davell

The Nomar deal took a month, if not more... the Harden deal was talked about for a couple weeks. Nomar was rumored as moving for about two weeks. He was traded July 31st and the original rumor had the Sox getting back Randy Johnson in mid-July. RJ is what held that up not what Hendry offered (RJ wasn't a final part of the deal). That wound up being a four-team deal--those take time--but what Hendry was paying for Nomar never seemed an issue. Harden went down the day after MIL got CC Sabathia (July 7th and 8th). Hendry was trying to get Sabathia as well and when that fell through he went to plan B--Harden. That's one day, not two weeks. Neither of those deals d r a g g e d on for months like Roberts and Peavy and, now, potentially Garza. Hendry will, and has, waited for free agents and even free agent managers. But if a potential trading partner is waiting on Hendry to sweeten the pot then he's likely not going to get it done. The Peavy deal sure was a weird one. It seemed like a deal was just waiting to be announced after weeks of haggling, and then all of a sudden it was gone like a thief in the night. Evidently they were ready to announce the deal at one point, but Zell pulled the plug on spending. I read that not too long ago and had never knew that it was THAT close to happening.

Did that scout not consider the Royals a big league organization? The Royals certainly have WAAAAAY more top end talent than the Cubs do. But, you can probably find over 30 guys in the Cubs organization who are "considered" future big leaguers. That's all he's talking about probably. All Star middle of the order hitter and a 6-7th inning middle reliever each count as one. I'm not even knocking it either, it'll be very nice to be spending 400K on backups and relievers for a while, along with the occasional breakout guy hopefully. It can at least mean we spend FA money towards difference makers, instead of frittering it away on average players.

If Luck stays in school, I guess we can deduce he doesn't want to play for Carolina.

Shefter was alot more accurate when he was with the NFL Network than he is now that's he with the evil empire.

What about him? I hadn't heard much of anything about him, other than the Cubs could see him developing into another McNutt type steal...... As for Szczur, I've heard upside comps of Carl Crawford somewhere, so if that's the case, I could see the hype starting behind him anyway. As for the Cubs having the 8th best system in baseball? Holy crap. Not sure what else to say. I would have bet we'd have been somewhere in the 13-17 range and felt comfortable about it. I know BA is extremely high on Archer, I guess it's not going to surprise me to see him somewhere in the top 30 or so now, maybe Brett makes it into that general area as well......

Yeah, I'm not sure why they would want to keep him, nor do I see why he'd want to stay either. I don't think he's much of a coach personally, but I think he'd be able to find another job as a head coach and it'd almost definitely be a better gig than he's got now.

As many guys as the Cubs convert, I'm sure they will give it a shot. But, Kyler is going to have to want to do it as well. He may not be ready to write himself off as a hitter yet?

I've seen lots of projections saying Lee could wind up as a 10-15ish home run guy. I don't think he's considered a slap hitter even now, is he? He stings the ball pretty well from what I've heard anyway.

I always go back to what AZPhil had said about Castro and Lake showing up at the same time. Castro bought into everything and did exactly what was asked of him and more, while Lake basically didn't take to instruction at all. Possibly due to the manner of which he was raised as a kid. That always stood out to me and while I certainly see the upside Lake has, I think it's highly unlikely we wind up getting it, therefore I'm definitely in the Lee camp on this one. Plus, I'm pretty sure if you take away Lake's one prolonged hot streak(which was a month and half long, to give him credit), he didn't show much improvement from year to year even. In the end, if we're ranking guys JUST on upside, Lake is my top 10 easily. But, if we're taking everything into account, he doesn't make the cut for me.

By the way, I'm trying to figure out what WR I'd like to see the Bears obtain in the offseason and was going through different possibilities for us. I think we'll try to sign a FA instead of drafting one personally, as we're still running some horrible routes and may not want a rookie to potentially add to this problem. I came up with 8 names that I think will be available, at least on some level, this upcomg offseason. Ochocinco- Not my favorite choice, but he's a solid possession type at this stage of his career. TO- Want no part of him, still think he divides lockerrooms, even though he appeared to be on damn good behavior this season. Steve Breaston- I think he's worked very hard into becoming a solid WR, just not sure he's really an upgrade from what we have. Sidney Rice- He's a FA and the Vikes could rebuild. Love this potential option, may be too pricey though? Vincent Jackson- Would be my top choice, but think Chargers franchise him(if they're allowed to do so by then) if not, I think he'll want an exorbitant amount of money. NYG Steve Smith- No idea if he's even going to be ready in time for next year, but he's a very solid route runner and finds a way to get open. He's a FA from what I can tell anyway and he's probably just their 3rd option anyway. Like I said, no idea if he'll be ready for next year though. Carolina Steve Smith- Had a horrible year, but I think anyone would have done the same with Clausen/Moore throwing it to them. He's old, but I think he could be a very nice bargain type acquisition for a 2 year span or so. Not sure what Carolina would want for him, but it's been rumored he could be on the block possibly. Braylon Edwards- Think he's a FA this year? Think he could stretch the field for us some and give Jay a legitimate WR to throw to for a change. Obviously, there's no way of knowing how many of these guys wind up available until the CBA is sorted out, but looking at each of their situations, I'd expect most of them to be available on some level. I don't expect us to go and throw a ton of money at a WR this offseason, so I'm not expecting for Jackson to be our top target. But, I wouldn't mind some of these other guys and maybe it'd even leave us some money to go address the line in FA as well.

