ChicagoSportsBlogs : Non Compete

Everyone does report cards on the Bears after a game. Both newspapers offer the feature as a way to quickly breakdown the performance of each piece of the team. I do it because I disagree with their rankings most of the time. (I can't find the damn link for the Trib's horrible grades, but trust me) Anyway, let's get to it shall we?

Offense: (C) Grossman was his old self in the first half with a QB rating below 50! He was being blitzed like crazy and the offensive line just couldn't hold for very long. Happy feet, throwing off his back foot, and the front four's inability to contain the blitz led to some bad decisions. He should have thrown 5 picks, instead he threw 2. They were bad, but a late touchdown pass rifled into the hands of Davis saved the day. The running game is still weak, but I have to believe it will turn around eventually.

Defense: (B) I would have given the defense a C if it wasn't for the fact they didn't allow a touchdown. I have concerns with the secondary this year. Vasher and Manning each had a few plays where they were blown off the line by Troy Williamson. Mike Brown missed a critical tackle on Mewelde Moore AFTER Urlacher missed his and it took us waaay too long to get a sack on a 50 year old quarterback. I guess I'm forced to give credit to the Vikings offensive line for opening decent holes for Taylor. We did recover a crucial fumble to win the game, so that helps. I can't lie, I love the defense, but I need to see the corners do a better job.

Special Teams (B) Someone should thank Robbie Gould for being dead-to-rights acurate. He looks great this year and he has done nothing but make every kick. Maynard is still under appreciated in my book (and he does GREAT for our field position) and our coverage has improved. No one has broken anything for huge amount of yardage off our kicks. The only complaint I have is that stupid return that put us on top of the Vikings end zone. Why bother returning that? Grossman eventually threw the pick out of that end-zone for what seemed to be the nail in the coffin for the Bears. Of course, the defense picked it up and rescued the win on a fumble recovery...but I still think that return was the root cause.

Coaching (C) Lovie, I'm taking you and your staff to task for all the penalties! I expect sloppy play in sloppy weather, not inside the Thunderdome. The play calling was a bit too lopsided for my taste. Where was the running game? Did they really stop us or did we give up on the run too soon? About the only thing you guys probably did right is not playing Benson. I'm assuming that's because of all the blitzing the Vikings were doing. Benson probably can't block worth a damn. That said, we need to pick up the pace when it comes to yards on the ground and if Jones can't do it, I want to start seeing Benson. Finally, the interception Rex threw on first down, out of the Vikings endzone no less, was a bad play call. Run the ball in those situations.

That's it! News out of Seattle isn't so good for the 'Hawks...let's hope we still play with 100% intensity. I don't want to make their backup running back look like a Pro-Bowler.

BEAR DOWN!

So much for defending our title.

I don't want to talk about it.

Yet.

Congrats to the Tigers and the Twins for playing fantastic baseball this year. Good luck against the Yankees.

I have taken a few days off from writing about the White Sox because of two main reasons: the Twins and the Tigers. No, I'm kidding. It's because of work, and the Bears. I've never been one to use my job as an excuse to stop posting, but lately things have been hectic enough that I haven't been able to concentrate. As for the Bears, well...you know they are 3 and 0!

Speaking of concentrating, the Sox seem to have found their concentration this afternoon against the Mariners. Game recap can be found here. I didn't watch the game. I have all but thrown in the towel on this season. I'm sure a lot of you ultra-crazy die-hards will find fault with that. Before you go burning me at the stake, hear me out.

It has been a horrible roller coaster ride this year. I thought this team was destined for a repeat at the World Series. It is never gauranteed to make the playoffs, but I thought like most, the White Sox were going to the show again. Our pitching was better than last year, and Jim Thome was a healthy, scary big bat in the middle of the order. What more could a Sox fan ask for? It turns out, a ton more luck than we had the previous year which ended with a parade down Lasalle street! Yea, luck would have been a nice addition to this year's roster. Instead we witnessed a pitching staff perform below their own standards, and a line up that couldn't manufacture runs any more.

It has been a great season for the Sox. Sure, it's technically not over, but it might as well be. (we need 2 more Twins wins or 2 Sox losses, and we're done folks!) It's tough to watch a team flounder. The stress has been killing me bit by bit. With every double play that Joe Crede hit into, or Uribe, Konerko, or....hell. ALL OF THEM. Each one of those double plays with men in scoring position caused me to die a little bit. I had to take a break. Hell, my wife was walking on eggshells. Everytime the game was on and someone gave up another 5-run inning I threw something at the wall. Brutal. Just brutal. I couldn't handle it. I can't handle it.

