Well, my son is FINALLY on the board with a Cubs W after 3 losses this year. My record moved to 4-3 which means I'm 3-0 without him, but he finally got to sing "the song" today. Boy, there were a LOT of Cardinal fans, but every time they tried to get a chant going "Let's go Cards!" they were quickly overrun by Cubs fans so that was good. I will say they don't know how/when to exit the ball park though...it took forever to make it out from my upper deck box seats as they were just standing around blocking the paths to get out of there.
This has obviously been a pretty disappointing season as even after back-to-back Ws against the hated, rival Cardinals still leaves them 8 games under .500 and 9 1/2 games out of first in a pretty weak division. The problem is that the most expensive guys that we've counted on over the years are ALL having brutal years at the same time - D-Lee, Aramis, and Big Z. Soriano has been OK, but Fukudome and Dempster are in that list of underachievers as well.
Now what has been a big surprise, especially with Lou remaining at the helm, is the play of the youngsters. Lou has a definite reputation of not playing too many rookies, but he's been forced to go against his rep this season not only because of the make-up of his team this year, but also because the kids have proven one thing - THEY CAN PLAY! It started with Tyler Colvin setting the world on fire in Spring Training forcing his way on to the Opening Day roster; not as a starter but it was promised he would be playing somewhere (he can play anywhere in the outfield) at least a few times per week. It took a little while, but Colvin has now forced his way into the lineup virtually every day. Rookie left-hander James Russell also made the Opening Day roster as well and he's been pretty solid if not great. Then they brought up Starlin Castro in early May as well to try and spark the under performing team. That didn't work, but Castro has started virtually every game since his call-up. Andrew Cashner was brought up at the end of May and he is a fixture in the bullpen.
After hitting his second lead-off HR in as many days, Tyler Colvin is now 2nd on the team in HRs with 15 which leads all rookies including the much-hyped Jason Heyward (11). He's only 8 RBIs behind D-Lee in 145 fewer ABs.
Castro has been simply amazing. After a rough start defensively and a rough month of June offensively (.227 BA), he has proven himself as a real MLB SS. He has come back strong offensively with a .389 BA in July following a 3-for-4 day today with his 3rd HR, 2 more runs scored and 2 more RBI. Andrew Cashner is proving to be an asset out there in the pen. He entered the game in the 7th inning today with runners at the corners and nobody out with Pujols and Holliday coming up; that's confidence in your rookie! He got Pujols to fly out for a sac fly, Jon Jay was caught stealing 2nd for the second out and then ended the inning when Holliday grounded out to Aramis. I thought Lou should have taken him out to start the 8th (why not stick with the plan - Marshall in the 8th and Marmol in the 9th?), but he left him in. It looked like a bad move to start with back-to-back singles, but he got Brendan Ryan to hit a double-play ball to Theriot who ended up booting it for a run-scoring error (rough day for The-Riot with this error, another one that should have been called on a hard hit grounder by Holliday and following his lone hit, he was picked off) leaving runners at 1st and 2nd and nobody out. But pinch-hitter Randy Winn flied out to Byrd in CF and then Tyler Greene hit into an inning-ending DP. Cashner then turned the ball over to Carlos Marmol who pitched a near perfect 9th for his 18th save.
So that's 4 rookies playing significant roles on this team; add that to Randy Wells who played a significant role on last year's team and that's a pretty nice young core. Unfortunately, we have to wait for all of Hendry's mistakes to play out their contracts unless he can erase some of the mistakes sooner (the sooner the better as far as I'm concerned) before we can really get this team going in my opinion. Ironically, the one guy most linked to trade talk is Ted Lilly; I say ironically because that was one of Hendry's best moves. He was able to dump his second biggest mistake Milton Bradley (biggest mistake is still Soriano - 4 more years!) on the Mariners for one of their biggest mistakes Carlos Silva...but the question is, can he work that same magic to dump Fukudome, Aramis, and/or D-Lee? I'd be OK with him sticking around next year if he could get rid of two of these guys and actually get something back in return (yes, a bag of balls would be something). Otherwise, he remains #1 on my "hit list" of people that MUST go from this organization - NOBODY has spent more money for less playoff wins in the last 7 years - total Cubs payroll from 2004-2010 was $769,201,597 for an average of nearly $110 million per season and ZERO playoff wins.
The Cubs even got a few more guys down in the minors that are looking pretty good too. Josh Vitters at 3B (ba-bye Aramis!), Brett Jackson in CF, and as good as Castro has been, I read that Hak-Ju Lee is even better and could force Starlin to 2B. If Hoffpauir could ever figure out how to hit at the MLB level consistently, he could play 1B. There a couple other pitchers down on the farm too from what I've heard - Jay Jackson and Casey Coleman. What a difference to actually have some talent in the minors as opposed to having to overpay for free agents every year.
The last question is how much credit does Jim Hendry deserve for all this talent in the Minors. I obviously can't answer that for sure, but it would seem to me that the GM of the big club wouldn't really have all that much to do with the college draft or signing free agents in Latin America. According to Ken Rosenthal's article last week, "Tim Wilken, the team’s scouting director since December 2005, delivered virtually all of the Cubs’ young talent" and "Oneri Fleita, the team’s vice president of player personnel and head of international operations" seems to be handling Latin America. That's enough for me - Jim Hendry had little to do with the organization's current young talent. The problem according to Rosenthal is that dismissing Hendry would mean losing Wilken and Fleita as they're close with Hendry. To me, why not promote Wilken to be GM?
Anyway, there's one week left until the trade deadline...we'll see what happens in the next 7 days...
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Just in case...the Cubs left no doubt
Just in case you had visions of this team battling back in the standings, today's brutal, horrifying, stupefying loss to the lowly Astros at home should have put an end to all of that. After a tremendous come-from-behind win last night (down 7-1 early only to come back with 13 unanswered runs to win by a touchdown 14-7) and taking 3-of-4 from the NL defending champs even I had started thinking...well, maybe if Aramis and if D-Lee and in a mediocre division and with possibly a new and improved Zambrano coming back; well, just maybe they could do this.
Well, this afternoon's game was a microcosm of the entire season. It started with good starting pitching (great actually) by Ted Lilly in possibly his final Wrigley Field start as a Cub, continued with non-existent offense (1 run through 11 innings), mismanaged bullpen and bench, and finished with 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position (only one of those hits resulted in a run) stranding 16 runners on base including 9 in the 9th-12th innings (that's 2 each in the 9th, 11th, and 12th along with 3 in the 10th!).
