Magnetic Curses

common myths regarding the cubs: 1. the payroll is low. 2. the GM is doing the best he can. 3. the manager is not to blame. 4. the bullpen WAS the biggest problem on the team last year. 5. the TEAM OBP wasn't. 6. jacque jones is an upgrade in any area to jeromy burntiz. 7. juan pierre is the best leadoff man in the national league. 8. hendry filled the biggest holes the cubs had during the offseason. 9. we should fashion our offense in the way that the white sox did. 10. if the trib sold the team all of our problems would be solved.

I think there is definitely something there. Every long pass was catchable except 1 or 2. The other element that comes into play with the long pass is pass interference calls on the beaten pass defenders. I would love to see the offense completely open up the field. Maybe even work on finding a way to get Clark open a little more, also. He's become almost a non factor as a pass receiver. Rex throws a nice pass. I'm really excited about the offense now. Not sure what happened with the defense this week, but even the 1985 Bears had an off week against an NFL great in Miami. the packers match up well against the bears, at least, favre does. he throws a great intermediate pass, right through the window of the cover 2, and he throws the slant better than probably any QB in history. these are the two passes that the bears defense has trouble with. what concerns me is that harris, scott, and tank weren't getting a very good push up the middle--while i expected wale and brown to have SOME trouble with tauscher and clifton. urlacher and briggs had another bad tackling day and tillman played poorly, but the bears still won. yesterday's game is a great example of what the bears can do with grossman under center, they can win without the defense having a particularly good game.

so far as it affects his production, i'm not worried. he's a professional and he'll give 100%. now, i don't know how it will affect his contract negotiations in the future, and that's really the only thing to worry about. oh well, we'll probably have a new GM by then anyway, so i doubt it will have any negative effect. For future negotiations, it's to his advantage to have solid seasons. He'll be looking for a big contract from the Cubs (or somebody else) and "potential" won't get it. i think you misunderstood me. i don't think for a minute that he'll tank even one pitch. i just hope that he's not completely uopset with hendry and in the process of ruling out re-signing in the future.

after going to the game last night, i have more respect for pack fans. most of their fans were very loud and energetic, but well behaved for the most part. i participated in well-meaning trash-talk most of the night with the fans sitting around and near me (although there were enough bear fans sitting around me to give me confidence), but i think that everyone had a good time (except for the part when the pack lost, but the fans even seemed good-natured about that). i saw a confrontation out front after the game when a pack fan ripped a bears hat off of a bear fan and threw it up in the air. the bear fan when through 3 packer fans to catch the guy who did it, the altercation cooled before anyone got hurt--despite some drunken idiot running up and shouting "the bears still suck" in the bear fans face while the guy was being restrained--the idiot soon ran the other way when the guy's friends let him go. i learned that most packer fans, however, think this season is an anomally. i have my doubts regarding their optimism. BEAR DOWN!

so far as it affects his production, i'm not worried. he's a professional and he'll give 100%. now, i don't know how it will affect his contract negotiations in the future, and that's really the only thing to worry about. oh well, we'll probably have a new GM by then anyway, so i doubt it will have any negative effect.

illinois is great at defending the perimeter. IU's percentages will come down, it's just common logic. davis's huck-it-and-chuck-it offense will shine through. Agreed. Illinois does have a better perimeter D than anyone IU has played, and maybe will play this year. But who said anything about Illinois? I was just responding to your post that IU would be tough with their 2 big men. And I went on because every publication says IU has a great interior tandem that can lead them far in the tourney, but that's not what's making them a good team. The Charlotte game was a blueprint of what to expect if teams want to double down on Killer or DJ. IU has Strickland, Vaden, Ratliff, Wilmont, Suhr, and Allen who can knock down shots. I just think it's more of a pick your poison against IU, than "they are gonna be tough inside". And to reiterate CP's point....why would either of us like Illinois? They are rivals, and is the team that dominated the world last year. For the record, I hate Iowa more. this is to you and cp. my paranoia stems from illinois never receiving any kind of respect for anything they do.

oh jeez, dealbreaker. this deal is dead, now. please let it be dead.

i can't think of how sparks is any more of a star than hansbrough. he's older, i'll give him that, and has been around since forever but that doesn't mean he's better. of course you'll have to give illinois credit, they've won back to back outright B10 titles. but i don't see anyone giving illinois any more respect than they have to to sound sane. if you don't give illinois any credit, no one will take you seriously at all. admit at least that you'll be more disappointed if illinois wins than if any other B10 team besides MSU does. you'd rather IU win, just cop to it.