I get asked a lot by my friends from the Northside if I would prefer being in dead last place, rather than a handful of games out of the playoffs. I actually hate being just short of the playoffs, but I would never prefer my team to be in the gutter just to avoid the pain in my belly. So with that said, let's go get them Sox!! Go-Go-White Sox!!

I'm going to do something different in this post. Instead of jumping straight into my take on this glorious victory over the Vikings, I'm going to just type up the notes I took while watching the game. (Yes, I take notes while watching the game. At least I don't Tivo it and roll back and forth)

• There are lot of flags being thrown. What the hell gives? Sloppy, undisciplined play is going to cost us this game.
• The Vikes seem much better on defense. Common sense coaching just showed up, as they continually blitz Rex.
• Where is the tight end today? I bet all the Desmond Clark owners are pissed.
• Brad Johnson is as old as my dad, but he still can throw the ball pretty well
• The Vikings wideouts seem super fast.
• Vasher just got burned by Williamson? Is that who that is?
• What the hell is going on with clock management at the half? We can't get the kick off in time? Moose!!! Run to the sidelines big guy!!! Run to the SIDELINE...oh never mind.
• a 46% passer rating is the old Rex Grossman. I don't like the old Rex Grossman.
  
• Happy feet, throwing off the back foot, and not being smart enough to just take the sack are really bad attributes in a quarterback. Rex's shine is wearing off.
• Robbie Gould is the man. What has this kid been doing during the offseason? His leg looks strong. Kicked a 45 yarder. Amazing.
• Things are starting to click on defense. The offense can't stop the blitz!!

I stopped writing things down because the food was ready, but I bet you already visited here for the play by play. (nice re-design to Bears.com btw) While you're out there surfing  you might as well stop and read about MJ's coverage of the game.

I'll be back in the morning with the report cards. I bet you can't wait.

The Detroit Tigers have been stumbling lately. They were the first team in the AL Central to win 20,40,60,80, and finally 90 games. It took them all of the first inning to grab a 2-0 lead against the White Sox. They never looked back, eventually winning the game by an 8-2 score. Beating us could be the lift this team needs to make a deep run into the playoffs. I don't see them falling off the way the White Sox have.

I gotta get back to work. More on why the Sox are barely breathing in this wild-card race later in the day...

I looked at this series on the White Sox schedule a few weeks back and thought it could be tougher than usual. The White Sox aren't know for playing great baseball on the west coast. The fact that Frank Thomas is now wearing that disgusting green and yellow cap isn't lost on me. The White Sox were swept by the A's thanks in part to the Big Hurt. Frank did what he does best, hit massive clutch bombs to rip the other team's heart out. It is sad to see him do it against the Sox. That 3 run bomb he hit today sent the A's chances of a playoff run soaring. It also extinguished any excitement I had about the Pale Hose making it to the playoffs this year.

I'm not giving up, but I am seriously discouraged. The White Sox are now 4 games behind the Twins for the wild-card, and if you haven't noticed the Twinkies are on a serious roll. The only hope we have is that the Twins are blowing their load early. For that to hold true, the White Sox would have to counter their slump with a huge winning streak. I'm not saying this isn't possible, but there are a few things that the Sox can't do well enough to convince me otherwise.

 

First, I am still a bit concerned that the bullpen sucks. I spent my Saturday night watching Javi Vazquez pitch a pretty good game until the bullpen came in to ruin it. The running joke around my house is this: How many White Sox pitchers does it take to blow a game? The obvious answer is how many can Ozzie have warming up at once. On Saturday, it was 4. This has always been our number one problem this year. The bullpen is just not cutting it. The second thing the Sox could do to turn it around is to go with a stable line up. I'm picking on Ozzie for this. We aren't consistent and I believe it stems from not having a stable line up as we get into crunch time. We're a week into crunch time now, and after going 2-4 on this most recent road trip, I wonder if the moves Ozzie has made are part of the problem. I want to see the line up stabilize. No need to see Pablo, Macowiak, or Cintron any more. Hell, I could do without seeing Alomar catching too. If you're tired, suck it up fellas. It's go time. Lastly, it's time to shore up the errors in the field. We didn't have any major blunders in the field against the A's this weekend. I can't use our fielding as an excuse. We were whipped by the Athletics. There have been other games in the past month or so, where an errant throw has cost us a run or two. There have been some plays in the field where the outfielders don't hit the cut-off man, and as a result the run scores, and the guy who hit the ball in the first place can advance into scoring position. JD makes a catch on Saturday night flat footed and everyone in Chicago groans because he can't make the throw to home in time.