Lilly took full advantage of the win blowing with 11 fly outs on the day; many hit pretty hard. But Lou left him in just a little too long allowing him to bat in the bottom of the 7th in a 1-0 game and start the 8th with the same score. On the second pitch of the 8th, pinch hitter Pedro Feliz launched a game tying HR to LF. After a pop-out, Angel Sanchez wripped a line-drive single to LF and that ended Lilly's day. You have a plan going in...try to get your starter through 7, bring in Marshall for the 8th and Marmol for the 9th. Lilly had thrown 102 pitches through 7 and it seemed to be perfect, but Lou altered the plan and it likely cost his club the game...I know it cost my family and I an extra 1 1/2 hours of watching a painful display of ineptness by the home team. After that and with a day off tomorrow, Lou just went through his bullpen like he had a real MLB pen changing pitchers every single inning using 3 guys for the fateful 12th. He does know you can double-switch and have these guys throw more than a single inning, right? Marshall, Marmol, Cashner, and Berg combined to pitch 3 2/3 innings allowing only a walk while striking out 4...none pitched more than one inning. Then he used 3 guys for the 12th with each only recording a single out. Howry started the 12th throwing something like 10 straight 89 mph "fastballs" allowing 2 hits and ended up as the eventual loser as both guys scored raising his ERA to 7.29. Russell came in to get the only batter he faced before yet another pitching change. Lou brought in the righty to face the right-handed Jason Michaels for some reason (over-managing I guess after under-managing in the 7th/8th) as Michaels actually hits a few points LOWER against lefties. Michaels ripped a double to left-center off Justin Berg scoring both of Howry's runners. For good measure, Berg gave up another 2-out RBI to allow the Astros to score more runs in the 12th than both teams combined to score through the first 11 innings.
As far as mismanaging the bench, I'll start with WHY have Koyie Hill up there to lay down a bunt? He was 0-for-3 with 3 Ks and hadn't actually touched the baseball with his bat the entire game. After a lead-off single by rookie Starlin Castro and a wild pitch advanced him to 2nd, Koyie failed in both attempts to lay down the sac bunt. The next question is WHY didn't you have him try again even with 2 strikes? He was going to strike out anyway which he promptly did. Hey, at least he showed a little emotion in breaking his bat over his knee as if the bat was the problem. Lou brought in Fontenot later in the game to lay down a sac bunt and pinch-hit for Koyie later too so why not do it in the 8th and WIN the darn game right there?
I hope none of these guys drives a manual transmission car, because they wouldn't know clutch if it hit them in the face. I'd love to just say they kept getting unlucky and had the wrong guys up at the plate every time they needed a clutch hit, but pretty much everyone had the chance to be a hero and NONE of them came through when it mattered most. After a big day yesterday, Ramirez 1-for-5 with a bloop hit and 4 pop-ups and left 4 guys on base. Fukudome whiffed with the infield in and the bases loaded in the 10th when all he really had to do was put the ball in play to win the game. Bird, Soriano, Lee, Soto (although he came through later with a 2-run HR to make it interesting in the 12th), and Colvin (the kid is a rookie and shouldn't need to be the man at this point) all blew chances as well. If nothing else, it was a total team effort or lack of effort.
Anyway, now I'm completely sold on the fact that the Cubs are officially "sellers" at this point. As much as I hate the fact that they need to pull out the white flag and dump payroll when they have the highest ticket prices in all of MLB (can you believe that??? even higher than the Yankees!), they need to dump any of the following guys to try and get some decent, young talent for the future: Lilly (finally got his first hit of the season and pitched great!), Ramirez (has he done enough lately to make another team think he may have turned the corner?), Lee (the most aggravating player on this team to me - most talent, doing the least with it while remaining in the heart of the lineup all season long), Fukudome, Nady, and Theriot. Really anyone on the current MLB roster is free game in my mind except Colvin, Castro, Cashner, Marmol and Marshall.
Of course, the problem is we're relying on our current GM to make these moves and he brought nearly all of these guys here in one shape or another. More on him later this week though...start selling Jim!
Well, this afternoon's game was a microcosm of the entire season. It started with good starting pitching (great actually) by Ted Lilly in possibly his final Wrigley Field start as a Cub, continued with non-existent offense (1 run through 11 innings), mismanaged bullpen and bench, and finished with 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position (only one of those hits resulted in a run) stranding 16 runners on base including 9 in the 9th-12th innings (that's 2 each in the 9th, 11th, and 12th along with 3 in the 10th!).
Lilly took full advantage of the win blowing with 11 fly outs on the day; many hit pretty hard. But Lou left him in just a little too long allowing him to bat in the bottom of the 7th in a 1-0 game and start the 8th with the same score. On the second pitch of the 8th, pinch hitter Pedro Feliz launched a game tying HR to LF. After a pop-out, Angel Sanchez wripped a line-drive single to LF and that ended Lilly's day. You have a plan going in...try to get your starter through 7, bring in Marshall for the 8th and Marmol for the 9th. Lilly had thrown 102 pitches through 7 and it seemed to be perfect, but Lou altered the plan and it likely cost his club the game...I know it cost my family and I an extra 1 1/2 hours of watching a painful display of ineptness by the home team. After that and with a day off tomorrow, Lou just went through his bullpen like he had a real MLB pen changing pitchers every single inning using 3 guys for the fateful 12th. He does know you can double-switch and have these guys throw more than a single inning, right? Marshall, Marmol, Cashner, and Berg combined to pitch 3 2/3 innings allowing only a walk while striking out 4...none pitched more than one inning. Then he used 3 guys for the 12th with each only recording a single out. Howry started the 12th throwing something like 10 straight 89 mph "fastballs" allowing 2 hits and ended up as the eventual loser as both guys scored raising his ERA to 7.29. Russell came in to get the only batter he faced before yet another pitching change. Lou brought in the righty to face the right-handed Jason Michaels for some reason (over-managing I guess after under-managing in the 7th/8th) as Michaels actually hits a few points LOWER against lefties. Michaels ripped a double to left-center off Justin Berg scoring both of Howry's runners. For good measure, Berg gave up another 2-out RBI to allow the Astros to score more runs in the 12th than both teams combined to score through the first 11 innings.
