Soul

Who said focus primarily on passing? The OLine isn't particularly good at power running. They haven't been pounding teams with the ball, and probably won't be able to this year. They will need to both run and pass. They will need to throw on first down occasionally and send it deep often. They will need to probably throw for 20+ TDs and run for 15+. The Bears were bottom half of the league in yards per rush last year, if they try and go further away from a passing game and concentrate more on rushing that will just go down. I think we got into some trouble last year trying to force the passing game. In those games (Arizona comes to mind), it was too many INTs that didn't need to happen, and wouldn't have happened with better gameplanning. Yes, I believe that would have involved more running. When you look at the draft, the Bears didn't pick up a single WR. Instead they drafted a pass catching TE, and a good pass catching back out of the backfield. That doesn't scream pass-happy to me. It suggests the Bears will work in a more medium-range passing game, and could equal more of what Rex really excels at: the medium-range seam route. When you said we need to throw lots of TDs, but then set the bar at 20, that's not all that many--the top passing offenses had around 30 last year.

Sorry, but this is all a bunch of nonsense. The Bears are nowhere close to a power running team or a team that can dominate by running first and throwing the occasional pass. The running game is "okay" at best. It won't lead the league or come close. They will need to throw lots of TDs in order to win big. Oh my goodness no. I couldn't disagree with you more. You think they'll lead the league in rushing and win without throwing TD's? It's not 1985. No, I think they'll throw a ton of interceptions and lose alot of games if they focus primarily on passing, instead of primarily on power running. Why? The OLine's not real good at pass protection.

Sorry, but this is all a bunch of nonsense. The Bears are nowhere close to a power running team or a team that can dominate by running first and throwing the occasional pass. The running game is "okay" at best. It won't lead the league or come close. They will need to throw lots of TDs in order to win big. Oh my goodness no. I couldn't disagree with you more.

The thing is, if you are going to use that stat, shouldn't Rex rate high there? Everybody talks about what a winner he is, how much confidence they have in him and all this other stuff. You would think going to the super bowl despite being such a terrible QB would add something to his intangible quotient. The national media doesn't care. First of all, it's well documented that a few very prominent NFL reporters don't like Chicago, so why bang our heads against that brick wall -- they're going to hate on us no matter what. Secondly, Rex is very good. He just gets into trouble when he tries to force passes off his back foot because the pressure is coming. The way to solve that is to either get a better OLine, or design plays so he doesn't get in that position as often. That = more power running & short passes down the seam, IMO. There's nothing wrong with Rex. He's not Peyton, and he most certainly shouldn't try to be.

This is from Peter King. The SI-Rex Grossman Hatred Parade Continues. I dont care that Grossman is a bear. I want him to piss all over the league, next year. I want him to go bananas. I never personally rooted for another player in any sport like I do for him now. We got to the Super Bowl by proving all these so-called 'experts' wrong. I couldn't care less if they hate on Grossman. I hope Rex sticks to the gameplan, uses his running game, limits the turnovers, and puts up more QB ratings that are in line with a controlled QB in charge of a primarily power-running attack. To hell with these 100+ QB rating obsessive bozos. Win the football games, let them whine like little girls. Most of all, be in touch with the team's identity. For the Bears, that's power running, an occasional well-placed pass, and rock-solid D. The team's identity? An occasional well-placed pass? The Bears need Grossman to be very good. They don't need him to just handoff and limit the turnovers, they need him to put points on the board. With our OLine being mediocre in pass protection, but pretty good at run blocking, and a top 5 pick power running back, I'm still thinking our identity is a power running team. And yes, identity is very, very important. We wallowed around in the doldrums for years trying to figure out what made us tick on offense. Several years of 1000+ yard rushers later, we've found it and it has put us on top of the division. It's not being the Colts, that's for sure. Run the ball first.

