ChicagoSportsBlogs : Non Compete

I love Thanksgiving. It's a great holiday. You get to break away from the hassles of everyday life and trade up for the hassles of cross-country travel. This year the wife and I made the rainy drive down I-55 to good ole St. Louis. It was a brutal drive. The fog and rain didn't help our cause. Why does the wiper always smear right in front of the driver's sight line while the passender side of the windshield is perfectly clear? 5+ hours after leaving The Chi, we pulled into the driveway. I'm always a little uneasy about the trip down to St. Louis. It used to be because I was off the grid. The mother-in-law didn't have Internet access here. Thankfully someone changed that and I can now sit in front of my Macbook and surf all day long while the wife and her sister help set the table or do some other domestimicated thing. The only draw back this year is the lack of NFL network. I'm going to miss the night game and that sucks. I wonder if DirecTV's SlingBox web interface will be broadasting this game...

Turkey day football always means watching the Lions. Typically this means horrible football, but this year we're in for a real treat. Brett Favre and the Packers are in Detroit for a game that matters. There is a pretty good preview of this game here. (Packers Blog) If there is anything this morning's pre-game on FOX has taught me is that people can't get enough of Brett Favre. They just finished wrapping up this Legends piece where everyone from Wayne Gretsky to Cal Ripken said nice things about the Gunslinger. It pains me to see Favre doing so well this year (at the expense of the Bears). I should be used to it since he has owned us for most of his career but you never really get used to losing the same guy over and over again. Can you imagine if the Bears ever had a QB this good? It is funny that Favre is having an MVP season this year, were it not for Tom Brady and the Patriots. You have to wonder if Favre can motivate this team all the way past the Cowboys and into the Superbowl to meet Brady and that machine in New England. It would be a pretty good game. I'm sure the advertisers would love it. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Kitna and the Lions are putting together a pretty good football team. It was a bit dissapointing to see them lose the other week to the lowly Cardinals, but they still have a solid chance at making the playoffs. I look at Kitna and wonder if he would be as successful with the Bears this year. We all know that the Bear's defense is pretty bad this year. Blame it on injuries, a new defensive coordinator, or a Superbowl hangover, the fact remains that everyone expected (why?!) the OFFENSE to step it up and carry the D through the rough times. Kitna has that kind of charge in him. He can put points on the board with the best of them. Sure, the Bears are woefully worse at the wideout position but somehow I think Kitna would find a way to get that first down without checking down to the running back.

There isn't much to be thankful for if you are a Bears fan today. Except maybe that we aren't on TV. The potential to ruin your Turkey Day hang over is off the table so relax and have another helping of stuffing. Happy Turkey day Bears Fans!

ESPN reports this move as a surprising swap of dependable players. I liked Jon Garland. I thought he was finally hitting his stride. Let us look at his numbers last year:

G	IP	H	R	HR	BB	SO	W	L	ERA
32	208.1	219	114	19	57	98	10	13	4.23

 

Considering the White Sox were the worst team in all the land, I don't think those numbers are all that bad. Garland earned the right to be considered one of our most stable starters these past few years. It has been fun watching him mature into a great pitcher. I'm wondering out loud about this deal....

Orlando Cabrera is coming off his best year. He put up career best numbers for the Angels last year. He hit over .300 (.301 to be exact) and drove in 101 runs for the Los Angeles Anaheim San Diego Palo Alto Angels. He is a great shortstop and an unquestionable upgrade at the position over Uribe.

Math plays a part in this decision too. Kenny Williams is picking tops. He thinks that Garland has reached his peak, or is close enough to his peak that he was willing to assume the risk of trading a young starter for a 33 year old shortstop. And this comes after signing Uribe for $4.5 million next year! Someone is wrong in this trade. That's the danger of picking tops. The Angels too think they are trading a player who has reached his fullest potential. I'm left wondering, like most White Sox fans, how this makes our team better. It was pitching that got us to the World Series in '05.

I want to see the White Sox get back into contention and I'm not sure an aging infielder is going to do that. I'll gladly eat my words if Garland turns into a pumpkin for the Angels. I'll also be pleasantly surprised if Cabrera hits anywhere close to .300 next year. It won't be easy. Williams thinks he has plenty of young arms that can take the place of Garland. I'm not so sure.

There is plenty more coming for the White Sox. Rumors of Torii Hunter's signing have been swirling for weeks. I'm kind of indifferent to his anticipated signing too. I want this team to get younger, not older. Kenny Williams is taking the opposite position. Time will tell who is right.

(I wonder how much effect the steroid allegations swirling around baseball these days had on Kenny Williams' decision to make this trade. It has to be a factor. You wouldn't want to be acquiring a player who is on that list of abusers.)

Surprise! After leading the Bears to a painful victory over the pathetic Raiders, Lovie Smith named Rex Grossman the starting quarterback for this week's game. I can't say I am surprised by the decision. What will surprise me is if Grossman isn't on a short leash. The Bears are clearly who we thought they were!

Sorry, I had to crack that joke. (I promise, it will be the last time) Back to the point: Grossman is the right man for the job, this week. He is on an interview with each start he gets. It becomes a simple matter for Grossman to earn his paycheck and avoid the bench; this being his last year under contract with the Bears all he has to do is win. This means no interceptions and two touchdowns a game. It means leading the team down the field and doing a lot more than just "managing" the game. It won't be easy. He has a few challenges to overcome that aren't exactly under his control. Namely, Ron Turner. Turner has quickly elevated himself to the John Schoop level of hatred in this town. No one thinks his play calling is worth the bytes this blog is printed on. 3rd and 7, we're running the ball with Benson right up the middle. I'm still waiting to see the Bears actually go for it on 3rd down instead of always checking down and playing it safe. You have to wonder, why we're being so conservative on offense? Is it because Turner knows deep down that this team is horrible at every skill position on offense except for the tight ends?

Lovie Smith should also be considered a roadblock to Rex's success. Afterall, this is his team. If the play calling is crap, he has the power to change it. Ron Turner works for Lovie Smith, it's not the other way around. Smith has the power to decide who is going to start at quarterback this Sunday against the Seahawks, yet refuses to make the decision to solve our run game's problems.  Benson or Peterson? Maybe both. Perhaps Benson just functions better when he is splitting carries with another back. I don't know what the answer is, but not making a change in the backfield is a short sighted decision.

Rex is going to need better play calling, and a productive run game to keep him from self-destructing. I wish him the best of luck because I don't like our alternative: Starting over. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who wishes this guy  well on Sunday.

I'll be back before the end of the week with my prediction for yet another "must win" for the Bears against the Seahawks. Until then, BEAR DOWN!