Final Thoughts on Chicago Sports

Big Sports Night in Chicago

Both the Cubs and Bears were in action tonight and my DVR got a heckuva workout.  I subjected myself to both contests in full just for you, dear reader, so you wouldn't have to.  And here's what I saw:

I saw a Cubs team take two of three in an all-important series against the second-place Brewers.  The Cubs have been sort of moseying along of late; win some, lose some.  The Brewers, on the other hand, have been downright atrocious.  They've now won something like 3 of their last 17 games and have fallen 2 games out of first.  Hence, the moseying Cubs have found themselves in first just one day short of September.  It's a good feeling.

You know what else is good?  Or should I say "who" else is good.  Jacque Jones, that's who.  Who'd have thunk that the recipient of the most scorn in the history of this blog (after the departed Neifi Perez) would be the guy to carry the team on his back down the stretch.  He's been money in the bank ever since he was traded to the Marlins back in June (a trade ultimately rescinded, of course).  His homers are still drastically down this year, but he's hitting it everywhere else in the ballpark with authority.  You know what else I like?  Seeing Jacque smile all the time.  Every time he gets a hit, he looks like the happiest man in Chicago.  This is a welcome change from your typical athletes who are utterly emotionless on the field of play.  Jacque is productive, the fans are happy, and Jacque is happy.  I'm especially happy for him, too, as the boos are gone and presumably he isn't dealing with racist buffoonery on a daily basis. 

Oh, and I liked Murton and Sorianos back-to-back jacks quite a bit, too.

As for the Bears, what a colossal waste of time.  The starters played exactly one series, which amounted to a robust three-and-out.  What's the point of that?  I couldn't imagine how pissed I'd be if I spent $60 on a ticket and half my day traveling to watch the first team offense for all of 70 seconds.  Can you at least give them a quarter?  Considering what happened in the third, however, it's a surprise coaches give them any playing time at all.

Greg Olsen busted up his knee pretty bad and had to go to the lockerroom for x-rays.  Lovie said it was a bruised knee and we'll just have to wait and see how serious it is.  I'm on the edge of my seat with this one, as Olsen was starting to look like he will be a major player this season.  Oh, and second rounder Dan Bazuin got hurt, too. 

As for the rest of the game, Mike Hass and David Ball both looked pretty fantastic at Wideout.  If I had to guess, I would say Hass will win the WR #6 job and Ball will get sent to the practice squad.  Jamar Williams, Corey Graham, and Kevin Payne all stood out on defense.

And I think its official.  Robbie Gould can't hit 50+ yard field goals.  He's Oh-for-whatever this preseason after never being challenged last year.  Now we know why. 

And that's really about all I have to say about tonight's boring-ass Bears game.   Regular season is just a week away, but in the meantime, I'll go with...

Go Cubs, Go!

Bears dominate San Fran in preseason

Despite the 31-28 final score, the Bears pretty much dominated San Francisco on this past Saturday night in the third exhibition game of the 2007 season.  The starting defense only gave up a handful of first downs, and the starting offense scored all 31 points in the first half.  Just a strong effort all around for the starters.  To note:

• Grossman, for the most part, looked to be on his game.  He, of course, had to f--k up all those good feelings with yet another fumbled snap and an interception returned for a touchdown.  But other than those two miscues, he was on fire. 
• Benson again did little with the ball.  He scored a touchdown, but he averaged less than 2 yards per carry.  That's not very good.  I remember the Bears offense had a tough time running the ball early on last year, and they ended up fine.  So I'm not worried.  Yet.
• Bernard Berrian looks like Rex's new "go to" guy, and he made several nice catches.
• There was a Mark Bradley sighting!  He looked great in limited duty, and frankly it was nice just seeing him on the field.
• With a few more catches, Mike Hass appears to be in the driver's seat for that last WR position.
• The backups on offense did next-to-nothing.  Griese, Peterson, Wolfe.  I know they had the lead and put the game in "operation: don't get hurt" mode, but still.  This is the preseason.  Let's see who can do the job at full speed.
• I love the new interior Defensive line.  Dvoracek and Walker are a lethal combo, capable of burying the QB on a moment's notice.  Outside, Bazuin had another big sack. 
• The safeties looked great, too.  Brown, Archuleta. 
• Hester got hurt, putting a scare into the entire midwest.  It looks like he's going to be OK, though, so no worries.

