iamshack

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 04:58 PM) Derrek Lee, 2 picks and maybe a little extra cash is looking better and better by the minute when I think about it. He and Konerko are just such incredibly similar players that -- assuming injuries are not a factor, huge assumption, I know -- it's kind of a toss up as to who will put up the better numbers next season. Just looking at Bill James' usual optimistic projections for next season, which truly mean next to nothing at face value but does succeed in emphasizing the similarity: .273/.361/.496 wOBA: .372 .278/.365/.475 wOBA: .367 If our doctors like the looks of Lee's wrist this does look like the best course of action. Does anyone have a clue what Lee would like to do next year?

Not to speak ill of the dead, but she has come off as having quite a few issues of her own from what I have read. Not necessarily just the victim most people think.

QUOTE (MurcieOne @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 05:09 PM) What was the gameplan? Get pressure on Vick with 4 pass rushers, make him throw underneath and tackle well? That is the same game plan every week and it is working this season because Peppers is a beast, Izzy is competent and the DT's are getting a modicum of penetration up the middle. I am willing to admit that I am wrong if you can specifically remember anything to the contrary. But it certainly looked like the Bears playing the Bears Defense against the Eagles. Nothing special. No special blitzes. No special looks. Dick Lebeau, Jim Johnson, Gregg Williams Lovie Smith is not. You know what, I'll just pull out my game film that I have been breaking down all week long and diagram all of our blitz schemes for you. Are you kidding me? You seriously want me to describe to you our defensive game plan in detail? I think it's actually a strength when your defense doesn't have to call a bunch of exotic blitzes because your base package can handle what that particular offense has decimated every other defense doing. And as for game planning, I am certain there were certain wrinkles put in to defend Vick and DeSean Jackson as well. The result of the game makes it pretty clear that they gameplanned the Eagles pretty well. Is your only definition of a coach a guy that can dial up pressure with exotic blitz schemes? Do you think Mike Ditka designed the 46 Defense?

QUOTE (MurcieOne @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 10:45 AM) Love Smith is certainly a better coach than Mike Ditka? I agree that Ditka's career has been inflated by his personality and Chicago's love for the meatball. But how is Lovie Smith CERTAINLY a better head coach than Mike Ditka? In reality, I think they two coaches are somewhat similar outside of their personalities. Both are stubborn and are at their best when surrounded by good assistant coaches (see Buddy Ryan). I'd say he's CERTAINLY better than Jauron but I don't know if I'd go so far with Ditka. This highlights the disturbing trend of sub-standard Bears head coaches hires. Wannestedt, Jauron, Lovie. All first time head coaches, all poor developers of talent. I agree that Lovie's stamp on this team is takeaways. That's acceptable. Under Lovie the Bears have been an opportunistic team. I just don't know how much weight that carries. Also, when you say he creates good schemes or game plans . . . I disagree with that. The Cover-2 is a fine scheme when you have appropriate personnel, but they didn't last year and he continued to run the same base C-2. Lovie was the signal caller last year and in back-to-back games the Bears were humiliated by teams who consistently torched them on quick slants over the middle. Additionally, when was the last time you watched a Bears game and said "Wow, the Bears really out game planned the other team?" The Bears probably have the worst blitz schemes in the league. Wow. I could not disagree with you more. How about 9 days ago?

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 01:29 PM) He hasn't hit over .250 in three seasons and his average has gone down each of the past 3 seasons with last year being a putrid season with a low OPS and low average. I think OPS is an important stat but I'm not going to ignore the fact that we already have one guy in our lineup that produces at a low average and I don't want two of those guys. His decline has more to do with him getting off the juice. His WAR has been 3. I'll take Lee, Konerko, and LaRoche over him any day of the week. Yeah, I was not really keen on the steroid whispers. If that's the case, by all means, pass. I guess I was just trying to make it clear that I wouldn't rule him out because of the low average and strikeouts alone. I don't really care how you get on base, as long as you do it at a reasonable clip and you hit for some pop. He has done so over the course of his career. Again, if that is because of the juice, then forget it.

QUOTE (sin city sox fan @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 12:25 PM) Nothing wrong with Konerko asking for $15 million per season. We are probably offering $10 million at this time and the sides will probably settle somewhere around $12-13 million per season. Thats how negotiations work. If we offered $12 to begin with and they asked for $15....we'd probably end up closer to $14 million per season. Have some patience grasshopper....the deal will get done. Oh...it's all so clear now.

