BigbadB

How often does a team go undefeated for a whole season? Not very. I'm guessing the Bears will lose a few games along the way. I'm not eating crow when it happens. The Bears are a SB caliber team. It's up to them to make that happen, however. I'll be disappointed if they don't make it deep into the playoffs. I think they are that good.

It was sent to me in that form because I live in San Diego, and Charger fans HATE the Raiders. I'm in a lot of address books of Charger fans. In fact, that might be the biggest hatefest I've ever seen in the NFL. If you saw what the Chargers did to Oakland in week 1, you can really appreciate how much fun Charger fans are having with that game.

I'm glad you agree with me, as you always should, of course. However, I never said that...USSoccer did...in a post where he was explaining his prediction of a Bears loss...:) Whoops. I agree with USSoccer. I never agree with Banedon.

A friend sent me this email today. OAKLAND, (CA)--Oakland Raiders football practice was delayed nearly two hours today after a player reported finding an unknown white powdery substance on the practice field. Head coach Art Shell immediately suspended practice and called the police and federal investigators. After a complete analysis, FBI forensic experts determined that the white substance unknown to players was the GOAL LINE. Practice resumed after special agents decided the team was unlikely to encounter the substance again.

Oh, and yes, I'm quite biased. :D

The Angels have expressed interest in A-Rod. The asking price is assumed to be Ervin Santana, Scot Shields, Chone Figgins and a top prospect. What can the Cubs offer that would closely resemble the talent the Angels would need to give up for A-Rod? The conversation would probably have to include Zambrano, which would immediately kill the deal for me. I could handle a package of Hill, Howry, Moore (or better yet, Izturis), and Pie for ARod, but I don't think that would be as enticing as the Angels package. On the other hand, I doubt the Angels would make that deal, so I don't know if we'd be competing against such a strong package. And why would the Yankees trade a franchise player for 3 relative unknowns and an old reliever? The Angels package looks much better.

The Bears offense doesn't get a whole lot of respect, and honestly, they haven't done enough to earn it. But, I do think the offense is a lot better than people realize. In time, I think it will be proven that they are pretty good. Now, offensively, they will never compare to the teams that air it out game in and game out. The Bears are still a ball control offense. Grossman's passer rating will likely slide to below middle of the pack. The Bears aren't big chance takers. They like the dump pass and run it down their throats until they puke offense. What Grossman can do is hit an open man down the field, which a lot of the other ball control oriented Bear passers didn't possess. I think this element to his game is what will make ball control much more effective. With the defense as strong as it is and everyone healthy, Grossman can have a bad game and the team can still win. The goal is to limit how many bad games he might have and still generate enough points in those games to earn a little home field advantage in the playoffs. :wink:

Both games will definitely show how the Bears stack up against other playoff potential teams.

All road games are tough. Wasn't that the first time the Bears have shut out Green Bay at home? I won't think any less of the Bears if they lose this game, but I think they're a much better team than the Vikings. Take out Johnson, who is a better QB than Grossman, and they are way better than the Vikings. I'm with Banedon that the Bears have not played that great defensively yet. Not as good as they can be and not as good as they likely will be. Urlacher needs to step up this week if he wants to continue having the label of best LB in the NFL. Because Shawne Merriman is about to pass him.

The Angels have expressed interest in A-Rod. The asking price is assumed to be Ervin Santana, Scot Shields, Chone Figgins and a top prospect. What can the Cubs offer that would closely resemble the talent the Angels would need to give up for A-Rod?

Just another small tidbit of information about MacPhail. He's been given a much larger payroll than the previous GM's and even that couldn't propel him ahead of them in the win/loss column. Maybe that was in the article somewhere, but I won't be able to read it until later.

The "experts" just barely have winning records so far this year. I'm not even close to being an expert and I'm 24-8 on the season. If they are experts on picking (NON-SPREAD) games, what does that make me? I predict that the Bears will run all over the Vikings defense while Grossman comes back down to Earth a bit. His coming back down to Earth doesn't mean he'll stink, but he'll be the field general that moves his team down the field with a more ball control oriented offense. The defense will REALLY step it up in this game, and Johnson will make an early exit after the abuse catches up with him. 20-6 Bears