It was a rough weekend for those of us cheering for the SouthSiders. Let's hope things change quickly against the Tigers and the Mariners this week. It's been a week into GO TIME. SO LET'S GO!

I love watching the Bears win! The Bears crushed the Detroit Lions today, 34-7. Rex Grossman threw 4 touchdowns, the defense sacked Kitna 6 times, and Desmond Clark caught another 5 balls for 85 yards and a touchdown. To say the Bears players are excited and happy is a MASSIVE understatement. I haven't seen so many people smiling on camera since that meat packing crew won the lottery.

All you have to do to see the Bears success is check the waiver wire in your fantasy league. Most of the Bears who weren't drafted (Grossman, Clark, Berrian, maybe even Moose) are now gone. The dark horses in most leagues are going to be from a certain team that plays in Chicago. The dominating performance by both the offense and the defense is scary. I'm too afraid to tell you what I am currently thinking about this team. I can't be honest in my assessment for fear of jinxing them. It is a strange feeling.

I wanted to point out a few things I noticed about this game before I give the grades out. First, I feel that the defense is being outshone by the offense. I can't believe I just wrote that. The fact remains that Rex Grossman has put together 2 very solid outings. I can't lie. I am shocked. My wife says she is happiest for Grossman because of all the shit people like me where giving him. There you have it Rex, you're showing us all up. Throwing for 4 touchdowns today shows you're capable of a lot more than what are accustomed to getting from someone at the QB position. Secondly, the defense is feeding off the offense. The worst thing possible for an opposing offense is watching the Bears score. The more that Rex and Company score, the more free-wheeling that defense gets. This isn't good for opposing teams. Urlacher, Briggs, the Browns, the Mannings, and the rest of the Pro-Bowl "D" are given more rest and a longer leash to go out and hurt people. This is scary. Scoring = Defense freedom. Something the Bears haven't had for a very long time.

Let's get to the scoring:

Offense - (A) 4 passing touchdowns, no turnovers and a Rex Grossman doing his best John Elway impression. What more can you ask for? You wanted to draft a tight end (that would be me), well, you didn't need one. Turns out that Desmond Clark can catch the ball and run with it too. The offensive line has protected the QB better than expected. The only thing that keeps me from giving them an A+ is the fact that the running game is lack-luster. Where are our rushing touchdowns??!?!

Defense - (A) They sacked Kitna 6 times. The pressure up front was huge. I am still a little concerned about the middle of the field being so open. Did anyone else notice all the quick slants that were completed across the middle of the field? Sure, the Lions scored on us for the first time in 6 quarters this season, but some of those drives were too easy. I want to see the secondary reach that goal of 30 picks this year. I can't complain about the defense. We're the best in the league. A pick would have given the D that coveted A+.

Special Teams - (B) Davis and Manning did pretty well with 19 and 20 yards each on kick offs, and we didn't turn the ball over on special teams. Plus, the Lions didn't hurt us on special teams coverages either. Gould goes 2/2 today and basically keeps the offense scoring even when they can't get the TD. A good effort overall by everyone out there to avoid penalties on kicks. This seems to be the only way the opposing teams can get good field position on us.

Coaching - (A) Lovie and the coaching staff prove again that they have their stuff together. The defense scheme against Kitna was great, and the offensive play calling was spectacular. Rex hit 8 different receivers this week and finished the game with a career best day on touchdowns and QB rating. The team looks focused, prepared, disciplined, and healthy. Kudos to Lovie for getting all the facets of the game right.

That's it Bears fans. It's been a great few weeks. Next time we meet we'll chat about all the weekly NFL awards we are probably going to win thanks to this performance against a division foe.

BEAR DOWN.

I have been in a funk lately. It is because of the crappy bullpen we have on the SouthSide. It is maddening! I am getting gray hair from the stress of watching Bobby Jenks crap the bed. What was with that game last night? I can sum it all up in one word: Disappointing.