I was thinking we'd see a completely new cast of characters there. Thought Lewis would be gone, Palmer, TO, Ocho, and Benson gone as well. I'm sure TO is gone, but keeping Lewis may mean they don't plan on rebuilding immediately, so maybe those other 3 are coming back now? John Clayton ranked Carson Palmer as the #15 QB, just ahead of...Jay Cutler. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=clayton_john&id=5972554 interesting. with lewis coming back, i'd be very shocked if ocho is a bengal next season. those 2 hate each other. Yeah, I forgot about that. I could see the Bengals going with a WR group of Simpson/Shipley/Caldwell next year and probably getting close to the same production as they got this year out of the former group.

That's what happens when you don't have anything remotely resembling a 1B prospect. I actually kind of thought we'd see Golden mentioned as our best power prospect. You're definitely right though, we have no semblance of a 1B prospect whatsoever and based on how Wilken loves "up the middle guys" who are athletic, I don't see us taking one either. That said, I'm fine with not drafting 1B, in general, as quite a few guys eventually get moved over there anyway. Whether it be a quickness issue, fielding problems, or whatever else, alot of guys wind up there. Still could happen to Vitters before he makes the majors possibly. I doubt it, but it's been talked about anyways. So while I am fine with not drafting 1B, I'm not fine with constantly taking lower upside types. Sure, we've got a ton of guys in our system that will make it to the majors at some point, many who may actually contribute and that's good. But, I want at least a few "swing for the fences" type picks too. I hope we take some power hitters in this upcoming draft(early round picks), even if we take a potential stud pitcher in the 1st.

I was thinking we'd see a completely new cast of characters there. Thought Lewis would be gone, Palmer, TO, Ocho, and Benson gone as well. I'm sure TO is gone, but keeping Lewis may mean they don't plan on rebuilding immediately, so maybe those other 3 are coming back now?

Surprising list. I am a big fan of Brett Jackson, but it's pretty damning of our system, if he's considered our best POWER hitter in it, if you ask me. Would of thought Dolis' stock was down personally from where it was last year at this time. Not really surprised to see Jay Jackson miss out, but I still think he's one of our top 10 guys for sure. Kind of surprised BA had Simpson make the list. They had him as something like the 192nd ranked prospect from the 2010 draft and yet he makes our top 10 over a guy like Golden, who they had in their top 100 or so? On top of that, Simpson hasn't done anything but catch mono since he was drafted, so what kind of new info could they even have to change their opinion on him, other than they must trust Wilken? Lost some respect for BA here, just doesn't make sense as to why they changed their ranking to me. If they were high on Simpson before, I'd understand this better, but they weren't. Shocked with Szczur's ranking as well. Through BA's eyes, we may be in for a rude awakening as far as final system rankings go, if you ask me. Of course, Szczur at least played last year and played well, so maybe they moved him in after seeing what he's capable of at least.

Is he a first rounder or is there a chance he slips to the top of the second? I would love to have him on the Cowboys, but he'd have to be a second rounder for them to have a chance at him. It's obviously very early, but I'm not seeing any Safeties going in the 1st round of any mocks so far.

why? This is the 1st time in how many years that they weren't in last place in the division, at least not alone in last place.THATS PROGRESS! They'll still get a decent draft pick, and considering they aren't looking for a QB, WR, or DT, they'll probably get good value where they pick as well. The funniest situation to me was Seattle, who went from picking 8th to 21st because of the win last night. I mean, it DID put them in the playoffs, but it also ruined their chances of landing a top flight QB without trading back up quite a bit to get one.