Finally, I have to mention that San Francisco looked horrible.  A lot of people are looking for them to make noise this season, but I just don't see it.  Unless Frank Gore means that much to them, I just don't see how the Niners could win more than 8 games this year.

And that's about it.  One more preseason game, this Thursday against the Cleve.  Lets start off the 19-0 season with a perfect preseason!

Indy goes down: Bears 2-0 in Preseason

The Bears beat the Colts tonight in the second game of the preseason.  I don't know what it is, but the first quarter of this game did not feel like a preseason game.  The announcers were in to it, the fans were in to it, and the players seemed to have a little more bounce in their step than you'd expect in an exhibition.  Here's what I saw:

• A horrible broadcast from ESPN.  After Peyton Manning came out of the game in the second quarter, the game was essentially over and 90% of the plays happened without even an acknowledgement from the announcers.  Sideline interviews relegated most of the game to a mere 25% of my 55 inch TV, and I can only imagine what it was like trying to watch it on a 19-incher.   I know it's a meaningless game and they're trying to entertain the rest of the country, but I've got a news flash for them.  The rest of the country wasn't watching.  The rest of the country changed the channel when Manning came out, so you might as well spend at least part of the time talking about the reserves and the position battles on both teams.  It was just brutal for fans of the local teams, and we were the only ones watching. 
• Speaking of brutal, Rex Grossman.  Oh my Lord, I thought he got all of that out of his system last year as a "rookie."  Ugh.  Let's see, four drives, one pick, three fumbles (one lost).  I really don't know what to say at this point.  Give him a few regular season games, but if he completely craps himself again with a single-digit QB rating, I don't think there's any way they can stick with him.  I mean, single-digit ratings don't happen very often in the NFL.  Maybe 3 or 4 times per season you'll see such an anemic stinker.  Grossman is bound to do that by himself this year.  I just don't get it.
• On a happier note, last week's Special Teams problems appear to be solved.  Colts did nothing, and the Bears had several nice returns (by Manning and Hester).  Way to rebound.
• Griese looked very good, as he should against the backups.  Orton was decent, too, though not as impressive as Griese.
• Benson didn't do much, but I'm not really worried.  He's the type of back that will get stopped a few times before wearing down an opponent.  Then he'll start chewing up the field for12 yards a clip.  As for the other runners, Peterson was himself and Wolfe had some nice runs against the no-namers. 
• David Ball, the guy I touted after going to Training Camp last week, did nothing.  Brandon Rideau, who also was in on some plays last week, and Oregon State wideout Mike Hass seemed to get the most playing time and thus made the most plays tonight.  These guys both looked solid in the practice that I watched, too, but Ball was making some acrobatic catches that might have skewed my judgement on that afternoon.  Hass, in particular, looked good tonight.
• On defense, a bunch of guys stepped up.  Mark Anderson, Darwin Walker, Dusty Dvoracek, Lance Briggs, and Mike Brown all got noticed.  But I'll save my individual praise for the rookies.
• Dan Bazuin, second round pick out of Central Michigan, was all over the place tonight in the last three quarters.  I didn't hear his name called a single time, of course, but I saw number 73 in the backfield constantly, and I also saw him chase down a few runners from behind as well.  
• Kevin Payne, again, made a couple of nice tackles and also had a pick.  (Though he did also get burned once.)  He reminds me of Mike Brown as a rookie, which is a high compliment indeed. 
• Corey Graham, another guy from New Hampshire, also looked pretty good for an undrafted free agent.

That's about it.  The team won, but Rex has got to get better.  Everyone else looked fine.  Where have I heard that one before? 

Big Z Cashes In

After five months, the Carlos Zambrano negotiations have finally ended with the Cubs rewarding Big Z with $91.5 million dollars over the next five years.  Obviously, I love Zambrano.  He's the best pitcher the Cubs have been able to keep on the mound since a young Greg Maddux in the early 90s.  He's been extremely durable and his final numbers have been very consistent over the last five years in Chicago, and there is no baseball reason not to keep him around.  He can hit, too.  I have two concerns, though.