This is from Peter King. The SI-Rex Grossman Hatred Parade Continues. I dont care that Grossman is a bear. I want him to piss all over the league, next year. I want him to go bananas. I never personally rooted for another player in any sport like I do for him now. We got to the Super Bowl by proving all these so-called 'experts' wrong. I couldn't care less if they hate on Grossman. I hope Rex sticks to the gameplan, uses his running game, limits the turnovers, and puts up more QB ratings that are in line with a controlled QB in charge of a primarily power-running attack. To hell with these 100+ QB rating obsessive bozos. Win the football games, let them whine like little girls. Most of all, be in touch with the team's identity. For the Bears, that's power running, an occasional well-placed pass, and rock-solid D.

It isn't just Cardinals fans that are saying it was showboating. I've said it as well. Yes, guys showboat all the time. And I'd say that everytime someone does it, you risk you or one of your teammates getting thrown at. Young was wrong to throw it where he did, but if Soriano just runs the bases, Lee isn't tossed for fighting. Showboating creates tension and anomosity. You're welcome to do it, but be prepared for consequences. I don't really see it as being much different than sticking your finger in a pot of boiling water. You can try it, but you're probably going to get burned. Pujols is guilty of admiring his home runs. Gary Bennett (when he was with San Diego) and Pujols had a big blow up a few years back when Pujols purposely took out the starting catcher (Ramon Hernandez?) unnecessarily. Every team has their showboats and everytime they pull a stunt, there is a high probability of retaliation. What gets overlooked here is that Soriano's actions could have done even more damage. What if Lee does get hit in the head there? Young was in the wrong for what he did, no doubt. But, Young wouldn't have thrown at Lee at all if Soriano wasn't showing up Wells the day before. Who exactly is the player trying to cater to when they trot backwards or stand there and admire the shot? The fan? Personally, I just like the fact the ball went over the fence. Doesn't really matter to me how he gets around the bases, it's a home run regardless. His manager and/or his teammates? They've seen home runs everyday of their playing careers, another one where you stand there waiting for a show of appreciation from your teammates shouldn't create that much of a rise? A guy really has zero reason to stand there and watch their home run. That's what ESPN is for. That's what the big SuperTron screen in most parks is for. The only real reaction one should expect from admiring your shot or showboating is a negative reaction from the other team. It's just not professional to show up the opponent. And the opposing team will likely resort to something unprofessional in return to make their point. \ It is showboating, and there should be consequences, but throwing at another player's head is out of bounds. Drill Sori in the ribs if you want. That's appropriate, and more in line with what happens all the time. Throwing at the head is never OK, never tolerated, and never appropriate retaliation for a little showboating. For the record, I'd like to see Soriano just run the damn bases, too.

He didnt get the same thing as Lee. Young misses 1 game, where DLee misses 5. This is not accurate, either. DLee misses 5 games and Young just gets his regular start moved back one game, so essentially he gets nothing. Well true. I figured it would go down like this. We are really getting screwed this year. It's like other teams are able to attempt to injure our players, and we get punished for it. Total backwards justice in my mind. Heck, if I'm Ned Yost I'm telling my starting pitchers to throw at Soriano's head, or Ramirez if he's back. After all, you can argue it was just an accident, and if the Cubs try to defend themselves, they'll get the bigger suspensions. May as well just do it then, the cost/benefit ratio is in your favor. It'll help you win, too.

This is why I like the wait-for-the-unhappy-Kobe-to-hit-the-free-agent-market-in-two-years plan. in 2 years, he'll want $30 mil/year or something outlandish. In 2 years he'll be 30, too though.

I predicted the Brewers would win the division before the season started actually. And everyone laughed at me. I was actually hoping they somehow wouldn't put it together too. But they've been building for awhile now, added a nice piece in Suppan to the rotation, and appeared to be poised to take off in 2007 from the beginning. They're probably the only semi-quality team in the division, especially with our personnel issues at the moment. With the NL being the way it is, once they get to the playoffs there's no telling what could happen (if they *do* get to the playoffs).