As far as mismanaging the bench, I'll start with WHY have Koyie Hill up there to lay down a bunt? He was 0-for-3 with 3 Ks and hadn't actually touched the baseball with his bat the entire game. After a lead-off single by rookie Starlin Castro and a wild pitch advanced him to 2nd, Koyie failed in both attempts to lay down the sac bunt. The next question is WHY didn't you have him try again even with 2 strikes? He was going to strike out anyway which he promptly did. Hey, at least he showed a little emotion in breaking his bat over his knee as if the bat was the problem. Lou brought in Fontenot later in the game to lay down a sac bunt and pinch-hit for Koyie later too so why not do it in the 8th and WIN the darn game right there?
I hope none of these guys drives a manual transmission car, because they wouldn't know clutch if it hit them in the face. I'd love to just say they kept getting unlucky and had the wrong guys up at the plate every time they needed a clutch hit, but pretty much everyone had the chance to be a hero and NONE of them came through when it mattered most. After a big day yesterday, Ramirez 1-for-5 with a bloop hit and 4 pop-ups and left 4 guys on base. Fukudome whiffed with the infield in and the bases loaded in the 10th when all he really had to do was put the ball in play to win the game. Bird, Soriano, Lee, Soto (although he came through later with a 2-run HR to make it interesting in the 12th), and Colvin (the kid is a rookie and shouldn't need to be the man at this point) all blew chances as well. If nothing else, it was a total team effort or lack of effort.
Anyway, now I'm completely sold on the fact that the Cubs are officially "sellers" at this point. As much as I hate the fact that they need to pull out the white flag and dump payroll when they have the highest ticket prices in all of MLB (can you believe that??? even higher than the Yankees!), they need to dump any of the following guys to try and get some decent, young talent for the future: Lilly (finally got his first hit of the season and pitched great!), Ramirez (has he done enough lately to make another team think he may have turned the corner?), Lee (the most aggravating player on this team to me - most talent, doing the least with it while remaining in the heart of the lineup all season long), Fukudome, Nady, and Theriot. Really anyone on the current MLB roster is free game in my mind except Colvin, Castro, Cashner, Marmol and Marshall.
Of course, the problem is we're relying on our current GM to make these moves and he brought nearly all of these guys here in one shape or another. More on him later this week though...start selling Jim!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
What has he EVER done?
I'm sorry...I know it is baseball season and I've been focusing on basketball, but the Cubs stink and I'm a Bulls season ticket holder AND this was the biggest free agency period in the history of pro sports! Now that the Bulls are solidifying their roster with good, young talent (I like Brewer and CJ Watson!), I want to turn back to baseball.
I was at the Cubs game on Sun night (I have partial season tickets for them too) and they actually played pretty well taking 3 of 4 from the defending NL champion Phillies. They put up some runs and Gorzelany had a solid pitching performance to make it hold up. We won't talk about the shellacking they took from the mighty Astros the next night though...I want to talk about what I heard on the WGN post-game show. They were talking about Tom Ricketts and whether Hendry would be around next year. You all know how I feel about Hendry...arguably the worst GM in the history of sports - has anyone spent more money over the last 7 years without even ONE playoff game win? NOPE!
Anyway, the conversation led to talk about the replacement for Lou and what to do with the coaching staff and THAT is when I nearly lost it. Yes, of course, they're going to keep Rudy Jamarillo since they're paying him $800K per year and I'm actually OK with that. But the guy on WGN went on to say that keeping Larry Rothschild should be a requirement for the next manager. I have one word in response to that thought...WHY?!?!? I just don't understand why people like this guy. What has he EVER done? Has he ever coached anyone that won the Cy Young? NOPE! Has he ever helped develop a young arm from the farm system into an elite pitcher? NOPE! Has he ever coached a guy that tore up his arm? YEP! Has he ever taken an awesome young talent and NOT developed them into great pitchers? YEP! Here are a few names to digest - Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, and Carlos Zambrano. Has he ever turned around anyone's career after struggling elsewhere? NOPE! While Dave Duncan in St. Louis turns no-names into Cy Young candidates, Larry takes Cy Young candidates and turns them into no-names. Am I missing something? WHY would George Ofman say Larry must stay? I just don't get it!
I was at the Cubs game on Sun night (I have partial season tickets for them too) and they actually played pretty well taking 3 of 4 from the defending NL champion Phillies. They put up some runs and Gorzelany had a solid pitching performance to make it hold up. We won't talk about the shellacking they took from the mighty Astros the next night though...I want to talk about what I heard on the WGN post-game show. They were talking about Tom Ricketts and whether Hendry would be around next year. You all know how I feel about Hendry...arguably the worst GM in the history of sports - has anyone spent more money over the last 7 years without even ONE playoff game win? NOPE!
Anyway, the conversation led to talk about the replacement for Lou and what to do with the coaching staff and THAT is when I nearly lost it. Yes, of course, they're going to keep Rudy Jamarillo since they're paying him $800K per year and I'm actually OK with that. But the guy on WGN went on to say that keeping Larry Rothschild should be a requirement for the next manager. I have one word in response to that thought...WHY?!?!? I just don't understand why people like this guy. What has he EVER done? Has he ever coached anyone that won the Cy Young? NOPE! Has he ever helped develop a young arm from the farm system into an elite pitcher? NOPE! Has he ever coached a guy that tore up his arm? YEP! Has he ever taken an awesome young talent and NOT developed them into great pitchers? YEP! Here are a few names to digest - Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, and Carlos Zambrano. Has he ever turned around anyone's career after struggling elsewhere? NOPE! While Dave Duncan in St. Louis turns no-names into Cy Young candidates, Larry takes Cy Young candidates and turns them into no-names. Am I missing something? WHY would George Ofman say Larry must stay? I just don't get it!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Hold on one minute D-Wade...