• He's a pitcher.  The recent history for pitchers that cashed in on big contracts has not been good.  Phil Rogers ran the numbers, and roughly two out of every three long-term deals given to pitchers over the past fifteen years has ended up being a bad deal.  And many of those have been monumentally bad, where the pitcher with the money has won less than 15 games over the life of the deal.  Zambrano does have two things going for him which suggests he may beat the odds.  One, he's never had a problem with his arm.  Well, that's not entirely true.  He did miss one start a few years back after he started getting carpal tunnel after chatting with his brother online for ten hours a day.  But other than that, he's been a work horse.  Two, he's a tremendous athlete.  Big, strong, fast.  He's one of the best athletes on the team, and he hustles on every single play.  Loafers tend get in trouble when they turn on the afterburners and their body isn't used to going all out.  Big Z goes all out on every play, and not coincidentally, he's always been healthy.
• He's a nut job.  Zambrano has stretches where he looks like Sandy Koufax for a dozen starts in a row.  Then, he'll have a bad day at the plate, snap a bat over his knee, and start walking the world when he gets back on the mound.  During these times, you see him yelling at himself on the hill and showing up players with over-dramatic gestures to the heavens.  He really is crazy, and let it be said that giving $91 million dollars to crazy people isn't always the most sound investment advice. 

Still, I'm happy he signed.  He's already one of the top five pitchers in the National League, and has been as much for the better part of four seasons.  If Barry Zito is worth $126 million dollars on the open market, then Zambrano is probably worth $150 million.  So the Cubs got him at a discount, if a few million dollars short of nine figures can be described as such.  If he simply repeats his last four seasons over the next four seasons, he will have been worth every penny. 

Bears Training Camp, 2007

After my successful trip last year, I decided to take another trip to Bourbonnais to take in the 2007 edition of the franchise.  My impressions?  It was hot.  Damn hot.  Actually, it was only 85 or so, which ain't so bad if you're in the desert.  But with the humidity hovering somewhere around 90%?  Quite.  Sticky.  But enough about the weather. 

Same as last year, the Bears run a pretty tight operation down there that's fun for the whole family.  I brought mine, and they had a blast with all the inflatable goodies.  I, of course, didn't see much of the bouncey house play zone, as I was firmly entrenched in the bleachers watching the team.  And this is what I saw. 

I saw a team with no holes.  I saw a team with lots of depth.  I saw a team with three solid quarterbacks, and very little variation between the three.  Remember last year when I said Orton deserved his spot on the bench?  This year he looked like a new man.  With his beard out of the way, he could very well pass for a legitimate starting QB in the NFL.  Not that I want him starting, mind you, nor am I pining for the efficient Griese.  (I think that should be his new name, by the way.  The Efficient Griese.)  I'm just saying the Bears are in good shape if Rex decides to crap himself again this season. 

I did witness some lousy Quarterback play, and that was in the form of Chris Leak.  First of all, he's a little dude, even smaller than Grossman.  And what he lacked in height he couldn't make up for in accuracy.  He just doesn't hold a candle to the three Bears.  Expect him to be released soon, and don't look for him on any sidelines south of Toronto.  He's not a legit NFL Quarterback.

Cedric Benson seems a little aloof around the rest of his teammates, but its clear he's the best RB on the roster.  No, I didn't need Training Camp to tell me that, I'm just saying he's head and shoulders above everyone else.

Rashied Davis made some nice catches today, as did Berrian and Moose.  Davis probably looked the best in that group, though I can't really say with any certainty that his play will carry into the games.  I'm just saying he looked really good today. 

So did undrafted free agent David Ball.  He set records at New Hampshire, and I think he really has a chance to make the roster and fill the Justin Gage role (6th wideout).  With Mark Bradley's uncertain injury situation, (he didn't practice today), Ball might be a guy worth keeping around.  (If you were watching last Saturday, he had a real nice catch and run that put the team in field goal position for the game winner versus the Texans.)

Speaking of uncertainty, Urlacher, Harris and Hester didn't practice today either.  I didn't even see Harris, and he's a pretty hard guy to miss.  Urlacher and Hester simply stalked the sidelines.  All Lovie will say is "general soreness" in regards to Urlacher, and I don't know what's up with Hester.  (I heard on the radio he got in a scuffle with Peanut Tillman yesterday in practice.  I'm wondering if that has anything to do with him sitting out today.)

