brinoch

He's still around, just not posting as much. Real life concerns have taken him away from the site for a bit.

And he missed the front end of two 1 and 1's with under 3 minutes.

I'll gladly pay all of Zambrano's contract for LoMo.

? Is this an online thing? http://www.csnchicago.com/live_bears Thanks.

? Is this an online thing?

Just wow.

They are re-seeded after the "conference" playoffs, rather than locked into Norris vs. Smythe and Patrick vs. Adams. I read somewhere that this isn't decided yet. You are correct. I was jumping the gun -- the presumed set-up is the "re-seeding" option, but it's not determined yet.

They are re-seeded after the "conference" playoffs, rather than locked into Norris vs. Smythe and Patrick vs. Adams.

Probably too little, too late.

Good game by both teams -- could have gone either way.

Now, I can see Jerry Jones throwing away 2.5 million in this instance, but I would have been floored if Green Bay threw that money away. I know they're an NFL franchise, but 2.5 million dollars a lot of cheddar (pun intended). As a Purdue fan, Kyle probably ended up in the best spot long term. He can compete with Matt Cassel, I think, and there are some weapons in KC. It's definitely the easiest competition, and aside from the weapons, there also aren't many expectations. If he displays any competency he could be rewarded. But I wonder how Denver feels now that he's in KC. Yeah, if he beats Tebow head to head in a few weeks there could be a meltdown. Whiskey Neckbeard vs. the Tebows. Too much fun.

Interesting. I think the first conclusion isn't supported by the data. I think a more correct conclusion is that if the Cubs want to win a World Series in the near future, a player like Pujols will be a key component for the next 4-5 years at a price that is more or less correctly valued for his WAR. After that, his contract will be somewhat of an albatross -- paying for past production rather than future performance. Furthermore, looking outside the data, if the Cubs can develop high WAR players in the next 4-5 years, they can easily offset the Pujols contract with cheap production. Essentially, I think the Cubs can jumpstart their team with the addition of Pujols, making them very competitive until the changes implemented by Theo, et al. can take root in the organization and the talent pipeline flows.

There's a certain amusement to the possibility of Orton coming back to the Bears. It's not a good idea, but it would be amusing.

There's nothing like a point/counterpoint to demonstrate which perspective is correct or has a better return for the Cubs. Unless of course you would let Davearm go unrebutted... oh jeez get over yourself doug :D

There's nothing like a point/counterpoint to demonstrate which perspective is correct or has a better return for the Cubs. Unless of course you would let Davearm go unrebutted...

Davearm2, I would encourage you to write and submit such an article, if you have time. More analysis on the topic is good for discussion and helps people -- supporters and opponents of a Pujols signing -- put a long contract in proper perspective.

What play was it? That's so odd because everyone else is saying it was on the int return and it kinda looks like it if you watch the replay. We're they reporting as fact or just speculating on when it might have occurred? If that is when he injured it, I definitely makes me wonder why he can't play. He made some really nice throws in the 2nd half, which was his better and more accurate half of throwing the ball. I'm sure adrenaline helped mask the pain, but shouldn't be enough to overcome that sort of injury. I broke my foot in the first half of a soccer game and finished the game. Once the game was over, the real pain and swelling started.

Now Wood's the Cubs historian? Theo may want to hear an accurate account of how Hendry had his little pets of non-performers. I'm starting to combine a st louis IP history with the tone of most all of these posts and connecting dots... please don't judge us by our geographical location, O Tim. Yes, but you've been around for a long time and some us have even met you.

Yup. At first I thought they were going to call off the goal, but the posts stayed in position thankfully. What happens if a player very obviously purposely pushes the goal off the moorings during a scoring opportunity for the other team? Depending on the situation, the refs have the discretion to call a penalty shot, give a minor penalty, or award a goal. In practice, if a player is determined to have deliberately knocked the goal off the moorings -- as almost happened last night -- that would be ruled a goal.

Ugh. The good ole coach network... I don't understand how he didn't get arrested with so many people knowing. Everyone in football knows not to hire the guy, but he still is free and able to inflict massive harm on kids.

That's too awesome.

Who, then? Who would you gamble on? Because I see a couple of really good hitters and a couple of good pitchers. I think this is the time where I quote Voltaire: "Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien." The best is the enemy of good (alternately, the perfect is the enemy of good). The perfect free agent who meets your combination of productive years versus contract length is never going to appear. The best any team can hope to do is take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves each off season. Moving forward, a below average Cubs offense has already lost Ramirez -- who is starting to decline, in any event. They have the opportunity to improve from their pre-Free Agent Ramirez level by signing one player. Yes, the rate of return in the latter years of a contract are too expensive. But that's the price of free agents. Unless the Cubs choose to compromise several years of competitiveness -- probably Theo's five year contract -- they are going to have to improve the current team significantly via free agency. Theo isn't going to do that. He's going to sign free agents AND build the pipeline. That way, the Cubs have a combination of young, cheap players and older, more expensive players. Eventually, we can all hope that the pipeline allows the Cubs to functionally replace players as they get too expensive on a regular basis. Likewise, I'm uninterested in watching a crappy team finish under .500 for the sake of saving a bunch of money 5 years from now. Bring on the Pujols.

If you look at the Wild Card %s, though, the Bears have the upper hand by a lot. The Falcons and Saints are above them in overall playoff percentage because one of them will win the division, whereas the Bears have basically no chance to win the North. Bears are in a pretty good spot. Win on Sunday and they'll be in a really good spot. Ah yeah, that makes more sense. Atlanta in particular is in a tough spot vis-a-vis the Bears. Bears fans should continue rooting for New Orleans, and for New Orleans to get a bye. I think the Bears/Lions/Falcons could beat San Francisco or the East winner. New Orleans at home is a much tougher proposition.

Orange jerseys should never be worn. Correct. Yes.

I like Pujols better than Fielder, but I'd be happy with either of them. Ultimately, though, I think most agree with the basic point: the Cubs have a financial advantage over the rest of the NL and can afford to overpay a bit for a marquee player. And I think most agree that it's time to start using that advantage properly. And, even better, I think most agree that the Cubs under Epstein will do that very thing.