Keener98

Sweet Vitters in Peoria! I know it was expected, but Im just glad hes there, because that means I can go see him whenever I want. Anybody else on Peoria roster I should be looking at while there?

Our lineup should be able to score enough runs to handle having to replace Harden. Also if Harden goes down, Id be SHOCKED if Hendry didnt get someone to replace him That Cardinals rotation needs to be lights out, because they arent going to score alot of runs. Seriously Khalil Greene is batting behind Pujols, who in their right mind would give Pujols anything to hit?

There isnt one person here who has said the NL Central crown is guaranteed to the Cubs. It has been said though that the Cubs can sustain a hit to their rotation or lineup, and be able to still win the division. The talent level on the Cubs is far greater than any team in the NL Central right now, and we have the ability to make additions in season, whereas the Cards ownership has shown zero signs of them being willing to spend 1 dime.

do you REALLY think the cardinals are anywhere near as good as the Cubs? Really??? Hes a Cub fan, and there are quite a few of them out there who would be scared of the Cards if they fielded the Califonia Penal Leauge Champion.

Oh damn, did they shorten the baseball season to end in July now? Damn learn something new everyday. How close were the Cardinals to the Cubs when the season ended last year? What have they done to make up that significant gap?

I know its hard to believe, but Michael Jordan is going into the Hall of Fame. Congrats MJ

That lineup would be nomore productive than the Opening day lineup today.

you're saying they have a better starting lineup than the cubs? or that their rotation is better than the cubs' minus harden? one is slightly less laughable than the other. Does it matter? Both statements are wrong. Brendon Ryan is their leadoff guy today with Khalil Greene hitting freaking cleanup.

Assume Harden goes down for a significant amount of time and we are forced to add Shark to the rotation. Name one team in the Central that will have a better rotation than the Cubs. Also, name one Central team with a better starting lineup than the Cubs. Go ahead. I'll be waiting patiently for your reply. the cardinals Please tell me you are joking, because the last time I checked Joel Pinerio(sp) and Todd Wellemeyer were in the Cardinals rotation. And Chris Carpenter is as big of injury risk at this point of his career as Harden. Ill take our replacements to the rotation over anybody the Cards can try to plug into theirs.

Shouldnt minor league rosters be announced by now?

Please tell me you are joking

I think we've gotten the better of Billy Beane trades in the past. This is probably the first time he got the better of us as far as I can recall. Whether Beane got the best of the Cubs is still open to question at this point. Gallagher has gone from No. 2 starter to out of the rotation for Oakland, as his velocity dropped as spring training went on. Eric Patterson is in the minor leagues, as is Murton, with Colorado. If Harden stays healthy and makes 25 starts and most of them are of the quality variety, then I think the Cubs get the better of this deal. But it's too early to judge now. Don't know where your getting your facts but nothing wrong with Gallaghers velocity as of the other night. Would expect him to be back in the rotation shortly. Id expect Gio Gonzalez to be in the rotation before Gallagher

DJ had a hell of a game. He is an all around player if Ive ever seen one. He may not have put up the big time points, but with a kid like Avery Bradley who every time he touches it he shoots it, thats to be expected. I am definately looking forward to DJ coming to U of I.

Is it me or does the Oak Hill coach just look like snake? I dont think Id trust that guy at all for some reason.

DJ!!!!

Yikes

Between Babich and the amount of time spent on the field, I think that accounts for a good portion of the defensive decline. I looked but couldn't find the defensive rankings by quarter. It seems as though an awful lot of the yardage and points allowed by the team was in the 4th quarter in 2008 (big caveat there, of course). I agree that Babich sucked, and Ive been beating the drum of our D being better now that they shouldnt on the field as much throughout this thread. However, I dont know how much Babich can be blamed for the Dlines inability to get to the QB, Vasher getting torn apart, etc... Hopefully with Lovie in more control he will change up some schemes, and hopefully Marnelli is as good as Warren Sapp and Simeon Rice have said he is.

Right, so as I said, he hasnt proven he could find offensive talent in the later rounds. :D Hell it could be argued hes never found offensvie talent in any round, minus Forte.

Considering when he got to Oak Hill he weighed over 350lbs yes Id say hes tiny now. :D

I thought I heard them say just a min ago that 10 high D1 guys were on the court at that time.

I agree Babich was a big problem, but he cant be blamed for the entire collapse of the D.

The positive, though, is that this draft is very deep on interior offensive linemen. If Angelo chooses to address it in this draft, he should have a multitude of strong options even in the third and fourth rounds. And, as history has proven, Angelo is better at plucking quality guys in the 3-5th rounds than he is in the first round. On defense yes, but he hasnt proven he can find offensive talent in the later rounds of the draft.

Illinois fans, we are going to love watching DJ as an Illini.

I don't think you are looking deep enough. There are clearly a lot of areas that need upgrades. Still need a better pass rushing DE. Still need 1 more DT since you can't count on Dusty to help. Still need a FS worthy of an NFL roster. Still need an SLB upgrade. And that's just the defense. Offensively, the team needs 2 WRs and a FB at the least, and are weak at RG. Marinelli and Lovie aren't going to make these guys better simply by their presence. And no, the defense didn't "suddenly" get old. It's been getting old since 2006, the last time they were even in the top 20 in defense in the league. Urlacher has gone from an elite MLB, to just a good one. Hillenmeyer has gone from underrated to a possible training camp cut. Mike Brown has gone from pro-bowl caliber S to unemployed and possibly retiring before the season starts. Tillman is 28, past the prime for a CB. Vasher is young, but an injury risk. Same with Tommie. Both starting DEs are over 30. There are 2 ways to look at the defense. One is that this is the same defense (save for Tank and the safeties) that played 2 Superbowls ago. The other is that the Bears got a great defense by bringing in fresh, young, hungry talent in a system that maximized their abilities. Now if you look at the fact that many of the D doesn't have the same ability they had before due to being 2-3 years older and the only young talent they brought in has been Harrison and Payne....then things get very shaky on defense. I still say the Bears need to find at least 2 players that can contribute on defense in this draft (DL, DB) and still need the couple young guys they do have to step up in order to be any better defensively. I agree with what you said and in my next post after the one you quoted I acknowledged there are areas that need upgraded. However the guys we have here on our D should be able to form at least an average group on D if not slightly above average. I trust ANgelo enough to find some players in the draft for the D.

Just a little heads up for Illini fans, and other fans as well, but on ESPN right now is the battle of the 2 best prep schools in the US. Illini recruit, and Peoria native, DJ Richardson is on Findly Prep, and there are numerous other D1 kids. Should be exciting.