The TEAM, not Dee himself. is illinois THAT unlikelable of a team that everyone has to hope against hope for their downfall? they are the kings until supplanted, and i really don't think that MSU has the ability to beat them. indiana, granted, will offer more of a challenge with white and killingsworth down low, but it remains to be seen. I'm a Michigan State fan, am I not supposed to hope that they win? No one has responded to the point that they haven't played anyone on Ager or Davis or Killingsworth's level, and we don't know how they will fare against the best players without their losses from last year. IU has played Duke(Redick and Williams) and to a lesser extent Kentucky(Sparks and co.). MSU has played BC(Smith and Dudley), Gonzaga(Morrison and friends), and to a lesser extent Arizona(Adams and co.). All I'm trying to say is that Illinois is untested yet in that fashion. I've said multiple times that they may not have a problem with it, and may or probably will win the conference. The other point is that Brown hasn't performed to last year's level to date, and he may not return to last year's level because of the talent lost. It's a valid concern, just like MSU's defense thus far. I've been able to talk about MSU's lack of defense previously without getting super defensive, why can't it go both ways? are you forgetting that they beat UNC fairly easily in chapel hill? Fairly easily? I can't get the flowchart thing to come up, but they were tied at halftime and won by 4. That's irrelevant anyways, because Noel or Hansbrough aren't on the same plane as all the players mentioned in the previous post. That's the point. Good teams with star players, not just a borderline top 25 team. the game was really never in doubt, at least to me anyways. did you simply forget that you mentioned kentucky when lauding the blue-bloods' schedule, or are you doing it on purpose? in case you fogot, i'll remind you: kentucky got beat at rupp by UNC. why do you want anyone but illinois to have a good team? illinois is very respectable champion and the rest of the Big Ten should feel proud to be represented by such a classy program. "anyone but illinois! anyone but illinois!" and hansbrough and noel definitely are very superior college players.

illinois is great at defending the perimeter. IU's percentages will come down, it's just common logic. davis's huck-it-and-chuck-it offense will shine through. i remember when the red-headed stepchild was there, that guy could make one shot during a game and then automatically think he could sink a 50 footer. he was bad.

I'm certainly not sleeping on Wisconsin. I love Bo Ryan, and the way they play ball. I think the talent gap is too much though and can't see them finishing ahead of MSU or Illinois. I don't want to see them in the Big 10 tourney, and if I was a fan of another conference, I'd certainly dread seeing them in my regional come tourney time. Granted, I'm a homer, but I don't that the talent gap is as big as people assume. Tucker is extremely talented and Butch was a McD's All-American. Kamron Taylor (AKA Chris Rock) is emerging. Even if I'm incorrect about the talent gap, Wisconsin hasn't had too much trouble competing with Illinois and MSU since Ryan has been there. I think the Big Ten is going to be a bloodbath this year. I think it's going to be a close race between a bunch of teams. Best of luck to everyone. Hopefully their isn't any injuries. correction: wisconsin didn't have much trouble competing with illinois while DEVIN HARRIS was there.

can't we keep prior and forget garland?

if matt karchner were never born we wouldn't be in this debacle.

that's better, but i would still rather have prior than garland.

miles is a leadoff hitter that never walks, ever.

The TEAM, not Dee himself. is illinois THAT unlikelable of a team that everyone has to hope against hope for their downfall? they are the kings until supplanted, and i really don't think that MSU has the ability to beat them. indiana, granted, will offer more of a challenge with white and killingsworth down low, but it remains to be seen. I'm a Michigan State fan, am I not supposed to hope that they win? No one has responded to the point that they haven't played anyone on Ager or Davis or Killingsworth's level, and we don't know how they will fare against the best players without their losses from last year. IU has played Duke(Redick and Williams) and to a lesser extent Kentucky(Sparks and co.). MSU has played BC(Smith and Dudley), Gonzaga(Morrison and friends), and to a lesser extent Arizona(Adams and co.). All I'm trying to say is that Illinois is untested yet in that fashion. I've said multiple times that they may not have a problem with it, and may or probably will win the conference. The other point is that Brown hasn't performed to last year's level to date, and he may not return to last year's level because of the talent lost. It's a valid concern, just like MSU's defense thus far. I've been able to talk about MSU's lack of defense previously without getting super defensive, why can't it go both ways? are you forgetting that they beat UNC fairly easily in chapel hill?

are you talking about his achilles injury?

Durability issue? Would Willis not have missed time if he took a line drive off the elbow? Would he not have missed time after trucking into Marcus Giles? Prior's missed time in '04 can be held against him for his legitimate injury, that's fine. But Prior has more IP than Willis, so it's not a sample size issue. He's been better in his career, and the durability is only a concern if the legitimate injury returns, which is only marginally more likely than Willis developing problems of his own with his motion. Prior has 20 more IP than Willis only because he's been in the major leagues a full season longer. He's had a significant elbow injury in his career that can't be dismissed. We also don't know at this point what effect (if any) last year's injury will have; he certainly wasn't the same pitcher after getting hit. I can't see how anyone can make a case that it would be "insane" to trade Prior for Willis at this point given their respective ages, performances last year, and Prior's injury issues. significant elbow injury? when was this, and did he have surgery? i seem to recall rumors and conjecture but nothing that could be called "significant".

