Soul

But if contact is made and the defender has their back to the play, they are going to call it every time. There was contact? It looked like they brushed hands at best. He prevented Manningham from coming to the ball. That's interference. not if the Manningham doesn't come back for the ball and there is contact, unless he fact guards, which he didn't do. He didn't face guard him? What he did pretty much defines face guarding, he wasn't looking for the ball and making a play on the receiver. The ball hit him in the shoulder to boot. faceguarding has to do with the hands, ie. putting your hands up trying obstruct the view of the receiver without turning around and looking for the ball. the DB never got his hands up. in fact, the ball hit the DB in the hand down by the waste. I'm looking at it on Tivo, and that's exactly how it happened. Faceguarding has to do with looking at the receiver and never looking at the ball. You aren't looking to make a play on the ball you are looking to prevent the wide receiver from making a play on the ball. He never looked back. Agreed, you can't look at the receiver only and touch him with the ball in the air. It was a good call. Great game by OSU, and Michigan also. Not sure how the title game picture will shape up, but I question whether USC/Ark/ND/Rutgers would be able to deliver as good a game as Michigan would. So I wouldn't mind seeing a rematch---though alot depends on these other big games coming up.

Dunno, but I would do Murton for Westbrook straight up, especially if we ink Soriano and Drew as rumored. i would rather the cubs keep murton and not sign soriano. drew and westbrook would be great if they can get them. I think that's crazy, assuming the Cubs have the money to spend and it won't hurt other areas of the club. Soriano's bat is loads & loads better than Matty's. While I like Matt, his defense has never impressed me either, so I don't think we lose much on that side of the ball. And the offensive gains, IMO, are massive. If it was an either/or between Murt & Soriano I'd send Matt packing right now.

I don't have a problem including Dempster in a deal. Would it really be that hard to replace him as closer? We got Dempster off the trash heap and made him a closer. Not all that hard to do something similar again. Certainly if it means acquiring an innings-eating SP----I'd trade him.

next year, however, i think orton will make griese unnecessary. does anyone know what the cap hit would be if we cut griese? on second thought, a trade may be in order. I think the cap hit would be the same with a trade or cut. Rex's cap number could be relatively low still, even if he resigns. then i say cut him. the bears would have an adequate backup with 2 years of experience, some of it as a starter. a decent 3rd stringer could be found anywhere, including the later rounds of the draft. Why wouldn't you trade and try to get something? I'd hold off on that decision until at least summer camp. Rex still has to get through the rest of this season. And I'm not convinced Orton will develop into a great backup yet. I'd trade him -- might be able to get a 4th rounder. 4th rounders can turn out well, just look at Alex Brown.

I don't think it's enough. There's still only 2 legit power threats in Lee & Ram in the middle of the order. You've got to consider Jones a power threat don't you? He's not a #3 hitter, but for the 3rd or 4th bat in the lineup he's not bad. Barrett falls in as a quality bat too...its not the 27 yankees, but it has the potential to be pretty solid. With 6 out of the 8 guys in the lineup (minus Izturis and Derosa), you have the potential for 160 HRs. right there. The middle of that lineup just looks a tad weak to me. Put Barrett #2, hit Murton 6th, DeRosa 7th, and then replace Jones with a better player. I'd feel better about it. Or just get some darn pitching 8)

On the other hand, while Drew is a very good, very productive hitter, Manny is and has been significantly more productive at the plate. He'll be 35, but... Year Ag Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG TB 2006 34 BOS AL 130 449 79 144 27 1 35 102 0 1 100 102 .321 .439 .619 278 I'll take that, and deal with his attitude. 100 walks -- finally!

In another thread--maybe the rotoworld rumors thread, not sure--there was talk about Murton possibly being used in drawing Westbrook from Cleveland. If they're shopping Murton as trade bait, then we'll likely end up settling for Soriano/Drew/Jones. The problem with trading Murton is, he'll probably be undervalued on the market. I hope they don't wind up shipping him off, if that's the case, if only because we won't get a fair return. Oh well, I could live with Soriano, Drew, Jones.. :) Haha, yeah that would be nice. What's that payroll going to be this year again? 150 mil? Still 2 or 3 SPs to sign, Jim. I'm assuming they wanna stay under the luxury tax thing, which I believe is 148 mil. I'm guessing they'll settle in more at the $115mil level, which won't leave room for all these proposed signings. Also, I'm starting to wonder if Hendry looked at the poor pitching the Cards got away with last year, and feels he needs offense. Let the young arms come around, deal with Miller, Prior......put Marshall in there full time. Then try to pound the ball all year.

In another thread--maybe the rotoworld rumors thread, not sure--there was talk about Murton possibly being used in drawing Westbrook from Cleveland. If they're shopping Murton as trade bait, then we'll likely end up settling for Soriano/Drew/Jones. The problem with trading Murton is, he'll probably be undervalued on the market. I hope they don't wind up shipping him off, if that's the case, if only because we won't get a fair return. Oh well, I could live with Soriano, Drew, Jones.. :) Haha, yeah that would be nice. What's that payroll going to be this year again? 150 mil? Still 2 or 3 SPs to sign, Jim.

