Balta1701

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 04:17 PM) Again I'm not saying that the Bears are better than under Martz, I'm saying that they're no worse and that wishing for Martz to come back is baffling to me. The thing that ought to surprise is that the Bears O is performing basically as bad as it did the last 2 seasons...despite having Marshall, Jeffrey, Carimi, and Bush. If nothing else, I'll take it back...the Bears additions to the O-line last year weren't enough, and they should have spent money there, even if it meant not getting Marshall.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 04:01 PM) Rzza was replying to a post where I pointed out that we were dead-average (2011) or a little below-average (2010) under Martz if you measure by pts/game. We are 28th in yds/game this year, were 24th last year and 30th in 2010. I'm not saying our offense is good, but I don't get the pining for Martz. We're one rushing TD from matching our offensive output in 2010 and one rushing and five passing TD's from matching 2011. we also had plenty of TO's created by the D over the last two years, they just weren't scoring on as many of them. You'd need to spend a lot of time to find out the resulting field position etc., but when the D scores that takes away opportunities and field position from the O. Nothing wrong with that from a team perspective but something to consider if you're comparing offensive output across years. Lotta details just to remind about...don't forget when comparing to 2011 that the Bears had Caleb Hanie and no Forte for 1/3 of the season, so they weren't exactly a scoring machine in 2011 that deserves positive comparisons. And yeah, any time you compare total TD's, you run into that serious problem of the Bears scoring D and Special Teams, so you need to go to the next level of comparing running and passing TD's. The Bears are 18th in the league in passing TD's and tied for 17th in Running. In 2011, they were 24th and 21st. In 2010, they were 20th and 21st. They might be slightly, slightly better this year relative to the rest of the league...but that's a very small upgrade if at all.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 03:32 PM) He's not drafting or scouting the players. Really, the O-line coach isn't involved in scouting players for his O-line? That'd be one heckuva fail.

QUOTE (2nd_city_saint787 @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 02:45 PM) So with Shields off the market are there any SPs better than Floyd who are openly available via trade?? RA Dickey

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 02:07 PM) It would bring some of his power, you can tell by the spray charts and what other players do when they visit. Second, although his contract is bad, its not horrible. If you could plug him in at 1B for the next several years in US Cellular he would be worth it. He'll be worth 6 years/$138 million as a first baseman?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 01:23 PM) That adds up to a 4 year deal??? Reread it, it can make sense but he's being repetitive when he says the phrase "the next two"

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 01:18 PM) While depth could be added to the rotation and bullpen, they're fine. The lineup is where the biggest need(s) lie. The wierd thing is...I agree with you...and yet, in last year's statistics...the lineup was the one thing that was fine, scored the 4th most runs in the AL, and the bullpen and the starters were comparatively weaker

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 12:30 PM) That second scout is spot on IMO. But the key for them is the follow up. If Glass decides he's not going to be a Major League type of owner then it's all for naught. If this is one salvo into the dark night, then it's all for naught. If instead this is the big move that gets the attention of the players, fans, front office, etc. and everyone around baseball that says "We're playing for keeps now," then it's terrific. The thought process behind the move, and what this move should signal, for that franchise, is far greater than any of the prospects involved. The real key winds up, IMO, still being Hosmer and Moustakas. They had a solid bullpen last year, and this improves their rotation, but it doesn't make their rotation one of the AL's top rotations unless one of the guys they already have steps up. But to win, you don't need the best rotation, you need a good enough rotation, a good enough lineup, and a solid bullpen (with defense built into several of those parts). Their lineup has some talent but was still the bottom of the league last year. If Hosmer and Moustakis can play like borderline all stars, like they should be, then suddenly they've got Cain, Butler, these 2 guys, Perez, and Gordon, all capable of doing major damage, and then a few stragglers like Getz, Frenchy, and Escobar who can contribute sometimes. Hosmer and Moustakis might be the difference between a playoff team and a below .500 team.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 10:47 AM) The bench was obviously better in the first half with guys like Lillibridge and Escobar on it. A guy like Flowers didn't play nearly enough to keep sharp, and I don't think it was a big surprise that Flowers played better when he got a few starts in a row after AJ got hurt. Hudson really hurt the bench with his complete sucking, plus not being able to defend anywhere on the infield. Hopefully Ventura uses the bench more this year, plus I think with the pitching we got stretched out last year, we should be in much better shape there as well. Both Lillibridge and Escobar were quite ineffective/useless for the Sox early in the season as well, but those were the guys where I wonder if they wouldn't have been more useful given playing time. Lilli put up a .422 OPS with the Sox, Escobar .557. Right now, I'm not sure I'm that much more sold on anyone else sitting on the bench than I was last year.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 10:35 AM) I'm not saying he's a problem, but he will be a 33-year old with a salary cap hit of $16.4 million. Depending on what Emery's plan is, it's not a guarantee he is back. That seems like a definite case for a renegotiation.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 10:20 AM) It isn't as if every coaching staff wouldn't love to have Julius Peppers though...I see a lot more places to address first before Peppers. Unless for some reason they hire a 3-4 scheme coach...which really would be a true blowup, since you'd be looking at replacing Briggs, the entire D-line sans Shea, Peppers, and the entire defensive backfield within a year or two.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 09:46 AM) Thanks. If Emery does decide to blow it all up, I could definitely Peppers being a cap casualty. There is literally zero chance Emery will decide to "Blow it all up" next year, a-la the Colts this year. It would take the team doing what the Eagles have done this year for it to happen. You could see a substantially different team next year, very true, but "Blow it all up" won't happen.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 09:20 AM) One of the weaknesses of the team, especially after the trades for Youk and company, was a weak bench. The moves so far are adding depth to be able to give guys days off. I think we saw the result of the bench being bad in the last two weeks/month of the season with all of the nagging injuries and the collapse down the stretch. Ventura has got to use his bench more this year. Would you disagree that part of the reason why the bench was weak was that the guys on it never got playing time? That was my impression for a chunk of the year too.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 09:38 AM) robneyer ‏@robneyer My quick take: This is the worst trade in MLB history unless Wade Davis becomes a good starter, in which case it's only the second worst. This type of post is just asking for Myers to become a bust, solely to try to teach him a lesson he ought to already know.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 09:08 AM) I would love to get Te'o, but I agree that the picks are far more valuable for the Bears right now. Unless they plan on cutting a lot of salary and going crazy through free agency, but that is never a guaranteed fix I'd say they're definitely going to be slashing a few salaries. Hester, Davis, Urlacher are going to have to take a lot less money to come back next year if at all, and that will clear space to get other tasks done.