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 01:12 PM) Yah, Pena's last year put any claims to Konerko's inconsistencies to shame. Not saying anything with that, as I'm aware Pena is not seeking north of $13m. I have never been a big Pena guy, though. I was not aware of this. The hell with Pena, too.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 01:08 PM) He's a bad fit in any lineup if he produces like he did last year. 2 hits per 10 at bats, yuck. He's been a career .841 OPS player and he's two years younger than PK. I think he'd be a very solid signing at $6-8 million.

I really would not worry so much about Pena being a bad fit with Dunn. If the price is right, I wouldn't be afraid to sign him...just make sure you split the two up with Rios or Q....both Dunn and Pena walk enough to make the strikeouts a bit more tolerable.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 11:44 AM) I think it's hilarious that people are getting on Paulie for holding out for the best possible deal. He owes the White Sox nothing. This will pretty much be the last time he hits the open market. He has every right to get the most coin and put himself in a position where he and his family is happiest. I know that's what I'd be doing. I'm not upset with him at all if he wants to maximize his dollar value. Go play for whomever you want, PK. I'm just saying I'm not interested at anything more than $10 million a year for 2 years.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 11:38 AM) Well, the baseball economics of 5 years ago aren't the same as they are now. Players are getting paid more for their power and Konerko had 39 homers last year. If Paulie hit 9 less home runs and 9 more doubles, I don't think he'd be asking for $15 million a year. The guys at Fangraphs are speculating a win in this market is worth about $5 million dollars, meaning PK would have to be worth 3 wins a year over the life of the deal. He's been worth less than 2.5 wins on average over the last 4 years and he's only getting older. Chances are he's not going to produce enough to justify $15 million a year going forward.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 11:34 AM) Shack, I have to return a favor here. PK14's last contract was for $60 million. Over the course of that deal, he earned $56 million in the fangraphs player value world. With all the same caveats you applied to Beltre, there you go. Yep. He didn't earn the $60 million over the life of the deal. He also failed to earn his yearly salary in 3 of the 5 years of the contract, according to fangraphs' value measurements. Now he is 5 years older and he wants a pay raise?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 12:32 PM) I agree. Its not like all the other options are flying off the board. There are options that are coming off the board though. If we pass on PK, and sign a guy to a more economically responsible contract, it's possible there is money left over to spend on other pieces. Those are the pieces you risk losing out on.

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 11:27 AM) I'm not sure why people are so impatient on this Konerko thing, it's not even mid-December yet. Nobody's mentioned Derek Lee's name but us so it's not like Plan B is in danger of getting away just yet. If it wasn't time to give up on Konerko a few weeks ago, it's not time now. I'm not impatient. I just find the entire notion ridiculous. The guy is a solid player at a position full of them coming off a huge year at the age of 34. He deserves a nice contract. 2/$20 maybe. But this 3/$45 crap is ridiculous.

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 11:23 AM) I wonder what it would take to get D. Lee and Scott Downs?? My guess is you would have to give Downs something similar to what we gave Linebrink 3 years ago. 4/18ish?

QUOTE (SoxPride56 @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 11:21 AM) I think it is about time to take the draft picks, and just sign D. Lee and a top RP. I just want some kind of info that states Lee might even be open to playing for us.

I really wish they would call his bluff and tell him to have fun playing in Baltimore. PK did not earn his money for most of his last contract, and now he wants an increase. Walk away.

QUOTE (StateStSports @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 12:09 PM) Ken Rosenthal says Sox are in the mix for Kerry Wood. Sweet. Maybe we can sign Mark Prior to be our 5th starter.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 01:35 AM) She may or may not be disappointed by it's size, but she's intrigued. Pursue and conquer. Hmm, I'm not sure if ferociously cute is the compliment I would want on my penis...

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 10:07 AM) Boozer was nice, but the game ball belonged to Deng last night. He had a stellar defensive night on Durant. He did such an incredible job of off-ball defending Durant. Lu made sure to stay in his jersey all game long, and just denied him the ball. It is so simple conceptually, but teams don't do it enough in practice. Don't.Let.Scorers.Have.The.Ball. You aren't going to stop a guy like Kevin Durant when he has the basketball. Not in the NBA. Deny him the ball, deny him his points. Those kind of defenders were definitely the ones that drove Michael the craziest. Stay in his face and frustrate him. Starks, Payton, Reggie Miller all drove him a bit crazy by not giving him any space.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 09:06 AM) Really? Take a look at what Seattle got for his prime years when they invested 5/$60. Do you really look at that and think "Man, Seattle got a bargain"? If you look at the values Fangraphs assigned for him during his tenure in Seattle, he was actually worth $68 million over the life of that contract. Last year with the Red Sox, he was worth $28 million according to Fangraphs. Now I know these values have been disputed here lately, but I think it does help point out how valuable Beltre is with a glove on his hand...

