CP_414

Why do people think Walker has little value because he hasn't been traded by December 18th? Maybe Hendry doesn't want to trade him until he has another lefty bat. Maybe Hendry doesn't want to trade him until he knows who will be in LF. Maybe Hendry is resigned to the fact that there aren't many options in LF, and we might have to go after a speedy, defensive player out there (Jones, Patterson), and we will still need Walker's bat in the lineup. Maybe he shouldn't have made it so clear in his comments that he wanted to trade Walker, and teams knowing this are not making fair offers for him, thus causing Hendry to hold on to Walker until he gets offered equal value. If Hendry were giving Walker away, he would be gone by now, but maybe Hendry isn't willing to give Walker away because he knows Walker has value.

That sucks, but next week is bigger. The Bears should still be in good shape tonight. Our corners should hold their own against Atlanta's receivers. The guy who can hurt us is the TE. Briggs, or Joe will have to step up on Crumpler. The weather will be a factor, and while Dunn is a very good back, he doesn't seem to be the type that can run on the Bears. To run on the Bears you need to be able to run over the Bears, and I doubt that happens with Dunn. The Bears will get back to their strengths and run the ball 30 times. The Offense/Defense/Special Teams manage to score 20 points tonight. Bears 20 Atlanta 10 With the Vikings loss today the Bears can clinch the division with a win in either of the final 2 weeks (@ GB or @ Minny). Tonight is huge for the race for the 2 seed, but doesn't have much (if any) impact on the divisional race. BEAR DOWN!

Walker: 2003 - .283/.333/.428 .975 Fieding % at 2B/4.75 range factor 2004 - .274/.352/.468 .981 Fielding % at 2B/4.36 range factor 2005 - .305/.355/.474 .985 Fielding% at 2B/4.59 range factor Career - .290/.348/.441 Hairston: 2003 - .271/.353/.372 (58 games) .980 Fieding % at 2B/5.14 RF 2004 - .303/.378/.397 (86 games) Only played 12 games at 2B 2005 - .261/.336/.368 .973 Fieding % at 2B/4.88 RF Career - .261/.334/.371 So Walker hits for a higher average than Hairson, has a higher OBP, and a better slugging percentage. Hairston may be marginally better defensively, but he has barely played 2B the last 2 years, and when he did play there last season he was worse than Walker with the glove. Factor in that Walker is the only lefty on the team right nowwith a shot to slug over .430. Why exactly do you think we would be better off with Cedeno and Hairston over Cedeno and Walker?

Throughout the history of baseball good players have had "down years." For every player who had a down year in 2005, we have to ask this question. It sucks, but it is true. If there is no evidence other than his 2005 numbers, I wouldn't be too worried about it. He got off to a horrible start, but slugged the ball pretty well after the first few months of the season last year. He was playing through injuries early in the season and it helped him get off to the slow start. It also wasn't much of a secret that he was frustrated to still be a D-Ray, and I think that hurt his performance. He was very good in 2002, 2003, and 2004...I anticipate he will return to that form in 2006.

It's Gameday. Any updates on Mike Brown from the Chicago area folks? Steve Young just said the Bears should play both Orton and Grossman ala Spurrier at UF. Might not be a bad idea since the QB position is secondary to the running game on offense in Chicago.

I'd like to keep Guzman, but I would do this trade. Huff was really good in 03 and 04 and is still only 28. He battled injuries and frustration about still being a D-Ray last year, and he got off to a horrible start. I see no reason why he can't hit 30HR's, with a .360 OBP for the Cubs next year. Sign me up.

the Packers-Seahawks game on Week 17 was also moved up from a 3:15 start to a Noon start that day. It's rumored that the Bears-Viqueens game will be pushed back to a 3:15 time to accomodate a larger audience. Cool. That one will be for the 2 seed and a 12-4 record! Go Bears tonight. Hopefully Brown can go, we'll need him. What the hell am I going to do until 8:30?

To be fair 1 of the 5 is Patterson. If you think you are going to get Penn or Cabrera AND Tejada for 3 of those guys you are dreaming. Penn or Cabrera might be better than any of the players the Cubs are sending to Baltimore in that rumor.

Hill, Patterson, Cedeno, Williams, and Guzman...I would try to get Williams, Hill, or Guzman excluded from that deal, but if it came down to it I would do that trade. Cedeno is redundant if you have Tejada and Walker. Patterson is no loss, but it would be hard to part with all 3 of those pitchers. I guess it doesn't really matter since, Levine is just throwing random names out anyway.

Am I the only one who would rather face Vick than their backup QB? Vick is almost a lock to force a few interceptions. I think his running game will also be greatly negated by Urlacher. It isn't often that Vick faces a linebacker with that speed. This will be a HUGE game for the Bears, but one they should win.

Why do you say that? Teams trade withing the division all the time. Sean Casey, the Captian of the Reds was just traded to Pittsburgh for a left handed pitcher. The Mets are most definately a player for Tejada. The sports talk radio here is polluted with the rumors. Yea, but it's not like Sean Casey is Manny Ramirez or Miguel Tejada. I'd trade Neifi to the Cardinals. I'd GIVE Neify to the Cardinals.

Not our day today. Couldn't stop the run at all. Forced 3 fumbles, but couldn't recover any of them. Orton was Orton. The running game was decent (at best), but the Bears were forced to pass much of the 2nd half. But with the Panthers loss we are still the 2 seed in the NFC. Bears lead over Minnesota is down to 1. Hopefully the Steelers will stay hot and beat Minnesopta next week.

