Bears Playoff Picture

Well, the Vikings won't go 8-8 like I predicted but the good news is that a Vikings loss and a Bears win gets the Bears into the playoffs.

Here is the playoff picture for the Bears with help from ESPN:

The Bears clinch the NFC North with a Chicago win and Minnesota loss or tie OR Chicago tie and Minnesota loss. The Bears clinch a wild-card spot with a Chicago win and Dallas loss or tie and Tampa Bay loss or tie OR Chicago tie and Dallas loss and Tampa Bay loss.

NFC North Update

Recently I made my NFC North predictions and one of my predictions was already wrong. I wanted to pick the Texans to beat the Packers in my story but I didn't want to look like a Bears homer. I had a feeling the Packers would lose and I did pick the Texans in my Yahoo! pick'em league but I just couldn't do it here because I was afraid I might be wrong. I need to start trusting myself more.

Here's an update on my predictions:

Week 15

Saints @ Bears: Bears Win (8-6)
Packers @ Jaguars: Packers Win (7-7)
Vikings @ Cardinals: Cardinals Win (8-6)

Week 16

Falcons @ Vikings: Falcons Win (8-7)
Packers @ Bears: Bears Win (9-6 BEARS) (7-8 PACKERS)

Week 17

Giants @ Vikings: Giants Win (8-8)
Bears @ Texans: Bears Win (10-6)
Lions @ Packers: Packers Win (8-8)

FINAL NFC NORTH STANDINGS:

Bears 10-6
Vikings 8-8
Packers 7-9
Lions 1-15 (I can't imagine them going 0-16)

Bears Notes: Dear fans who predicted a 6-10 record,

First off...I got to address the Bears fans who said the Bears would go 6-10 (or worse). You need to have more faith in your Bears. As bad as the Bears were last season, they went 7-9. With better offensive weapons and an improved O-Line, I don't understand how people actually thought the 2008 Bears would do worse than the 2007 Bears. Maybe you were trying to send a message that you were frustrated with how 2007 ended but this is a new year. This isn't last year's Bears and they are proving it. I personally said the Bears would win at least 10 games this year. As of right now, I am right on track. If you are a Bears fan, it is best to be over optimistic than over skeptical.

Other things I want to say..........

What's up with the Chicago media trashing the Bears lately? First it was the St. Louis Rams game. After the win, all the media could talk about was not how good the Bears looked but how bad the Rams must be for the Bears to win so easily. Pretty much they said that the Rams got sacked 5 times because they can't block and got picked off 4 times because they can't throw. No mention of the fact that Urlacher and Briggs made nice deflections to set up the picks nor did they mention that not everyone was making sacks (only Harris, Brown, and Ogunleye I think). Instead of saying Matt Forte had a great game, it was about how poor the Rams are at stopping the run. Why is the media looking for ways to trash the Bears even when they win? They even went as far to say that the Bears are fortunate that there isn't a cheap win category in the standings.

Then there is Tom Waddle yesterday. I enjoy listening to him sometimes but he ripped the Bears on the NFL Network yesterday. He said that four of the seven Bears wins have came against the Rams, Jaguars, and Lions meaning the Bears are bad team taking advantage of weak opponents. That's not the Bears fault they had to face those weak teams. We had to be defended by Jim Mora of all people who was disagreeing with Waddle. Mora asked Waddle what he thought of the Vikings who by the way have 3 wins against the Jaguars and Lions and Waddle's response was the Vikings are the best of a bad bunch of teams in the NFC North. I personally don't care if we played in a division of 4th graders. A division championship is a division championship. Being the best team in your division is a big accomplishment no matter what Tommy Waddle says.

The last thing I want to say is that yesterday was a bittersweet sunday. I usually feel happy after the Bears win but this week was different. For the first time all season, the Bears don't control their destiny. Even though the Bears had to win and I'm glad they did, it was hard for me to get excited about the win knowing that the Vikings won. I still love the Bears chances to win the division but knowing that finishing 10-6 doesn't guarantee the Bears will make the playoffs is a frustrating feeling.

Chicago Pro Teams Prediction: Bears will win the NFC North

This is a tough one because I have a hard trying to pick with my head than with my heart but I do like the Bears chances. The Packers will be lucky to finish 8-8 and the Vikings may lose 3 of their next 4 games. It's very possible that the Bears can win the division at 9-7.

I'll show you my week-by-week predictions for the rest of the season:

Week 14

Jaguars @ Bears: Bears Win (7-6 record for Bears)
Texans @ Packers: Packers Win (6-7 record for Packers)
Vikings @ Lions: Vikings Win (8-5 record for Vikings)

Week 15

Saints @ Bears: Bears Win (8-6)
Packers @ Jaguars: Packers Win (7-7)
Vikings @ Cardinals: Cardinals Win (8-6)

Week 16

Falcons @ Vikings: Falcons Win (8-7)
Packers @ Bears: Bears Win (9-6 BEARS) (7-8 PACKERS)

Week 17

Giants @ Vikings: Giants Win (8-8)
Bears @ Texans: Bears Win (10-6)
Lions @ Packers: Packers Win (8-8)

FINAL NFC NORTH STANDINGS:

1. Bears 10-6
2. Vikings 8-8
3. Packers 8-8
4. Lions ?????

It looks like 9-7 might be enough for the Bears but they would have to beat the Packers. That game makes me nervous because a Packers win and a Bears loss could end up with both teams finishing 9-7 and the tiebreaker would go to the Packers. So believe it or not, the team we should worry more than the Vikings may be the Packers but the team we should worry the most about is the Bears. The Vikings WILL lose at least two more games but can the Bears win 3 more games or 4 more games? I think they can but we have to wait and see.

Tribune "experts" make their predictions about the Bears

I think they are wrong. I say 10-6 and 9-7 at worst.

UPDATE (December 19, 12:17 PM CT):

So far only Fred Mitchell is right. Shows how much the rest of the Tribune staff knows. Let's hope Fred is wrong about his Green Bay pick.

Goodbye Kerry Wood

Yesterday Jim Hendry announced the Chicago Cubs will not re-sign veteran closer Kerry Wood. Wood, whose contact expired after the 2008 season, has played for the Cubs since 1998. He was my favorite Cub and he'll be missed.

Here's the final career stats for Wood as a member of the Chicago Cubs (1998-2008):

77 wins
61 losses
276 games
178 games started
11 complete games
5 shutouts
34 saves
1219.1 innings pitched
1407 strikeouts
3.65 ERA
1.25 WHIP
.215 BAA
2-time All Star
1998 National League Rookie of the Year

Week 3: This loss feels 10 times worse than Panthers game

When the Bears were defeated by the Panthers, they were defeated by a good team who overcame some early mistakes. The Bears lost to the Bucs. Up until 6 minutes left in the game, the Bucs only had 7 points on offense. I don't know how the Bucs were able to score 10 points in such a short amount of time. I don't really think most of the blame should go on the defense however. I blame the offense more. All they had to do was pick up one more first down and they couldn't do it. Their inability to score touchdowns in the 1st half came back to be a big factor in the loss. Also, the Bucs wouldn't have even tied the game if Kyle Orton didn't throw the ball right at Gaines Adams. Sure everyone will look at Orton's nice overall stat-line but he only had one good half. Football is a game of two halves and Orton didn't play a full 60 minute game. What you do in the 1st half is just as important as what you do in the second half. The truth is that the Bears missed three opportunities to score a touchdown in the 1st half and that ended up deciding the game. I really don't like what I see from Orton. Not only is he nothing more than a game manager, he's prone to throwing interceptions now. He needs to have a big game against Philadelphia or else put in Rex Grossman. Lovie only gave Rex three games to start the 2007 season. Orton's rope shouldn't be too much longer than Rex's.

This loss hurt emotionally. I think it might have been the first time I saw the Bears allow a game-tying touchdown with under 15 seconds left in the game. I had this bad feeling that Griese would drive the Bucs down the field and tie the game. I was hoping it was just me being too nervous but that was exactly what happened. As for the Peanut Tillman penalty, wow. One minute I'm really happy knowing that the Bears will get the ball around mid-field at the least and the next minute I feel terrible. I actually felt that the three and out would lead to a Bears win and any hope I had was gone when I found out that Peanut got penalized. The only good news is that the Packers lost. If you look at the NFC North standings, the Bears are in 2nd place and only one game out of 1st place. That gives me reason to be optimistic especially since the Bears have yet to play a divisional game. Forget the wild card....it might be easier for the Bears to win the division.

