Bulls Lose Game Five of Eastern Conference Finals to Miami

Last night's 83-80 loss to the Miami Heat was probably the worst Bulls loss I have ever witnessed and it was definitely the worst Bulls loss I have ever seen in the playoffs. It was a very disappointing loss and a very disappointing way to end this really good season. The Bulls were up 77-65 with under four minutes to go and somehow they couldn't hold on to the lead. I really thought the Bulls were going to win. They were winning pretty much the whole game. It's so frustrating to see the Bulls play well for three and a half quarters and lose just because Miami played really good for three minutes. It doesn't seem fair. This will be a historic loss. It reminds me a lot of game six of the 2003 National League Championship Series when the Chicago Cubs blew a 3-0 lead against the Florida Marlins after being five outs away from going to the World Series.


I should be happy with this Bulls season but right now I'm not. I didn't think they would win 62 games or make it to the Eastern Conference Finals but that was BEFORE the season started. Once the playoffs started, I was expecting the Bulls to get to the NBA Finals. I would have been happy if Miami proved that they were clearly the better team but they didn't. They played better in games two and three but the Bulls deserved to win games four and five. All Miami proved was that they could handle late-game pressure better than the Bulls. If the Bulls don't have fourth quarter collapses two games in a row, then they are right now one win after from the NBA Finals. So right now this season doesn't feel like a success because it feels like the Bulls could have accomplished more. I hate losing but I hate losing even more when I feel my team should have won. I really wish there could have been a game six in Miami because I really think the Bulls could have won that game and forced a game seven in Chicago. If Miami won game six (or game seven) by ten points, I would feel a little better about how the season ended.

In the past, I may have been really happy with a season like this but not anymore. I don't want to look at this season as a good learning experience for the Bulls. I agree that the Bulls are still a young team and got a lot farther than people expected but it's disappointing to see them fail when they were so close to a NBA Championship. People assume the Bulls will get this far next year but will they? I thought for sure the Cubs would get to the World Series in 2004 after reaching the NLCS in 2003. Since 2003, they haven't won another playoff game. I thought that the 2007 Chicago Bears would win the Super Bowl after the 2006 Bears lost in Super Bowl XLI. The 2007 Bears failed to make the playoffs and have made the playoffs only once since then. Nothing is guaranteed in sports. Next year, the Bulls may not win 60 games again. They may fall to the #3 seed in the East and they may not even make it past the second round.


Maybe the Bulls can do what the Chicago Blackhawks did. The Blackhawks fell just short of the Stanley Cup Finals in 2009 and then they won the Stanley Cup in 2010. I wish the Bulls can do what the Blackhawks did. I hope the Bulls come back even hungrier than they were this year. But I'm not sure if I believe that will happen. I really think this could be the closest the Bulls will get to the NBA Finals for the next five years.


Hopefully I'm wrong but I think five years from now, I will look back at this game and this series and get upset because the Bulls had a chance to win it all and they couldn't do it. Fans can't assume the Bulls will get another chance to reach the NBA Finals in the near future. I would not be surprised at all if it takes at least six years for the Bulls to get back to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Bulls were lucky that none of their starters suffered a season-ending injury. The other teams in the East will get better. Hopefully the Bulls get better too and can stay healthy for a second season in a row. The Bulls need to add one more good player. If they don't do that this off-season, then I'm not sure how the Bulls can get to the NBA Finals. Teams have discovered that the Bulls are for real. They won't be taken lightly next year. If the Bulls come back with the exact same team they had this year, I'm not sure they can get farther in the playoffs. They need to add one or two more players who can take the Bulls to the next level. They will have more experience going into next year no matter what but that is not enough.


At this point, I don't really care who wins the Heat-Mav's match-up in the NBA Finals. Whoever wins, it will mean nothing to me. It won't change the fact that the Bulls aren't gonna win the NBA Championship this year. If I had to pick one team to win, it would be Dallas. I don't really care much about Dallas, but I don't want Miami to win. Or maybe Miami should win. Not to show that the Bulls could have won the title if they faced Dallas because I already knew that but if Miami wins, then they got their championship and may be less motivated to win another one next season. If Miami loses, they will come back even hungrier than the Bulls. LeBron James really wants to win his first championship and to lose now after getting this close would really motivate him for next year. But I think I really do want Miami to lose. If losing motivates Miami more for next year then so be it. Next year, I would rather see the Bulls beat a motivated Miami team than a Miami team that has already won a championship. I hate the Heat and I hate LeBron. There was a time I wanted to LeBron to come to Chicago but instead he took his talents to South Beach. If he can stay there for the rest of his career if he wants. We got Derrick Rose and he's our Superstar.

I hope LeBron never wins a championship and I hope Rose leads the Bulls to a championship at least one time just to show LeBron that he made a big mistake. I hate LeBron and the Heat and I hope nothing but the worse for them. Bulls-Heat could be an epic rivalry for many many years and I want the Bulls to win a championship before the Heat do.