And Michael Irvin says the Bears aren't that good because they havn't beaten anyone. :roll: Lay off the crackpipe Michael.

It's Gameday, people! There are way to many predictions in the Steelers favor. Are the Bears missing key players? Yes. Does orton suck? Yes. Will it be tough to go to Pittsburgh and beat a very good team? Yes. But the Bears have been getting it done all year. They are 9-3. Pittsburgh lost to Baltimore a few weeks back. I know Big Ben was out, but freaking Baltimore! Roethlisberger has been poor at best, and has been a turnover machine lately. Pittsburgh has allowed a running back to go for 100+ yards the last 2 games. Pittsburgh's runing game has been very ineffective the past few weeks. The Bears havn't given up more than 10 points in a game in over a month. This is a huge game for the Steelers, fighting for a playoff spot, but it is huge for us too. With a loss Minnesota could get to within 1 game of the Bears, and Chicago would fall behind in the race for a 1st round bye. The Offense, Defense, and Special Teams will find a way to get to 16. Da Bears 16 Steeler 13

Here is what we know so far. Tejada requested a trade from the O's. Bruce Miles has speculated that he would be a perfect fit with the Cubs and Hendry should pursue him. ESPN 1000 and XM Radio have also specifically mentioned the Cubs as potenial suitors. The Red Sox have reportedly offered Manny for Tejada straight up, and it hasn't been dismissed. Peter Angelos blasted Tejada in the press, making many speculate that it is likley the O's will grant Tejada his request for a trade. One obstacle in a trade for Tejada is that he has the right to demand a trade after 1 season if he is dealt. Did I miss anything?

I'm still upset about that call. They even reviewed it and still got it wrong! Hopefully DJ will be back for that revenge game.

Why would Baltimore be in a hurry? The longer they wait, the better the offers. Perhaps I wasn't clear. By "taken care of this situation by now" I meant worked things out with Tejada and swept this controversy under the rug. If you asked be 24 hours ago I would have said odds are he won't be traded, now it seems like it's unavoidable.

It really does seem like he is going to be traded somewhere. I figured the O's would have taken care of this situation by now, but it seems to be getting worse in Baltimore. Make it happen Jim. The teams that I think have the best shot at him are (in no order): Red Sox Cubs Astros It all depends on what direction Baltimore wants to go. If they want a superstar in return, it will be Boston (if Manny ok's it). If they want big league players in return it may be Houston (Backe, Lidge, Everett). If they want to build with prospects, it may be us (Williams, Pie, Hill, Wuertz). Let's hope they want a youth movement in Baltimore.

For the first time in memory IU is crushing UK, and CBS switches to OK St - Zaga. This Sucks. Let me enjoy this Greg Gumble.

Great half for IU. Now they need to do it again.

Wanna trade coaches? Mike Davis makes Dusty Baker look good.

Sadly I think you're right about it requiring Zambrano or Prior to get Tejada. We're not the only team that would love to land Tejada this offseason, and the Orioles will be getting trade offers that would net them very good, PROVEN players (like Manny). If the Cubs were the only team interested in Tejada, something along the lines of Pie+Cedeno+Williams and/or Hill might work. But unfortunately we're not the only team. That beind said I'd rather not lose Prior or Z. JCs right - upper tier pitchers are availble every season, but they recently have been getting absurd salaries. I'd rather keep Prior and Z at reasonable price for as long as we can. To use your examples, I think Baltimore would be better off with Pie, Cedeno Williams/Hill + $10 million saved, than with Manny. How so? Pie, Cedeno, and Hill haven't proven anything in the majors, and Williams has pitched less than 400 innings total. How they will perform is very uncertain, while Ramirez's production for the remainder of his contract is more predictable. I think that Baltimore would rather take the "surer" bet in a trade situation. Just my .02. I don't think the upgrade from Tejada to Manny is near enough to have a huge impact on the O's. Baltimore needs to take the risk with the higher upside, because the "sure bet" isn't enough to make them contend. By taking that Cubs proposal they save $10M a year for 4 years. Sign a stud pitcher (Milwood) to a 4 year/40M contract. I think Williams is a capable #4 at this point, and will only get better. With Milwood, Bedard, and Cabrera he would be the #4 there. Pie has huge upside, and Cedeno and Hill can be very good MLB players too. I doubt ALL of those prospect work out, but even if some do Baltimore would be in good shape. Also don't forget that Manny has 3 years left on his deal, while they would have Pie for 6 years, Cedeno and Hill for 5 or 6, and Williams for a few years too. I also am assuming that Boston would give cash to make the Manny-Tejada money the same. If Boston isn't offering cash, the Cubs deal saves Baltimore an additional $8M a year to pursue free agents. If Baltimore was a team that could contend for a World Series in the next 2 years, I agree with you and take Manny. I don't think they can contend now.

^^^^^^^ Killingsworth MUST keep turnovers to a minimum, and it would be nice if Strickland showed up today. When is White expected back? I think they expect White to play some in the next game @ Charlotte. They have 9 days off after today. If not then, he should be back after Christmas. It hurts not to have him now, but I think the extra minutes will go a long way in Ben Allen's development.

GO IU!!!

Thats not good. Without the starting safeties we really need the front 4 to get to Roethlisberger quick. A big effort from Tillman, and Vasher would go a long way tomorrow. I am more worried about this game than any since the Bengals game. Bears still win 16-13.