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So our pass defense is quickly becoming one of the worst in the league. We are 30th in the league currently in opponent pass completion % at 70% (only Oakland and San Diego) has done worst. We are also 6th in the league in highest yard per attempt at 8.3. When the secondary is not generating any turnovers and the DL is not pressure the quarterback, our defense is a disaster waiting to happen.

I loved watching Jimmy play last night. That kid had springboards shoes. After every missed shot, you can count on him to be around the ball and leaping over bigger guys to get go it. And his ability to get to the line is refreshing to see. Since it was preseason last night, I was hoping Thibs would give Snell and Teague more burn, but it doesn't seem like Thibs trust either guy yet, which means Jimmy will be play close to 40 minutes this year.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Oct 5, 2013 -> 07:11 PM) The day I have my first child will not be as happy as tonight. Derrick Rose is back, he's inviting contact, and I am finally, finally f***ing at peace. Welcome back, Derrick. Bulls will be champs this year. Book it. I hope your first child eventually reads this.

The guy doesn't have a brain.

QUOTE (MexSoxFan#1 @ Sep 29, 2013 -> 02:15 PM) That interception wasn't Cutler's fault!!! Of course it wasn't. He will learn from it next year when we sign him to a big fat extension.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Sep 29, 2013 -> 01:29 PM) Lol. Yes he is. Where was your crying when he was winning games in the fourth quarter this season? What's our record without him? Were you talking about the game where he needed a last minute comeback at home against an 0-3 Viking's team? Or the game he threw for a whopping 150 yards and the defense was still playing well enough to generate any turnovers? He demonstrated some toughness and all but does he really deserve all the credit? FWIW, he has exactly 2 game winning drives the 2 years prior to this. I would examine it a little closer before I call Cutler a clutch quarterback. About the record without Cutler part, give the team a quarterback that was good enough to even start for the Raiders, and we will find out.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Sep 29, 2013 -> 01:23 PM) He made one bad throw where the ball floated when he was tripped up. The other was Jeffrey not getting the ball. Not a great performance but not a disaster. C'mon man, an interception is an interception, he threw the damn ball into triple coverage! It was an risky throw, and he's been doing the same s*** for the past five years!, hence it's a "characteristically" Cutler throw.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Sep 29, 2013 -> 01:20 PM) Not everyone, just reactionary emotional posters. Is it really emotional? There was always an excuse for Cutler every year, why he's only an average quarterback, why he's inconsistent all the time. This year, he finally got an offensive minded coach, an OC that was part of the lethal Saints offense, a QB coach that was Cutler's guy in Denver, a solid receiving core that finally features a catching tight end, and a solid offensive line. Yet Cutler still delivers the same s***ty performance, bone headed throws, and his best option is still a check down to Forte on a third and long. If you think Cutler is a playoff caliber quarterback, you are either highly optimistic, or just delusional.

There should be no excuses for Cutler this year, he's just plain out dumb and suck. Let's move on.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 26, 2013 -> 10:49 AM) Because the pitching staff has been pretty damn good this year? No one is talking about one group of player here. We are on pace to lose 100 games and have the 5th worst run differential in the league, something's got to give. The pitching was definitely the stronger area this year, but like I said, Peavy and Crain missed too much time to be that high. There is no way Thornton should be higher than a C and Donnie Veal gets better than a D. Guys like Kepp, Konerko, Axe, and Floyd should all get an F, and Danks would be a D in my book as well.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Sep 26, 2013 -> 05:44 AM) How does Axe deserve an F? He is a minor league pitcher who earned four wins at the major league level. That's overachieving in my book. Jesus Christ, are people still using wins as a measurement in 2013? On one hand people say Sale deserves Cy Young recognition even though he's below .500, on the other Axe gets a pass for earning a whopping 4 wins as a minor league level pitcher. Sounds like double standard to me. Axe definitely gets an F in my books. He has just been god awful since May, with an ERA over 7. His overall ERA and FIP is also in the mid 5, which won't cut it at any level. Let's just say that I don't think the Sox expect opponent to hit over .300 against him. Also, Fathom's grades are WAY too generous. How can a 100 loss team has more A's and B's than D's and F's? How can Crain and Peavy's contribution to the team be graded as A and B, respectively, when they both missed significant time?

This will be a small move, but I wish we can flip Tank for Chris Denorfia of the Padres. Our outfield defense as it stands now is terrible, and as Tank and Garcia put on more weight as they mature, it's only going to get worse, and will carry very little speed to speak of. Denorfia is currently .270-10-50-10 player in Petco park, and the numbers can improve quite a bit moving into the Cell. He's a very good defensive player from the Cubs games I saw him play this year, and according to the numbers as well. An outfield of Denorfia, Ellsbury and Garcia, or Shoo, Denorfia, and Garcia will give us a very good chance to compete.

Defense has been pretty hard to watch thus far under Marc Trestman. Tr secondary is being picked apart by a very average receiving group

Interesting RV pulled Sale after only 97 pitches, bring in Nate Jones to face Austin Jackson, who hits .200 against lefties and .300 against righties.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Sep 18, 2013 -> 06:00 PM) The Colts are not gonna be a playoff team this year, so it's likely a top 15, maybe top 10 pick too. You must be joking. The AFC Wildcard is wide open. I don't think Steelers or Ravens are good enough to be locks for either spots. Colts were an 11-5 playoff team last year, without a running back like Richardson. With addition of Richardson and a break out year from Hilton, they have a the best shot of getting a Wildcard spot. Not to mention Andrew Luck is looking a lot better this year already. As for the pick, I think it's more close to the 20-22 range.