I'm stuck in the office today and if it wasn't for MLB.com I wouldn't be able to keep track of the Sox today. We are handling the Angels like we did in the playoffs last year. Big Game Freddy has shown up and it seems that he has a 7 run lead in the top of the 6th.

Oh, and did I mention he has a no-no going?!

That is one way to turn around the up-and-down, rollercoaster ride we have been on since mid-August. Hell, all year.

Let's get em. GO WHITE SOX.

No, it's not an April Fool's joke. The battle of the Wildcats ended on Saturday afternoon with the visitors from that football power-house New Hampshire, handing the Northwestern football team their asses. It was a cloudy day in Evanston and you wonder if that was the cause of the Wildcat's inability to stop New Hampshire from scoring. Maybe the team is solar-powered, and with all those clouds they just couldn't get going. What a shame.

It was Randy Walker day and the stadium was covered with people wearing "WALK" jerseys. The field was painted with the same moniker to commemorate the life of the former NU-coach. It was sad.

The game itself was worse. The NCAA Division I-AA New Hampshire Wildcats came to Evanston with a lot of confidence. I don't blame them for that. The Evanston version of the Wildcats is known to have one of the worst defenses in the entire country, but that wasn't the problem on Saturday. Fumbling the ball inside your own 20 yard-line, twice would be the obvious reason for the loss. You can't expect to win a ball game against a D-III team, let alone a top-ranked D-IAA team.

This was the worst I have seen Northwestern play in a long great while. There was no fire on defense. The effort was poor from the start and it seemed like team concentration was completely lacking. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come, because I just picked up my season tickets. Northwestern football is going through a difficult and emotionally wracking time. I hope that Coach Fitz starts to crack down on the lackluster effort and gets the Wildcats back on track.

Crushed. That's how the Packers faithful must feel this morning. The Chicago Bears found their focus in the 2006 season opener, and it was equal parts defense and offense. The result was devastating for the Packers who watched as the Bears stepped all over them to a complete shutout. Rex Grossman had the best game of his young career throwing a touchdown, interception, and 262 yards. We've all heard the comparisons between Grossman the "gun-slinger" and Brett Favre. Yesterday's game was a bit of a role reversal as Favre went 15 of 29 for 170 yards, 2 interceptions, and was sacked 3 times. No one could have predicted the outcome of last night's game. I'm going to have a hard time finding bad things to say about the Bears after this glorious victory. Le's get to the grades:

Offense: (B+) The protection for Rex was great. Thomas Jones didn't break anything larger than a 17-yard skat, but he can offer some serious protection for Grossman. The O-Line picked up the pathetic Packers' blitz for the entire game, save one sack which we're thankful Grossman took. The alternative to the sack would have been another pick, which is what Grossman should have done instead of falling backwards and tossing a prayer into triple coverage. He'll get that fixed. Otherwise, Moose, Berrian, and Desmond Clark (that would be the tight end!) did great. No one dropped a pass! The Moose of old is back, and I think he's bound to have a Pro-Bowl type season if Grossman stays healthy. Strong work Offense! It would have been an A if we could have scored in the red-zone more often. (more on that later)

Defense: (A) The defense continues their league leading efforts while maintaining that they are humble. Humble? Staying humble might be their biggest challenge this year. They gave Favre his first shut-out (16 year career, folks) and sacked him 3 times in the process. The two inteceptions in the game could have been 4 by my count if some of the corners would have held on to the ball. Overall, I was shocked by how little time I saw the defense on television. I'm not used to all this ball-possession offense. So much for needing to play ironman football!

Special Teams: (A) I can't remember the last time I thought the special teams guys did a great job. If yesterday was the start of a trend, then I'm just rubber stamping the rest of their report cards for the remainder of the 2006 schedule. Hester returns a kick for a touchdown, Adrian Peterson causes a fumble on a punt and Maynard had two kicks inside the 20. Simply, Wow.

Coaching: Lovie Smith is now a career .500 coach with a record of 17-17. I read in the paper that his record now matches Da Coach's over the first 34 games. I credit Lovie for getting these guys focused and hungry. They looked sharp. The penalties were kept to a minimum (4 flags for 25 yards). The offense play calling was great. We even saw Benson prove how mediocre he is. The defense is still fantastic and Rivera did a nice job of mixing up the schemes and players during the game. Anyone else notice the rookie get that sack? (Anderson) If the coaching staff can continue to motivate these guys to a performance level equal to the one we just witnessed...I shudder to think where we will be come December.