I think the Bears will beat the Eagles. I can't guarantee it but now the media is probably off the Bears bandwagon again so hopefully the Bears will play with a clip on their shoulder. This will be a home game and the Bears have proven they can win games most people don't expect them to win. This team has sometimes been a team that can't beat the team everyone expects them to beat but beats the team no one expects them to beat. Brian Westbrook might even be inactive....I see no reason why the Bears can't win. For their sake, they need to have a good game and win. It's not a must-win by any means but this is a team that should be 2-1 and could have been 3-0 right now. If the Bears really feel they should be 3-0, they need to come out and prove it. The Bears beat the Eagles last year....they can do it again. Right now, I hope the Bears are pissed. I hope they don't care who is the next team on their schedule. They turned two potential wins into losses and I bet they don't want to have a three game losing streak. I really believe this team is talented enough to beat any team on the schedule and that the only team that can beat the Bears is themselves.

After the Eagles game, the Bears face the Lions and the Falcons so a win against Eagles could be the difference between the Bears starting 4-2 and the Bears starting 3-3. 3-3 certainly wouldn't be bad but being 4-2 six weeks into the season would be very important. The Bears lost a game they should have won so the best thing for them now is to win a game that they are expected to lose. I still think this is a ten win team but they got to start winning games or else their record will say otherwise. It doesn't matter who the better team is or who had the better game. The only thing that matters is which team has more points at the end of the game. The Bears need to make sure they are that team.

Cy Young Award: Webb vs. Dempster

If you just look at W/L records, Brandon Webb edges Ryan Dempster (21-7 vs. 16-6).

However, Dempster edges Webb in ERA (3.02 vs. 3.26).

So who is having the better season? Webb has more wins but Dempster has the better ERA. Their WHIPs are nearly identical.

To find this out, I broke their ERA, WHIP, and K/9 into the 3 categories:

1. Games they won
2. Games they lost
3. Games with a No Decision
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Webb--

Stats in wins:

1.84 ERA 0.96 WHIP 6.8 K/9

Stats in losses:

8.15 ERA 2.12 WHIP 7.9 K/9

Stats in no decisions:

3.12 ERA 1.19 WHIP 6.9 K/9

Dempster--

Wins:

2.24 ERA 1.13 WHIP 8.2 K/9

Losses:

5.73 ERA 1.52 WHIP 9 K/9

No decisions:

3.09 ERA 1.25 WHIP 7.48 K/9
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Both pitchers did very well in games they won and both pitchers did awful in games they lost. I have to say that Webb seems to be more deserving than Dempster. He has 21 wins not because he got run support but because he had a 1.84 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP in those games. Dempster had a higher ERA and WHIP in his wins. You can't argue that the no decisions caused Dempster to have much fewer wins because his ERA and WHIP are higher in no decisions than they are in wins. As for Webb, he pitched well enough in those no decisions that you can't say the offense bailed him out of some extra losses.

It looks like if one of these two players wins the Cy Young Award, it will be Webb. I don't see how it will be awarded to Dempster instead of Webb.

Week 2: Orton nothing more than a Game Manager

Kyle Orton is still the same Kyle Orton. He's still a guy who will not lose you any games but he won't win you any games either. Sunday's performance by Orton looked just like his performance against the Colts. Another 150 yards passing, no touchdowns, and no interceptions. I don't like Kyle Orton as a quarterback. I liked it at first because he is capable of not letting a mediocre offensive line affect him but so far the offensive line looks not too bad. What I don't like about Orton is that he's only effective from 1 to 10 yards. Orton can not complete the level 3 pass (15+ yards beyond the line of scrimmage). He over-threw Marty Booker late in the game which might have been a game winning touchdown. I can see Rex Grossman watching the film of this game making a list of all the plays he could have made that Orton didn't. I say give Orton one more start but no more if he continues to look average. Grossman may throw the occasional interception, but he will score touchdowns and will pass for well over 200 yards every game.

As for the game.....

I don't think the Bears "blew" it. Yeah they were up 17-3 but think about how they got that lead. Seven points came from the blocked punt and seven more points were set-up by the Peanut Tillman interception. The Carolina defense had a good game even though the scoreboard said otherwise in the 3rd quarter. I wasn't really surprised that the Bears offense didn't score any more points because special teams and defense got them 14 out of the 17 points. The reason the score was 17-3 is because the Panthers played poorly in the 1st half. Too many penalties by them killed most of their drives. In the second half, the Panthers made less mistakes and won the game. The Panthers won the game. I don't think the Bears lost it. They were fortunate to have a 14 point lead to begin with. It's too bad that there was still plenty of time left in the game. I don't blame Greg Olsen by the way. I don't know if I should fault him for the first fumble or not but I definitely can't fault him for the second fumble. Panthers safety Chris Harris is one of the best at stripping the ball. He makes players fumble. It's not like Olsen gave the ball to Harris on a silver platter. Harris forced it out of his hands. He led the league last year in forcing fumbles so I don't blame Olsen for that.

I am disappointed the Bears lost a game they could have won, but I don't think it was a game they SHOULD have won. The Panthers played better. However, that doesn't mean the results will be the same if these two teams meet again in the playoffs. The Bears know that penalties and turnovers loses games and now they will try to correct them. That's the only good thing about losses....you see your flaws easier and you know what you have to do to win the next game. Winning two games on the road against two SUPER BOWL contenders is really hard. The Panthers beat a really good Chargers team in week one and the Bears beat a Colts team that was able to beat the Vikings this week in the H.H.H. Dome. The Vikings are considered (not by me) the best team in the division so I like the fact the Bears are already up 1-0 in common opponents. Big win against a good Colts team and a close loss to a good Panther team with both games on the road....I am fine with the way the Bears season has started. I have very little doubt that this team will be in the playoffs and I really think this team is capable of winning it all.

Bears win wasn't an upset!

Ok...maybe it was a small upset, but the Bears didn't do anything I didn't think they were capable of.

1. Kyle Orton- No turnovers, no touchdowns, and 150 passing yards....pretty much what I expected. He's a game manager.

2. Matt Forte- Didn't really expect 120+ yards rushing including a 50 yard run that could have been a 99 yard run if he started at the one but I knew Forte was capable of it. I've been saying he looks like another Thomas Jones....maybe even better. I am more convinced now that the Bears cut Benson not because of his legal problems but because Forte is a better player.

3. The Defense- How can you call the defense a surprise? What they did was more of an expectation. Creating turnovers, forcing 4th downs, and creating points is their game. I like the fact Indy had to settle for a field goal 2 times. Only one offensive touchdown by Indy. The Bears had two offensive touchdowns.

The only big surprise for me was that the offensive line did a really good job. They opened a lot of holes for Forte and Orton got sacked only once I think.

I said before the season that this is an 11-5 team. I was wrong....this is a 12-4 team. They played the way I wanted them to play and if they keep playing like this, book your tickets to Tampa right now. The Bears win by winning the turnover battle and running the ball and they executed both of them perfectly. This looks like a double digit win team not a 6-10 team like so many of the "experts" have predicted.That being said, it was just one game. As much as I want to say the doubters, "Preseason is meaningless....you were wrong about the Bears being a terrible team", all that win on Sunday means is that the Bears won't go 0-16. What I'm trying to say is that the Bears need to play like that every game. They need to run the ball, they need to protect the ball, and they need to take away the ball. If they can't do that next week, they might lose. They have to be consistent. They showed up last night, but they have to show up again next week and do the same thing. This is the NFL. Any team can beat any team. If the Bears don't play well, they probably won't win. The Falcons killed a decent Lions team. The Chiefs nearly beat the Patriots (being Brady-less is no excuse). The Bears can be a 12-4 team and I think they proved to everyone that they can, but they need to play good football every week. A great start but it is nothing more than that right now.

Is Soriano a bust for the Cubs so far?

I think so.

Look at his recent stats:

2006 (with WASH): 46 HR 95 RBI 67 BB 41 SB .277 BA .351 OBP .560 SLG .283 ISO
2007 (with CUBS): 33 HR 70 RBI 31 BB 19 SB .299 BA .337 OBP .560 SLG .261 ISO
2008 (with CUBS): 27 HR 69 RBI 35 BB 19 SB .286 BA .344 OBP .548 SLG .262 ISO

He was a 40-40 guy with Washington. He hasn't even been a 20-20 guy with the Cubs. He had 41 SBs in 2006. He has 38 SBs in the last two years combined. Soriano was paid to be a top 5 OF in the ML. Is he?