Hopefully the Bulls can get back to the Eastern Conference Finals next year and finish the job. Right now I am officially looking at this season as a step in the right direction but a missed opportunity the Bulls may never get again in the near future.

Derrick Rose is the NBA MVP

Congrats to Derrick Rose! Youngest MVP in history! Thanks for making me proud to be a Bulls fan.

Does anyone still have doubts about the Bears?

I wonder if there is anyone out there who think there is something the Chicago Bears cannot do.

When preseason started, people were predicting a 5-11 season which was insane because the Bears were 7-9 last year. Adding Brian Urlacher, Julius Peppers, Chris Harris, and Chester Taylor equals two less wins? I'd like to see how people came up with that prediction.

After a 4-3 start, people then started saying, "Their 2nd half schedule is a lot harder. They will beat the Bills and maybe the Lions. They will be lucky to win two games after the bye week." Since the bye week, the Bears are 7-1.

Then there were the people who said, "The Packers are still gonna win the division. That week 17 game is going to determine the division and Green Bay will win that game. The Bears are gonna have a hard time getting in as a wild card because the Giants own the tiebreaker over the Bears. If the Bears finish 10-6, I see them missing the playoffs." The Bears are now NFC North champs and would have won the division with a 10-6 record. The match-up with Green Bay this Sunday is pretty much meaningless for the Bears.

Then there was the doubts about the final four games. People said, "Those last four games are brutal. There's a really good chance they lose all four of those games. The Eagles are probably going to get that first round bye." Well so far the Bears have won two out of the first three games and they already clinched the first round bye.

So far this season everything that people doubted about the Bears were proven incorrect. Anything left? I really believe the Bears have a great chance to make it to the Super Bowl and why should anyone doubt that they will win the Super Bowl? The way this season is going, I wouldn't be surprised if Tom Brady broke his arm falling out of his hotel bed the day of the Super Bowl.

Bulls can beat the Cavs......assuming they don't get beat by the refs

I think the Chicago Bulls match-up with the Cleveland Cavs very nicely. Let's re-visit the four regular season games:

Game #1: Bulls win 86-85

This was an impressive win for the Bulls. It was on the road and both Shaquille O'Neal and LeBron James were in the lineup for the Cavs. Yes the Bulls still had John Salmons and Tyrus Thomas but neither had a great game. Salmons scored 14 points but his +/- score was -2 (meaning that the Bulls allowed two more points than they scored when Salmons was on the court). As for Thomas, he scored only six points and had just one rebound and one block in 12 minutes. Also, LeBron had a pretty good game scoring 25 points with seven rebounds and six assists. If the Bulls could be the Cavs on the road with LeBron having a good game, why can't they do it again in the playoffs?

Game #2: Cavs win 101-87

The Cavs won this one but the Cavs were at home so it was an expected win for the Cavs. LeBron scored 23 points with 11 assists. The good thing about this game was that the Bulls trailed by only one point at halftime. The bad thing was that the Cavs outscored the Bulls 29-15 in the 3rd quarter. If the Bulls are going to have a chance in this series, they can't allow the Cavs to have a big quarter especially in the second half. It resulted in a Bulls loss in this game and it will probably result in a loss if it happens in the playoffs. A big concern is can the Bulls score enough. The Bulls scored 86 in game one but were able to somehow hold Cleveland to 85 points. The defense couldn't do it for a second time and Cleveland scored over 100. The Cavs have other scorers besides LeBron so it's important that the Bulls try to keep to Cavs under 100 points if they can.


Game #3: Cavs win 92-87


Even though they lost, this game was also impressive by the Bulls. Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, and Joakim Noah all did not play and yet the Bulls lost by only seven points. LeBron had another good game. This time he scored 29 points with 11 rebounds and seven assists. The Bulls were actually winning 78-76 with 6:11 left in the game. It doesn't matter that LeBron was on the bench for most of the fourth quarter....the Bulls were missing three of their best players! The Bulls are at full strength now and I think they might have won this game if no one was injured.

Game #4: Bulls win 109-108

LeBron James did not play for the Cavs. Bulls led by 12 in the third quarter but Cavs took a four point lead with less than five minutes left in the game. The Bulls retook the lead and held the Cavs scoreless in the last 1:31 of the game and won by one point. Rose scored 24 points. Noah scored 17 with 15 rebounds. The Bulls won this game but barely and LeBron was out the entire game. Not good. It's safe to say the Bulls would probably lose this game if LeBron was playing. Mo Williams had a great game scoring 35 points with six three-pointers. Antawn Jamison scored 23 points. It was a reminder that the Cavs have other players besides LeBron that the Bulls need to worry about.