He has an opt-out clause, a trade kicker, and a no-trade clause in his current contract. No trade clauses are unheard of in the NBA. He won't be eligible for one with his new team. I don't think he'll be anxious to tear up his existing contract in favor of a new one with his new team. Kobe holds the majority of the cards here with his no-trade and opt-out clauses in hand. Sounds like he does, but it also sounds like he will have to compromise if he really wants to be traded. Exactly. Whatever Kobe wants, he will get.....if he wants it bad enough. The Bulls do have to take the opt out into account also. They may just have a 2-year window regardless, due to Wallace's age among other factors. I'm not sure how much Wallace has to do with it. I totally agree if we acquire Kobe and give up Gordon, Deng, TT -- then we definitely set up a short window to win it. But that's because we just traded away the core future of the team for a superstar who's future is right now. I dunno. I'm torn on this deal. Who can say Deng, Gordon, and TT won't be the dynamic threesome that carries us to the title in a couple years? How can anyone just say that? You've all seen Deng, he's not done getting better. TT has just scratched the surface. I love Kobe, don't get me wrong. But I'd hate to be sitting here in 2010 watching the Lakers go places with players we developed. Nobody is able to win it alone, not even Kobe. You gut out the rest of the team, who is really going to help him? Wallace, Noc, Hinrich? I can't say that's better than what we have right now.

For the Cubs: 1 game over .500

Were you thinking injuries would get them? Because on paper they've got the best starting rotation in the division. All of those guys have track records that are pretty good compared to us. We were basically Zambrano and mediocrity heading into the season -- they had Sheets, Cappy, Suppan, Bush. Unless Sheets went down again, it was a pretty good bet they'd be good. Hard to remember, but I think a few people picked the Crew to win it this year. It's not a huge suprise. Right now they're better than us, and when Lee goes out it won't be particularly close. Anyway I was always worried about them.

I doubt he wanted to hit Lee in the head either. But I do think he was wanting to hit him high in the ribs and the ball got away from him a little bit. When making a point, it would be best to throw at a hip so if you miss by a little it will hit the ribs or thigh. That was at least the way I was taught. It is surprising how much harder it is to throw a ball that far out of the strike zone where you want it to go than one thrown in the strike zone. I never had the best control to start out with though so maybe that just applied to me :) Exactly. It's actually quite entertaining sometimes watching a pitcher intentionally walk a guy. They couldn't hit the catcher's mitt from 10 feet away. It was definitely a purpose pitch. The umps should have tossed Young on the spot. Young's 95 MPH heater at Lee's head was much worse than Lilly's 83 MPH curve ball off of Renteria's shin. I find it interesting that when Lilly hits someone the ump was "watching for it the whole time" But when Young head hunts Lee, the ump apparently has no clue about the history from the day before, and indeed doesn't even pay attention to Lee & Young after the play, instead jawboning with the catcher. We're definitely getting the bad end of these deals this year, and it's costing us games. We can argue that the Cubs should cool down and just play better baseball, and that's of course quite true, but I don't see the Cubs doing anything out of the ordinary when it comes to responding to being hit. Yet we're being taken out of games because of it and I don't recall other teams suffering the same fate. So I don't know, I'm just not feeling like we're getting a fair shake this year.

I'd love it if Lou started Rapada tomorrow to prove his point too.....if you know what I'm getting at.

I think Young is too. I'm not totally sure about that, but I don't recall anything with him. It's possible Young was carrying out what he thought were the wishes of the resident veteran pitchers of the staff (Peavy and Wells). I've always hated Wells, by the way.

I agree. While what Soriano did was wrong, but it was so much less than several other people around the league. He looked at it for a second or two, trotted backwards for another couple seconds, and then started on a pretty quick jog around the bases. If the Padres are going to start throwing at people because of what Soriano did, they are going to have starting beanball wars every couple weeks. Since they aren't, I don't know why they were so upset in this case. The Cubs just lost a whole game from one of their very own starters after plunking a Braves player in what the umpire believed to be a retaliatory purpose pitch. This stuff goes on all the time. If Soriano runs the bases like a mature professional athlete, we aren't having this discussion today. If Young drills Soriano in the ribs like a man instead of throwing at Lee's head like a punk, same result. You make the call. Soriano backpedaling a bit, or someone trying to ruin another player's career. Which would you say is worse?