Among MLB outfielders with at least 400 plate appearances:

-Soriano is ranked 29th in batting average
- Soriano is ranked 39th in OBP
- Soriano is ranked 20th in stolen bases
- Soriano is ranked 12th in Home Runs
- Soriano is ranked 8th in SLG
- Soriano is ranked 32nd in RBI
- Soriano is ranked 36th in runs
- Soriano is ranked 51st in walks (very low for a leadoff man)
- Soriano is ranked 46th in pitches per plate appearance
- Soriano is ranked 32nd in extra base hits
- Soriano is ranked 35th in total bases
- Soriano is ranked 39th in BB/PA
- Soriano is ranked 51st in BB/K
- Soriano is ranked 37th in Runs Created
- Soriano is ranked 6th in Isolated Power

How about among MLB leadoff men with at least 400 PAs:

- 10th in BA
- 13th in OBP
- 1st in SLG
- 7th in Ks
- 3rd in HRs
- 12th in runs
- 3rd in RBIs
- 12th in stolen bases
- 15th in walks
- 12th in Pitches/PA
- 7th in extra base hits
- 12th in BB/PA
- 17th in BB/K
- 11th in Runs Created
- 1st in ISOP

So the only good things Soriano does as a leadoff man is hit home runs, drive in runs, and has the highest isolated power. Power is the last thing you expect from a leadoff man. You want him to work the count, get on-base, steal bases, and score runs. Soriano does poor at that compared to other leadoff men. For a guy making as much as he makes, he has certainly been a bust. If the All-Star voting was up to only the coaches and players, Soriano wouldn't have made the roster. He's a solid and quality player but nothing more. Ryan Ludwick is having a much better season than Soriano and Ludwick is making #411,000 this season. Soriano is making $14 million this season which is more than Adam Dunn, Jermaine Dye, Jason Bay, and Carlos Lee. Josh Hamilton is making just $396,830 this season.

Chicago Pro Teams Prediction: Chicago and the playoffs

I'll try this new thing called "Chicago Pro Teams Prediction" because I like offering my predictions and seeing how right or wrong I was. Hopefully I will be right with this on.

I predict.......that at least one Chicago baseball team will be in the playoffs this October.

Really, I think both the Cubs and the White Sox will go to the playoffs, but I am certain that Chicago will be represented in the 2008 MLB Playoffs. As for the World Series, I'm not ready to make any predictions about that yet.

Did You Know: how the Cubs and White Sox got their names

This is kind of like what ESPN's Sportcenter's "Did You Know". The main differences in mine at times might be longer and it will be about Chicago teams instead of East Coast teams! Sorry, I couldn't resist. By the way, does Sportscenter still do "Did You Know". I can't remember now.

This hopefully will be the first in a series. I hope to do several "Did You Know"s in the future but we'll see I guess.

The first "Did You Know" or "DYK" as I might call is going to be how the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox became the Cubs and Sox. Although it seems that has been their names forever, at one point they both had different names and they eventually got changed to Cubs and Sox. How did that happen? I'm going to tell you. The quotes are from Great Baseball Feats, Facts, & Firsts by David Nemec and Scott Flatow. According to the book, the Cubs were previously called the White Stockings, Colts, Orphans, Broncos, and Cowboys. The White Sox were previously called the Invaders after the American League "invaded" Chicago. The only reason the Cubs were the Colts was because their player-manager Cap Anson was in a play called Runaway Colt. When Anson left, that is when they started being called the Orphans. If they still named teams using that method, the Oakland A's would probably be called the Oakland Poormen because of their very low payroll.

First the Cubs:

"In 1901 Chicago sportwriters George Rice and Fred Hayner began referring to them as the Cubs because their roster was stocked with so many young players after the American League raids had depleted it."

That's kinda odd right? Sportswriters naming teams. Can you see that happening today? Imagine if a Pittsburgh sportswriter wrote, "The Pirates looked like a bunch of turtles out there the way they were reacting to plays." I really doubt the league would officially change the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Pittsburgh Turtles just because some sportswriter called them that.

And now, the White Sox:

The AL Chicago team changed their name to the White Stockings in 1901 "which had been discarded by its National League conterpart (the Cubs) in the late 1880s, but the sobriquet (meaning nickname...why couldn't they write that?) was immediately abbrviated to fit into sports page headlines."

So how about that? The Cubs are the Cubs because MLB really valued the opinions of sportwriters in the early 1900s and the White Sox are the White Sox because White Stockings was too long to fit in sports page headlines.

Interesting....did you know that?

Devin Hester Holdout

This is a little late but I wanted to talk about the Devin Hester holdout that ended recently. I feeling was that he deserved to ask for more money, but it was wrong of him to not attend camp. I'm glad he only missed two practices, so I forgive him. He's now a Chicago Bear through 2013, which is great because I would love to see Hester retire as a Bear someday.

I don't want to see Favre with the Bears

There is a possibility Brett Favre might be wearing Blue and Orange next year as a member of the Beloved Chicago Bears. I don't want to see that happen. It's not really because he is arguably Chicago's most hated opponent. It's also not really because I think Favre should retire as a Green Bay Packer like John Elway retired as a Denver Bronco, Dan Marino retired as a Miami Dolphin, and Troy Aikman retired as a Dallas Cowboy. Sure Favre was first with the Atlanta Falcons but Chicago Cubs great Ryne Sandberg started his career with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Those are just the other reasons. Here are the main reasons I don't want Favre to join the Bears:

1. He is no longer a young quarterback and he is past his prime. Favre is 38 years old and will turn 39 this October. He's not the same quarterback who led the Packers to two Super Bowls. Sure he had an impressive season last year. His 95.7 QB Rating was the highest season total for him since 1996, but can he do it again? I don't think he can. The Bears would be getting 2008 Favre not 1996 Favre. This would be like when the Washington Wizards got Michael Jordan or when the Boston Braves got Babe Ruth when Ruth was 40 years old. Brett Favre's best days are behind him now. Plus, everyone saw how bad he was in that Soldier Field game last December. That game he had a 40.2 QB rating and threw two interceptions. After the game, Favre said, “I’ve been playing 17 years, and that was the worst condition I’ve ever played in.” Now he might have to play there at least eight times next year? Do Bears fans really want to see that? Don't forget about his health. Sure, he has that long consecutive games played streak but he plays hurt. Call it heroic if you want but how heroic is he if he is throwing two interceptions in a game because his shoulder hurts? A healthy Rex Grossman or Kyle Orton is better than a banged up old Brett Favre. Playing hurt would be bad not to mention Favre would be pretty much insulting his teammates. He's basically saying, "A less than 100% Brett Favre is better than a healthy Rex Grossman." Helping the team isn't playing hurt. Helping the team is admitting you are too hurt to perform at your best. The Bears need a good and young QB not a QB who is too close to 40 and is towards the end of his career.
2. The Bears need a franchise quarterback, not a quarterback wanting to play one last season. The main reason the Packers want Favre to stay retired is because they want to finally start the Aaron Rodgers era. The Packers knew Favre wasn't going to play forever so they slowly developed Rodgers into their future franchise QB. The Packers don't want to wait anymore. They know Favre's best days are behind him. That is the same exact reason the Bears should avoid Favre. Hate them or love them, Grossman or Orton have a chance to become a solid starting QB for the next 10-15 years. Look what a franchise QB has done for teams like the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts. Those two teams have combined for four Super Bowl championships. Hell, five of the last seven Super Bowls have featured either the Colts or the Patriots. Thanks to Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, those two teams are Super Bowl contenders every season. I'm not saying Orton or Grossman could be as good as Brady or Manning but I do see the importance of having one QB for 10-15 years. They are still at an age in which one of them can become the Bears franchise QB. Adding Favre just delays the start of the Grossman era or the Orton era. They lose a year if Favre joins the Bears. Unless the Bears become instant Super Bowl contenders because of Favre, it is not worth it. Besides, what if Favre hints that he wants to return in 2009? Now, Orton and Grossman have to worry about a second year in a row being backup to Favre. Grossman is only signed for 2008. With Favre talking about playing in 2009, Grossman might consider trying to sign with another team. If Tavaris Jackson does bad, maybe the Minnesota Vikings will want Grossman as their starting QB in 2009. Grossman might not even wait for Favre to announce if he is going to play in 2009. What if Grossman signs with Minnesota and Favre later decides to retire? Now Orton is the starting QB by default. The Bears would have to hope that Orton ends up having a better career than Grossman because signing Favre led to the Bears losing Grossman to the Vikings. I don't want to see Grossman win a Super Bowl with the Vikings and have me thinking that he should have won it as a Chicago Bear. You think we have quarterback controversy now? Adding Favre just makes this mess even worse.