The Bulls played tough with the Cavs during the four games. You can argue the Cavs would have won the series if LeBron played in the fourth game. I think the Bulls could have won the third game if Rose, Deng, and Noah were playing. The Bulls played the Cavs well during the regular season. The "experts" predicting a sweep are ignorant. This will not be a sweep. This will be an interesting #1 vs. #8 playoff series. This is really a #1 vs. a #5 because the Bulls are better than a #8 seed. If they did not get injuries to Noah, Rose, and Deng, the Bulls would not be facing the Cavs right now. If the Cavs treat the Bulls like a #8 seed, they will regret it. The Cavs need to stay focused. The worst thing they can do is worry about who they'll be facing in the second round. If they don't worry about the Bulls, there won't be a second round for them. I think this series could go at least six games. I really think LeBron is carrying the Cavs. If the Bulls can shutdown LeBron, the Bulls could do well. However, it is a concern that the Bulls nearly lost against Cleveland without LeBron and in the case of Cleveland, the loss of one player does make a huge difference. The Bulls are even capable of winning this series if Rose plays great, Noah plays great, and the Bulls shoot the ball very well.

My biggest fear may not be LeBron James at this point. I'm worried about the referees. I really think the refs are somewhat biased. James will get foul calls where there is no contact. Bulls players will get mugged under the basket and no fouls will be called. We might even see the Cleveland players flop on some plays resulting in the Bulls getting called for an offensive foul. I'm sure there will several moments in which the refs make questionable calls against the Bulls and in favor of the Cavs. My fear is that the Bulls will lose to the Cavs not because the Cavs played better but because the Cavs got the better calls by the refs. The player to watch is Derrick Rose. Last year Rose got no foul calls because he was a rookie. Now he's an all-star so he should get those calls now. However, there has been times during the regular season in which Rose got fouled and the refs didn't call it. Bulls TV announcer Stacy King has often said, "Rose is an all-star and no longer a rookie....he should be getting those calls now." Will the refs call it both ways? If they don't, it could play a huge role in the Cavs series victory.

I'm gonna say Cavs in six but I think the Bulls are definitely capable of making this series look like the Boston-Chicago series from last year only this year, the Bulls might actually finish the job.

Kelly Dwyer loves dissing the Bulls

Yahoo! Sport's Kelly Dwyer is a Bulls fan but you would never realize it from what he writes in his posts. First, he said that the mid-season projection that the Bulls would finish the season with a 37-45 record was "probably" right and that the projected 37 wins "might be a little optimistic." The Bulls suffered a ten game losing streak since then and yet currently have 39 wins with a chance to finish with 41 wins....four more than the projected total Dwyer said the Bulls would probably get.

After that, you'd think Dwyer would stop bashing the Bulls but recently he was at it again. Dwyer wrote two pieces: one on the Bulls' chances of making the playoffs and the second one on the Raptors' chances of making the playoffs. In the Bulls post, Dwyer has harsh words but for the most part he's right. Dwyer says, "Chicago is at its worst offensively. It doesn't have a low post presence, and the team's best offensive options rely on the worst shot in basketball to make their hay -- the contested long two-pointer." That sounds mostly accurate. However, Dwyer never says if the Bulls are going to make the playoffs or not. He just says that it is "too tough to gauge."

In the Raptors post, he pretty much reveals he thinks the Raptors will make it. Dwyer points out all the problems that the Raptors have been having and then writes, "But they're up against the Bulls, who might be at full strength, but it's the saddest 'full strength' you've ever seen." Dwyer is just getting started. He later writes, "It shouldn't be a surprise if the Bulls actually drop all four of their games between now and the end of the season, the talent just isn't there, and there is sound justification for all four of Chicago's opponents (New Jersey, Toronto, Boston, Charlotte) to want to win whilst going with the full rotation." And he doesn't stop there. He mentions that the Raptors will be at home versus the Bulls and "even with Bosh out and the Raptors handing Chicago open shots, will the Bulls score enough to keep it close? I'd pencil this one in for Toronto." Dwyer wraps his post up writing, "Toronto has the easier schedule, and even without their best player, their strengths still seem to fly higher than Chicago's strengths. Whatever Chicago's strengths are."

Dwyer wrote his latest post this morning after his Bulls beat the Raptors 104-88 despite Dwyer's prediction that the Raptors would win. The Bulls are finally going to get praise from Dwyer now right? Well....sort of. Dwyer writes, "Let's give credit where credit is due. Chicago took this." That's a nice comment to make about the Bulls other than the fact Dwyer built it up as if he didn't want to admit his favorite team played well last night. Prior to the comment about the Bulls taking it, Dwyer wrote, "I was ready to go off on the Raptors, I really was. For having no heart. For failing to show up for the biggest game of the season, played in the wheelhouse (a home Sunday contest in the daylight hours) that has served them so well all season. For losing to a pretty bad Bulls team. By a lot." Sounds like he wanted to make it sound more like the Raptors lost and less like the Bulls won. However, Dwyer then wrote, "But a day later, I'm not sure that's the right take. Sure, the Raptors slept through this, but what were we expecting from these guys? Is this in any way out of character for the Raps? Haven't we seen this all season? Why are we supposed to get haughty when the Raptors went all Raptor on us?" So far so good. Dwyer is actually ripping the Raptors and actually said a nice thing about the Bulls. Dwyer wrote more nice things about the Bulls...so much that posting them all would take up too much space. Stuff about how the Bulls played with great energy on the road, how they were quicker than the Raptors, and how their defense really stepped up. And just when you think Dwyer has finally stopped hating on the Bulls, he writes, "Chicago is Chicago, so Toronto's not out of this yet."