If I'm looking at the teams that could draft a QB in the 1st round, I'm looking at these teams basically....... Buffalo-Doubtful, I think they like Fitzpatrick. Miami- With the team around, I think they'd go for a McNabb or Palmer personally, maybe trade for Kolb possibly. Cincy-Definitely see them starting over at this stage, so they'll probably take one. Tennessee- Depends on who wins out between Fisher and Young. My guess is Young wins out and they don't take one. Jacksonville- Need someone who's better than Garrard for sure, but no idea whether they think this themselves. Oakland- No 1st round pick, but could see them trading up to take one possibly, since Davis is as unpredictable as anyone has ever been. Denver- Seriously doubtful. I see them hiring a coach who buys into Tebow. Dallas- Seriously doubtful, but if Romo doesn't do something soon, it could be on their agenda this time next year. Washington- If Shanahan rebuilds, I could see this happening this year for them. Minnesota- Kind of falls into the same boat as Miami as far as I'm concerned. They've got a damn solid nucleus, so maybe they go with a proven guy for another year, unless they really love Mallet or Locker. Carolina- They're notoriously cheap and have tons of holes to fill, plus they've got Clausen. They need Luck as far as I'm concerned, but could see them trading down, in order to accumulate more picks, but I do think they'll take a QB, just maybe not Luck. Arizona- They need one as badly as anybody, but with Fitz being an UFA the following year, I could see them passing on drafting a guy and bringing in a vet to try and appease Fitz, who will surely leave if they don't make improvements this upcoming year. San Francisco- Definitely see them taking a QB. Plus, if they hire Harbaugh, I could see them doing their damndest to trade up for Luck. Seattle- Definitely see the need here as well and I've about earmarked Locker for them myself. This is a very flashy draft, as QB's and WR's are two of the deepest positions in it. It's weak on top end O-Linemen and not GREAT on top end interior D-Linemen either(although Fairley and Dareus can be great, just a drop off from there). In the end, I see lots of jockeying around for teams to find their QB of the future. While I think Luck is a surefire top pick, if he doesn't come out, I could see Gabbert declaring and becoming the overall top pick himself. And with all the teams currently in need of a QB, I think we'll see teams trading up to land Newton, Mallet, and Locker. Maybe even to the point where we see a team make a trade back up to the 1st and take a Christian Ponder or Pat Devlin type guy, even though they aren't worth that high of a pick.

If signing ANY of these guys keeps Cashner from getting his shot at the rotation, my answer is an extremely easy "no". If we have the money available to sign one of these guys, I'd rather put that money towards something else, if given that choice. If we HAD to sign one of these guys, I guess I'd take Duchsherer.

Szczur is going to play in the Senior Bowl.

I think Guyer could wind up being our last bench guy coming out of ST. I don't think we'll see Brett until an injury forces him to come up. He needs as many at bats as he can get. I actually see Carpenter as the surprise guy that makes the roster out of ST myself.

I'd rather go ahead and let the guys play. Don't take the pedal off the gas. You're already going to have a bye week, so getting a full games worth of reps this week is fine with me. Yeah, there's the injury risk, but to me, you either play all game or sit all game, since an injury can happen at any stage. And if you're already thinking about getting a half off or something, it may even allow for more mental lapses, possibly causing more of a chance of getting hurt anyway.

I don't really hate the Cowboys, but I don't think of football metrics or basketball metrics in the same vein as I do baseball metrics either. Just think baseball metrics mean more. I don't even use the one playoff win against him. If I did, I wouldn't have Cutler as a franchise guy either. To me, it's who I think makes an actual difference for a team. Cutler has no offensive line and no wide receivers to speak of this year. He's still growing as a decision maker obviously, but he's a guy that makes a true difference. On the other hand, I think you can throw a Jon Kitna into Dallas' and he'll still put up very respectable stats for them, as he has done this season. I have always thought Romo was a product of this and there's no way to tell whether or not he'd make a difference playing on a different team, so my opinion probably will never change on him.

On the guys I don't have as "franchise" types yet..... I may very welL have put Flacco too low, I could easily move him into the "almost definitely will be a franchise guy" pile with Bradford and Freeman. Both of whom I think are going to be excellent longterm QB's. I would put Stafford in that group as well, if it weren't for me being concerned over his injuries so far. Is he injury-prone or has he just been unlucky? Not ready to answer that one yet, so I drop him down a notch, but totally think he has the ABILITY to be bigtime...... As for the other 4 guys, I think Romo is an average QB. Always have, always will. He's got some weapons around him and I think quite a few QB's could do lots more with what he's had than what he's done. Cassel is kind of a question mark, since he's had an excellent year for sure, but I think that lots of QB's could have great years if given the running attack he's got going for him. If there's one of these 4 that I could see myself changing my tune on though, it's him. Sanchez has a damn good supporting cast and a damn good defense(when not playing the Bears). He does an average job with these advantages. Therefore, he's an average QB in my book. Schaub has as good of a running back as there's been in football this year and one of the 2-3 best receivers in the game as well. Schaub should be better. Not much else to say here.

I think franchise QB implies "elite" or near elite status. Yeah, I'm not sure exactly what "franchise" QB truly means to other people, but here's my list of them anyway....... Brady P Manning Roethlisberger Rivers E Manning Vick Rodgers Cutler Brees Ryan Guys that I expect to make this list very soon would be...... Bradford Freeman Guys that CAN make this list...... Stafford Flacco Guys I don't consider at all, but could see some people that would...... Romo Schaub Cassel Sanchez

This is a bad game for Vegas. Isn't there a chance that the Bears could have their position locked up before the game and that the starters could get pulled? Has Lovie commented on if he will do that yet? I think Lovie said he wants to beat the Packers at all times and would be playing to win no matter what.