The good news is that it is highly unlikely Favre will join the Bears. The Packers do NOT want to trade Favre to a division rival let alone the hated Chicago Bears. If Favre did however somehow end up playing for a NFC North team other than the Packers, it would likely be the Vikings. It's not "too hot" which was the reason Favre will try to avoid playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs and Favre played better indoors last season than outdoors. The Vikings of course play home games in a dome. Favre probably still has nightmares about his last Soldier Field experience. Whatever scenerio happens, it won't have Favre joining the Chicago Bears.....at least I hope not.

Cubs pitchers have great All-Star Game!

A big reason for the Cubs success this year has been their pitching. Yesterday at the MLB All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium in New York, Cubs pitchers Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, and Carlos Marmol showed why they were three of four Cubs pitchers selected to the All-Star Game (the other being Kerry Wood who missed the game due to a blister).

Here are the stats for their performances:

Zambrano: 2 IP 1 H 0 ER 0 BB 1 K

Dempster: 1 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 3 K

Marmol: 1 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 2 K

Combined?

4 IP 1 H 0 ER 0 BB 6 K

Amazing and this was against "All-Star" hitters! I can't remember Dempster striking out the side the whole season and Marmol rebounded nicely from his last game in which he allowed four earned runs on five hits and one walk. The Cubs hitters Geovany Soto, Aramis Ramirez, and Kosuke Fukudome were a disappointing 0 for 4 with two strikeouts and one walk combined but the pitchers made the Cubs organization proud. Any doubt that Dempster and Marmol belonged in the All-Star Game was erased last night.

MLB Playoffs Predictions!!

Eight teams will be fighting for the trophy you see at the beginning of this post, but which eight teams? It is still early but now that the season is officially half-way over, I will take a guess at the eight playoff teams in October.

Well here it goes:

AL CENTRAL: Chicago White Sox

Call me a homer but the Sox have a very good team. They already showed they have the pitching but now they have convinced me that their offense is elite too. If a team has a great combination of offense and pitching, they will be very hard to defeat. The big key is that guys like Jim Thome, Nick Swisher, and Mark Buehrle have put their struggles behind them and are playing great now.

Even Cubs manager Lou Piniella said, "The White Sox should win that division by a half-dozen games or more, to tell you the truth. They have everything you need. Everybody looks at the Cubs … look at the White Sox."

I agree. The Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, and Minnesota Twins are good teams, but I think the Sox are just simply better.

AL EAST: Boston Red Sox

The Tampa Rays have been impressive but the Red Sox are just more experienced. They may be in 2nd place now but by the end of the season, the BoSox should be in 1st place.

AL WEST: Los Angeles Angels

The Angels win the division because they are a good team but also because the rest of the division isn't that good. The Oakland A's are currently 3.5 games out of 1st place as I type this but I think they are overachieving. Then again, the A's always overachieve, but the Angels have great hitting and solid pitching. The Texas Rangers are getting better but I doubt they are still in the race by September. The Seattle Mariners never had a chance and they are now 17.5 games out of 1st place.

AL WILD CARD: Tampa Bay Rays

It has to be the Rays. They would win the division if it weren't for the Red Sox. The Rays should have no problem beating out the New York Yankees, Twins, Tigers, A's, and Rangers.

NL CENTRAL: Chicago Cubs

Can't call me a homer for this one. The Cubs are the best team in the NL and even though the NL Central St. Louis Cardinals have the NL's 2nd best record, the Cubs are still a better team than them. I don't see how the Cubs don't win the division.

NL EAST: Philadelphia Phillies

The Florida Marlins are making the race interesting but right now the Phillies are struggling and the Marlins are overachieving. The Phillies are probably more afraid of the New York Mets who will make it hard for the Phillies but the Mets will fall just short in the end.

NL WEST: Los Angeles Dodgers

The Arizona Diamondbacks are this year's Milwaukee Brewers (started 24-10 in 2007 and missed the playoffs). The Diamondbacks were 28-16 at one point this season and had the NL's best record. Now they are 42-41 and have seen their 6.5 game lead shrink to a 3.5 game lead. They peaked too early. Now instead of getting better, they are getting worse. That should give the Dodgers a chance to claim the division in the final weeks of the season if not earlier.

NL WILD CARD: New York Mets

I'm not very confident the Mets can all of a sudden start winning but I'm not very confident that the Cardinals or Brewers will keep winning either. I think there is still time for the Mets to turn their season around (like the Yankees did in 2007) and there is still time for the Cardinals to start struggling and miss the playoffs (like the Mets did in 2007).

Ok...come back in October and see if I'm right.

Breaking down the Cubs-Sox series

Series Breakdown:

Game 1- Ted Lilly vs. John Danks

Cubs vs. Danks:

John Danks is a good pitcher. Only 3 of his starts haven't been quality starts. He is coming off a start against Colorado in which he allowed 0 ER and 5 hits in 6 innings. He isn't much of a workhorse. He has pitched 7 or more innings in a start only 2 times this season. His worst start was on April 9th against Minnesota when he allowed 7 ER and 3 walks in just 2.1 innings. But other than that start, he has been very good this year. In 11.1 innings against the offensively strong LA Angels, Danks has allowed just 2 ER.

Sox vs. Lilly:

Ted Lilly is the kind of pitcher who the Sox could struggle against. The Sox recently faced lefty Nate Robertson of the Detroit Tigers and he held the Sox to 3 ER in 6.1 innings. However, don't be surprised if the Sox get to Lilly. Lilly has had at least 4 rough starts this season. If Lilly has his stuff today, the Sox offense doesn't have much of a chance. If Lilly starts to struggle, the Sox could put crooked numbers on the scoreboard against him.

Prediction: Sox win a close one....Sox 5 Cubs 3

Game 2- Jose Contreras vs. Jason Marquis

Cubs vs. Contreras:

Jose Contreras has had a great season so far. His numbers don’t lie. His forkball has been a dominating out pitch for him. When Contreras gets ahead in the count, batters have little success against him. However, Contreras hasn’t been impressive in his last 2 starts. On June 10th against Detroit, he allowed more than 2 ER in a start for the first time since May 4th. Not only was it more than 2 ER, he allowed 6 ER and 13 hits. His most recent start was a quality one but he allowed 3 ER which is still more than he usually allows. For the second straight start, his ERA rose. His ERA has gone from 2.76 to 3.24 in 2 starts. He is still a good pitcher but he is starting to show he is capable of having a bad start. Now on a 2 game losing streak after being on a 4 game winning streak, Contrera’s confidence might have taken a shot. This is a good time for the Cubs to be facing Contreras.

Sox vs. Marquis:

In my opinion, it seems like the Sox are a great fastball hitting team but they are bad when they face someone whose plus-plus pitch isn’t a fastball. A guy like Jason Marquis with his sinker and splitter could really baffle the Sox. Marquis has been amazing in his last 2 starts. If Marquis throws strikes and doesn’t get too much of the plate, I really wouldn’t be surprised if the Sox scored only one or less runs off Marquis. The Sox offense can be bad enough that they can make any pitcher look like Cy Young.

Prediction: Cubs even the series….Cubs 5 Sox 2

Game 3- Ryan Dempster vs. Javier Vazquez

Cubs vs. Vazquez:

Some may consider him to be the ace of the staff, but right now Javier Vazquez doesn’t look like that pitcher. In his last 3 starts, he has allowed 4 ER or more in each start. His ERA which at the start of the month was 3.43 is now at 4.13. It has been a June swoon for Vazquez as his 7.27 June ERA might suggest. Like the Contreras breakdown, this is the right time for the Cubs to be facing Vazquez. Another positive for the Cubs is that this game will be a night game. Vazquez has a 4.86 ERA at night and has a .289 BAA (batting average allowed). At many times this year, Vazquez has looked like an All-Star pitcher but right now he looks mediocre.

