Outshined_One

Considering that was Ross' role on the team in 2016, is anyone surprised?

The continued media coverage of the Bears' bass ackwards approach in courting other Chicago suburbs makes it astonishingly clear just how stupid they are. Rather than announce an intention to leave Soldier Field and open up a potential bidding war between municipalities across the country prior to purchasing or committing to a new lease, they immediately jumped on the Arlington property, purchased it for nearly $200m, started demolition, and then decided they wanted to start up a bidding war because they didn't secure preferential tax treatment prior to the purchase. I get that they could conceivably develop, divide, and sell off the Arlington property at a profit, but that would require a serious long term commitment of cash flow to non-football operations, and it also would require the Bears to seek additional financing for the purchase and development of a different parcel (or the redevelopment of Soldier Field) when the public funding of stadium construction can be political suicide. It's not like the McCaskeys are independently wealthy and have bags full of money they could throw around or extensive collateral they could put up for secured financing. The only theory that makes sense to how all of this happened is the Amazon purchasing Arlington rumors had legs, which caused the Bears to panic and accelerate their timeline for purchasing Arlington, rather than taking the time to exercise due diligence, build local political support, and secure commitments for preferential tax treatment prior to purchase. In other words, they pulled a Trubisky.

It's as if Lou Piniella never left.

Can't say I expected this tonight from Kyle.

I think this is performative for Cook County and Arlington Heights, rather than the State. The problem is, they closed on the Arlington property and have already started demolition on it. It's not like they're going to spend millions to buy a parcel in Naperville and then turn the Arlington Heights location into a practice facility and office complex. That's abjectly dumb. I keep saying, if the Bears want the State and Cook County to bend over backwards, they should work on a deal for the Rolling Meadows courthouse facilities at Euclid and Wilke and offer up a new courthouse and government building across the street, where Ditka's used to be. It gives the county and Illinois a win with an influx of cash and modern facilities, it opens the doors for untold amounts of graft, the Bears can use it as leverage for tax breaks and favorable treatment, and it gives the Bears more options for development.

That's how I've felt about following the team this season; their offense is streaky enough that having a mediocre pitching staff means they need to rely on defense and luck to have any shot at a playoff spot. Stroman, Steele, and Smyly have held up their ends of the bargain, but after that, woof. The 4/5 spots are complete black holes and the bullpen desperately needs an overhaul.

I'm fascinated by where the Cubs could go in this draft. Pre-Carter Hawkins, guys like Troy and Shaw would be the leading candidates for the Cubs to select at 13 (assuming availability) as advanced college bats with questions regarding position (see: Kyle Schwarber, Ian Happ, Nico Hoerner, Chase Strumpf), but I don't quite have a handle on this current regime since we only have two drafts to go off of, both of which were COVID-impacted. My hope is for Nimmala, based on my limited knowledge and current preference for targeting high upside types to fill out the lower rungs of the system, but you can make arguments in favor of any guy on this list.

Even when this team is only losing by 2-3 runs, it still feels like a blowout.

Can this team just fast forward to 2027 already?

PCA Wicks Brown Horton Alcantara Davis Mervis Amaya Caissie Hernandez Top 4 was easy for me, but then things got really muddled after that (in a good way). Frankly, there are guys from 11-20 who would have been easy Top 5 prospects in this system a few years ago.

As stated in the major league Game Thread, Mervis is confirmed as getting the call this weekend.

Because the team needed extra time to ensure Hosmer's feelings weren't hurt.

TIL Sam Fuld is a GM.

Since we're winding down, I'm unpinning the thread and removing the live tag. Also, my favorite pick was JPJr to the Steelers in the 2nd. That seriously annoyed me on a number of levels because it was a really good pick for value.

It's shocking to me how many of the posters on this board have gone from from angsty teens when they joined to full on cool dads now.

Adebawore is still on the board.

And now another DT. This is pretty much a whip it out and dare someone to call it small draft, huh?

Damnit, they traded up with the wrong pick.

For better or worse, they identify their man, play their cards close to the vest, and get him one way or another. We'll see if this works out.

I mean...eh? Sure?

Any thoughts on trading back into the 30s? It shouldn't be too difficult to move up from 53 and keep 61, and there are some really intriguing options (particularly at DL) who probably won't last.

With Carter, I've had the sense that he might be a guy who needs a really specific locker room to thrive. Remember, 8 other teams passed on him. It could well be that the Eagles turn him into a HOF-caliber guy and there's non-stop whining about passing on Carter for the next two decades, but if Carter needs a team that has veteran leadership and an experienced coaching staff to get him motivated and keep him motivated, then I don't think it would have worked out for the Bears. Maybe it's sour grapes, but I can understand the justifications for passing on him due to character/motivation issues.

Wasn't that the Mark Pawelek draft? I have a distinct memory of tuning in and hearing Tommy LaSorda rip on the Angels for changing their names.

Remember when the MLB Draft was just a conference call?