jersey cubs fan

I don't get it. I know the Jets are in need of a WR that could help in the development of Mark Sanchez, but would Plax want to stay in NY . So do the Bears have more experienced or better WR than the Jets? I thought consensus was Chicago had the worst WR in the league. I don't see why Plaxico wouldn't want to stay in NY. It's probably going to come down to money. If the Jets can and do offer more, why not? It's not like the Bears are perennial contenders who guarantee victories.

Back to back picking on the Pirates posts. What's the story here? Does this guy not belong anywhere near the top 5?

Yeah, I'd think they'd want prospects who could help them in the future as opposed to swapping veterans for veterans. I'd think they'd be interested in cutting some costs, and getting prospects, which is is what the original post already noted. Actually it was a single prospect and our garbage. So it wasn't swapping veterans for veterans. It was some of their garbage, for some of our garbage, swapping out relievers with reasonably decent careers so far, with them saving money and getting a prospect. Maybe throw in another prospect if you insist.

I read or heard something somewhere implying there was some sort of friction, but I didn't get any details. What sort of friction is there? Or is it media created? He was a decent minor leaguer, but nothing special, and has been a relatively disappointing major leaguer, right? I wouldn't if they traded for him, but I can't imagine the price being right from the White Sox. Can he do anything besides play 3rd if/when Aramis returns? Would he hold any residual value for 2010 other than as trade bait?

Yeah, I'd think they'd want prospects who could help them in the future as opposed to swapping veterans for veterans. I'd think they'd be interested in cutting some costs, and getting prospects, which is is what the original post already noted.

Yes he has. .189/.271/.300 for an OPS+ of 47.

Weird. About 5 seconds after I read this post, I got a call on my office phone and when I answered it was a recording, "Hi, this is Lisa from Dish Network. We have you scheduled for a free satellite...." When I got directv I specifically got it because they had sunday ticket and when I moved I specifically looked for places where I could still get directv. You should look into your other service provider options.

I thought last year it aired on ESPN during the day, and it was the first time they put that much effort into airing it. They want it to become more of an event, and you have a better chance of doing that if it's in prime time. The NFL wants to move their first round to prime time as well.

Buy extra innings. The bottom line is the Cubs grew their fan base and profited from having a generation of pre-internet kids watch their games on WGN. But that opportunity is more or less lost now. The fan base is there, and WGN America is going to have relatively little to do with it. If you want to be able to watch every game without living near Chicago, pay the $150 (less than a dollar a game) or so to watch the season. If you aren't in Chicago and you are getting WGN, you are already paying for cable, so you are clearly willing and able to pay for television entertainment. If you are bitching about it on the internet, odds are you are paying for that privilege. If you don't live in Chicago but want to watch the Cubs play, you can, and it's really not all that expensive when you consider how many games you get. Sure it can be harsh to accept that when you've been getting it for "free" for so long. I've been in NY for over a decade and they stopped getting WGN on their cable systems before that. When I switched to directv it was a godsend to once again get WGN, although they still didn't have all the games. But as somebody who grew up in Chicago, then moved away, I was more than willing to pay for the privilege of watching Cubs games.

So who do I want the Cubs to draft? And who should I be annoyed at if they take him instead?

Yeah, because he couldn't practice with his team. Doesn't matter, none of these could walk into a huddle and have immediate success.

What a ridiculously arbitrary disctinction. The only reason he doesn't list Cutler as a franchise QB is because he is now on the Bears. If Palmer or Rivers were just traded to Chicago, he'd have to ask the same thing, whether they can produce with the Bears wide receivers. He tries to say it doesn't have anything to do with the team but makes it very clear that he thinks it depends heavily on the team. And the whole notion that any of these guys could step right into any huddle and have immediate success is laughable. Manning stepped right into the huddle of the team he ran for a decade to start last season and sure didn't have success. I like how he says, sure Manning had success with Wayne, but he also had success with Harrison, and somehow that is supposed to explain how Manning can work with any WR.

I still don't understand why this story seems to revolve around a HR shot that was measured a year after the fact by having a couple guys look for a dimple in the desert.

There is a history of guys like this totally NOT living up to expectations and fading away or going down in flames. Todd Morinovich, LaBradford Smith, and Brian Taylor come to mind. On the other hand so do Tiger Woods, Derek Jeter, and A-Rod. Jeter wasn't in this class though, was he? I mean, he was good, but he was not a no-doubt number 1 overall pick good.

Correct, Turner played a role, as did Angelo by letting the line deteriorate. But it sure as hell wasn't the fans' fault that Grossman crapped the bed, especially when so much of that defacation was on the road. Hell, he couldn't handle or execute basic QB - get the snap from the center - on a consistent basis. That has been a problem with multiple Bears QB's, with the one connection being Kreutz.

there's no way that's true. sorry. you're essentially saying that pitchers KNOW they can get soriano out by throwing sliders in the dirt, but their cockiness (?) for some reason, leads them to throw him fastballs that he hits 400 feet. come on. You got it wrong. Pitchers believe in their fastballs.

Correct, Turner played a role, as did Angelo by letting the line deteriorate. But it sure as hell wasn't the fans' fault that Grossman crapped the bed, especially when so much of that defacation was on the road.