Sox vs. Dempster:

If the Sox struggle against Marquis, they should consider not even showing up Sunday. Ryan Dempster will give the Sox problems. Dempster is great at getting teams to hit into outs and the Sox will be no exception. Like I said in the Marquis breakdown, Sox seem to struggle against pitchers who don’t rely on their fastball. Dempster’s splitter and slider is very good and I don’t think the Sox will do much against him. Oh and by the way, Dempster is 8-0 at Wrigley and the Cubs are 9-0 when Dempster makes a Wrigley Field start.

Prediction: All signs point towards a Cubs win in the rubber match….Cubs 6 Sox 1

Bears will regret cutting Benson

The Chicago Bears offensive line was terrible in 2007. It was not Bears running back Cedric Benson's fault. Now Benson is slimmer and the offensive line is better, but the Bears cut Benson before he could get a fair chance to show off his skills. Don't believe me that the O-line was holding Benson back?

Watch this video:



Oh....and here is Benson before the Bears offensive line started to suck:

Classic Chicago Sports Video: Devin Hester's Super Bowl XLI kickoff return touchdown

In a season in which it had looked like Chicago Bear return man Devin Hester had accomplished everything he could, he found another way to amazing Bears and NFL fans by becoming the first player to ever return the opening kickoff of a Super Bowl for a touchdown.

MVC Update: May 30th, 2008

Just to remind you, here is a brief description of MVC and how the points system works:

For the 2008 season, I decided to come up with a way to decide who will be the Most Valuable Chicago Cub or MVC. Being the most valuable player is different from being the best player. You have to play great in key situations and be one of the main reasons your team won that day. The player with the best stats is not always MVP. For example, say Player A goes 3 for 4 with 2 doubles. Pretty good right? But what if he got all 3 hits with the bases empty and he never scored? Those 3 hits were a waste. Now how about Player B who goes 1 for 4 with a single but that single scores the final two runs and the team wins by one run? Player B in my mind is the MVP because his single won the game for the team. What I have done so far is pick a MVC for each Cubs game that the Cubs win. Occasionally I'll pick a MVC in an extra innings loss but not always. If the Cubs lose by 7 runs, obviously it is gonna be hard to pick a MVC so there will be game in which I don't pick a MVC. Because baseball is a team sport, here is how I will award points to players: 3 points for game’s MVC, 2 points for 2nd best impact, and 1 point for 3rd best impact.

Season Standings:

Carlos Zambrano +25
Derrek Lee +23
Ryan Dempster +20
Alfonso Soriano +20
Geovany Soto +16
Aramis Ramirez +15
Kosuke Fukudome +13
Ted Lilly +12
Reed Johnson +8
Jon Lieber +7
Ronny Cedeno +7
Mark DeRosa +7
Jason Marquis +6
Carlos Marmol +6
Sean Gallagher +5
Ryan Theriot +4
Rich Hill +4
Kerry Wood +3
Mike Fontenot +3
Daryle Ward +3
Felix Pie +2
Scott Eyre +1

Season Winners:

Zambrano +6
Soriano +5
Dempster +4
Soto +4
Lee +3
Fukudome +2
Lilly +2
Marquis +2
Lieber +1
Hill +1
Ramirez +1
Theriot +1
Fontenot +1
Ward +1
Gallagher +1

May 26--Dodgers @ Cubs: W 3-1
MVC: Ryan Dempster

1. Dempster +3
2. Lee +2
3. Ramirez +1

May 27--Dodgers @ Cubs: W 3-1
MVC: Sean Gallagher

1. Gallagher +3
2. Ramirez +2
3. Marmol +1

May 28—Dodgers @ Cubs: W 2-1
MVC: Alfonso Soriano

Soriano +3
Zambrano +2
Soto +1

May 29—Rockies @ Cubs: W 8-4
MVC: Geovany Soto

Soto +3
Marmol +2
Soriano +1

National League All Star Candidate: Ryan Dempster

Believe it or not Chicago Cubs former closer, now current starter Ryan Dempster could make the all star game. In fact if he continues to play well, he should be an all star.

Look at where Dempster ranks among NL starters in numerous statistical categories:

• Tied for 7th in wins (6)


• 4th in ERA (2.56)


• 5th in WHIP (1.09)


• 2nd in H/9 (6.14)


• 1st in opponent AVG (.189)

Dempster is even 12th in strikeouts with 56 Ks and Dempster isn't really a great strikeout pitcher (his K/9 is 23rd in the NL).

Last season the NL all star team had seven starting pitchers on their roster. So I will take seven of the NL's best starters (in no particular order) and compare them to Dempster:

Stats are through May 26, 2008:

1. Brandon Webb- 9-2 3.01 ERA 74.2 IP 64 K 1.10 WHIP .221 BAA


2. Carlos Zambrano- 7-1 2.47 ERA 73.0 IP 52 K 1.18 WHIP .241 BAA


3. Tim Lincecum- 6-1 2.17 ERA 62.1 IP 69 K 1.28 WHIP .240 BAA


4. Edinson Vólquez- 7-2 1.31 ERA 62 IP 76 K 1.28 WHIP .194 BAA


5. Tim Hudson- 7-3 2.97 ERA 69.2 IP 42 K 1.05 WHIP .227 BAA


6. Aaron Cook- 7-3 2.82 ERA 76.2 IP 35 K 1.20 WHIP .251 BAA


7. Ben Sheets- 5-1 2.93 ERA 67.2 IP 55 K 1.06 WHIP .233 BAA

---------------------------

Ryan Dempster- 6-1 2.56 ERA 70.1 IP 56 K 1.09 WHIP .189 BAA

There are other NL starters who also have a good chance to make the team (Johan Santana, Dan Haren, Cole Hamels, Jake Peavy), but I want to pick the best pitchers right now.

Here are Dempster's ranks when included with the seven pitchers:

• Tied for 6th in wins


• 4th in ERA


• 4th in strikeouts


• 4th in innings pitched


• 3rd in WHIP


• 1st in BAA

The pitcher in the NL with arguably the most buzz right now is Webb. The only categories Webb leads Dempster in are wins, IP, and Ks. Wins are based a lot on how much run support you get, IP are important but not a stat usually looked at when selecting an all star team, and Ks are important but it doesn't really matter how you get outs because a groundout can be just as good a strikeout. Dempster leads Webb in all the categories that really matter: ERA, WHIP, and BAA. I'm not saying that Dempster is going to win the NL Cy Young Award because there are pitchers who are pitching better than Dempster, but he definitely should right now be considered for the NL all star team. Every team needs to be represented which could hurt Dempster's chances especially if Zambrano of the Cubs makes the team, but right now it is hard to list reasons why Dempster should not make the all star team.

Classic Chicago Sports Video: Mike Ditka singing the 7th inning stretch at Wrigley Field

Even with many Chicago pro teams, there will be many times when there will be nothing worth blogging about. Either that or I'll be too busy (lazy is probably a better word) to write something. So, once in a while I'll make a video post of a classic Chicago sports moment. The first of many to come will be Ex-Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at Wrigley Field during a Chicago Cubs game. Just the fact that he is the great Mike Dikta is reason enough for this video to be special, but this rendition of "Take Me Out of the Ballpark" is one of the worst Wrigley Field has ever heard....and I say one of the worst only because Ozzy Osborne's singing might have been slightly worse. I'll just say Mike Ditka wouldn't go far if he was a contestant on American Idol.

Without no more introduction, here is Mike Ditka as the Cubs guest conductor of the 7th inning stretch:

Soriano's dropped ball brings back memories of Brant Brown

Yesterday, the Chicago Cubs lost 6-5 to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 11 innings. The Cubs had a 5-4 lead with two outs in the ninth inning but Cubs left fielder Alfonso Soriano dropped a fly ball allowing the Pirates to tie the game.

Soriano said after the game, “It hit in my glove but I didn’t see the ball. I see very clearly when it got off the bat, but when the ball’s coming down it’s getting in the sun, so I lose it.”

Cubs fans have seen this before. On September 23, 1998, Cubs outfielder Brant Brown dropped a fly ball allowing the Milwaukee Brewers to win (link for video clip of the error is at the end of this post).

From http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/news/1998/09/23/cubs_brewers/:

Brant Brown drifted back in left field for the final easy out, sunglasses down to shield him from the glare of the late-afternoon sun. The ball landed right on his glove, drawing cheers from the Chicago fans. But the shouts of joy quickly turned to gasps as the ball dropped to the ground, possibly taking the Cubs' playoff hopes right along with it.

