remember every last one of them as they were all moon shots. 

Jones, Murton, D
I think he'd be OK if he played every day, but there's no doubt he sucks ass as a part-timer.  Who am I talking about?  Both of them. 

The fact that I don't like Jones is well-documented.  But he's been truly awful this year.  I understand he's going through "tough times," being on the trading block and all.  And it's certainly got to be hard going from "every day player" to "platoon."  But screw that, he's making five million.  Not a lot for a baseball player but nothing to sneeze at either.  I expect more than .220, 2 homers, and wretched defense. 

And Murton?  I'd like to give him one more shot, but he's got to improve his D and actually out-hit Floyd before I just hand him the job.  I don't think it's going to happen.

Ward, B
He's done a decent job in the pinch.

Piniella, B+
He may be rubbing some of the players the wrong way, but so far I'm a fan of Lou.  He hasn't really had any bonehead lineups, and he generally gives the right players the most playing time.  Plus, he kicks hats pretty darned well.

Hendry, B
Sure, the $300 million dollars worth of signings look good so far, but I'm still not exactly jumping up and down when I think of the number of years on Marquis' contract.  I'm not going to knock him for that, though, as like I said, it's looked good so far.

I am going to knock him for the corner outfield spots, though.  He got four Left Fielders and hoped it would sort itself out.  If Soriano could have played Center, it would have.  But when the Fonz moved to Left, they were forced to platoon three guys that were not only out-of -position, but also ineffective part-time players.  It's a major reason the team was so lousy early on. 

I think Lou has finally figured it out.  Platoon Floyd and DeRosa in right.  Ship out Jones (please!)  It's a shame it took two months, though, to sort out what Hendry could have fixed back in November.

As for the rest of the season, I'm cautiously optimistic that they can make a run.  The odds are against the team, but at least they're within reach.  All in all, a decent step forward from last year.  All I could ask.