I don't think it's enough. There's still only 2 legit power threats in Lee & Ram in the middle of the order. I agree with the pitching that seems to be shaping up (or lack thereof), this lineup wouldn't seem to be able to lift us to many victories----though it is better than last year. Side note: I've always thought Barrett would shine best in the 2 hole rather than lower in the order.

I think the point is, the Cubs are desperate. And the only thing they have going for them is their cash. Soriano at a huge deal isn't ideal. He's not as good as the true elites that make the big bucks, but the Cubs already missed out on most of those guys. They need some offense. And if you're going to overpay, you might as well overpay for somebody who at least has a chance to put up some great seasons. Riding on your coat-tails, it's kinda funny that the Cubs chose this year to spend big bucks when the market is so thin. They couldn't do it when Beltran and Vlad was out there...Only the Cubs! And the Cards picked their worst team in a decade to win the World Series with. A tale of two cities, indeed.

I'm torn. I'd like the magic number to be 1, but it might be even more beneficial for the Bears to catch the Pats on a 3-game losing streak. If the Bears were to blow it and lose to the Jets, then I'd REALLY like to see the Pats coming off a 3-game bender.

LOL, I totally missed that. Nice vance.

What does everyone think of this? Levin certainly did well with the Wolves----they are something of a phenomenon in the hockey world.

I thought Havlat was skating in practice. But no, I don't really know. They keep acting like bulin is day-to-day or something. Yet he's been out for quite awhile. It's almost like clockwork if the Hawks have a 1 goal lead they will blow it in the 3rd period. You could probably make a good deal of money off it if there was a way to put money on it.

I see a player right there who Atlanta tried & tried & tried with, finally gave up on. Then Texas got a good year from him. Eh.......I think it's a 50/50 deal whether he'll produce for us. I did notice he played 60 games in RF last year.....40 @ 3B and only 26 @ 2B. Seems more like a utility guy than a bone-cold starter. But that's just me.

I completely agree. ...depends on how far out of it they are by January.

I thought Ben did a great job on Yao tonight. 20 points in 38 minutes is a so-so game for Ming these days. Perhaps. I'm seeing a small basketball club that is struggling to defend effectively many nights though. Add to that the sketchy shooting, and you get 3-5. We should be able to get some better shooting at some point, but the size is just going to be a shortcoming all year long.

So a top free agent is going to sign because the cubs signed DeRosa? doubtful. I don't know if Hendry has a plan in place and is fitting the pieces together. I sure hope so. Hard to give him the benefit of the doubt after the last two offseasons though. I have said all along that the DeRosa move has to be put in context. Hendry definitely overpaid and I'm just praying he isn't the starting 2b. An argument could probably be made that if DeRosa doesn't start, then he's even more overpaid and it's an even worse deal.......from a financial perspective.

how is he preventing him from doing his job? i think you know what i mean but if we have to play these games i will spell it out for you, he is not physically stopping him from doing his job, i am saying to let him complete his body of work before you judge it. for a lame example: a painting looks like a bunch of crap slopped together before it is completed and becomes a master piece. i am in no way calling hendry's work a master piece though just an analogy. I don't understand why someone should wait........longer. In '05 I felt the way you do. We were coming off a disappointing season, but hey there was still a chance to bounce back. Let Hendry do his job, right? Of course. But then '05 Then '06. How much more waiting should someone do before concluding he's been doing a poor job with the club? Obviously if he manages to turn it around opinions will change. But you know what? That still doesn't erase these past few years of pain (some of the most painful I ever remember as a Cub fan...and that's saying something).

Yeah, but the travel was blatant. Yep, it was. Very disappointing loss tonight. I especially liked how the defense stepped it up the final 12 minutes, but otherwise sucked the first 36 minutes. Nice intensity, guys. I don't think teams can go full-bore 100% of the time. Sometimes you have to rest up a little, allow your natural basketball skills to just keep you in the game until the next burst. It just seems that we are now too undersized to compete. There's no size. My god, we looked like midgets trying to guard the jolly green giant tonight.

He's trying to find some semblance of size, but there's nothing. It's a team of pip-squeaks in a league of monsters.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm starting to panic. We're now the smallest team in the NBA and regularly giving up 100+ points per game. Add to that the fact we are a streaky shooting ballclub? This is not good.

Nothing can overcome the fact that Hendry had a WS contender in '03 and by '05 it was trash.

I don't need a perfect GM performance in the offseason, but when you need 2 quality SP and maybe even 3, hearing your GM talk about Marquis & Ted Lilly makes one feel a sudden need to locate a bomb shelter before April rolls around.

I've been on this planet a long time, and seldom have I heard or read a statement so glaringly wrong as this one.