The Milwaukee Brewers scored three runs on Brown's error for an 8-7 victory Wednesday

"I don't know how to explain it," said Brown, who went to left field in the eighth inning as a defensive replacement. "The bottom line is I clanked it and we lost the game. You can say the wind, you can say the sun, but those are elements you play with every day. Hopefully, it doesn't cost us that much."

With a 7-5 lead in the ninth, Rod Beck (3-3) loaded the bases with one out. Beck gave up a single to Mark Loretta and a double to Jeff Cirillo, and then intentionally walked Jeromy Burnitz to pitch to Marquis Grissom. After Grissom popped up, Geoff Jenkins hit the fateful fly ball.

Here is a clip of that play with thanks to a Cubs.com Message Board poster for finding it.

Also, I have to include an audio clip of Ron Santo's famous "OH NO!!" call.

Most Valuable Cub Update!

Just to remind you, here is a brief description of MVC and how the points system works:

For the 2008 season, I decided to come up with a way to decide who will be the Most Valuable Chicago Cub or MVC. Being the most valuable player is different from being the best player. You have play great in key situations and be one of the main reasons your team won that day. The player with the best stats is not always MVP. For example, say Player A goes 3 for 4 with 2 doubles. Pretty good right? But what if he got all 3 hits with the bases empty and he never scored? Those 3 hits were a waste. Now how about Player B who goes 1 for 4 with a single but that single scores the final two runs and the team wins by one run? Player B in my mind is the MVP because his single won the game for the team. What I have done so far is pick a MVC for each Cubs game that the Cubs win. Occasionally I'll pick a MVC in an extra innings loss but not always. If the Cubs lose by 7 runs, obviously it is gonna be hard to pick a MVC so there will be game in which I don't pick a MVC. Because baseball is a team sport, here is how I will award points to players: 3 points for game’s MVC, 2 points for 2nd best impact, and 1 point for 3rd best impact.

Season Standings:

Carlos Zambrano +23
Derrek Lee +21
Ryan Dempster +17
Alfonso Soriano +16
Kosuke Fukudome +13
Aramis Ramirez +12
Ted Lilly +12
Geovany Soto +12
Reed Johnson +8
Jon Lieber +7
Ronny Cedeno +7
Mark DeRosa +7
Jason Marquis +6
Ryan Theriot +4
Rich Hill +4
Kerry Wood +3
Mike Fontenot +3
Daryle Ward +3
Carlos Marmol +3
Felix Pie +2
Sean Gallagher +2
Scott Eyre +1

Season Winners:

Zambrano +6
Soriano +4
Lee +3
Dempster +3
Fukudome +2
Soto +3
Lilly +2
Marquis +2
Lieber +1
Hill +1
Ramirez +1
Theriot +1
Fontenot +1
Ward +1

March 31, 2008- Brewers @ Cubs: L 3-4
MVC of the game: Fukudome

Fukudome +3
Zambrano +2
Marmol +1

April 3, 2008- Brewers @ Cubs: W 6-3
MVC of the game: Ryan Dempster

Dempster +3

Fukudome +2

Ramirez +1

April 5th, 2008- Astros @ Cubs: W 9-7
MVC of the game: Derrek Lee

Lee +3
Fukudome +2
Johnson +1

April 6th, 2008 – Astros @ Cubs: W 3-2
MVC: Carlos Zambrano

Zambrano +3
Lee +2
Wood +1


April 7th, 2008 – Cubs @ Pirates: W 10-8
MVC: Jon Lieber

Lieber +3
Ramirez +2
Cedeno +1

April 9-- Cubs @ Pirates: W 6-4

MVC: Dempster

1. Ryan Dempster +3

2. Felix Pie +2

3. Reed Johnson +1

April 10-- Cubs @ Pirates: W 7-3

MVC: Soto

1. Geovany Soto +3

2. Jon Lieber +2

3. Derrek Lee +1

April 13—Cubs @ Phillies: W 6-5

MVC: Lee

1. Lee +3

2. Wood +2

3. Zambrano +1

April 15—Reds @ Cubs: W 9-5
MVC: Lee

Lee +3
Dempster +2
DeRosa +1

April 16—Reds @ Cubs: W 12-3
MVC: Fukudome

Fukudome: +3
Zambrano: +2
Lee: +1

April 18—Pirates @ Cubs: W 3-2
MVC: Rich Hill

Rich Hill +3
Kosuke Fukudome +2
Mark DeRosa +1

April 19—Pirates @ Cubs: W 13-1
MVC: Jason Marquis

Marquis +3
Lee +2
DeRosa +1

April 20—Pirates @ Cubs: W 13-6
MVC: Aramis Ramirez

Ramirez +3
Dempster +2
Theriot +1

April 21—Mets @ Cubs: W 7-1
MVC: Zambrano

Zambrano +3
Ramirez +2
Cedeno +1

April 22—Mets @ Cubs: W 8-1
MVC: Ted Lilly

Lilly +3
Cedeno +2
Fukudome +1

April 23—Cubs @ Rockies: W 7-6
MVC: Theriot

Theriot +3
Ramirez +2
Hill +1

April 26—Cubs @ Nationals: W 7-0
MVC: Carlos Zambrano

Zambrano +3
Lee +2
Johnson +1

April 30—Brewers @ Cubs: W 19-5
MVC: Geovany Soto

Geovany Soto +3
Ryan Dempster +2
Mark DeRosa +1

May 2—Cubs @ Cardinals: L 3-5
MVC: Alfonso Soriano
Soriano +3
Lieber +2
Soto +1

May 3—Cubs @ Cardinals: W 9-3
MVC: Mike Fontenot

Fontenot +3
Lilly +2
Soto +1

May 6—Cubs @ Reds: W 3-0
MVC: Zambrano

Zambrano +3
Cedeno +2
Ramirez +1

May 9—D-Backs @ Cubs: W 3-1
MVC: Ted Lilly

Ted Lilly +3
Alfonso Soriano +2
Mark DeRosa +1

May 10—D-Backs @ Cubs: W 7-2
MVC: Alfonso Soriano
Soriano +3
Dempster +2
Eyre +1

May 11—D-Backs @ Cubs: W 6-4
MVC: Daryle Ward

Ward +3
Johnson +2
Lee +1

May 12—Padres @ Cubs: W 12-3
MVC: Carlos Zambrano

Zambrano +3
Soriano +2
Lee +1

May 14, 2008--Padres @ Cubs: W 8-5
MVC; Alfonso Soriano

1. Soriano +3
2. Lilly +2
3. Soto +1

May 15, 2008--Padres @ Cubs: W 4-0
MVC: Ryan Dempster

1. Dempster +3
2. Lee +2
3. Cedeno +1


May 16—Pirates @ Cubs: W 7-4
MVC: Alfonso Soriano

Soriano +3
Gallagher +2
DeRosa +1

May 18—Pirates @ Cubs: W 4-3
MVC: Jason Marquis

Jason Marquis +3
Carlos Marmol +2
Reed Johnson +1

May 19—Cubs @ Astros: W 7-2
MVC: Geovany Soto

Soto +3
Lilly +2
Ramirez +1

May 23—Cubs @ Pirates: W 12-3
MVC: Carlos Zambrano

Zambrano +3
Johnson +2
DeRosa +1

Hey The Bulls Have a Postseason Win!

Chicago Bulls fans are partying like it's 1999.

Last Tuesday, the Bulls won the NBA Draft Lottery and has the #1 overall pick in the NBA Draft for the 1st time since 1999 when they drafted Elton Brand. If the Bulls keep the pick, they will either draft Derrick Rose, a 6-3 point guard from Memphis University, or Michael Beasley, a 6-9 power forward out of Kansas State University. Who should the Bulls pick? It's a no-brainer for me: Rose. It has little to do with the fact he's a Chicago kid. The Bulls are lacking a true point guard. I can't even remember the last time we had a real point guard. Even in the Jordan era, Ron Harper was really a shooting guard but had to play point. You look at successful teams like San Antonio (Tony Parker), Detroit (Chauncey Billups), New Orleans (Chris Paul), Utah (Deron Williams), Phoenix (Steve Nash), and you realize that point guards are important in the NBA like quarterbacks are important in the NFL. Rose has leadership qualities, can play defense, and can even be a solid scoring option. Most importantly, he knows how to be unselfish and make great passes to his teammates. He's being referred to as a combination of Paul and Williams. I really believe this kid has a chance to break the Bulls long streak without an all-star. In fact, he could become a superstar someday.