They are the better ones, who are more worthy of being cocky. But yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if some guys make decisions about pitches differently in the playoffs than if they were in the regular season.

If Soriano goes on one of his hot streaks during October he could carry a team to a World Series title. I'm not convinced that Soriano has "hot streaks" so much as he has streaks where pitchers are giving him a lot of good pitches to hit. That won't happen very frequently in the playoffs, so the chances of him getting on a "hot streak" are very slim. so if all you have to do to get him out is not throw him "good pitches to hit," then why doesn't every pitcher do that to him all the time? Because pitchers are cocky bastards who believe their stuff can get anybody and they can't necessarily put it where they want it every time.

Dickie Thon is an underrated all time great baseball name.

This is something I can't stand about fandom. We don't know anything about his head. There's no basis for judgment there. I suspect his height was always his biggest problem. There's plenty of basis. I'm not talking about some silly notion of toughness or anything. He very clearly crumbled under defensive pressure. Not emotional pressure, or fan insults. He fell apart midgame far too often when teams started getting to him. His INTs were clearly mental F ups. That's not ridiculous fandom talking. It's just the facts. Sure, his height probably played a part, but his height was not the determining factor. You can be a successful relatively short QB.

Why? Bradley was always going to have a wide range of potential numbers. Two months of numbers not that far outside the realm of possibility should not surprise anybody. If he was healthy all year at at 722, yeah, I'd be surprised. But why do you have to be surprised that he's been banged up and had an OPS 100 points below his career? If that was an option before the season, would you really say, "no way that happens." Guys struggle when switching teams/leagues all the time. Plus, again, it's 2 months. 2 months of banged up subpar peformance by Milton Bradley should not be a surprise to anybody.

I think you are overly critical of Bears fans dealing with QBs. They may have given Grossman poor treatment, but he brought all of that upon himself. He was given every chance, and just crapped the heck out of the bed. If anything, they should be credited for pointing out the team was winning without help from the QB. The Bears would be no better off today if fans were just a little nicer to Rex. Other than how rabidly they reacted to Rex's every mistake (which happened far too often), where's the irrational behavior? They hated everybody else because just about everybody else sucked. Harbaugh was decent, but if anything Ditka should be blamed for his career not lasting in Chicago. Any other fan base with QB issues is going to act similarly. You think Green Bay would be thoughtful and analytical about their QB situation if they didn't spend the last 20 years with Favre? You think Giants fans would be hunky dory with Eli's missteps if they didn't have multiple SB titles, including a recent one, to think about? I'm not so sure about that (we'd be in the same position if the fans were nice to Rex). I agree Rex crapped the bed, but his treatment in my view was extraordinarily bad, especially for a team that had just gone to the Super Bowl. You can say "he should be able to take it" but it became unbelievably personal. I still think Rex has talent -- possibly backup QB talent, but at this point there would be no way for him to play in Chicago, even as a backup. Of course he has talent, he just doesn't have the head. I think it's ridiculous to suggest, as you appear to be doing, that he would have been better with the Bears if they treated him better. Rex fall apart all on his own. The Arizona game was on the road. The weak play in the Super Bowl didn't involve Bears fans. Rex couldn't handle the pressure of opposing defenses, the home crowd had nothing to do with it. Maybe they made things a little worse than they would have been in a game or two, but Rex's ultimate failings are the result of Rex, and Ron Turner. It's not the fans' fault. And again, Rex was one of dozens of QBs who failed in Chicago. That's not the fans' fault. The Bears have been poor in identifying, acquiring and developing QBs. It's not like Rex was some can't miss prospect. He was a short Florida guy with a lot of people who expected him to fail, and that was long before Bears fans got on his case. Now they have actually bypassed the identify and develop stage of the game, by simply acquiring an established quality pro.

If you think Subway is too expensive you should see other sub places. The remaining $5 footlongs they have are one of the best deals in 'cheap' food. Guaranteed fill-up every time. Filled up with a whole bunch of light airy bread and extremely low quality meat. If you just buy a $5 footlong, it's cheap, yes. But there aren't many $5 subs on the menu. My favorite deli where I live sells something called the Super Hero, with amazing hot ham, homemade mozzerella and, now I can't remember the 2nd meat. But anyway, it's a billion times better than anything you can get at Subway. And up until last year it was $5, now I think it's $5.50.

I think you are overly critical of Bears fans dealing with QBs. They may have given Grossman poor treatment, but he brought all of that upon himself. He was given every chance, and just crapped the heck out of the bed. If anything, they should be credited for pointing out the team was winning without help from the QB. The Bears would be no better off today if fans were just a little nicer to Rex. Other than how rabidly they reacted to Rex's every mistake (which happened far too often), where's the irrational behavior? They hated everybody else because just about everybody else sucked. Harbaugh was decent, but if anything Ditka should be blamed for his career not lasting in Chicago. Any other fan base with QB issues is going to act similarly. You think Green Bay would be thoughtful and analytical about their QB situation if they didn't spend the last 20 years with Favre? You think Giants fans would be hunky dory with Eli's missteps if they didn't have multiple SB titles, including a recent one, to think about?