Bear Down!

I can't believe what I have been seeing this afternoon. The Bears are dominating the Packers. This is the first time I can remember watching a Bears game and wondering where the defense is?! The time of possession shows that I'm right. The Bears had the ball for almost 18 and a half minutes this half. Rex Grossman looks sharp. He hasn't been perfect, but sharp nonetheless.

The first offensive drive was impressive. We moved the ball by finding Moose a few times as well as breaking a couple of runs (thanks to Jones). Then the hammer came. Instead of going deep on the very first play of the game, as we are all accustomed to seeing, the Bears waited a few plays and threw deep to Berrian for a 49 yard touchdown! He caught it. I swear he did. That "pretty deep ball" that Grossman has been inclined to throw on occasion actually landed perfectly in the hands of a receiver who was open. Everyone here is screaming, "TOUCHDOWN!!!"

What a way to start a game. As it stands, the Bears are going into the half with a nice lead 16-0. A few things I want to keep an eye on:

1. This 5th round draft pick, Anderson, on the d-line. He looks special.

2. The running game. Where is Benson? Jones has 54 yards, and that's great...but I thought the staff was hot over Benson. I could care less either way. I'm a Thomas Jones man myself.

3. Lance Briggs has a sack already. Let's see Urlacher get there too. I haven't been happy with the secondary so far. There have been too many mid-range passes that Farve has been able to complete. Right across the middle. Let's tighten that up.

Back after the game with my traditional game-day report card.

I have received a lot of flak for not posting on the Bears too much this pre-season. It has been tough for me to get my mind around the 2006 Bears. If you read the blog often enough, you'll realize that I'm still focused on the White Sox and their tribulations. Who has time to talk about the Bears? Right? Right? Wrong. This stops now.  It's time for some football.

The Bears have very few gaps on the team this year. This is inspite of the horrible draft Jerry Angelo had us endure earlier this spring. I call this year's draft horrible because we didn't draft anyone on offense. That takes courage to do when you are ranked at the bottom of the league for yards gained. With that said, we still have a top 5 defense. There are a lot of people out there who think that should be enough to win the division. The problem is I have a lot of questions for the Bears that need to be answered before I just declare them repeat division champs.  So here goes:

2006 Bears Questions:

1. How many games will it take for the Bears to start Brian Griese?
Answer: I say by week 4, Griese has the starting job. I base this on two things. First, the amount of patience that Lovie has for Rex. You have to see what this kid can do before throwing him to the scrap heap. Besides, the former-Bear QB scrap heap is currently filled to capacity. If you're wondering, king of this garbage pile is Cade McNown.

2. How good is our defense?
Answer: It's pretty damn good. I sometimes wonder if the defense looks as good as it does because they stand next to an offense that reminds me of that one girl in high school who had a 'stache thicker than Da Coach. Anyone who stood next to her automatically became Jennifer Aniston. I sure hope that's not what is happening to our perception of the Defense. There is no question I'll be writing at least 3 articles calling for the Bears to start playing iron man football. It makes no sense taking the most talented guys on the team and keeping them on the field for only half the game. Right?

3. Do we make the playoffs this year?
Answer: Yes. We will win this crap division. You heard it here first. Well, actually, you could have heard it at MikeJ's blog. (here) Who else can win this division? Perennial dark-horse, the Lions? I think not. They have a real QB now (Kitna) and a new coach, but it's the Lions. They have no O-Line and a pretty bad run game. The Vikings took Brad Johnson off mothballs, lost Culpepper, and watched their fastest receiver in Koren Robinson drink his way out of the league. (hit this link for the new Vikings blogger in town) Notice, I didn't beat up on the Packers. There isn't anything left of that team to beat up. That gray-haired old man at QB isn't Brett Farve. It's his bitter old grandfather. They don't scare me, and they know it.

4. Who the hell is our second wide out?
Answer: I have no idea. I'm sorry but I don't get a warm and fuzzy feeling from anyone in this receiving core. I blame Jerry Angelo for this. We need to get on the phone with the Patriots and offer them anything (maybe even Briggs) for Branch. We should have drafted a real wideout in the draft (I'm thinking of someone like Santonio Holmes perhaps?) This is the area of the Bears team that frustrates the hell out me. What's the point of signing Brian Griese at quartback when you have no one to throw to? I'm ignoring Moose on purpose. Go look at his crap numbers last year and tell me why I should waste any more time writing about him. Moose needs to step up. 10 TDs minimum.