And that's really about it.  After one preseason game and one day of Training Camp, I'm ready for the regular season to start.  Bear down!

Gould Beats Texans in Bears Preseason Opener

The Bears beat the Texans 20-19 on a last minute 47-yard field goal by Robbie Gould.  After missing a 52-yarder earlier in the game, it was nice to see Gould connect on a long one.  Gould is pretty automatic, but he rarely attempts a kick longer than 50 yards.  He had only one 50+ yard attempt all of last year, and he missed it.  (His career high is 49.)  Looking at last night's game winner, he had plenty of leg and he likely would have been good from 55.  So he appears to be strong enough (at least indoors).  I wonder what the deal is?  I'm guessing Lovie doesn't want to surrender the field position on misses, and he knows Gould's range better than anyone. 

As for the rest of the game, I was pretty happy with what I saw.  Despite putting up a goose egg in two drives, Rex Grossman and the first-team offense looked sharp.  Rex hit his first 8 throws, and led a nice drive that only got stalled by penalties and the aforementioned missed 52-yard field goal.  Benson looked good, too.  He burst through the hole on one carry and steamrolled DeMeco Ryans for an 11-yard gain.  Rex appears to have a new favorite target as well, rookie Tight End Greg Olsen.  He got down the field in a hurry and made some nice catches in limited duty.  He should be fun to watch this year.

Griese threw a horrible interception on his first drive, but otherwise he was his typical efficient self.  He led a nice drive capped by a TD pass to drug-test-flunkee Obafemi Ayanbadejo.  (That dude's got some guns, by the way.  Better living through chemistry, indeed.)  

Then Orton came in and overall looked pretty great; way better than he did the last two seasons.  (The neck beard is gone, too.)  Yes, it was the second-half of the opening preseason game, and any QB with even a shred of talent is expected to shine.  So let's just say I'm not as worried about our third stringer coming in as I have been in past seasons.  We probably have the best clipboard-carrier in the league.

Little Garrett Wolfe came in and had a few nice runs.  Nothing that your average PJ Pope couldn't have done, though.  (Pope was our standout 4th-stringer last preseason, if you remember).  Some of the roster-filling receivers looked decent as well.  As good as Justin Gage at least, who's long gone but unfortunately not forgotten.  So to Ball, Hass, Marshall and Rideau?  Enjoy your moment in the sun, and I hope you enjoy our practice squad.  Oh, and before we get away from the offense, I have to point out the backup O-line isn't very good.  That's all.

Quckly, the defense.  The starting unit looked pretty good, despite missing Urlacher and Tommie Harris.  Newly appointed starter Mark Anderson was quite beastly and made big plays on each of the first few drives.  What a find that guy was.  As for the new guys, it was kind of funny seeing Archuleta wearing Thomas Jones old number 20, but he made a few tackles in limited duty.  And rookie Safety Kevin Payne seemed to have a nose for the ball and seemed to be in on every play, which is probably why Chris Harris is wearing a Carolina jersey now.  Nice job finding him in the 5th round, Jerry.

That's all for now.  Next week is a rematch of the Super Bowl.  Time for payback!

Bear down.

Pods to the Cubs? Why Bother?

I don't really understand why the Cubs are attempting to acquire Scott Podsednik from the White Sox.  He's not very good and he's fragile.  He was pretty good during the Sox championship run in 2005, but now he's basically Angel Pagan with no arm.  Do the Cubs want him to hit leadoff in place of Soriano over these next four weeks?  Maybe Soriano is worse than we thought and will be out longer?  The Cubs doctors aren't exactly known for their honesty.  Even if that's the case, the Cubs don't need him. 

Ryan Theriot has been hitting leadoff with Soriano out, and right now he's better than Pods.  He gets on base more, and he has no nagging injuries to prevent him from stealing bases.  As for Left Field, the Cubs have Matt Murton patrolling the area.  Matt got off to a horrendous start this year and was demoted to AAA, but since returning he's been on fire.  He's always been a better second-half hitter, too.  19 of his 24 career homers have come after the break, and he's hitting 40 points higher with 140-point-jump in Slugging Percentage.  (Overall a career 904 post-break OPS.  Roughly Bobby Abreu's career OPS, for sake of comparison.) 