I am working late tonight with a long night ahead of me, but I have the TV on in the background and saw an interview with The Three Am-EGOS (I guess it hasn't caught on quite yet, as I didn't see that as a caption...). At one point they were talking about the backlash and whether these three knuckleheads were surprised. Well, I wasn't surprised that only Wade and Bosh responded. Bosh basically said he didn't care...he's been on a losing team (most would suggest he was part of the problem) and he's just happy not to be in that situation any more ("I've struggled; I know"). Wade though decided to challenge the thought that Michael Jordan, Magic, and Bird "did it by themselves" in comparing how these guys must feel like they need each other to win. He disputed that those REAL legends "did it by themselves"...of course, they didn't do it by themselves! Nobody said they did Dwyane! The argument against you guys colluding to join the same team BEFORE the season was even over (and give me a break that this wasn't the case - Bosh quit on his team the last week of the season so the Raptors didn't even make the playoffs and LeBron gave up on his team in front of his then home crowd in Game 5) was that each of the legends named stuck with their teams (MJ in particular) rather than bolting for another team when things got tough. They each took on the challenge (LeBron, do you even know what this word means?) to get their OWN teams over the hump rather than bail and go join someone else's team. Well, I hate to break it to you guys...that's PRECISELY what you guys have done and diminished each of your legacies and marketability. I'm sure LeBron is starting to figure that out when he talks to Nike when his shoes stop selling. I'm sure they're trying to figure out how to spin this disaster as they are masters at doing just that...that must be why they have been so quiet since The Decision.
Best defensive team of all-time?!? That is what Wade is looking forward to? Really? I like Dwyane Wade and while he has quick hands and gets his share of steals and LeBron gets his share of blocks from behind, these guys are hardly defensive stalwarts. And Bosh?!? Really? Who is he going to guard because I've yet to see him play D in 7 years? He's averaged exactly 1.0 blocks from the front court and 0.6 steals per game the last 3 years running! I'm sorry, but that's not defense! Maybe you should have watched some tape of your new teammate because I think you're going to be a little disappointed. LeBron, while he certainly gets his share of highlights shone on ESPN, also averages 1.0 blocks but does get an extra steal per game (1.6). The block "king" from The Three Am-EGOS is actually Wade averaging a whole 1.1; he also leads the group in steals with 1.8. Let's totalize those numbers - 3.1 bpg and 4 spg. Dwight Howard averaged 3.5 bpg by himself while Manu Ginobli nearly matched The Three Am-EGOS on his own with 2.6 spg. I'm sorry, but defense is NOT at all what first (second, third, fourth, fifth...eightieth) comes to my mind with these three guys.
Bosh has started his last All-Star Game and will be a barely above average player starting today as long as Wade and LeBron are healthy. First, being the third option is certainly going to crush his offensive numbers; second, who is going to vote for him besides people in Miami? The health of these guys is certainly no guarantee - remember LeBron's elbow? What about the numerous Wade injuries and all the miles on his 6'4" frame while getting beat to a pulp bouncing off all those big guys for the last 7 years. And now that Bosh will seemingly be forced to play C most of the time, he'll be banging with the big boys too which he REALLY doesn't like to do so his rebound numbers could take a hit too.
Let's face it...the number one piece of the plan was exactly how LeBron announced his decision...to take your talents to South Beach...oh ya, and we might play some basketball in Miami too! Have fun boys...LeBron likes to win 60 regular season games, but he seems to prefer to take the summer off...that'll work out perfectly as Miami gets a little too hot in June anyway.
Best defensive team of all-time?!? That is what Wade is looking forward to? Really? I like Dwyane Wade and while he has quick hands and gets his share of steals and LeBron gets his share of blocks from behind, these guys are hardly defensive stalwarts. And Bosh?!? Really? Who is he going to guard because I've yet to see him play D in 7 years? He's averaged exactly 1.0 blocks from the front court and 0.6 steals per game the last 3 years running! I'm sorry, but that's not defense! Maybe you should have watched some tape of your new teammate because I think you're going to be a little disappointed. LeBron, while he certainly gets his share of highlights shone on ESPN, also averages 1.0 blocks but does get an extra steal per game (1.6). The block "king" from The Three Am-EGOS is actually Wade averaging a whole 1.1; he also leads the group in steals with 1.8. Let's totalize those numbers - 3.1 bpg and 4 spg. Dwight Howard averaged 3.5 bpg by himself while Manu Ginobli nearly matched The Three Am-EGOS on his own with 2.6 spg. I'm sorry, but defense is NOT at all what first (second, third, fourth, fifth...eightieth) comes to my mind with these three guys.
Bosh has started his last All-Star Game and will be a barely above average player starting today as long as Wade and LeBron are healthy. First, being the third option is certainly going to crush his offensive numbers; second, who is going to vote for him besides people in Miami? The health of these guys is certainly no guarantee - remember LeBron's elbow? What about the numerous Wade injuries and all the miles on his 6'4" frame while getting beat to a pulp bouncing off all those big guys for the last 7 years. And now that Bosh will seemingly be forced to play C most of the time, he'll be banging with the big boys too which he REALLY doesn't like to do so his rebound numbers could take a hit too.
Let's face it...the number one piece of the plan was exactly how LeBron announced his decision...to take your talents to South Beach...oh ya, and we might play some basketball in Miami too! Have fun boys...LeBron likes to win 60 regular season games, but he seems to prefer to take the summer off...that'll work out perfectly as Miami gets a little too hot in June anyway.
Friday, July 9, 2010
The Three Am-EGOS
Can you picture it??? A sandy beach background, Dwyane Wade sitting on a big horse with his first lap dog Chris Bosh sitting on a small burro on one side and his latest sidekick on another small burro on the other side; all three wearing sombreros with flip flops on their feet to further symbolize how none of them will be able to sell another pair of basketball shoes outside of South Beach (that's what HE called it, so I'm done saying Miami - ok, now I'm done). They're all smiling for different reasons...Wade because he just added two more guys to his peeps, Bosh because he's just along for the ride and is just happy to be back in the US, and LeBron...well, because he's too stupid to know any better. The final touch has their new nickname...The Three Am-EGOS across the bottom! Would MGM have a problem with that name?
I'm looking forward to the first same-team fist fight between Bosh and LeBron when Bosh only gets up 5 shots in a game while LeBron and Wade are chucking it up there 25 times each trying to outdo each other. Does Bosh really think he's going to average 24 ppg with those two guys distributing the ball? Won't it be fun when Carlos Boozer beats out Bosh to even make the All-Star team this year? All the fair weather South Beach fans can't get internet service on the beach and won't bother to vote while TRUE basketball fans in Chicago and NY stuff the ballot box to send Boozer and Amare to the big game; of course LeBron will still get there too.
