Chisoxfn

I like Brasoban as a good fit for a guy who we could turn into a very effective reliever. Erik Wood is another very intriguing name (3B).

Remember...this is a report...could be total BS or could just be a plant.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 22, 2016 -> 04:54 PM) has anyone seen any talk of what the holdup is? They were talking about having this done before the WS ended. International Draft vs. Draft Pick Compensation attached to qualifying FA's (Owners want international draft and will give players no more draft picks (at least directly). Players say that isn't enough and that giving owners the international draft would be a far bigger coup since it impacts a far greater percentage of players (major and minor leaguers) then those players with draft picks attached to them. Players are open to expanded drug Testing but want other concessions. Honestly, I don't see this getting done (without a lockout) if owners stick to their guns regarding an international draft.

Man that Shields trade just gets worse. That said, It isn't a bad thing, if you can reach your deal where everyone is happy and then go...one more thing...take James Shields. Still, that move was a really bad move and one where I really wonder how much film they had on him prior to acquiring him (from the current season). There was so much smoke around how peripheals, etc, that taking on that type of cash in that deal just wasn't smart (and yes, I said it at the time too). Never thought he would be this bad though and I figure at this point, you see if a healthy off-season gets him back to a decent start and you then trade him. I can't see his value getting any worse and we won't exactly be strapped for cash if we start trading off various players.

No one thought of Trump or Brexit. Until a deal is done, it isn't done and a lock out is looming. Come on owners and players...resolve this thing.

QUOTE (JenksIsMyHero @ Nov 22, 2016 -> 11:42 AM) Don't you think part of that is unreasonable expectations of the guy a week after the election? Everyone i've seen has said he's way ahead of both Bush and Obama on his transition team/appointments and he's been more open and public about it. Yeah, he's made questionable choices for sure, but the constant, hourly criticism is getting silly. And that leads to a problem someone pointed out the other day - if the media continues to focus on nonsense stories like the Hamilton response or the SNL response, they're creating a world in which Trump is criticized for literally everything and people will just tune out the legitimate criticisms like his actual, questionable appointments. Didn't we just learn that lesson through the campaign? Focus on every little thing he does and the big stuff gets lots in the haze. Fantastic post. Absolutely spot on.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Nov 22, 2016 -> 09:43 AM) I feel so bad for Cutler. Sure he had bad games, but fans NEVER gave him credit to what he actually brought to the field day in and day out. His toughness speaks volumes playing through injury and going through the BS he had too. Meatheads and the national media will never give this guy any credit. I for one thank you Jay Cutler for what you brought to the city of Chicago and the BS that you had to put up with. Completely agree with everything said.

QUOTE (bmags @ Nov 22, 2016 -> 09:14 AM) Having flashbacks to when I dreamed of Marty Booker becoming our emergency QB. Barkley & David Fales has to get hurt first. I forgot about those days.

Is there any reason we can't cut him, even when injured?

Non throwing shoulder or throwing shoulder? Tough injury.

It finally hit me....the way Valentine plays the game, it reminds me of Deron Williams. Again, I'm not comparing him to Williams, just talking about how smooth he plays on the court, etc (although it would be fantastic if he could turn into a prime Deron Williams). Overall look / style...not necessarily saying Valentine has done anything to make me claim he will be as good as peak Deron.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Nov 21, 2016 -> 02:39 PM) Barkley is awful...I cannot imagine him coming in and doing anything other than making us look far worse...which is what usually occurs when someone other than Jay is quarterbacking. Oh I agree, I expect us to be absolutely awful.

Some reports that Kyle Fuller is expected to be activated from IR, which would mean White is done for the season. There had been at least some optimism that White would be back at some point this year.

I do hope Mike McCoy is our next OC.

QUOTE (bmags @ Nov 21, 2016 -> 02:04 PM) Well, fine. Sure. Would rather be 2-14 than 4-12. I say browns shock the world and we may fight it out. Look at that schedule...hard to imagine how they would get 2 wins. I can't find 1 win on that schedule. They play the Chargers, Bengals, Giants, Bills, and Steelers. I suppose with the Bengals hurt and the whole rivalry, maybe they could win that, but I wouldn't bet on it. I hope you are right. If Barkley is our QB, the Niners game is still a possibility. I can't see us winning any other game, although you never know I suppose.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 21, 2016 -> 01:59 PM) Having Matt Barkley come in and turn this into a 5 or 6 win team would be the most Bears thing ever. I won't lie, if that happens, I'm okay, cause it means Barkley is good or our defense is just incredible. Feel bad for Jay though. What an awful year. Always wished he'd find a way to win with us cause I think the perception around his attitude is all wrong. That said, the perception around his performance is real. He is what he is. Someone will get him and he'll be okay with the right people and everything else, but his time is long gone in Chicago and we all know that. I just hope if we take a QB we take the right one and do it right to maximize the possibility that they excel.