I'm afraid to see what Dwyer will write next about the Bulls. He seems to rip them whenever he gets the chance and whenever they do something good, he gives them compliments that sound backhanded. I know because of his role as an NBA blogger he doesn't want to sound biased towards the Bulls but he has ripped the Bulls so much that it makes it seem like he is biased AGAINST the Bulls. I'm going to say this right now even though I'm afraid I might be wrong....the Bulls are going to make the playoffs. There I said it. I think they got it. I'm not saying that because I'm a biased Bulls fan....I'm saying it because the Bulls are the better team right now. Right now people are wondering if the Bulls can beat the Celtics and the Bobcats. But, can the Raptors win two games in a row? I believe the Raptors will lose at least one of their remaining two games and the Bulls will win at least one of their remaining two games. If that happens, the Bulls are in the playoffs. The Bulls could clinch as early as tomorrow night. I could be wrong but I want to give Dwyer the chance to rip me. I've been ripping on his predictions but I'm not giving him a chance to rip any of my predictions. So I'm officially predicting the Bulls will make the playoffs despite the fact their chances are seem to be barely better than 50-50 right now in my opinion. And what if the Bulls do make the playoffs? What will Dwyer say then? Surely he'll point out the fact the Raptors were missing Chris Bosh and ignore the fact the Bulls lost ten games in a row without Joakim Noah. He'll say that all the Bulls really won was the opportunity to get swept by Cleveland in the first round. The Bulls' season may continue but the Dwyer hating will not stop. If the Bulls do make the playoffs, I hope they do well enough against Cleveland to finally shut him up and make him admit the Bulls are not as bad as he says they are.

Bulls playoff chances/Could the Bulls get Chris Bosh?

I regret to say I watched most of the 4th quarter and both overtimes of the Bulls-Nets game last night. I feel like I wasted one hour of my weekend for nothing. The Bulls should have won their game against the Nets (Nets won 127-116 in double overtime) even though it was the Nets who blew a double-digit 4th quarter lead. I can write a lot about what went wrong but I'll make it brief: missed free throws by the Bulls prevented them from winning in regulation and the refs screwed the Bulls in the first overtime. As for the second overtime, the Raptors dominated but there shouldn't have been a second overtime. The game should have ended in the first overtime. Derrick Rose got fouled causing him to lose the ball with 25 seconds left in the first overtime with the Bulls up two. He hits two free throws to put the Bulls up by four and the Bulls hold on for the win right? Wrong. There were no free throws because the idiot refs ruled that Rose lost the ball on his own and they gave the ball to the Nets after the ball went out of bounds. What the replays showed was a Nets player pulling on Rose's left arm and then the ball immediately coming out of Rose's hands. The Nets then tie the game with two free throws and the games goes to double overtime after Rose misses a potential game winning shot.

I could say more but nothing I say can change the loss to a win so the only thing left is to look forward to Sunday's important game versus the Toronto Raptors who are tied with the Bulls for the eight and final playoff seed and hold the tiebreaker. Can the Bulls make the playoffs? First of all, I expect the Bulls to beat the Raptors. They have been mediocre without star forward Chris Bosh and the Bulls should be able to take advantage of that like they did against Cleveland who was missing LeBron James. The problem is that the next two games after that (home vs. Boston, at Charlotte) are pretty much must-win games. However, I think the Raptors may lose one of their remaining games after the Bulls game. They are on the road against Detroit and home against New York but I think both of those teams will look to play spoiler. Detroit picked up a win against Miami which leads me to think they have a pretty good shot at stealing a win against Toronto on Monday especially considering Toronto will be playing the second game of a back-to-back against Detroit. But the Bulls need to stop hoping for the Raptors to lose and worry about winning their own games. Had the Bulls won last night, I would be very confident that the Bulls would make the playoffs heading into the Toronto game. With the loss, I still think they can do it but it's going to be harder now and the game against the Raptors is definitely a must win game for them. At this point, I can't predict if the Bulls will make it or not. I want to say they will make the playoffs but I'm not sure. They need to beat Toronto tomorrow and if that happens, I would have to say the Bulls would be the favorite to make the playoffs at that point.