How did Chris Bosh get lumped in with these other two as a superstar anyway? Boy, he must have a much better marketing department than LeBron, huh? Ya, he can score, but he has made only two trips to the playoffs in his 7-year career and his team only won 3 of 11 playoff games losing both 1st round series. Ya, he puts up some sexy numbers - 20.2/9.4 for his career, but is he that much better than Carlos Boozer - 17.2/10.2? Boozer has been to the playoffs the last 4 straight years playing in 44 playoff games and actually winning 4 series in a much more competitive Western Conference.
I read that Riley signed his second player for the 2010-11 season (last I heard, The Three Am-EGOS have yet to finalize their deals...hey, there's still hope Cleveland!)...the oft-injured although talented Mike Miller. Miller only played in 54 games last year for the Wizards, but then again, the Wizards barely played that many as a team anyway. Is Shaq going to fill (and I do mean FILL) the role at center for this team because Bosh isn't going to do it? “The thing I said when I came into free agency is I'm going to be a forward,” Bosh said. “I'm going to play my natural position.” Would Shaq stoop that low in trying to even things up with Kobe (Kobe now has 5 rings while Shaq has 4)? I'm not sure where we'd squeeze him in for my t-shirt idea so I say he can't go there.
Did anyone EVER think Kobe would be considered the hero? Certainly not me! Yet, there he is...the only superstar who not only didn't sell out to avoid the challenge; he pushed out another superstar insuring he'd be THE MAN. What has he done since? Just win back-to-back NBA championships and make 3 consecutive trips to the Finals; that's all. Now THAT is an alpha male!
I'm looking forward to the first same-team fist fight between Bosh and LeBron when Bosh only gets up 5 shots in a game while LeBron and Wade are chucking it up there 25 times each trying to outdo each other. Does Bosh really think he's going to average 24 ppg with those two guys distributing the ball? Won't it be fun when Carlos Boozer beats out Bosh to even make the All-Star team this year? All the fair weather South Beach fans can't get internet service on the beach and won't bother to vote while TRUE basketball fans in Chicago and NY stuff the ballot box to send Boozer and Amare to the big game; of course LeBron will still get there too.
How did Chris Bosh get lumped in with these other two as a superstar anyway? Boy, he must have a much better marketing department than LeBron, huh? Ya, he can score, but he has made only two trips to the playoffs in his 7-year career and his team only won 3 of 11 playoff games losing both 1st round series. Ya, he puts up some sexy numbers - 20.2/9.4 for his career, but is he that much better than Carlos Boozer - 17.2/10.2? Boozer has been to the playoffs the last 4 straight years playing in 44 playoff games and actually winning 4 series in a much more competitive Western Conference.
I read that Riley signed his second player for the 2010-11 season (last I heard, The Three Am-EGOS have yet to finalize their deals...hey, there's still hope Cleveland!)...the oft-injured although talented Mike Miller. Miller only played in 54 games last year for the Wizards, but then again, the Wizards barely played that many as a team anyway. Is Shaq going to fill (and I do mean FILL) the role at center for this team because Bosh isn't going to do it? “The thing I said when I came into free agency is I'm going to be a forward,” Bosh said. “I'm going to play my natural position.” Would Shaq stoop that low in trying to even things up with Kobe (Kobe now has 5 rings while Shaq has 4)? I'm not sure where we'd squeeze him in for my t-shirt idea so I say he can't go there.
Did anyone EVER think Kobe would be considered the hero? Certainly not me! Yet, there he is...the only superstar who not only didn't sell out to avoid the challenge; he pushed out another superstar insuring he'd be THE MAN. What has he done since? Just win back-to-back NBA championships and make 3 consecutive trips to the Finals; that's all. Now THAT is an alpha male!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
What a really bad JOKE!
LeBron, so you don't have the guts to do something on your own, huh? You proved to be the gutless wonder you showed in Game 5 of your last playoff series for your hometown team; your last game in Cleveland as a Cav! This was truly THE weakest cop out he could have ever made. While all the "experts" knew he would go to Miami, EVERY one of them felt Chicago was the best fit and best chance to win now yet LeBron went with the chicken s**t path instead. Does he really think this team won't have the most pressure EVER to win a championship THIS year? Does he really think that pressure will fall on anyone but him? Wade has his ring and nobody thinks Bosh is a superstar except his banker when he deposits his checks. It will all fall squarely on HIS shoulders.
So much for the King James moniker, huh? Going to play on Dywane Wade's team makes him more like Queen James, doesn't it? Is he going to change his Twitter account name? He really should...who is going to take the last shot in a close game? Wade! Yet James will have all the pressure and yet not much of the control. And who will be the biggest target on every teams' schedule and the team everyone will be gunning to beat?
I guess the added pressure of being the NBA's all-time leading scorer was too much for Queen James too. ESPN was running a line on their ticker that LeBron was on pace to become the all-time leading scorer at age 36. Of course that was assuming he'd still be scoring all those points. Now that he has to share the ball with Wade and Bosh (how long until he's whining about not getting the ball enough?), his scoring average certainly isn't going to remain as high as it has. His assists may go up, but his points will surely go down although he still gets 4 games with the Knicks and their lack of defense getting "better" with Amare not covering anyone either.
Wow - the two biggest global athletic icons in this generation have made two of the worst mistakes ever just a few months apart. OK, so Tiger's transgression started long before LeBron made this dreadful decision but which person's decision hurt more people? The people in Cleveland, who are in desperate need of SOME kind of championship (last major sports championship was the 1964 Browns and that was 3 years BEFORE the Super Bowl) must be absolutely devastated. They've had to live with The Drive, The Shot, The Fumble, The Move, and now The Decision. To top it off, this circus has now added Chicago and NY to the list of not so happy people. Doesn't this guy count on selling things to make most of his money? Aren't NY and Chicago the 1st and 3rd biggest markets in the nation? Does Nike expect to sell a single pair of Lebron shoes in either of those markets? The people in Miami don't even wear gym shoes; just flip flops for the beach. Maybe they'll come up with a new line of flip flops...