maybe he's had injury problems, not all of them his fault, but he's hardly been inconsistent. that's a laugh. It's equally as laughable to just say...when he's been bad....it because of injuries. He was healthy for a lot of last year....and had some very rough outings. Your convinced Prior will be the Prior of 03 in the years to come....I'm not as sure as you are. One of us will be wrong. We shall see. prior last year: .227/.296/.394/.688 1.21 whip, 3.67 era, 188 SO in 167.2 innings. that was a "down" year. forget the fact that prior has just turned 25 years old for crying out loud. With an 11-7 record. Im not trying to argue he isn't great...or doesnt have tremendous "upside"....of course he does.....but there are some questions...and the trade is worth looking at. It's risky.....but huge reward moves in life are always risky. Thats just the way it is. please don't force me to explain to you why wins and losses are team stats. i'm sure you've had it explained to you before.

maybe he's had injury problems, not all of them his fault, but he's hardly been inconsistent. that's a laugh. It's equally as laughable to just say...when he's been bad....it because of injuries. He was healthy for a lot of last year....and had some very rough outings. Your convinced Prior will be the Prior of 03 in the years to come....I'm not as sure as you are. One of us will be wrong. We shall see. prior last year: .227/.296/.394/.688 1.21 whip, 3.67 era, 188 SO in 167.2 innings. that was a "down" year. forget the fact that prior has just turned 25 years old for crying out loud.

That's a 10.55 K/9 for his career, insane. Also, I thought the batting line you posted were his numbers at the plate for a minute. that would make him better than corey, at least, last year.

has anyone mentioned that these are prior's career numbers?: .233/.297/.382/.676 43-21, 3.24 era in 97 starts, 1.19 whip, 719 SO in 613 IP. trading him would be absolutely stupid.

maybe he's had injury problems, not all of them his fault, but he's hardly been inconsistent. that's a laugh.

No I would bve considered a new guy, and I found them smug because they are crowing after the fact. These same authors ran around for years saying the playoffs were a crapshoot, that it was luck, and that even though Oakland didn't win it didn't mean their theories were not sound. Then Boston wins it all and suddenly its because of Sabremetrics and smart thinking. All the excuses get thrown out the window and its all hail smart guys. BP and there authors are the same guys that wanted to run Kenny Williams out of town and thought he was a fool, yet him and his stupid ways won it all. The authors didn't bust any myths, heck they didn't even come out with anything original, the basic tenants of sabremetrics were laid down many many decades ago. They didn't invent the wheel or even reinvent it. i'm not considering you a "new guy" at all. kenny williams didn't win because of any offensive philosophy, either. and the reason that they crowed about boston winning it all is because so many crusty, old mythologists have bashed oakland for so long for not winning a series. there were folks saying: "if what oakland and boston are doing is so groundbreaking, why haven't they won a world series?" then boston wins a world series, and even after all that criticism from the "conventionally wise" minds of baseball, they aren't allowed to revel in the victory? after all the negation, the discreditation, the mockery, and the indignancy, you're telling me that Boston's statistical approach to organizational philosophy can't be lauded but somehow kenny williams' pitching-first approach can be held up as some sort of proof that small ball is the only ball? holy crap. what a freaking joke. these guys can be bashed and shunned from baseball front-offices, discrimated against by old world minds, but when boston achieves the ultimate success and the a's are competitive every single year--they can still garber no praise? and it makes me laugh when the very same people who pointed at the three oakland aces as the reason for the a's success are the exact same people who ignore the white sox rotation in handing out post-season credit for the series victory. hypocrisy is such a double-edged sword.

What??? The Cubs wouldn't have even sniffed the playoffs (let alone made it to the LCS) with out Prior and Wood. FAILED?? Oh my God. Maybe I missed it. Did we make it the Series that year? Im glad we made it to the playoffs...and almost made the Series. That was 2003...and he's been less than dominating since. Oh my God..quit acting as if he's Superman. You're right. They haven't won a World Series for the Cubs (or even gotten to one). They should be traded. Also, Ramirez didn't get the Cubs there either. See ya! Probably should have had the same philosophy for the following: Banks, Jenkins, Santo, Sandberg, Dawson, Grace, Sosa...I mean, these guys never won (or even appeared in) a World Series, right? Bums! We are getting a player back in the trade...right? A guy who has played most of 162 games for 5 years? MVP....dominating shortstop? All the names you mentioned.....great players.....so what? We havent won a world series in 100 stinking years! THey must not have been THAT great. Except, of course, to Cub fans. Instead of celebrating past champions we are forced to celebrate players who were great indicidually but never brought the Cubs a championship. Again...Im not saying the deal is the right thing...but to just dismiss it because Prior is obviously the second coming is just wrong. He has huge question marks......he's PROVEN that he has huge question marks......apparently your convinced he will be the Prior of 03 in the years to come. Thats a huge leap of faith..... THe deal is certainly worth considering....and may be worth doing. It's a risk...but high reward things always are. you aren't listening at all, while your logic is being shot to shreds.