Now, I also want to talk about Chris Bosh possibly going to the Bulls. In my opinion, the Bulls MUST make it to the playoffs. Not just to give them more playoff experience or for the rest of the nation to get a good look at Derrick Rose and see that the Bulls are just one star player away from being really good, but also because if the Bulls make the playoffs, that means Chris Bosh and the Raptors will not. As you might know, Bosh is a free agent after this season. I don't see why he would want to stay in Toronto and if the Raptors miss the playoffs, I think it's a lock that he leaves. And I think the team he might join is the Bulls. Think about it......Bosh was carrying the Raptors and now he is seeing what kind of team the Raptors are with Bosh out of the lineup. If the Bulls can make the playoffs without a player like Bosh, imagine how far they can go WITH a player like Bosh. This doesn't mean I'm completely confident Bosh would go to the Bulls but I think Bosh knows he has a better chance at winning a championship with the Bulls than he does with the Raptors so I think the Bulls have a good chance at getting him. But the Bulls MUST beat out the Raptors for that final spot or else Bosh might think the Bulls AREN'T a better situation for him than the Raptors and he might start looking for other teams that might be better for him. Or worst case scenario....not only do the Raptors make the playoffs but they actually do well against the Cleveland Cavs in the first round. If the Raptors were to be competitive with the Cavs, then Bosh might think the Raptors are just one key player away from being a contender and he might stay in Toronto. The point is that the Bulls making the playoffs makes them more likely to get Bosh and missing the playoffs makes them less likely to get Bosh.

Dwyer prediction update

Not too long ago, Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo! Sports predicted the Bulls would finish the year at 37-45. Right now, the Bulls are 30-27 meaning they would have to go 7-18 or worse for Dwyer to be right. In his defense, he made his prediction right before the Bulls won five straight games on the road. So to make it fair, I said the Bulls would finish closer to 47 wins than 37 wins. So for me to be right, the Bulls need to finish with 43 wins or more. For Dwyer to be right, the Bulls need to finish with 41 wins or less. If the Bulls finish at 42-40, it's a tie between me and Dwyer.

So let's break it down:

I need the Bulls to go 13-12 or better.
Dwyer needs the Bulls to go 7-18 or worse.

Check back at the end of the season to see who is right.

UPDATE: Kelly Dwyer emailed me saying that the 37-45 record was a projection not a prediction. While that is correct, he did ask in the blog post, "Does that sound about right?" His response to his own question was, "Probably....The Bulls have quite a few road games left this year, so it's possible that the mathematic course toward 37 might be a little optimistic."

CM Punk returns to Chicago

Ok so maybe technically WWE wrestling is not a sport but at least CM Punk is from Chicago. Both photos courtesy of me taken at the WWE event.

Tyrus Thomas traded to Charlotte Bobcats

Tyrus Thomas is now on the Charlotte Bobcats and is now teammates with ex-Bull Tyson Chandler. The reason that is significant is because like Thomas, Chandler was someone the Bulls acquired in a draft day trade and had high expectations for. For a second, it seemed the Bulls were going to regret trading Chandler. In his full season away from the Bulls, Chandler averaged a career-high 9.5 points per game (PPG) and a career-high 12.4 rebounds per game (RPG) for the New Orleans Hornets during the 2006-07 season. The next year he averaged 11.8 PPG and 11.8 RPG and appeared to be the player the Bulls were hoping he would be. However, he has battled injuries in the last two seasons and is currently averaging 6.2 PPG and 6.6 RPG in only 28 games this season for the Bobcats.

So far, it seems like the Bulls have no big regrets about trading Chandler but it is unclear if the same can be said about Thomas. Thomas was the 4th overall pick of the 2006 NBA Draft and was considered one of the top players in the draft because of his athleticism. The Bulls saw flashes of promise from Thomas starting last year when he averaged 10.9 PPG and 6.4 RPG in the 2008-09 season. However this season, Thomas has seen a drop in scoring (8.8 PPG) and a slight drop in rebounding (6.3 RPG). His attitude problems and the fact that rookie forward Taj Gibson has been just as good as Thomas this season led to a decision by the Bulls to trade Thomas yesterday.

Thomas has amazing talent and he's still very young. The biggest problems he had on the Bulls were inconsistency and the fact he tried to do too much at times. Thomas now joins a team that is coached by veteran Larry Brown who is a very respected head coach. Maybe Brown can get the most of out Thomas's abilities which are blocking shots, grabbing rebounds, and finishing strong underneath the hoop. Thomas may never be a superstar but I see him being a valuable player for any team especially the Bobcats who seem to be a lock to reach the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.


I wish Thomas luck and I hope he does well. However, I also hope the Bulls don't regret trading Thomas. I think the Bulls were right to trade him because it was unlikely that they would have re-signed him after the season. I just hope someday the future the Bulls won't find themselves watching a great Tyrus Thomas highlight on ESPN and say, "I wish we had him right now."