QUOTE (bmags @ Nov 21, 2016 -> 01:54 PM) When I read that though, I can't help but think about Jerry being an "all-in" owner without the all-in budget. If he wanted to run like a midmarket team, I think we'd see something different, one that would have taken more seriously the cost-controlled benefits of a strong farm system. But he likes getting names, and he likes putting a winning effort, but within means. Is he cheap? No, we aren't the A's. But is he cheap considering the type of franchise he wants to run? Yes. I don't know how we would be cheap given the franchise Jerry wants to run. We don't play much in the major free agent space, but do spend a bit and are willing to trade for veterans and higher profile players. I actually think Kenny would be great running the show in this era (with the right starting base) because in general, I think the new moneyball is taking advantage of how horrifically overrated prospects are in this new era of baseball. I think the pendulum has turned and veterans who you can get who have proven themselves (via trades) tend to be more undervalued then overvalued.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Nov 21, 2016 -> 01:48 PM) So Jay Cutler may have suffered a season ending shoulder injury. This team will be funny bad the rest of the year. If that is the case, we aren't winning another game. I say this now, but watch Barkley come in and shock us all. That would mean the game against the Niners would be the game to decide who gets the 2nd overall pick (cause ain't nobody catching those Browns).

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Nov 18, 2016 -> 08:30 PM) A lot of this was also Jerry being cheap. Example- we didn't pony up for Cespedes, we signed scrap heap guys like Jackson, Latos, and Rollins, and well, yeah. I don't think the answer is "Jerry being cheap". The answer more en-lies that given where we stand within the city of Chicago and where the fan base is as a whole, we have certain payroll constraints. Some years you can push past them, but there are real constraints that limit how you can go about building your team. We can't play financially with the biggest boys, but outside of those 5 or 7 teams, we can play with the rest payroll wise (some years on the higher side, some years slightly lower, but we can play). That said, there is a big drop off between the top tier spenders and the lower tiers and as a result, the options to build your team are more limited and if you do what the Sox did, it is almost impossible not to "half ass" it (i.e., give yourself a chance, but a, only if things work out as planned to better then planned across the board). Not saying a total miracle but most of your players are at expectations with a few performing over expectations (minimal injuries, etc).

QUOTE (Dunt @ Nov 18, 2016 -> 02:55 PM) They finished 16.5 games out of first in their division, what the f*** is this dude talking about? What do you want him to say. He is saying all the right things from a players perspective. He wants to contend and he wants to stay here. Doesn't mean he will, but would you rather him say, we can't do it, we are terrible and I hope management goes in a totally different direction? Why would he say that? By all accounts Frazier is a good teammate, that said, I'm tired of consistently seeing the articles from our team leaders about how ignore last year, we will do better this year and absolutely have the talent. We've consistently underperformed expectations (on paper) for a long time and it has largely been due to veterans not playing good enough or missing the mark. It happens in baseball, but I feel like for us it has been at a much greater percentage.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 21, 2016 -> 01:33 PM) There you go. Cutler's taken a big enough step back this year that they cannot conceivably say they will be a competitive team for a playoff spot with him next year, and you can't tell me that there's enough talent on the offensive side of the ball to make up for having to run a rookie QB out there a-la Dallas this year. The Bears look like they're going to have to be on the Titans/Jags/Bucs/Rams path next year of spending several years working a QB up, and they don't have the talent around that position to carry the QB spot. The defense is already on the top half of the league despite a ton of injuries. You have some young players emerging and a pass rush that is showing improvement. The defense is much better today than it was when Fangio inherited the mess. Add some more pieces via draft & free agency, plus see internal development from existing guys, and no reason this defense couldn't potentially emerge into a top 10 defense as soon as next year (not saying it will...just that it very much could). That is the type of team that is a "playoff contender" with a solid QB. Hell, Hoyer could even be that guy, but lets say Cousin's wants out of Washington or you go more stop gap and take an old Romo (I presume denver will be after him hard), you most definitely could win with Romo (if he's healthy) all while buying more time for your QB to develop. My answer to all of this would be different if you had a Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning type QB sitting there and you had the #1 overall selection. That type of slam dunk QB isn't in this draft. Please note, that it doesn't mean a QB as good as them if not better isn't in this draft, it just means that the easy pick isn't there, which means you could be using the pick on a total waste and end up spending 3 years waiting for that player to be good, changing coaches, and then starting all back and over. I don't know what I'd do and a lot of it depends on what the front office thinks about the various QB's, but if I have a lot of doubt, I'm not taking one with the top 3 picks no matter how big my needs are, I'd trade down, add assets, take a QB who falls with a 2nd round pick (or even 3rd rounder) or two QB's and would make the push for the veteran QB who allows me to buy time (and not put all of my "eggs" in one basket). All of this is fact and circumstance based, but I don't know any talent evaluator who thinks any of this QB's is a consensus #1 overall pick.

