Punch and Judy Garland

QUOTE(AirScott @ Jan 6, 2006 -> 05:28 PM) I don't see any bias there... it's a clear choice, Urlacher was the best/most important player on a team that would be 1-15 without this defense. well-deserved. Obviously I do have a bias there and pretty much indicated as much but I really do believe that from watching all of the Broncos games this year, and all of the Bears games. I was throwing in my 2 cents without taking anything away from Urlacher. I do admit that I was overly critical of Brian last year

I would have gone with my boy Champ because he was the best player on a better team but Urlacher did clearly have an outstanding season

I think Kenny is certainly in the mix. I'd put Jocketty and Beinfest in there too. All have some bad moves, because that's what you'll have as a gm who makes moves. Kenny and Beinfest won championships on modest payrolls (Beinfest on a more modest one) and Jocketty has proven that a farm system has many uses, more than just developing players for yourselves (The Edmonds, McGwire, Rolen trades). Kenny is definitely up there. Its always a little easier to pick Kenny now fresh off the win but I think if you step back and look at each of the last few years with equal emphasis, these would be my three

Melo did the same thing as May. If I'm Vince, I'd come out

You definitely don't want to buy this if you think there is a chance of a full edition that comes later so it will be a tough call.

I realize the Bears offense was much worse and the Bears defense had injuries but its hard to get the 04 beatdown in Soldier Field out of the head. I'm obviously not a Bears fan but I'm stunned how confident/cocky Bear fans that I know are about this team. It seems Bear fans think they will shut down Alexander with ease and steamroll their way through the NFC playoffs.

They have some great talent in Wright and Reyes that will be there for a long time (beltran too) but their championship window is of only about 1-2 years so they'll have to hope they are healthy this year

I guess I was surprised by the money but I guess its worth it if he hits the Cubs like he did in the past!

QUOTE(southsideirish @ Jan 3, 2006 -> 03:59 PM) I keep reading about Jay Cutler and how everyone is falling in love with this guy. Could he jump ahead of Leinhart? No because I think that Leinart is oen of the rare guys who a fanbase will not allow you to pass on. If Leinart or Bush fail, fans will understand. If you pass on them and they turn out great, your fanbase will never allow you to forget it. I know thats probably not the best way to go about making a pick but it is indeed a factor

BTW, Oakland has now won the coin flip and picks 6

You wonder if the Texans will be at all interested in trading down since they have Carr still and Davis and Vernand Morency at tailback. I doubt it but they could try to trade down to the Titans or Jets and take Ferguson and gain some picks

Yeah I think Desmond Clark needs to go or move to back up. Why have the Bears never (in recent history anyways) properly emphasized the TE position? You would think a ball control team that passes conservatively would value the spot. Pittsburgh didn't always but looked what Heath Miller did for them. I think they won't draft Lewis due to his blocking issues but it wouldn't stop me from taking him

Ask Evander Holyfield what its like to stick around waiting to go out on top. You just end up getting further away from the top the longer you stay. I think the only way that BRett should come back is if they trade up for Reggie Bush and try to sign TO and roll the dice playing for one shot at it all

Jeff Blake is probably one of the ten or fifteen most entertaining QB's of the last decade. He's one of those Jeff George types that's fun to watch throw bombs. Not saying he should be the starter in the playoffs of course but I think the Bears win 11 games if Blake were the QB this season

QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Jan 1, 2006 -> 11:53 PM) Looking at Chris Shelton's minor league stats, why oh why did the Pirates ever let him get away? They truly are just a stupid organization. I don't really think Wilson is very good just average (is it qwerty thats a big fan?). IF I recall he had a great start to 04 and a putrid last few months while striking out a ton while being mediocre if not worse at any of his multiple positions. He wasn't a factor last year due to injury so I'd be willing to throw out his 05 stats but I'm not sold on him as a good player. That said, Sosa isn't anymore so I'd probably rather have Wilson

Yeah I htink Willingham is already being moved to left. He's getting too old for a prospect so they can't wait for him to improve in the minors anymroe defensively. It will be interesting to see if Jason Stokes ever makes it up to play first or if he'll never make it

I'm not a proponent of dealign for Tejada given the potential price but the defensive dropoff from Uribe to Tejada isn't large. I'd say Uribe is slightly better but I think its a mild difference at most

I dunno. There are more fun things to do in Vegas than watch baseball. Plus it'd have to be an indoor stadium because when I went there in July once it was 118. I think they'd do ok but their current stadium is only 8 thousand people so they'd need to build it before a team could come. I guess its better to have baseball there than South Florida though.

Jose only has one contract left, unlike Jon, so I dont blame him for wanting some dollars

You think they are going to pay Javier Vazquez that much money and cause him to upset the lockerrom by having him as a long reliever. Be serious. Also, we can't trade Garland because who would sign an extension with us if we traded them 5 minutes later. Maybe after this year but not now. Lastly, how does traidng Mac and Count for Tejada solve anything? Then we'd have 4 starters!

Yeah I tend to dislike the Vazques trade now a bit because he's simply not as good as Contreras at this point in their careers so what we'd get from a Contreras deal would have to be special seeing how getting rid of Young and Contreras would be removing two special players/prospects. For the same money and the same years, I'd take Contreras over Vazquez and I like Javy

Come on, Jose wasn't a fluke. That's just silly. He might not get back to that form if he leaves but if he stays here he will have a great year. I think at the end of the day the Sox could have signed either for that money and went with the guy who is 6-7 years younger. I can't begrudge them much as that is the logical choice but I don't like it

Glad to hear Jon gave the discount. Won't be very happy if Jose leaves because I think that this is his American home now and the fans have embraced him. It jus doesn't make much sense to keep both him and Jon unless they feel that a year in the pen would do Mac a lot of good

Well Newhan showed he can be good in stretches and while Gibbons is uninspiring, he does have a 100 rbi season in his past. I think they sign Burnitz, chicken out on Prior and overpay for Jeff Weaver and claim they are trying

Well not really a mystery but a question. I had heard (no idea if this is correct) that there is a Pop-Tarts box with Bobby Jenks on the cover. Is this right? Went to Jewel in Joliet and it yielded none. Thanks in advance for any insight