Dywer predicts 37-45 season for Bulls

Kelly Dwyer, a blogger for the Yahoo! Sports blog Ball Don't Lie, recently wrote in a blog entry that the Chicago Bulls will finish 37-45.

Dwyer writes,

"Does that sound about right? Probably. The team at once under and overachieves, the coaching can run from something that absolutely destroys the team's chances, to something that the team is able to overcome, and the result (as it was last year) is a record near or at .500. The Bulls have quite a few road games left this year, so it's possible that the mathematic course toward 37 might be a little optimistic."

In his defense, he wrote this on January 22nd which was one day after the Bulls lost their second straight road game and one day before they started their current five-game road winning streak. However, this was also after the Bulls won 8 of their last 13 games which was 8 wins in 11 games before the seven game road trip started with two straight losses. The Bulls were four games under .500 (18-22) when he wrote this so that means despite winning 8 of the last 13 games, Dwyer envisioned this Bulls team going 19-23 for the rest of the season. Is that a fair thing to say? No....not at all. The Bulls were a mediocre 7-8 in December but that is at least close to a .500 record. Even with the recent two and three-game losing streaks, the Bulls were 5-5 after 10 games in January. So since the end of November, the Bulls had been 12-13. They were slowly improving each month thanks to the fact Tyrus Thomas and Kirk Hinrich are now both healthy. Also, Derrick Rose is at 100% after being hurt to start the season. The Bulls appeared to be on their way up so why did Dwyer assume they'd go 19-23 for the rest of the season (42 games)? Maybe he failed to do much research about the Bulls and just assumed the Bulls would choke at the end of the season like always. There's just one problem with that.....the Bulls went 27-23 in their last 50 games last season. That's a longer stretch and a much better record. However, Dywer would argue the Bulls had Ben Gordon last year and this year they do not. That doesn't matter because the Bulls were 23-30 at the all-star break last year. It isn't the all-star break yet this year and the Bulls are already 23-22.

Ok...maybe it is unfair that I'm writing this now after the Bulls have won five games in a row. I wish I had written this earlier but oh well. What I'm trying to say is that Dwyer's 37-45 prediction is not gonna happen. Not because he was too optimistic by saying the Bulls would win 37 games but because the Bulls are probably going to win closer to 47 games. The Bulls have 23 wins right now with 37 games to go. According to Dwyer, the Bulls are going to win only 14 more games giving them a 13-24 record in the final 37 games. My prediction is that the Bulls will win 24 games giving them a 24-13 record in the final 37 games. Let's see who is closer.

Breaking Down Derrek Lee's Home Runs in 2009

Derrek Lee hit 35 home runs in 2009. Alone that looks impressive but how impressive is it really? One of the problem with baseball statistics is that they show you how much but it doesn't show how meaningful it is. Just by looking at the home run total, you can't tell how many of those 35 home runs occurred in close games and how many of them were hit in blow-outs. So I decided to break up his home runs and see which ones were actually useful and which were meaningless.

NOTE: Let me briefly describe the meaning of some of the following terms. Anytime I use the word "clutch", it means 7th inning or later. A rally home run would be a home run hit that results in the team trailing by 3 runs or less. An insurance home run would be a home run hit with a 3 run lead or less. A game-changing home run is any home run that gives the team the lead or ties the game. A low value home run is a home run hit with the team up by four runs or more or a home run that results in the team still trailing by four or more runs. A game winning home run is a home run that puts the team in the lead for the remainder of the game. And finally a meaningless home run is any home run hit in a loss or a home run in a win that was not really needed in order to win (the last part is somewhat of a judgment call).

Now that you know what each term means, here are the numbers I got for Lee:

Total Home Runs- 35

Home Runs in wins- 26
Home Runs in losses- 9

Game Winning Home Runs- 10
Game Changing Home Runs- 17
Clutch Game Changing Home Runs- 3
Rally Home Runs- 6
Meaningless Rally Home Run- 4
Insurance Home Run- 6
Clutch Insurance Home Runs- 3
Low Value Home Runs- 6
Meaningful Low Value Home Runs- 1
Meaningless Home Runs- 14

Solo Home Runs- 21
Two-run Home Runs- 9
Three-run Home Runs- 3
Grand Slams- 2

First of all, the 26 home runs in wins and nine home runs in losses does not mean the Cubs were 26-9 when Lee hit a home run. There were a few times in 2009 when Lee hit two home runs in one game.

I have determined that Lee hit 14 meaningless home runs which means 21 of his 35 home runs were meaningful in helping the Cubs win. The number that is very interesting is that Lee hit 17 home runs that either tied the game or gave the Cubs the lead. Three of them came in the 7th inning or later and 10 of them ending up producing the game winning runs. 60% of Lee's home runs were solo home runs which seems to be normal but only 14% of Lee's home runs were either a three-run home run or a grand slam.