It is not very hard to predict that a guy who gets on base at a much higher percentage is going to score more often. David DeJesus (KC)- 473 plate appearances leading off, 75 runs, .368 OBP Juan Pierre- 676 plate appearances leading off, 78 runs, .331 OBP Can anyone say that the KC Royals heart of the order has been better than the Cubs heart of the order? Cubs #3- .304/.375/.502 Cubs #4- .278/.344/.506 Royals #3- .274/.353/.415 Royals #4- .254/.319/.433 DeJesus- 172 times on base Pierre- 221 times on base KC has a much better AVG with RISP than the Cubs, but we are talking about a difference of 200 plate appearances between these two and only a difference of 50 times on base. DeJesus has lapped Pierre in 200 less plate appearances. OBP factors in quite a bit. DeJesus doesn't steal bases for the most part. DeJesus is a much better option to lead off because of his better OBP. I'll stick by my guns that I'd rather the Cubs gave Alex Sanchez a 1 year contract than give anything above what Alex Sanchez would make in a season (less than 1m?) to Juan Pierre. This team needs to go out and get guys at the top of the order that can get on base. And it wouldn't really cost that much. How much would it cost to sign Lugo and Loretta? Vast OBP improvement at the top of the order will help improve run production from the "meat" of the order.

BA with runners on or in scoring position does factor into the big picture, but how anyone can ignore that: The Cubs rank 29th in MLB in plate appearances with runners on base. The Yankees have had 413 more plate appearances with runners on base than the Cubs, yet only 30 more total at bats than the Cubs. The walk is quite huge in the big picture. And it doesn't take a 200m payroll to build a roster with a good OBP.

This brings me to a different point, which I don't have time to flesh out right now. Is Pete Rose really an all-time great? His career .303/.375/.409, 113 OPS+ line is Rusty Greer-esque. Was he merely a good player who just stuck around forever? I'm not claiming anything either way, I was just shocked by how pedestrian Rose's rate stats were. Those are actually some pretty respectable numbers for the time frame he played in. The HOF really isn't a HOF without Pete Rose. Take off his stats from age 40 on and his career numbers look better.

That's hilarious. Who gets the copyright for "4-3?" Not me, but it is pretty funny.

Is this an indictment of Pierre? If so, how is it? I'm not being a smartypants; I was under the impression that runs are much like RBI in that they are not representative of an individual stat. Basically, it points out that a slow guy can hit lead off and score on a more regular basis than a fast guy. Yes, runs (outside of a HR) requires someone to drive you in. But, it's pretty easy to calculate that a guy who can get on base 40% of the time will score much more often than a guy who gets on base 33% of the time. Pierre actually had decent value when his OBP was over .350. Now, he's really no better than Alex Sanchez, and Alex Sanchez can't land a major league job. If the thought process has anything to do with bringing Juan Pierre back, my suggestion would be to sign Alex Sanchez to the league minimum and save the extra money saved on Pierre and sign or trade for GOOD players. If they wanted to improve run production from the lead off spot, then they need to put someone in the lead off spot that can supply a respectable OBP. Pierre, Izturis, Neifi, and Sanchez do not do that. Alex Sanchez has sort of been a long standing joke at NSBB because his OBP is totally dependent on his ability to get on base via a single. Ironically, Juan Pierre's 2006 very closely resembles Alex Sanchez' career numbers of .296/.330/.372 Pierre- .290/.330/.387 Alex Sanchez' career earnings: 1.25m Pierre's earnings this year?- Way, way more than that Pierre had value at one time. He hasn't had value for the last few years and may never have any value again. If some other team wants to give him a long term contract, let 4-3 go play for that team. It was a poor trade. Plain and simple.

Did you also read Spot on the Wall by Hu Flung Pu Why, yes, yes I did read that one. Slow at the beginning, but quite hilarious at the end. :D

Since I'm not creative enough to come up with anything new, I'll list a few of my favorite books as I was growing up. Under The Bleachers by Seymour Butts Who Peed The Bed by Rusty Bedsprings Runnin' To The Outhouse by Willie Makeit and Betty Dont.

Mark Bellhorn at the top of the order for the Cubs in 2002: 276 AB's/ 60 runs Juan Pierre at the top of the order for the Cubs in 2006: 649 AB's/ 80 runs

That Dodger game was not so good to the dozens of Padres fans that happened to be in the bar I was in last night. :D

Not to throw another wrench in this retiring thing, but can Derrek financially afford to retire at this point? Especially with huge medical bills soon piling up? How long can someone not play before they start losing the skills that got them there?

News Flash: All 32 NFL teams did what they were supposed to do this week and NO ONE lost. :D

I wouldn't mind that trade, actually. Any way to get Giles, too?

I was always under the impression Jones could have started in CF all along, but got moved because Torrii Hunter was better there. Maybe I'm way off. Admittedly, I really don't know if Jones could handle CF, but have always just assumed he could.