Now the question is how are they going to fill out the rest of their roster? These guys are good, but the three of them can't play 5 positions for 48 minutes so they need to get 7 more guys counting the other two knuckleheads already on the Heat roster that not even Toronto wanted - Chalmers and Beasley. If the rest of the league does NOT help them (and God knows they certainly shouldn't), do they seriously think they're going to pull in enough of the pieces with willing to take the minimum just to have a chance at winning the East? Remember, these three guys have combined for just one more ring than you or I in 21 combined seasons and last I checked, the Lakers were still the defending champs. We've seen stupid GMs either inadvertently or for other reasons make horrible decisions that allow other teams to win championships - the two most recent instances were Pau Gasol as a generous donation from Jerry West's then Memphis Grizzlies to his former Laker team and Kevin McHale gift-wrapping KG for former teammate Danny Ainge and his former Celtics team.
God help us if some GM steps in to help Pat Riley get his 8th ring!
So who are the biggest losers in all of this?
1. Cleveland - may end up as the worst team in NBA history after being completely and outwardly shunned by LeBron and Bosh
2. NJ - who is Jay Z going to recruit next?
3. NY - they still have a shot at Carmelo next year as he would be a PERFECT fit there
4. Clippers - nearly forgot about them; they didn't really lose anything other than airfare and a couple days in Cleveland but they still have Donald Sterling as the owner
5. Chicago - would have been a nice jump start but they'll be pretty darn good this year anyway; certainly MUCH better than 1-4 above
The last question about these egotistical, selfish maniacs is what does their agreeing to sign for lower than max salaries do to their NBA Players Union brethren at the bargaining table as they negotiate the new CBA which starts up next season? Sure, these three guys will get the endorsement dollars (although how does LeBron's not go WAY down after this?) to make up for their lower salaries...what about the rest of the NBA players? At least something for the owners to bring up..."well, if LeBron can play for $15 million, that must be the new max".
GO BULLS!!! BEAT THE HEAT!!!
So much for the King James moniker, huh? Going to play on Dywane Wade's team makes him more like Queen James, doesn't it? Is he going to change his Twitter account name? He really should...who is going to take the last shot in a close game? Wade! Yet James will have all the pressure and yet not much of the control. And who will be the biggest target on every teams' schedule and the team everyone will be gunning to beat?
I guess the added pressure of being the NBA's all-time leading scorer was too much for Queen James too. ESPN was running a line on their ticker that LeBron was on pace to become the all-time leading scorer at age 36. Of course that was assuming he'd still be scoring all those points. Now that he has to share the ball with Wade and Bosh (how long until he's whining about not getting the ball enough?), his scoring average certainly isn't going to remain as high as it has. His assists may go up, but his points will surely go down although he still gets 4 games with the Knicks and their lack of defense getting "better" with Amare not covering anyone either.
Wow - the two biggest global athletic icons in this generation have made two of the worst mistakes ever just a few months apart. OK, so Tiger's transgression started long before LeBron made this dreadful decision but which person's decision hurt more people? The people in Cleveland, who are in desperate need of SOME kind of championship (last major sports championship was the 1964 Browns and that was 3 years BEFORE the Super Bowl) must be absolutely devastated. They've had to live with The Drive, The Shot, The Fumble, The Move, and now The Decision. To top it off, this circus has now added Chicago and NY to the list of not so happy people. Doesn't this guy count on selling things to make most of his money? Aren't NY and Chicago the 1st and 3rd biggest markets in the nation? Does Nike expect to sell a single pair of Lebron shoes in either of those markets? The people in Miami don't even wear gym shoes; just flip flops for the beach. Maybe they'll come up with a new line of flip flops...
Now the question is how are they going to fill out the rest of their roster? These guys are good, but the three of them can't play 5 positions for 48 minutes so they need to get 7 more guys counting the other two knuckleheads already on the Heat roster that not even Toronto wanted - Chalmers and Beasley. If the rest of the league does NOT help them (and God knows they certainly shouldn't), do they seriously think they're going to pull in enough of the pieces with willing to take the minimum just to have a chance at winning the East? Remember, these three guys have combined for just one more ring than you or I in 21 combined seasons and last I checked, the Lakers were still the defending champs. We've seen stupid GMs either inadvertently or for other reasons make horrible decisions that allow other teams to win championships - the two most recent instances were Pau Gasol as a generous donation from Jerry West's then Memphis Grizzlies to his former Laker team and Kevin McHale gift-wrapping KG for former teammate Danny Ainge and his former Celtics team.
God help us if some GM steps in to help Pat Riley get his 8th ring!
So who are the biggest losers in all of this?
1. Cleveland - may end up as the worst team in NBA history after being completely and outwardly shunned by LeBron and Bosh
2. NJ - who is Jay Z going to recruit next?
3. NY - they still have a shot at Carmelo next year as he would be a PERFECT fit there
4. Clippers - nearly forgot about them; they didn't really lose anything other than airfare and a couple days in Cleveland but they still have Donald Sterling as the owner
5. Chicago - would have been a nice jump start but they'll be pretty darn good this year anyway; certainly MUCH better than 1-4 above
The last question about these egotistical, selfish maniacs is what does their agreeing to sign for lower than max salaries do to their NBA Players Union brethren at the bargaining table as they negotiate the new CBA which starts up next season? Sure, these three guys will get the endorsement dollars (although how does LeBron's not go WAY down after this?) to make up for their lower salaries...what about the rest of the NBA players? At least something for the owners to bring up..."well, if LeBron can play for $15 million, that must be the new max".
GO BULLS!!! BEAT THE HEAT!!!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
King or Jester?
First off, kudos to the Bulls for jumping on their second choice after Bosh made the fateful mistake (I think this will prove itself out) of not signing here and instead heading to South Beach with Wade. I can't wait to see Derrick Rose's numbers this year working the pick-and-roll with a guy that a) knows how to run it properly and b) can actually knock down that shot.
So the big question right now is whether LeBron is King James as he likes to call himself or is he going to cop out and go play with Wade as his second jester. Did Michael go play with Magic? Did Magic go play with Bird? Did Bird go play with Dr. J? HELL NO! They rose to the challenge and won the titles without joining forces. Does LeBron think we will all still think of him as King James if he ends up packing his bags and going to play on Wade's team? Let's make NO mistake here either...this is most definitely Wade's team. If you're King James, people play with you not the other way around. Well, Wade has one thing LeBron doesn't have...an NBA ring! And after watching his rival for #1 in Kobe Bryant win his 5th ring, how can he stay in Cleveland another year hoping the stars somehow align and he can win there?