Rose is the player we need. Just look at our projected starting lineup with Rose:
pg. Rose
sg. kirk hinrich
sf. luol deng
pf. drew gooden
c. jokiam noah

That's a solid starting lineup right there and the Bulls will finally have a playmaker who can get open looks for guys like Deng, Kirk, and Gordon as well as dish down low to Drew and Noah. He'll make us so much better offensively. Think about it: the Bulls were trying to trade for Kobe Bryant who is a playmaker with leadership qualities and can help the team when the game is on the line. Rose can be that player and the Bulls don't have to trade any of their "core" players. Rose is the leader and star the Bulls desperately need. Guys like Michael Beasley are in the draft every year. A guy like Rose isn't always available. Add Derrick Rose and the Bulls will become instant contenders in the Eastern Conference.

Soriano should be dropped lower in the batting order

Despite Alfonso Soriano's two home runs, he could of helped the Cubs a lot more yesterday. Both of his home runs were solo home runs. How are the Cubs going to benefit from Soriano's homers if they are just solo home runs? The Cubs get the same amount of runs out of a groundout with a runner at third with zero or one out compared to a Soriano home run. It is not coincidental that Soriano is hitting solo home runs. Besides the fact he is guaranteed to bat with the bases empty at least one time per game, he is hitting behind two of the Cubs worst On-base players: Reed Johnson and the pitcher's spot. The chances of either of them getting on aren't as great as the chances or Ryan Theriot or Derrick Lee or Kosuke Fukudome or Geovany Soto. One of the reasons the Cubs lost yesterday was because Soriano got just two RBIs out of his two home runs. If he was batting lower in the lineup, he'd probably get four RBIs for his home runs.

Now I know exactly why Soriano is still batting leadoff. Lou Piniella keeps talking about all this "Soriano doesn't like batting with runners on base and he is very comfortable at leadoff" bullshit. Here's the thing: Not only has Soriano came through this season many times with runners in scoring position but he wouldn't have to hit as many home runs if he was batting 5th or so. Let's say Soriano is batting with Lee on third and Aramis Ramirez on second. If Soriano hits a single, that's two RBIs right there which is one more RBI than he gets with all his solo home runs. And of course the obvious thing: if he hits a home run in that situation, it's three RBIs. As you saw yesterday, the addition of a few more RBIs can be the difference between a win and a loss. Soriano did a lot of damage in yesterday's loss, but he could have done a lot more.

MVC: April 19-20--Pirates @ Cubs

April 19--Pirates @ Cubs: W 13-1

MVC: Jason Marquis

1. Jason Marquis-- 6 innings, 1 ER; RBI double
2. Derrek Lee-- 2 run HR in the first inning
3. Mark DeRosa-- 2 RBIs, 2 runs scored

April 20--Pirates @ Cubs: W 13-6

MVC: Aramis Ramirez

1. Aramis Ramirez-- 4 RBIs
2. Ryan Dempster-- 5 innings, 3 ER
3. Ryan Theriot-- 3 runs scored, 2 RBIs, 1 stolen base

Season Standings:

Derrek Lee +15
Kosuke Fukudome +12
Ryan Dempster +10
Carlos Zambrano +8
Aramis Ramirez +6
Jon Lieber +5
Geovany Soto +3
Mark DeRosa +3
Rich Hill +3
Jason Marquis +3
Kerry Wood +3
Reed Johnson +2
Felix Pie +2
Ryan Theriot +1
Carlos Marmol +1
Ronny Cedeno +1

Season Winners:

Lee +3
Dempster +2
Fukudome +2
Zambrano +1
Lieber +1
Soto +1
Hill +1
Marquis +1
Ramirez +1

Don't understand what "MVC" means? Click the link to find out.

The White Sox are back!

Right now, the Sox are 10-6 after 16 games and are in 1st place in the AL central. It's early but in 2005 after 16 games, the Sox were 12-4 so the records aren't that much different. As many people know, the Sox went on to win 99 games and the world series that season. The Sox are doing many things right so far. Their offense has been outstanding, their starting pitchers have been solid, and their bullpen is one of the best in the league so far. I know it's only April, but I think this team will be on top of their division at the end of the season. The Sox face the New York Yankees on Monday and that should be one of the first opportunities to see if this team is for real or just taking advantage of a weak schedule.

The Bears should give Urlacher what he wants

Recently, Brian Urlacher skipped the Chicago Bears' optional workouts because he wants more years added to his current contract. I think the Bears should just give Urlacher what he wants. In my opinion, he is still the best player on the team. The Bears should do the best they can to keep Urlacher happy. Lance Briggs is nothing without #54 standing next to him.

MVC: April 16 vs. Reds; April 18 vs. Pirates

April 16—Reds @ Cubs: W 12-3
MVC: Fukudome

Fukudome: 2 Run double in 1st inning
Zambrano: 7 innings pitched with just 2 runs allowed; RBI single in 3rd inning
Lee: Solo home run in 3rd inning began a six run inning

April 18—Pirates @ Cubs: W 3-2
MVC: Rich Hill

Rich Hill: Pitched 5 solid innings
Kosuke Fukudome: His triple in the 3rd inning set up a 3 run inning
Mark DeRosa: 3rd inning RBI single tied the game; later scored the go-ahead run

Season Standings:

Derrek Lee +13
Kosuke Fukudome +12
Ryan Dempster +8
Carlos Zambrano +8
Jon Lieber +5
Aramis Ramirez +3
Geovany Soto +3
Kerry Wood +3
Rich Hill +3
Felix Pie +2
Reed Johnson +2
Mark DeRosa +2
Carlos Marmol +1
Ronny Cedeno +1

Season Winners:

Lee +3
Dempster +2
Fukudome +2
Zambrano +1
Lieber +1
Soto +1
Hill +1

MVC: April 15- Reds @ Cubs

April 15- Reds @ Cubs: W 9-5

1. Derrek Lee--Hit game winning 3-run homer in the 5th inning. Started a inning ending double play in the 7th inning when the Reds had runners on the corners with only one out and down by one run.
2. Ryan Dempster--Pitched 6 innings and gave up only 4 earned runs.
3. Mark DeRosa--His two-run homer in the second inning gave the Cubs their first lead.

Season Standings:

Derrek Lee +12
Ryan Dempster +8
Kosuke Fukudome +7
Carlos Zambrano +6
Jon Lieber +5
Aramis Ramirez +3
Geovany Soto +3
Kerry Wood +3
Felix Pie +2
Reed Johnson +2
Carlos Marmol +1
Ronny Cedeno +1
Mark DeRosa +1

Season Winners:

Lee +3
Dempster +2
Fukudome +1
Zambrano +1
Lieber +1
Soto +1

MVC: April 13th- Cubs @ Phillies

April 13th- Cubs @ Phillies: W 6-5

1. Derrek Lee- 2 RBIs; Nice defensive stop in the 9th inning which prevented the Phillies from scoring the winning run.
2. Kerry Wood- Pitched a scoreless 8th and 9th inning with the game tied.
3. Carlos Zambrano- Ran hard after hitting a groundball; forced Phillies IF. Chase Utley to rush his throw resulting in an error that allowed the go-ahead run to score in the 10th inning.

Season Standings:

Derrek Lee +9
Kosuke Fukudome +7
Ryan Dempster +6
Carlos Zambrano +6
Jon Lieber +5
Aramis Ramirez +3
Geovany Soto +3
Kerry Wood +3
Felix Pie +2
Reed Johnson +2
Carlos Marmol +1
Ronny Cedeno +1

Season Winners:

Dempster +2
Lee +2
Fukudome +1
Zambrano +1
Lieber +1
Soto +1

MVC--April 9-10: Cubs @ Pirates

April 9-- Cubs @ Pirates: W 6-4

1. Ryan Dempster--Pitched 7 innings and only allowed one hit. Very good performance.
2. Felix Pie--hit game winning RBI single in the 15th inning.
3. Reed Johnson--RBI single in the 3rd gave the Cubs an early 1-0 lead.

April 10-- Cubs @ Pirates: W 7-3

1. Geovany Soto--Game winning 2 run home run in the 6th.
2. Jon Lieber-- 4.1 shutout innings.
3. Derrek Lee--2 RBIs

Scoring: 3 points for game’s MVC, 2 points for 2nd best impact, and 1 point for 3rd best impact.

