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I was thinking the last cut would be waiting to see how Mannelly is and if he's good the extra longsnapper would go.

Javy with an RBI single and a sac fly so far. Daytona in a rain delay.

I'm looking for the Bears to make 1 trade before the season. Jon Scott still not practicing. But I still think the team will gamble by trying to trade J'Marcus Webb, if there are any takers. Clearly needs a change of scenery. I think Eben Britton makes it (experience at both OG spots) and is the swing OT until Scott is 100%. Bears could probably use another CB, while keeping UDFAs, CJ Wilson and/or Demontre Hurst on the practice squad.

Yeah, plus I think a lot of those teams could be better/worse than expected. I think Pittsburgh and Baltimore could be lackluster. Rams will be tougher than expected. Injuries will make a huge difference both ways.

Maybe nothing this year, but he has some crazy natural pass rush skills. Works on his technique, and he could be a really good pass rusher. He'll make the roster, probably be inactive on gamedays to start the year, but if there is an injury, he'll get in there as a pass rush specialist and show something, I believe.

Yeah, Oakland and SD may be the 2 least talented DLs the Bears OL will see. Oakland is bad everywhere though. That being said, I think it was pretty important for this team to have a good offensive showing, regardless of who it was against. The offense needs some positive reinforcement. It needs to see some success. It obviously helps to have success more than it does to struggle. They'll face possibly the top DL in the league, Week 1. Glad they'll go into that confident they can block them instead of scrambling to find 5 adequate lineman like they've been the last few years.

Updated my blog for the start of the 2013 season. Kind of a fluff piece for now. Just kinda wanted to get something up.

Baez and the Smokies facing Archie Bradley. Should be fun.

Led off the 3rd with a single. Capped the 7-run inning with a 2-run double.

Its too late for that. He had to be promoted by August 1st I think.

Well that's awesome.

Olt HR!

He's already 24. I don't know how good his defense is, but it'll have to be pretty good and in CF for him to get a shot. Best case he's Ha with more power. Or a LH hitting Junior Lake with far less upside.

Javy grounded out.

Well his nickname is "birdman", so assholishness kinda goes with the moniker.

Yeah, Collins has looked good too in place of Melton. Turning into a solid 3-man rotation. Throw in Wootton, who has had a strong camp. McClellin, who made some plays vs. SD. And obviously, Peppers, who can do whatever he wants on a football field, and this can be a really strong group up front. I was pretty worried about this group without Idonije's versatility, especially if Paea and McClellin don't take a huge step forward....but now I'm a little more at ease. Overall, been the best unit in the entire preseason. Oh and James Anderson is really a good pass defender. I think he'll be a huge upgrade over Roach in that area. Not a great run defender, though.

Yeah, could have put up even more points than the 27 they did. Onubun dropped a Cutler underthrow, but nobody was around him. He could have taken a knee, caught the ball, got up, and still gotten the ball inside the 5. Marshall dropped 2 balls, let a DB knock the ball away from him on another play (something he rarely allows), and failed to pick up the ball on an underthrown deep ball (Cutler threw under pressure). Bennett also had a pair of drops. One would have been a nice catch, but he still shoulda had it. But the drops were probably literally the only bad things with the #1s out there in full. Forte looks amazing. Looks lean, quick, and very explosive. I don't think we've seen close to the extent that Trestman will use him this season. The Bears will do a lot to get him in space vs. LBs and he will win all those plays. The zone blocking also really will help him, as he likes to make 1 cut and go. ZBS will allow him to pick his own hole accelerate. As for the OL, Jordan Mills is really impressive. He's really allowing nothing. Winning every single battle. Long was good again, but he did show a weakness of picking up the delayed blitz. Right now, he's not very football smart, but he doesn't have to think to physically dominate anyone that gets in his way.....which he has been doing. Don't know that I've seen an OG get to the LB level like him in a long time. I think Bushrod has really stabilized the offense. Did struggle in the first game, but right now, you can tell the difference between him and what the Bears have thrown out at LT the last several years. I agree, Wilson is going to make the team. I think he may even be the #4 right now over Joe Anderson and will get some reps every now and then with the 1s in the regular season. As for the defense, Bostic is just a little slow diagnosing certain plays. But he's not going to kill the team by being in there. Most of his half seconds will be covered up by a great DL, Briggs, or Major Wright in the run game. He comes out in the nickel, so that's not a huge deal either. If he is forced on the field in the nickel, teams will pick on him, but he still has the athletic ability to makes a play....as he did in the preseason opener. The D overall was great. I think Conte is taking that next step. He seems to made up that step I'm talking about with Bostic. Getting his hands on and disrupting a lot more passes. Paea seems to be coming along too, especially as a pass rusher.

Hah. The Raiders are terrible. Forte goes untouched on a flare in the backfield, when it should have been 3 yard loss.

Vogelbach just stole 2nd base in the 3rd. I think he could handle CF in a pinch.

Also stole his 19th base as the back half of a double steal with Alcantara, who is 1 away from 30.

Fuckin Nats manager fucked up Strasburgs game by leaving him in too long.

That'd be quite a haul from Louisville, wouldn't it? Also wouldn't be "up".

Yeah, the Cubs need to get rid of as many OBP black holes in the lineup as they can. An OF of Choo, DeJesus, and Schierholz vs. RHPs will get on base. Rizzo will get on base, assuming his average normalizes. You know you're going to have guys like Castro, Lake, and possibly the C spot bringing down the team OBP. Baez probably won't get on base a ton to start his career when he comes up next year, so I think the key is upgrading Barney. I wish a 3B was emerging by now so Valbuena could start the year at 2B.

That's RBI 100 for Javy.

Birmingham tied the game so Javy will have a chance at a 3rd game winner in the last week.