QUOTE (beautox @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 07:53 AM) While i agree people do put too much stock into prospects lets take a look at this list shall we? Baseball America's Minor League Player of the Year '12 Wil Myers - TBD '11 Mike Trout - if he can stay healthy he could be something very special '10 Jeremy Hellickson - 123ERA+ this pas season and only 25 '09 Jason Heyward - healthy and only 22 years old same caveats as trout '08 Matt Wieters - an above average contributor '07 Jay Bruce - "" feel free to go down the list everyone one on their has been a solid to well above average contributor at the major league level since 1990 Personally i think Myers profiles similar to Jay Bruce and Ryan Braun. Myers coupled with Odorizzi already producing in the show and capable of being a rock solid #3 + 13m this year and the upside of the other two prospects makes this deal look amazing for the rays. If the Royals gave up the equivalent of Matt Weiters or Jay Bruce as the top piece in this deal, then they did better than I would have thought. If giving up a good player who isn't the best in the league at his position gets a key starting pitcher, then that's solid. It's the Mike Trout that you don't want to give up. IT's the guy who comes in and immediately sets the league on fire.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 09:05 AM) Kiper has him #2 on his board right now. That doesn't mean that the #2 team will actually want a linebacker though. Jacksonville, Oakland, KC?

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 08:59 AM) The Bears trading up for Te'o is actually one of three topics (can't remember the other two) that Boers and Bernstein won't allow callers to suggest now. After the price the Redskins had to pay to trade up for RGIII, I agree with you...far too many holes that will need to be filled to just focus on one player. I'd have to guess the price for trading into the Te'o pick would wind up being a lot lower than RG3. Do you really expect him to go top 2?

To offer the counterpoint...the Royals could easily be a lot closer to competing than anyone here is giving them credit for. Their bullpen had the 4th best ERA in the AL last year, they have a number of legit pieces in guys like Butler and Salvador Perez who look like they'll be major contributors again next year, now they have at least a modicum of pitching talent as well. Yes, they have Frenchy, Getz filling lineup roles...but in this version of MLB, there's no teams any more that can pound you 1-9. If they got the same season out of Shields as the Rays got out of him last year...then the thing they need to really compete in this division is Hosmer and Moustakis making the steps forward that people have been waiting on. If those 2 play down to the level they did last year, then this team cannot compete....if they step forward, then suddenly the middle of their lineup will devour people.

The Saints kickoff coverage may be the worst ever.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Dec 8, 2012 -> 10:26 PM) Oh, if I were a stalker, I know where Balta would be when this movie hits the theaters. Did I ever tell my story for the last movie and why I didn't see it in theaters?

QUOTE (Jake @ Dec 9, 2012 -> 04:00 PM) It is just odd that they would leave a concussed player on the sidelines instead of the locker room. That doesn't seem odd to me, I feel like guys with concussions show up on the sidelines fairly often but they'll take their helmets away or something like that.

QUOTE (2nd_city_saint787 @ Dec 9, 2012 -> 03:30 PM) Bourne-.274 9 57 .348 De Aza-.281 9 50 .349 Bourne had just 1 more XBH in 24 more games Yes Bourne is better on the base paths and probably in the field but I don't see why its so hard to believe the comparison. Bourne also played more games than De Aza in putting those numbers up... But that's actually probably the worry with ADA...he has that much longer injury record.

QUOTE (Tex @ Dec 9, 2012 -> 12:16 PM) I truly hope we find a compromise. The past 30 years have been spend and don't tax. The worse of both parties. I have an area we can cut, prisons. Overhaul our nation's drug laws and immigration laws to keep people out of prison and use those savings. Actually, the past 30 years, the only thing we've "Spent money" on is tax cuts. Government spending as a share of GDP was basically stagnant from 1980 until 2008. It blew up in 2008 because wall street destroyed the economy...but the only new spending has involved transferring money from domestic upkeep and programs and putting it into prisons and wars.

QUOTE (2nd_city_saint787 @ Dec 9, 2012 -> 02:48 PM) Thats ridiculous...If they're trading Either..I want him He also notes that those numbers are before extending Kershaw, so they're talking about $700 million committed to 6 players. And they're still looking for an additional arm.