Well, I think LeBron heard all he needs to know about his home town club when the previous Toronto Raptor (nice hair cut Chris!) turned down a fairly no-brainer sign-and-trade offer with the Cavs to join LeBron. NOBODY really wants to play in Cleveland! That should include YOU LeBron! Get out while the gettin' is good my friend.
Wade dropped a bit of a gauntlet saying he wanted to play against LeBron, so let him have his wish but this time have the guns backing you up.
So where should he go? Duh...how about the Bulls? It's only a 6-hour drive back to Akron (I've done it!). If this is truly a basketball decision (and of course ego enters in), how can he justify not signing here and playing with Rose, Noah, and now apparently Boozer?
What disappoints me most about D-Wade going back to Miami (and there are PLENTY of things that bother me about it) and not signing with his hometown Bulls is the deal with his kids. He's in the middle of a custody battle with the kids' mother and they all live here in Chicago. If he REALLY wanted to gain custody of his kids and/or just spend time with them, wouldn't he have signed with the Bulls and spend some time at "home"? Even his dad said he would have signed here to be with his family. So why sign back with Miami who has done ZERO for him in the last several years allowing him to blow 3 years of his prime? SELFISHNESS - clear and simple! He can sign a bigger deal with the Heat and there's no state tax in FL so instead of helping to rebuild his hometown franchise, he dragged a guy down there with him. OK - he didn't exactly have to drag Bosh out of Toronto to South Beach, but neither are going to win anything down in Miami; not without some serious magical effort by Pat Riley. This after ignoring Wade's needs for the last 3 years...did he just awake from a coma?
Chris Bosh couldn't even get his team into the playoffs in a WEAK Eastern Conference instead folding down the stretch so our young, over-achieving Bulls could go back again led by second-year phenom - D-Rose. How Chris Bosh is included with Wade who has won an NBA title and LeBron who is the best or second best player in the NBA as one of the "big 3" free agents is beyond me. Granted, he'd look nice in a Bulls uni playing with Joakim and Rose, but who is going to play C in Miami? Shaq? HAHAHA!
So if LeBron makes the right decision, here's the roster comparison between the Bulls and Heat with their ages in parenthesis:
1. Rose (21)
2. Ray Allen (35)/Redick (26)/Korver (29)
3. LeBron (25)
4. Boozer (28)
5. Joakim (25)
Bench - Deng (25), Taj (25), James Johnson (23)
1. Chalmers (24)
2. Wade (28 - with a LOT of wear and tear)
3. ???
4. Beasley (21)
5. Bosh (26)
Bench - EMPTY
I'll take the Bulls roster there! Heck, even if you (gasp!) don't pull in LeBron, I'd STILL take the Bulls roster over Miami's. Again, what has Bosh EVER won? In 7 NBA seasons, his teams have been to the playoffs twice (um, Rose has been to the playoffs twice in TWO seasons!) and his teams were 3-8 in those games. If he's so good, how come he couldn't even bring his teams to the playoffs in either of the last two years.
So we are under 24 hours from the LeBron Reality Show live on ESPN...we'll know a lot more then...just in case, I'm wearing my Derrick Rose All-Star jersey along with my Blackhawks Stanley Cup hat (hey, the Hawks were undefeated in the playoffs when I was wearing my Bulls gear so I'm hoping the karma translates the other way too).
GO BULLS!
So the big question right now is whether LeBron is King James as he likes to call himself or is he going to cop out and go play with Wade as his second jester. Did Michael go play with Magic? Did Magic go play with Bird? Did Bird go play with Dr. J? HELL NO! They rose to the challenge and won the titles without joining forces. Does LeBron think we will all still think of him as King James if he ends up packing his bags and going to play on Wade's team? Let's make NO mistake here either...this is most definitely Wade's team. If you're King James, people play with you not the other way around. Well, Wade has one thing LeBron doesn't have...an NBA ring! And after watching his rival for #1 in Kobe Bryant win his 5th ring, how can he stay in Cleveland another year hoping the stars somehow align and he can win there?
Well, I think LeBron heard all he needs to know about his home town club when the previous Toronto Raptor (nice hair cut Chris!) turned down a fairly no-brainer sign-and-trade offer with the Cavs to join LeBron. NOBODY really wants to play in Cleveland! That should include YOU LeBron! Get out while the gettin' is good my friend.
Wade dropped a bit of a gauntlet saying he wanted to play against LeBron, so let him have his wish but this time have the guns backing you up.
So where should he go? Duh...how about the Bulls? It's only a 6-hour drive back to Akron (I've done it!). If this is truly a basketball decision (and of course ego enters in), how can he justify not signing here and playing with Rose, Noah, and now apparently Boozer?
What disappoints me most about D-Wade going back to Miami (and there are PLENTY of things that bother me about it) and not signing with his hometown Bulls is the deal with his kids. He's in the middle of a custody battle with the kids' mother and they all live here in Chicago. If he REALLY wanted to gain custody of his kids and/or just spend time with them, wouldn't he have signed with the Bulls and spend some time at "home"? Even his dad said he would have signed here to be with his family. So why sign back with Miami who has done ZERO for him in the last several years allowing him to blow 3 years of his prime? SELFISHNESS - clear and simple! He can sign a bigger deal with the Heat and there's no state tax in FL so instead of helping to rebuild his hometown franchise, he dragged a guy down there with him. OK - he didn't exactly have to drag Bosh out of Toronto to South Beach, but neither are going to win anything down in Miami; not without some serious magical effort by Pat Riley. This after ignoring Wade's needs for the last 3 years...did he just awake from a coma?
Chris Bosh couldn't even get his team into the playoffs in a WEAK Eastern Conference instead folding down the stretch so our young, over-achieving Bulls could go back again led by second-year phenom - D-Rose. How Chris Bosh is included with Wade who has won an NBA title and LeBron who is the best or second best player in the NBA as one of the "big 3" free agents is beyond me. Granted, he'd look nice in a Bulls uni playing with Joakim and Rose, but who is going to play C in Miami? Shaq? HAHAHA!
So if LeBron makes the right decision, here's the roster comparison between the Bulls and Heat with their ages in parenthesis:
1. Rose (21)
2. Ray Allen (35)/Redick (26)/Korver (29)
3. LeBron (25)
4. Boozer (28)
5. Joakim (25)
Bench - Deng (25), Taj (25), James Johnson (23)
1. Chalmers (24)
2. Wade (28 - with a LOT of wear and tear)
3. ???