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 08:06 AM) Really? Take a look at what Seattle got for his prime years when they invested 5/$60. Do you really look at that and think "Man, Seattle got a bargain"? If you weigh his defense into the equation, he's a very valuable player. He's absolutely phenomenal defensively. His offense took a big hit because of park factors. You saw how much better he hit last year when he was back playing in a normal park. I'm pretty sure he would do very well offensively in the Cell. Combine that with his defense at third, which is probably better than Crede's was, and I don't think that contract would hurt you at all. You could then put a guy like Viciedo at 1B or even start working out Q there.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 07:51 AM) Would you be interested if it was say, 3/$33? No. I don't want to sign a 3 year deal unless it's at some kind of below-market rate. I appreciate everything PK has done here, but I'm not going to count on much more than an .830-ish OPS and 28 HR/90 RBI out of him for the next three years, and frankly, I don't think that kind of production at 1b is worth anywhere near $11 million a year. I'd offer PK 2/$20 maximum, and when he laughed at me, I would say "thanks for the memories, Paul," and move on. Honestly, if he wants that kind of money, I'd rather just offer Adrian Beltre 5/$75 and see where that gets me...

QUOTE (MurcieOne @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 03:50 AM) I like Lovie Smith the man. I don't like Lovie Smith the football coach. I don't care that his personality is as interesting as wallpaper. The issues that I have Lovie Smith come from odd personnel decisions, poor clock management, poor replay challenge decisions, stubbornness and the lack of development of our draft picks. I guess my question is. . . what makes Lovie a good coach? What does he do (doesn't call plays)? What is his stamp on this team (takeaways?)? The only players that I feel have really developed under his tenure are Lance Briggs, Charles Tillman and maybe Daniel Manning. I know that Angelo is ultimately responsible for acquiring talent, but some blame for draft failures belongs on the coaching staff too (which Lovie is responsible for). Anyone remember Zachary Bowman? Lovie was on his jock all summer long and even named him the #1 CB during training camp. Bowman hasn't substantively played since being benched in favor of Tim Jennings week 3 against the Packers. Again, what makes him a good coach? Does he influence the offense? I suppose its possible he told Martz to rein things in. Has he helped Dave Toub make the Bears a consistent force on special teams? I don't really know, nut it doesn't really seem like it. Does he help Rod Marinelli call the defense? Maybe, but it doesn't really appear that he does. I guess that leads me to: If he isn't calling plays, and he has trouble developing talent . . . then what is his stamp on this team? If I had to argue on his behalf, I'd say that he is a good leader of men. The players seem to genuinely love him. They play hard for him. That is an admirable quality but a good coach should get his team to play hard regardless of their feelings for him. I'd rather have a head coach who was truly an expert at something. Like Rex Ryan on Defense (ignoring tonight), BB on Defense, or Andy Reid on the Offensive side. It follows that I do not believe that Lovie Smith is an expert on defense. Still, if the Bears make the playoffs I believe he deserves to fulfill the final year of his contract regardless of the result. A playoff berth this year would be no small feat and earns Smith a chance to develop this offense under Martz (hoping that he stays) and add to this rag-tag defensive secondary. The Bears should not, however, rush into extending his contract. I still don't believe that this is an elite football team and this team needs to show that it can compete in all phases of the game. /end diatribe. His "stamp" is clearly takeaways and scoring on the defensive side of the ball. The Bears lead the league in takeaways since Lovie arrived. I think that's pretty clearly the key of his defensive philosophy. As for his strengths, I think he prepares the team well. I believe he creates good schemes, good game plans, whatever you want to call them. The Bears are also fairly consistent in regards to their motivation to play a game. They do not seem to be as subject to letdowns or overlooking opponents as much as some other teams do. As for his weaknesses, he clearly has some in-game issues. He seems to be poor at clock management and challenges, as you said. Overall though, I believe he has been the best Bears coach of my lifetime. Certainly better than Mike Ditka. More consistent than Dick Jauron. Obviously better than Wanne. Maybe it's not saying much, and maybe he's not Bill Bellichick or Mike Tomlin, but there's not a lot of head football coaches I would rather have than Lovie Smith.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 08:48 AM) Remember, no matter how good they looked last night, this Patriots team is the same one that lost to Cleveland, badly, a few weeks ago. They're on a short week, coming off an emotional, rivaly game, while frankly the Bears were probably looking ahead to this game. I wonder if Urlacher still remembers that play 5 years ago where Brady made him look foolish as the ballcarrier. I remember it, so I bet he does. The Patriots are not going to overlook a 9-3 Bears team. The Patriots can be beaten...but it's going to take an effort very similar to the one against the Eagles, perhaps better even, for it to happen. Can't wait. Early line has New England -2.5.