Another thing that I noticed was that Lee had only six low value home runs and one of them were actually meaningful. That's an encouraging stat because even without doing any research, you can see that at least four of Lee's home runs in losses could have been meaningful home runs if the rest of the team performed well enough to win the game.

Overall, I'd say Lee made a pretty good impact with his home runs. 74% of his home runs came in wins and the majority of his home runs were meaningful which are stats you want to see when someone hits that many home runs.

The Cubs should have kept Milton Bradley

I'm saying this right now: Milton Bradley will hit good for the Seattle
Mariners and the Cubs offense will struggle in 2010 like they did in 2009. Milton Bradley hit .321 with a .436 OBP and a .563 SLG in 2008 with the Texas Rangers. According to Bill James, Bradley was one of just two American League hitters in 2008 who had an OBP over .400 and a SLG of .500 or more. The other was J.D. Drew of the Boston Red Sox who had a .408 OBP and a .519 SLG. However Drew's batting average was .280 that year which means Bradley was the only AL player that year to achieve the coveted .300/.400/.500 slash (BA/OBP/SLG). 2008 may have been Bradley's best season but certainly not Bradley's only good year. Bradley had an OPS over .800 in five of the previous six seasons before joining the Cubs. In fact, Bradley's OPS of .775 in 2009 with the Cubs was his lowest OPS since it was .722 in 2002. Yes that's right...2002. The most encouraging parts of Bradley's 2009 season with the Cubs was that his .378 OBP was actually above his career average of .371 and he had 470+ plate appearances in back-to-back years for the first time in his career. He also appeared in 120+ games in back-to-back years which is another career first. The Cubs kept Bradley healthy for the most part which is something he has struggled with for his whole career. In fact, Bradley was suspended on September 20, 2009 and ended up missing 16 games after he played his last game on September 17. Had he played in those 16 games, he would have played in 140 games for the first time since he played in 141 games in 2004.

I know Bradley had off and on the field issues with the Cubs. I know part of the reasons he failed is because he couldn't handle the pressure from the Chicago fans and media. However, the Cubs invested so much into him that I think they should have given him another chance. The pressure is not the only reason Bradley was frustrated. It was also because the Cubs were losing and he was hitting only .196 in the month of September. Bradley hit .308 with a .911 OPS in August. If he had continued to hit that well and the Cubs were still fighting for first place in September, maybe Bradley would be a lot more happy and maybe he would still be on the Cubs right now. But that didn't happen hence why Milton Bradley is on Mariners right now. If it did happen, I have no doubts Bradley would still be on the team right now. I think the team, the fans, and the media wanted to blame someone for the disappointing Cubs season in which they failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2006 so they blamed Milton Bradley even though he's just one guy on a team of 25 players. I think all it would have taken was Bradley to be hitting decent and for the Cubs to be winning for Bradley to be still on the team. But again, that didn't happen and you can't play the what-if game.

What bothers me just as much as the Cubs giving up on Bradley too soon is who they actually got from the Seattle Mariners. The media and fans have praised the trade because the Cubs not only got rid of Bradley but were able to save about $6 million. The bad news is that the player they got in return is Carlos Silva. I'm going to ignore the fact that the Cubs owe Silva $16 million after the Mariners provided the Cubs with $9 million to help pay for the remaining $25 million left on Silva's contract. What bothers me more than that is that Silva hasn't been very good lately and that's saying it nicely. Silva had a 8.60 ERA in 30.1 innings in 2009. People have said that Silva was hurt during that year and that I should not get too concerned about that year so I won't. Instead, I'll bring up his 2008 season in which he went 4-15 with a 6.46 ERA in 28 starts. And I thought Jason Marquis's 14-16 season with a 6.02 ERA in the year before he joined the Cubs was bad. 4-15 with a 6.46 ERA?! And the Mariners gave this guy a $48 million, four year contract? Wow and it's not even like he was very good before he joined the Mariners. In the season before the Mariners signed him, he went 13-14 with a 4.19 ERA with the Minnesota Twins. That's not a bad year but it is not the year that should make you want to spend $48 million on the guy. I'm guessing that Seattle thought he would pitch a lot better the next season but clearly that did not happen. The Cubs saved $6 million but now they got a terrible pitcher. If the Cubs are content with saving $6 million, they should make sure Silva does not pitch a single inning for the Cubs. Seriously. Have him clean the clubhouse or something. Have him go to Dunkin' Donuts to pick up some donuts for Jim Hendry. Just don't have him pitch...at all.

