jersey cubs fan

I don't think it's that hard to assume Green Bay will beat the Giants and Chicago at home. They probably shouldn't even bother having him play at New England and just hope he can come back strong for those last two. They moved the ball okay and lost a big fumble by a receiver and another receiver turned a huge pass into an INT. And Rodgers didn't finish the half in that game. They almost certainly win if he stays healthy.

I don't see Tampa winning 2 more, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see them lose all 3. I honestly don't see them beating Detroit, and I doubt they do anything in New Orleans. I see them beating Detroit and Seattle at home and losing in New Orleans, unless the Saints have nothing to play for (which is something Chicago can't count on in their final game). Tampa's been pretty bad to nearly average at home this season, which is why losing all 3 wouldn't surprise me much. It could happen, but I wouldn't count on it.

Do you not have the internet? It's a noon game on CBS but I'm not sure if they have done the flex scheduling for that week.

I don't see Tampa winning 2 more, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see them lose all 3. I honestly don't see them beating Detroit, and I doubt they do anything in New Orleans. I see them beating Detroit and Seattle at home and losing in New Orleans, unless the Saints have nothing to play for (which is something Chicago can't count on in their final game).

I think Duncan has a history of getting the most out of second rate talents. Rothschild does not. He's had an amazing array of pitching talent to work with as Cubs pitching coach, as the Cubs have poured a ton of resources into pitching talents for nearly two decades now. I don't think they've come close to outperforming their ability.

The real bummer is that even if Minnesota pulls off the upset vs the Giants tonight, and then the Giants crap out the rest of the season to fall behind Chicago, Tampa has 2 easy wins coming up and will probably be ahead of Chicago if they manage to lose to Minnesota.

That was a joke.

In theory. But a loss next week really makes it tough. Green Bay may lose next week, but they are likely to win their last 2 games. The Bears should be the fully exposed Jets at home the day after Christmas, but they will probably lose at Green Bay. So if they lose to Minnesota as they usually do, Green Bay is still in position to take the division and Chicago will likely miss the playoffs with the Giants and Saints most likely to take wild card spots. I think it comes down to this game, regardless Green Bay's result in New England.

The Vikings are theoretically a 1.5 point favorite in this game, although that line is off and probably will be at least until they figure out what city they will play the game in. Now this is a must win. A loss here after that embarrassing no show by just about everybody in the snow would put them back into the position of needing help to make the playoffs if/when they give up division to Green Bay. The defense was at its absolute most pathetic. They played like they did in the first half vs Detroit, all game long. It was Arizona @ Chicago 2009 all over again, but instead of unseasoanbly warm conditions, it was cold and snowy in December, what a shock. That game was pretty much everything I feared once this team finally played a consistently solid QB like Brady. And Cutler's picks were almost a guarantee once they went down big and got desperate. Maybe the defense needed a "shut the hell up" game, but my impression is most of these guys will just blow off this result as meaningless given Green Bay's loss, the conditions and other nonsense. The offense remains a work in progress. They still can't run the ball. Hopefully they figure things out in a hurry and Minnesota is somehow negatively affected by their own personal snow bound fiasco. Chicago was bound to lose one of these late season games and they probably have another loss in them somewhere. But this one better not be it.

Isn't he like the 3rd or 4th highest ranking official in the Hurricanes athletic department.

Remember when every player wanted to play for the Cubs, which coincedently ended when Hendry lost his bottomless money pit? Do we really want a player that "remains excited" about the Nationals? We probably shouldn't want a player that remains excited about the Cubs, but we have to take what we can get.

Welcome back 2009 Chicago Bears.

Huh, he doesn't indicate why he thinks it would be a "certainty". Just because the Cubs could use him in the Central doesnt mean that the Rays have to trade him if they don't see good value. Not sure how Price came to that conclusion. Huh? A source told Ed Price they were certain he would be traded. They aren't going to explain why they feel that way.

Santo's was more childish enthusiasm, whereas Hawk is a jerk. His proclamations are tough guy smack talk and then he complains about bad calls when things go wrong. Ron would just seem to question the baseball gods about why the Cubs sucked.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2010-12/58200980.jpg

I think it was clearly his worst. Not sure if that was because of how pathetic the Cubs were, but people commented all the time how bad Ron sounded. If you like what he did he was at his best in the late 90's/early 2000s, when the Cubs were in contention and he had more energy. He would get confused, but not as badly as he did this year. I really feared he'd die on air this past season.

his performance has nothing to do with what spot in the lineup he bats. His career splits don't agree with you. So when do we use stats and when don't we? Ok, over a 162 game schedule we can expect certain things from Marlon based on his career averages. None of his numbers would suggest he is the type of hitter most people would bat 3rd. While I would agree he is far from the type of guy you would ideally put in the three spot (kind of like most Cubs) his splits in different spots in the order are just meaningless.

Twitter says: Officials say Robert Feder, of Huntington Station, blew a stop sign and a red light and plowed into 61-year-old Joseph Carney's car in Westbury last May

But that is exactly how New England operates their offense. The Bears won't be "making them" do anything.

That would be, far and away, the most points given up by the Bears all season. Most up until now is 26 to Philly in a win. New England is also the highest scoring offense they've faced and Chicago matches up better with what Philly tries to do than what New England does. I was just about to post that NE has only scored fewer than 26 twice. Something definitely has to give. Or they could score 26.

That would be, far and away, the most points given up by the Bears all season. Most up until now is 26 to Philly in a win. New England is also the highest scoring offense they've faced and Chicago matches up better with what Philly tries to do than what New England does.

On the other hand, Ramirez has been the most reliable hitter on the team for 7+ years. Soto is a bit more hit or miss, and plays a more dangerous position for injuries. I'm not sure why 2B is listed as reliable, unless you mean reliably weak. I think it's more about there not really being a solid candidate for breakout stud production at his position. 2008 saw league leading production at C and CF, they also had near top of the league at 3B and 2B and not one "black hole" position. RF was below average OPS, but still had a .350 OBP. Most positions were at least above average. The Cubs sufferered from a couple black hole positions last year, 1B and 2B. And they really didn't get top of the line production anywhere, thanks to Castro showing up late and backup catchers. Those might be the only guys who stand a real chance of top notch production this season.

Plus they can't.

The latter for two reasons. You can always change management, and in addition to the limited resources, the former has an extremely difficult path to the playoffs even when at their best.

It still requires you miss 15 consecutive days. If you can put a guy on the IR one day and take him off quickly thereafter it's pretty insignificant.