4. Beasley (21)
5. Bosh (26)
Bench - EMPTY
I'll take the Bulls roster there! Heck, even if you (gasp!) don't pull in LeBron, I'd STILL take the Bulls roster over Miami's. Again, what has Bosh EVER won? In 7 NBA seasons, his teams have been to the playoffs twice (um, Rose has been to the playoffs twice in TWO seasons!) and his teams were 3-8 in those games. If he's so good, how come he couldn't even bring his teams to the playoffs in either of the last two years.
So we are under 24 hours from the LeBron Reality Show live on ESPN...we'll know a lot more then...just in case, I'm wearing my Derrick Rose All-Star jersey along with my Blackhawks Stanley Cup hat (hey, the Hawks were undefeated in the playoffs when I was wearing my Bulls gear so I'm hoping the karma translates the other way too).
GO BULLS!
NBA Free Agent Frenzy
What is happening here??? Is this 2000 all over again with Wade playing the role of Tracy McGrady teasing the Bulls with the two visits? As I've mentioned before on this blog, I've been a season ticket holder since 1999 so that fateful year was my first off-season as a season ticket holder; well, if they can't pull something off here, this may be my last. I just can't afford to continue to eat unsold tickets and without one of the big 3 FAs, I?m afraid my ticket value just took a major hit. Yes, I LOVE watching D-Rose play; consummate professional at the tender age of 21, but without some help, they'll never get out of the second round of the playoffs.
Am I overreacting like everyone else here in Chicago? Am I misreading this situation and the Bosh/Wade thing just pushes LeBron to join Rose/Noah here to compete with his two "buddies"? Because how is LeBron going to compete with those two guys in Cleveland basically by himself? He's already proven his team can be knocked out by a team with multiple stars (a la Boston?s big 3). Who else will Bosh/Wade have on their team? I heard speculation that veterans would go there like they did to the Bulls when they were winning, but they haven't won jack at this point so the draw would just be what might happen. Regardless, wouldn't the Bulls still have a better lineup with LeBron coming here than Riley can pull together off the scrap heap to surround Wade/Bosh?
1. Rose
2. Redick (what about Derrek Fisher?)
3. LeBron
4. Taj (couldn?t they still get Boozer and bring Taj off the bench?)
5. Noah
1. Mario Chalmers (assuming no sign/trade)
2. Wade
3. ???
4. Beasely
5. Bosh (doesn't he NOT want to play C? will they sign Shaq to clog, I mean fill up the middle?)
I know you aren't a big fan of the Chicago media, but don?t you agree that if MJ was here as part owner of the Bulls and the face of the franchise that this process could have gone much better? I mean, how does it look to Wade, Bosh, and LeBron to send 4 of the whitest guys in the world to court them to play in Chicago ? Thibodeau, Pax, Forman and Reinsdorf? Wouldn't a welcoming committee of MJ and BJ Armstrong be much more appealing to these guys?
I also saw reports of Boozer/Redick coming here; ya, that makes the Bulls better than they are right now, but doesn't exactly sound sexy or help me sell my tickets, does it? I mean Redick has started only 14 games in 4 NBA seasons; now they want to count on him as the full-time starter?
If they don't get LeBron, does that push Pax out the door? I mean, like Jim Hendry of the Cubs, how many chances do you get? You lost out on potential trades for Garnett, Gasol, and Kobe (they've combined to win every championship since!) and now he's going to WAY overpay Boozer or David Lee (I like them, but they aren't worth whatever they're going to end up paying them) just as he overpaid Deng. Pax didn't get to hire the coach he wanted two years ago (I have to say I'm stunned to hear Vinny got picked up already although it was the Clippers and he probably came pretty cheap since Pax is still paying him) because the owner didn't want to pay him so what is he still doing there?
I've just had this queasy feeling in my stomach since yesterday and it isn't going away?
Am I overreacting like everyone else here in Chicago? Am I misreading this situation and the Bosh/Wade thing just pushes LeBron to join Rose/Noah here to compete with his two "buddies"? Because how is LeBron going to compete with those two guys in Cleveland basically by himself? He's already proven his team can be knocked out by a team with multiple stars (a la Boston?s big 3). Who else will Bosh/Wade have on their team? I heard speculation that veterans would go there like they did to the Bulls when they were winning, but they haven't won jack at this point so the draw would just be what might happen. Regardless, wouldn't the Bulls still have a better lineup with LeBron coming here than Riley can pull together off the scrap heap to surround Wade/Bosh?
1. Rose
2. Redick (what about Derrek Fisher?)
3. LeBron
4. Taj (couldn?t they still get Boozer and bring Taj off the bench?)
5. Noah
1. Mario Chalmers (assuming no sign/trade)
2. Wade
3. ???
4. Beasely
5. Bosh (doesn't he NOT want to play C? will they sign Shaq to clog, I mean fill up the middle?)
I know you aren't a big fan of the Chicago media, but don?t you agree that if MJ was here as part owner of the Bulls and the face of the franchise that this process could have gone much better? I mean, how does it look to Wade, Bosh, and LeBron to send 4 of the whitest guys in the world to court them to play in Chicago ? Thibodeau, Pax, Forman and Reinsdorf? Wouldn't a welcoming committee of MJ and BJ Armstrong be much more appealing to these guys?
I also saw reports of Boozer/Redick coming here; ya, that makes the Bulls better than they are right now, but doesn't exactly sound sexy or help me sell my tickets, does it? I mean Redick has started only 14 games in 4 NBA seasons; now they want to count on him as the full-time starter?
If they don't get LeBron, does that push Pax out the door? I mean, like Jim Hendry of the Cubs, how many chances do you get? You lost out on potential trades for Garnett, Gasol, and Kobe (they've combined to win every championship since!) and now he's going to WAY overpay Boozer or David Lee (I like them, but they aren't worth whatever they're going to end up paying them) just as he overpaid Deng. Pax didn't get to hire the coach he wanted two years ago (I have to say I'm stunned to hear Vinny got picked up already although it was the Clippers and he probably came pretty cheap since Pax is still paying him) because the owner didn't want to pay him so what is he still doing there?
I've just had this queasy feeling in my stomach since yesterday and it isn't going away?
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