So there's no point in acquiring Pods.  I suppose if he could be had for a complete no-name AA-never-will-be, then I'm game.  The Cubs could use a pinch-runner and another hot wife in the stands.  But don't give up anything of value.  Sorry, Sarah, we don't want him.  I'd rather have Jacque Jones, and you know what I think of him. 

Bears-Texans: Preseason Football is Here!

The first preseason game of the 2007 season is less than 48 hours away, and I'm ready.  It won't be quite as meaningful as the last time we saw the Bears on the football field -- some game with roman numerals or something that I've mostly blocked out of my mind -- its football nonetheless and I will be watching.  And what exactly will I be watching?

• The new Bears offense.  From ESPN's John Clayton to the Sun-Times to Comcast Sports Net, all I'm hearing is how great the offense has looked in camp.  It's not exactly "put up or shut up" time -- that's not until September 9th.  But it is time to unveil the offense to the masses.  How will they look without Thomas Jones?  What kind of role will Devin Hester play?  Is Rex Grossman really improved or was that all bull dookie? 
• The rookies.  As a NIU alum, I'm especially interested in seeing Garrett Wolfe.  He's exacty the type of back that thrives in second halves of preseason games.   While that might sound like a negative, the fact remains that he's probably the most interesting thing about the 2007 preseason.  I think he has a real shot at surprising people this year.  (Not exactly a bold or detailed prediction, I know.)
• The other new guys.  Darwin Walker and Adam Archuleta.    How will they look wearing navy and orange?  Might as well include Jamar Williams, Brandon McGowan and Dusty Dvoracek in this group as well as they missed virtually all of last season.  I'm especially interested in seeing the new Bears secondary, as they feel its good enough and deep enough to trade two solid if not spectacular players in Chris Harris and Dante Wesley.  (At least they got some draft picks out of the deals rather than cutting the guys outright.)

And that's really about it.  The most important thing is football is back.  Start the championship season with a championship performance in the exhibition round.

Bear down.

Munsoned in Houston

The Cubs lost 2-1 in 10 innings tonight in Houston, on a walkoff single by Eric Munson.  This last week hasn't exactly been the high point of the season.  Their record is 3-5 over that time, which isn't that bad, but the losses have all been excruciating.  The only good news is Milwaukee hasn't exactly been setting the world on fire, either, leaving the Cubs just a game out of first. 

So what's been the problem? 

The bullpen.  Other than Marmol, I don't really trust anybody.  For the most part, Dempster, Howry, Ohman, Weurtz, etc, have been OK this year.  Hell, they'd all be closers on the South Side.  But lately?  They've been anything but.  Each of the last five losses was a direct result of a bullpen blowup.  (The starters not being able to go six innings hasn't helped much either.) 

Is there any help available? 

Well, Kerry Wood looked pretty good last night.  Not sure if we can count on him, though.  Just seeing him in uniform is a bonus, but to actually pitch into September?  I'm cautiously optimistic.  He's paid his dues on the DL and he's earned two months of pain-free pitching. 

Scott Eyre hasn't been that awful lately.  He's got the scoreless streak going, though as I mentioned last time he's hardly been dominant.  Still, he's probably a better lefty option for a while than Will Ohman. 

Beyond that, they've got a whole slew of rookies with lots of talent and little experience.  Billy Petrick, Sean Gallagher, and Rocky Cherry have all looked good at times, but they've all been on the shuttle back and forth to Iowa in a quest to keep fresh arms on the roster. 

I think the real key at this point is getting more innings from the starters.  Zambrano's been averaging six innings lately.  Six dominant innings.  I can't fault him.  And Lilly's been a rock.  But the other three have been barely averaging five.  I think Rich Hill has the talent to pick up the slack, and he had an excellent game tonight.  And Marshall has seemed to pitch well most of the time, he just needs consistency.  Let's see, who does that leave. 

Oh yeah, Marquis.  He blows.  He blew when we signed him.  He's gonna continue to blow for the next two and a half years.  Even when he pitches well, he's shaky.  He's probably had about six or eight really good starts all year, and the rest have ranged from awful to, well, shaky.  I don't know where the Cubs can get another starter at this point, but they're going to have to do something.  Dare I say giving Sean Gallagher a shot?  Is Angel Guzman close to coming back?  The playoffs are within reach and they've got to do something.

And I haven't even gotten to the Soriano injury.  More to come...