I agree. While what Soriano did was wrong, but it was so much less than several other people around the league. He looked at it for a second or two, trotted backwards for another couple seconds, and then started on a pretty quick jog around the bases. If the Padres are going to start throwing at people because of what Soriano did, they are going to have starting beanball wars every couple weeks. Since they aren't, I don't know why they were so upset in this case. No doubt. I suppose Kirk Gibson should have been thrown at too then for providing one of the most signature moments in baseball history. This is all ridiculous. The guy hit a home run that clinched the game on Friday. Of course he's going to be happy about it and celebrate a little. Big deal.

Of course. Christ, Sammy did much worse on every single one of his 599 home runs. It's really simple in my mind: the Padres are a bunch of punks who like to throw at heads, but of course they don't have the courage to take it up with the guy who they actually had a beef with. Instead, they go after someone else like the wussy cowards that they are. Screw them. It's just too bad we now have to suffer a 5 game losing streak (estimated, with Lee out) because certain members of the Padres are wussies. I was at the game, by the way -- it was fun, but realizing Lee is going to be suspended with Ramirez already out is a real drag, and pretty much ruined the day for me.

I've been thinking about this, and I don't know that this is all that accurate. The Bears made the Superbowl last year without Tommie. I don't see why they can't do it again. They are still clearly the best team in the NFC. That being said, I think they can get into some trouble if Tommie gets hurt, Dusty is ineffective, and Tank hasn't made it back from suspension yet. The only player the defense can't do without is Urlacher. I don't think we'll have to think about life without Tommie, at least not from his prior injury. I've heard nothing but good things about his recovery. Unless I'm missing something, people are just responding to blind fear that he might not come back because it's a "torn hamstring" (which it apparently really wasn't). At any rate, he's ahead of schedule on his recovery so I see no reason to believe he won't be alright. He's closer to being ready to play than Tait, who is still out after ankle surgery.

I'd put him in. Not on the 1st ballot though. The stuff you mentioned is real good, but nothing like breaking the record for most hits, or most consecutive games played, or 7 MVPs, or greatest player of his generation at a position, or any of the things I want to see before I go, "hell yeah first ballot!!"

I agree, but it's still an easy catch for Barrett too, since it's just rolling in. Aww hell, we just have a real sucky defense at some positions. Put Jones & Barrett together on an exchange, it's no wonder they screw it up. What I really didn't like was the look of disgust on Jones' face after Barrett dropped it. Like, START PLAYING LIKE A REAL BASEBALL PLAYER, then criticize another ballplayer Jones you loser. I'd still rather see Jock Jones DFA'd today than Barrett gone. Barrett's terrible on D, but he can hit when he gets rolling. Jock is a joke, he's done, he isn't even trying and it's obvious.

Which superstar are the Bulls trading for? I have no idea. They need one though, and it's doubtful they have any. June 28, 2007. The cold, sobering fact is, in order to get a real superstar in his prime it would cost the farm. Think Gordon, Deng, probably Tyrus + draft pick. People keep throwing out scenarios that only includes Deng OR Gordon. I'll believe that when I see it. I think the bidding for a real superstar starts at Deng & Gordon, and goes up from there. That leaves the only real question: if you bring in a Kobe, or a Garnett, does it equal a championship without your two former best players before bringing him in? If it doesn't, then I say just stand pat and hope Deng becomes a near-superstar, try to develop TT.

Man, I don't think I've seen that since it happened live. That gave me chills all over again. I got butterflies in my stomach when he made that cut back inside, and I already knew what was going to happen! That's probably the #2 most exciting thing I've ever seen from one of my favorite teams (#1 being the 03 Division clincher, of course). The comeback against the Cardinals on MNF still ranks up there for me... I'll take the Cardinals comeback, and try to forget the SB runback was attached to a terrible game. For me that runback exists in a vacuum, the rest of the game doesn't exist 8-)

Hell, even Ryan Church: .270 .367 .465 OPS+: 125. Hendry tried to get Church though. Was that really Hendry trying, or was it just the media and us wishing?