5. What gives with the running back situation?
Answer: What situation? There is no question that Thomas Jones is our starter. The little I saw of him  during the preseason has me concerned with his ability to break a few tackles and extend some of those runs into the 4 yards/carry territory. Cedric Benson will not be a factor this year. I'm fully aware that the Bears front office will force Benson into the action due to the money we have locked up in him. But don't you think for one second that Benson is the back of the future. We'll be drafting another running back in next years draft. Book it.

That's it. I've got to get some sleep. There are a ton more questions to cover, but I think this is enough to get you thinking. I've got a prediction on the Bears record this season, and I'll post that this weekend before the game starts. If you're curious, you can see what I expected from the 2005 Bears here. What do you think happens?

BEAR DOWN!!!!

Its been a few games since I have written anything on the White Sox. Hell, its been a few days since I've posted on anything. I wasn't in a writing mood. I was down in the dumps with the Sox recent troubles. I wish you could have seen the long faces in my office this past week.The White Sox faithful were losing their faith right before my eyes. Its been depressing. Deep down I expected Ozzie to have a tirade in public, after a loss to the Royals for example, which would snap these guys out of it. It didn't happen. Instead the infamous "closed door meeting" took place yesterday. (aren't all team meetings closed door?) That did the trick.

The Sox came out with fire, focus and passion yesterday to beat up on the already exhausted Red Sox. Check out the box score and the full game recaps here. I spent the day yesterday listening to the game on the radio, watching snippets on TV and using my trusty MDA to text message Google for updates. All three types of messages where clear: the Contreras of old was back! Does this mean the White Sox of old (last year guys, last year) are back? I won't rush to that conclusion as of yet but I will say that if we take 3 out of 4 against Cleveland we can safely assume the Sox are back on track.

There are a few things I have noticed in the last few series, specifically this series against the Red Sox and the previous one against the Royals. I'm just going to list them here for you to enjoy with your morning coffee. Draw your own conclusions:

1. It has been said that soft throwing left handers is the secret to beating the White Sox. You can probably just include the hard throwing lefties just for good measure.

2. We aren't playing very well in the field. Some people will pin this on Ozzie's mismanagement (their words, not mine) of the lineup. Ozuna in the outfield, Cintron in the infield, and Mackowiak anywhere seems to cause problems for our error count. Specifically, they increase. Look at their numbers for yourself. Am I just being hysterically critical in this department? We've talked about errors before

3. The pitching staff has never been on track this year. Sure, Garland hit his stride a few months ago and started carrying us, but Contreras, Buehrle and Vazquez have been anything but consistent this year. I don't even know what to tell you about Big-Game Freddy. My biggest problem with him is that a single turns into a triple or a run based on the sheer lack of focus he has to hold a runner. Maybe they should practice that?

I've got a ton more to cover today. It all depends on where I can get an Internet connection and how much real work I want to get done! Oh, and are you guys ready for some football?!?!

GO SOX (good luck against the Cleve)

The White Sox took 2 out of 3 games here in Chicago against the Devil Rays. If this were April, I'd say that was a great result. It's not April folks! It's September and the White Sox are hanging on to a slim hope of making it to the playoffs this year. My happiness in this world ebbs and flows with each bullpen visit Ozzie makes. Its a sign that things aren't going well for the Pale Hose when Ozze has to make that quick dash out to the bump 4 times a game. What's up with that?

I'll tell you what's up with that. We are playing well enough to stay afloat in this wild-card race, but not well enough to win this division. We needed to get all three of those games against the D-Rays. Instead, we drop one as the Tigers faced off with the Bronx Bombers only to lose yet again! We are in sync with that team in Detroit. I've said it many times. They win, we win. They lose, we lose. Where does that leave us?

It leaves us on the golf course at the end of September instead of at Sox park beating up on the A's. (or Yankees, take your pick!) While we're all happy to fly to Arizona to practice on that lush back nine - the Twins are going to sneak up and take this blasted division. That is unless their recent addition of "professional hitter", and former Cubbie Phil Nevin totally goes the route of the traditional Cubs Curse.

Here is to hoping.