It's early so I have no idea how this will turn out but right now, I'm worried. Something I have not mentioned yet is that the Cubs didn't exactly have a great offense last year. Bradley's departure leaves the Cubs with just three starters who had a OBP of .350 or higher in 2009. The World Series Champion New York Yankees had eight starters with an OBP of .350 of higher in 2009. Plus, Bradley is a switch-hitter and the Cubs wanted more players capable of hitting left-handed in the lineup so there is another problem the Cubs will need to fix. Meanwhile, the pitching looked really solid last year and the Cubs might have potentially weakened that department by adding one of the worst pitchers in baseball. So really this helps the Cubs get rid of a player they no longer wanted and saved them some money but really I can't see how the Cubs are more likely to win the World Series now than they were last week. They need to make some moves and add some more players. We'll see what happens and it should be another "interesting" season like always. But pay close attention to the Cubs' offense and what Bradley is doing in Seattle. Hopefully Bradley won't have a .900 OPS and the Cubs won't be saying, "Wow, it would be really nice to have Milton Bradley right now." Don't think for one second that the Cubs will rather have no off the field problems than a productive player. Manny Ramirez of the Los Angeles Dodgers is usually causing trouble but as long as he is hitting 35 home runs and driving in 100 runs, not many people in Los Angeles really cares. Let's just hope all goes well in Chicago this year and that Silva stays at least 100 feet away from the pitcher's mound.

Jay Cutler is still the franchise quarterback of the Bears

It upsets me that the media has been calling Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler a huge disappointment. Someone on the radio today said that before the season started, 19 touchdowns and 22 interceptions were not the stats people in Chicago were expecting. Is he right? Of course he is. When I found out the Bears got Cutler, I was excited. I absolutely expected Cutler to have a better year than the year he is having right now. That said, I am not surprised that Cutler's numbers are bad. Jay Cutler has a mediocre offensive line blocking for him giving him very little time to get his feet set. When he does have time, his receivers either can't get open or they run the wrong route. Wide receiver Johnny Knox has been impressive but only when Cutler has time and when Knox is running past the defenders. Other than that, Knox isn't really that great. He just happens to be so fast that he can get open by simply being faster than everyone else. Take away his speed and he may not be on the Bears roster right now.

It's not just the wide receivers or the offensive line. It's the running game too. Bears running back Matt Forte has been disappointing. In his defense, a lot of that is because of the fact the offensive line isn't blocking for him but not being able to run the ball has hurt Jay Cutler. Teams are expecting the pass. Cutler can't do short and safe passes because most of the time the Bears defense has allowed so many points that the Bears need to score points and to score points you need to gain a lot of yards. So instead of attempting safe passes, Cutler has to throw down the field and make some risky passes and by the way, the defense is expecting the pass because the Bears can't run the ball. Cutler has thrown more passes than any quarterback in the NFC. It's not a big surprise that Cutler is throwing a lot of interceptions. Why isn't Brett Favre throwing more interceptions? He is known for throwing a lot of interceptions. Well let's see: he has a great running back, a fantastic offensive line, wide receivers that are talented, and a defense that plays really good. Basically Favre has everything Cutler doesn't have hence why Favre has thrown only six interceptions so far.

Most people in the media know all of about the lack of talent around Cutler and still say a lot of the blame goes on Cutler. I don't blame Cutler at all. He has poor talent around him and his yards thrown this year is among the top in Bears' history. Everyone saw what Cutler did in Denver with a good offensive line and good wide receivers. If the Bears can get their team to look similar to the team Cutler had in Denver, Cutler will look like the pro bowl quarterback he is.

Bears will regret cutting Benson Part 2

Remember this blog post:

http://chicagoproteams.blogspot.com/2008/06/bears-will-regret-cutting-benson.html

It is the blog post I told you the Bears offensive line was preventing Cedric Benson from doing this:




Well now he's doing great with a great offensive line.....on the Bengals.





Looks like I was right.

Mark Buehrle is PERFECT

PERFECT GAME FOR MARK BUEHRLE OF THE CHICAGO WHITE SOX

Did Reed Johnson Make The Catch?

Look at these photos and see if Reed made the catch.


And take a look at this photo courtesy of the Chicago Tribune:

Chicago Pro Teams Prediction: Bulls will make the playoffs

Yeah I know I said the Bears would make the playoffs and I was wrong but I think I'll be right about this one. The Bulls play a lot of home games for the rest of the year and they have played great at home. I think they will get the 7th seed but I'll play it safe and say the Bulls will get the 8th seed or better.

Worst Bulls loss I've ever witnessed

February 27, 2009.

I'm going to remember this day as the day I couldn't be more embarrassed to be a Bulls fan. Let me explain why this is the worst Bulls loss I've ever witnessed. It is not just the game but other things as well. The Bulls faced the NBA's worst team with President Obama in attendance on the day after Chicago icons Norm Van Lier and Johnny "Red" Kerr died. And despite all this, the Bulls lose by a large margin. Makes me sick.

Goodbye to Norm Van Lier and Johnny "Red" Kerr

It was a sad day for me yesterday when I found out Norm Van Lier had died. I felt just as sad this morning when I learned that Johnny "Red" Kerr had died as well. May they rest in peace and God bless their friends and family.

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.