SRQCub

Northwestern was hilariously terrible. So is Iowa. Living in ACC/SEC country, I had no idea how awful some of these Big Ten teams were. Very top-heavy conference (much like the ACC.)

Back to football: Northwestern is a joke. Lol at how terrible they are. Same goes for Florida. Treon Harris is just awful. That team may not win 6 games next season. Michigan, OTOH, looks really good. Harbaugh may turn them back into a perennial power.

you have to legislate that stuff out of the game and the only way is to make penalties extreme. It is very easy to avoid that as a player but guys choose to play a certain way thanks to 90s era ESPN highlights. So, are we going to pretend that football is a game played at a relatively slow pace, and that defensive players aren't trying to use their shoulders to hit fast players who are moving targets? Ejections in 100% of "targeting" cases is a dumb rule. There needs to be common sense applied, and the NCAA has not done that this year.

The ejection is too extreme in all cases. I could live with a 15 yd penalty on that play. At the very least, give every player one personal foul without ejecting.

Do tell, what characterizes a "homosexual jersey"? A stripe intended to make the jersey look like a sweater? We can go with metrosexual, if you prefer?

Northwestern has the stupidest, most homosexual jerseys in all of sports. Between these Bill Cosby sweaters and the creamsicle jerseys from Tennessee, this is hard to watch.

Also, lol at this: According to news outlets, Jimbo Fisher and (now ex) wife Candi have finalized divorce. The case was quickly resolved when Fisher's attorneys threatened to depose former UF WR Taylor Jacobs.

Tom Hermann really has no business coaching a 2nd year at Houston. What does he have to gain? If aTm were wise at all, they find cause to excuse Sumlin from his job and hire Hermann tomorrow.

Reds pick up Tony Renda in the deal. Why? Jesus, they must have hated Chapman in that clubhouse.

I have to make a decision between Beau Burrows, Nick Plummer or Alex Bregman in a PTBNL trade. Who would you choose?

Or did he?

1. Zack Greinke- Dodgers 2. David Price- Cubs 3. Jason Heyward- Cubs 4. Chris Davis- Cardinals 5. Justin Upton- Orioles 6. Johnny Cueto- Red Sox 7. Yoenis Cespedes- Angels 8. Alex Gordon- Royals 9. Jordan Zimmermann- Tigers 10. Jeff Samardzija- Giants 11. Mike Leake- Cardinals 12. Denard Span- Red Sox 13. Kenta Maeda- Diamondbacks 14. Wei-Yin Chen- Blue Jays 15. Dexter Fowler- Tigers 16. Daniel Murphy- Dodgers 17. Scott Kazmir- Angels 18. Ian Kennedy- Padres 19. Yovanni Gallardo- Giants 20. Ben Zobrist- Nationals

Ozuna should be an easy target. The Marlins apparently don't value him all that highly, and the Boras bridge is burned here. Let's not overthink this one. Trade Soler for Ozuna, sign one of Gordon/Heyward. Look for one more SP on the trade market and call it an offseason.

When you consider performance plus control, Giles is possibly the most valuable reliever in baseball. When his name was briefly attached to the Cubs, I figured it'd take on the order of 3 of our top 10 to land him. He and Dellin Betances are both guys you'd love to have at the end (or near it) of your bullpen. Betances is a little older and gets to arbitration a little quicker, but he'd be a nice arm to have, as well.

I doubt Swanson ever becomes an above average Major Leaguer, but including him with Inciarte was just far too much. I just have no idea what Arizona is trying to do. Was keeping AJ Pollack really that important?

I think that if this is a deal with the Orioles for Gausman, we're looking at Soler being their return. Given the likelihood that Davis signs elsewhere, they need a corner OF far more than they need a middle infielder.

The problem is, withholding a player in order to delay his clock is expressly forbidden in the CBA. Of course, Bryant's side has to somehow prove that's what the Cubs have done. Proof will be the thing that cannot provide, though every human being with at least two brain cells bumping into one another knows that's what the Cubs have done.

On the one hand, yes, you pick up a guy who could be one of the most dominant closers in history. On the other, you already have a stellar closer, and you're likely giving up very good prospects for a guy who will play in about 4% of the innings your team plays. I don't understand this move from a value perspective. Dodgers appear to be getting desperate.

Honestly don't think I will be on either account. I hope I'm right about Heyward and that we then turn and deal for two young, controllable arms.

Nailed it.

That would be a huge mistake. The NL central race is going to be much too tight a race to wait half a season before fully upgrading the rotation. He could be a believer in first half Hammel. Or he could believe it was the hamstring (right?) injury that diminished Hammel's effectiveness in the second half. Personally, I'm okay with adding one MLB starter, someone with options like Sierra and then additional depth at the upper levels of the minors. I don't see a huge need to add two pieces to the rotation right away. 2016 and 2017 are likely the best squads this team is going to have over the duration of their playoff window. Lester is only going to get older, Arrieta will only get older and possibly be gone, etc. Everything needs to be poured into this year and next. Going into 2016 without significantly improving the squad is a huge mistake. Because we can project the 2016 and 2017 rosters, I understand this mentality, but I think it's far from conclusive that this will be the reality. That said, I do think now is the time to move. The NL West doesn't appear to have anyone outside of the aging Dodgers who look like a threat at this point. The Cardinals are the Cardinals, and I won't expect their demise until I actually see it. The East has the Nats and Mets who could be World Series competitors, but either could be very average squads in 2016. I don't know that this will really be our best squad, but I do think this could be our best chance to outclass the NL.

They can get guys as good as Shelby miller who won't cost nearly as much. Who, exactly? And if they can, why aren't they?

Signing Heyward and trading McKinney and Contreras for Miller would be an excellent offseason, imo. No way I could see myself turning my nose up at it.

Especially not if Contreras is involved. Ew. I don't think I understand this sentiment. Contreras is a fine prospect, but Shelby Miller is a reasonably proven commodity at a position of need, and at an ideal time. The years of control and his age are also quite desirable. I may be buying into his 2015 a bit much, but if that's the start of his ascent toward "prime," a prospect like Contreras is well worth it to me.

According to Peter Gammons, Lackey and Alex Gordon are two names he's hearing most with the Cubs.