Season Standings:

Kosuke Fukudome +7
Derrek Lee +6
Ryan Dempster +6
Carlos Zambrano +5
Jon Lieber +5
Aramis Ramirez +3
Geovany Soto +3
Felix Pie +2
Reed Johnson +2
Carlos Marmol +1
Kerry Wood +1
Ronny Cedeno +1

Season Winners:

Dempster +2
Fukudome +1
Lee +1
Zambrano +1
Lieber +1
Soto +1

Most Valuable Cub!

For the 2008 season, I decided to come up with a way to decide who will be the Most Valuable Chicago Cub or MVC. Being the most valuable player is different from being the best player. You have play great in key situations and be one of the main reasons your team won that day. The player with the best stats is not always MVP. For example, say Player A goes 3 for 4 with 2 doubles. Pretty good right? But what if he got all 3 hits with the bases empty and he never scored? Those 3 hits were a waste. Now how about Player B who goes 1 for 4 with a single but that single scores the final two runs and the team wins by one run? Player B in my mind is the MVP because his single won the game for the team.

What I have done so far is pick a MVC for each Cubs game that the Cubs win. I'll do it sometimes for extra innings losses too. If the Cubs lose by 7 runs, obviously it is gonna be hard to pick a MVC so there will be game in which I don't pick a MVC. Because baseball is a team sport, here is how I will award points to players:

3 points for game’s MVC, 2 points for 2nd best impact, and 1 point for 3rd best impact.

I've already started this and I'll try to update the standing every week.

Season Standings:

Fukudome +7
Lee +5
Zambrano +5
Ramirez +3
Dempster +3
Lieber +3
Johnson +1
Marmol +1
Wood +1

Season Winners:

Fukudome +1
Dempster +1
Lee +1
Zambrano +1
Lieber +1

March 31, 2008- Brewers @ Cubs: L 3-4
MVC of the game: Fukudome
Fukudome +3
Zambrano +2
Marmol +1

April 3, 2008- Brewers @ Cubs: W 6-3
MVC of the game: Ryan Dempster
Dempster +3Fukudome +2Ramirez +1

April 5th, 2008- Astros @ Cubs: W 9-7
MVC of the game: Derrek Lee
Lee +3
Fukudome +2
Johnson +1

April 6th, 2008 – Astros @ Cubs: W 3-2
MVC: Carlos Zambrano

Zambrano +3
Lee +2
Wood +1


April 7th, 2008 – Cubs @ Pirates: W 10-8
MVC: Jon Lieber

Lieber +3
Ramirez +2
Cedeno +1

Will the high expectations hurt the Cubs?

There is no question that a lot of people expect the Cubs to win the division again. The team has seemed to improve and the rest of the division hasn’t improved enough to contend with the Cubs. Last year, the Cubs won the division by default. This year, teams like Milwaukee, Houston, and Cincinnati have gotten a little better so the Cubs might not be able to back into a division championship. No big deal because the Cubs are the better team right?


Consider this:

It’s April and the 2008 season has begun. Almost every media outlet has picked the Cubs to make the playoffs and a few even have them as the favorite to win the NL. Clearly, the Cubs are no longer underdogs. However, the Cubs lose 3 close games to start the season. It’s only 3 games in a long season but a winning streak doesn’t immediately happen. Two weeks into the season, the Cubs are 4-8 and 4 games behind the 8-4 Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central. It’s not just the team that’s doing badly, but some of the stars are struggling as well. Carlos Zambrano has a decent 3.45 ERA in 3 starts but his record is 1-2. In his last start, he lost despite pitching seven innings and allowing three runs. He could be 2-1 right now, but he’s 1-2 and that record doesn’t look Cy Young Award-caliber.

Alfonso Soriano in 50 ABs has a .222 BA. He has had four instances already this season in which he hit the ball hard for outs. Had those balls landed, Soriano would be hitting .300 right now. However, the fielders either made a nice catch or were in the right spot at the right time so Soriano has a mediocre .222 BA instead. Meanwhile, the media is going nuts. 4-8 isn’t terrible but the local media has already witnessed what slow starts did to the Chicago Bears and the Chicago Bulls. They pound Lou Piniella and the rest of the team with questions that range from “How can you guys improve?” to “Are you worried about how well the Brewers are doing?” The media is already asking Jim Hendry if he is thinking of making any deals. Hendry tells the media that he is not currently in discussion with any potential trades, but now some of the players are worried that they will be traded or released if the team doesn’t start playing better. The losing continues and the media continues to ask why this team is 7-15 instead of 15-7. The Cubs do eventually start playing better but it is a little late. The Cubs end the season in 2nd place, just 3 games behind the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers.

This is just an example and probably won’t happen, but it definitely could. Look how teams like the Chicago Bulls and Bears had such high expectations but the media started attacking them just 2 weeks into the season. The pressure was too large and they weren’t able to improve. Being the favorites can be a bad thing. A lot of times, it’s easier to be the underdog than being a favorite in which you are being criticized for every time you fail to do what is expected. The media was a little more understanding last year when the Cubs struggled because Piniella was in his first year, Soriano was trying to adjust to being on a new team, and the Cubs, despite getting a $300 million makeover, were still the defending last place team of the division. The media won’t be easy on the team this year if the 2008 Cubs struggle out of the gate. My point is that it is very important that the 2008 Cubs get off to a good start. If they don’t, I can almost guarantee you it will be ‘wait till next year’ for the Cubs.

Brady on the Bears vs. Grossman on the Pats

This is originally from a post I made at the chicagobears.com message board:

Let's pretend that Tom Brady played his entire 2007 season with the Bears and Rex Grossman played his entire 2007 season with the Patriots.

Let's look at how Tom Brady would do:

First of all, Brady does not have Randy Moss as his #1 target. Brady's go-to guy is Bernard Berrian. Berrian probably gets about 10 more catches with Brady as his QB and gets maybe 2 more TDs.

Berrian's 2006 stats: 81 catches 1085 yards 7 TDs

Better...but he's still no Randy Moss.

Brady is playing behind a weak o-line and gets sacked 40 times. Because the Bears have no running game, Brady has to pass more and the opponent defense often goes in dime package knowing the Bears have no running game. The 2 extra defenders in the secondary causes Brady to have an average completion %. The QB pressure affects him and he ends up throwing 5 more interceptions than he would on the Patriots. His number 2 receiver isn't Wes Welker...it's Mushin Muhammad. Tom Brady has Devin Hester but the O-Line does a poor job of giving Brady enough time to get set and throw it to Hester deep downfield. When Brady gets time, he makes his usual good throws, but remember he has Bears receivers now. Berrian runs the wrong routes a few times and Muhammad continues to drop passes.

Brady with the Patriots in 2007:
16 G 4806 yards 68.9% 50 TD 8 INT 21 sacks 300.4 yards/gm

Brady with the Bears in 2007:
16 G 4100 yards 63.5% 22 TD 13 INT 40 sacks 256.3 yards/gm

Now let's look at Rex Grossman:

Rex Grossman is living the good life. His has an athlete 6-4 wide receiver named Randy Moss, a new #2 wide receiver named Wes Welker who had productive seasons with the Dolphins, 3 other solid wide receivers (Stallworth, Gaffney, and Watson) in case Moss and Welker are covered, and he has Laurence Maroney and Kevin Faulk instead of Cedric Benson and Adrian Peterson. It's hard to examine Rex Grossman using his 2007 stats. Not enough games played and the o-line was much better in 2006. Randy Moss had 23 TDs with Tom Brady. Tom Brady didn't magically turn Moss into a pro bowl receiver. Moss had similar stats in 2003 with 17 TDs on the Vikings. The QB was Daunte Culpepper. Rex Grossman and Culpepper have similar stats so Moss loses only 5 TDs with Rex as his QB. Welker had 112 catches and 1175 yards and 8 TDs with Brady. He had 67/687/1 with the Dolphins (QB: Joey Harrington for most of the season). Grossman is better than Harrington so Welker gets 75 catches for 780 yards and 5 TDs. The rest of the receivers under Brady scored 19 TDs. They score 10 with Rex.

Grossman with the Bears in 2006:
16 G 3193 yards 54.6% 23 TD 20 INT 21 sacks 199.6 yards/gm

Grossman with the Pats in 2007
16 G 4000 yards 63.5% 32 TD 10 INT 21 sacks 250 yards/gm

The point of this is to shown that Tom Brady isn't the greatest QB of all-time. Look at Brady's numbers before he got Moss, Welker, and Stallworth. My other point is that Rex Grossman isn't a bad quarterback. Grossman is a pro bowl QB with the Patriots.