Rumors pointing to Arenas coming back as the interim coach. Not sure if he would be the head coach again or if they would look another direction. As someone who backed Klinsmann for a long time, I think the timing was right to make this move.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 21, 2016 -> 12:30 PM) jon greenberg ‏@jon_greenberg 43m43 minutes ago Leonard Floyd is in the concussion protocol, but no serious neck injury, John Fox said. This is fantastic news. Concussion is still serious, but far better then any alternative I could have imagined. I presumed he was going to be done from the year. Not that the how it happened was the same, but I had visions of Johnny Knox after Floyd was carted out.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Nov 21, 2016 -> 01:11 PM) I guess I dont see any of this turmoil. I see a team with very little talent rebuilding through the draft and a few signings. I see a team that needs at least 3 good drafts to be competitive. I think we are a good draft and FA away from being a playoff team. This isn't to say that we should be expected to be a playoff team, but I think if we were able to find the right QB, upgrade our CB / Safety, and get continued development out of our young players (plus add a few more good ones), we are a playoff team. Now the QB comment is the major if. If we instead are going to take a young QB early and start him quickly, then I agree the process will take a bit longer. Three years is just too long (that would be 5 total years of rebuilding and in the NFL, that just isn't acceptable). That said, I agree they inherited a giant mess.

QUOTE (shipps @ Nov 21, 2016 -> 12:17 PM) I think many expected to see some development and some execution in their plan. As it stands now, Pace and Fox are divided. They appear to never have been on the same page. So many injuries, the appearance that there is no order in the org, no one on the same page, people pointing fingers and blame passing and when pretty much everything that could have gone wrong has gone wrong makes people a bit uneasy. A rebuild is one thing but when you lay the new foundation and start putting the bricks up again only to see things crumble from the get go is a whole different story. Technically that appearance is given from the outside...I don't know what Fox & / or Pace have done to contribute to that appearance. I haven't seen us take players and then the other part of the regime through them under the bus or vice versa. I think a lot of the angst, clearly is due to our performance (that said, I actually think the cup is more full then empty now vs. two years ago and we actually have had a fantastic draft this year...assuming Floyd's injury doesn't impact his career) but another piece has to be tied to the fact that the media flat out doesn't like Fox. They don't like his non-answers and how coy he is and they don't like how they shielded and prevented media axis. By and large the Chicago media has been generally anti-Fox every since he shut them down in the first training camp. Fox isn't perfect and Pace isn't, but right now I've seen enough from Pace that I'm okay letting him run this show. If Pace never wanted Fox and is ready to move on, I give him that chance, because player development wise, outside of the White pick (which who would know he'd get hurt), in general, I like who we have gotten via the draft. Sure, we should have taken a QB, but Howard, Whitehair and Floyd all look like impact players who are coming from this years draft (the first one where him and his entire team were in place...last year we had to leverage the old regime / processes and even then last years draft, outside of our top pick being an injury bust, isn't a bad one (doesn't help that Goldman has the same injury bug). This years is clearly better then last years though and in FA, I like what we did this off-season. Hicks was a nice piece who should be part of a longer term trend and I didn't see any huge / wasteful moves via FA. This process is going to take time, but I think if we did go the route to draft a QB in the 2nd or 3rd round and signed a Romo, we'd find out that we will contend sooner then people expect. If we force the hand and take whomever is best with our 1st pick (whether we believe in that QB or not)...than we shall see, cause if we get a Goff, we could be in much worse shape.