I've always feel he's overrated. I think the Browns are unloading him while he's still worth what they paid for him

I am also confused by the fast count and the second ref coming out during the match. I thought it would turn into a controversial victory for Orton and Bryan gets another rematch at the next PPV. Doesn't make sense to have this Bryan vs Corporate angle to shift that quickly after just one month. I am interested to see the aftermath on Raw tonight.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Sep 13, 2013 -> 12:24 PM) Michael Beasley is a big fat negative, and anyone who argues differently needs to stop watching the NBA (or start watching it much more closely). And anyone who only reports out of their ass and has as many drunk posts as sober ones should not question other people's basketball knowledge. By the way, here is an interesting tidbit on how small market teams and teams who are strapped financially can make moves to improve themselves. I am not a fan of watching movies with the same ending. And I reiterate, I don't think Beasley is necessarily the right answer for this team. But signing him to a minimum deal, make him earn his playing time, is well worth the use of the roster spot, more so than guys like Patrick Christopher and Kalin Lucas, IMO. I think we need to give some young, talented guys a second chance, whether be it Beasley.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 13, 2013 -> 11:59 AM) The front office isn't doing all it can do. That doesn't mean that Michael Beasley is the answer. I think you kind of hit on it accidentally, but Thibs would never play the guy anyway. I dont think Beasley is necessarily the answer. But I think he, along with a few other players that were in free agency, is worth the gamble, with little to no risk involved. It's just mind boggling to see how the best team has the chance to get much better, yet we are not taking these chances to get a lot better.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 13, 2013 -> 10:48 AM) Sure Beasley would score 18. He'd give up 30 on the other end of the floor though. Chicago has already been through Beasley, only back in the day we called him Eddy Curry. Except Curry was a center who can't move and jump over a pile of big macs, and Bill Cartwright left every single clue he has about defense back in his playing days. We also have a guy like can score 18 and give up 30, we call him Carlos Boozer. We've also had guys like Nate Robinson, Marco Belinelli, Kyle Korver, Radmanovic, etc. Heck our third string PF is absolutely a worse defensive talent than Beasley. We didn't mind taking those guys in. We don't need a team full of defensive aces, we have enough to be a great defensive team. Beasley is still only 24, definitely has more defensive potential than Boozer. To think that he can't improve defensively under Thibs tutelage and that he can't be motivated by the drive of Joakim and Derrick, and the Chicago brand of basketball, is frankly ludicrous, and a very lazy excuse for the Bulls not to go pursue these players.

QUOTE (Jake @ Sep 13, 2013 -> 11:12 AM) Only on Soxtalk do the Bulls get criticized for not picking up guys that totally f***ing suck and lack any evidence to suggest they could be anything different Then we pick up a reclamation project like Nate Robinson and he gives us a huge level of excitement...and nobody gives a s*** That was a great deal for us last year. We took a guy who was a defensive liability, a signing no one was too fond of, and it paid off for us big time. Had Robinson not turned out well for us last year? No big deal, there was no commitment. I don't see why we should stop signing those guys this year. Do we need a better back up big? Yes. Do we need another guy who can score? Hell yea. This is suppose to be the year we can finally contend, yet we stay put. So yes, go sign guy who totally f***ing suck last year to a minimum deal, because he has more talent than our 6 through 10 players, and give him a chance. And oh yea, Thibs is a guy who wouldn't let anyone out of his dog house if he doesn't think they can positively contribute. I don't see how a signing like Beasley or anyone else would hurt the team financially or basket wise. If you honestly think the FO is pulling everything out of their pocket to make this team a championship team this off season, you are highly delusional.

I am willing to say most everyone here would be delighted if we picked up Beasley. To beat on the point over and over again, our FO is uncreative and lacks the balls to take any risk. If we go out and sign any of these reclamation projects like Oden and Beasley, there's a chance they can provide value for way more than they cost under the right coaching. At worst, you are paying these guys minimum deals. Oh, and if Beasley gets to play with Lebron, Wade, and Bosh, it's not a stretch to think that he can at least shoot 45% and average 18 pts / 40 minutes

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 9, 2013 -> 09:12 AM) Wow, ok, so there's not a single team in the bottom 15 in the playoffs then, and 66% of the top 15 are in the playoffs. Ergo, I conclude it's somewhat easy to build a contending team when you have pitching and darn near impossible when you don't. My next question is...which is easier to fix, lineup and defensive deficiencies or pitching deficiencies? The Cubs actually signed a free agent pitcher last year, Jackson, and that didn't help them, and they basically have no pitching on the way up. The White Sox have money to spend at positions where there are lineup contributors available as free agents. I judge it's much easier to fix a lineup through free agency than it is to fix a rotation. Furthermore, the White Sox in 2012, with many of these same players, were a positive fielding team, with a 1.3 UZR/150. Thus the numbers show that there's little reason to think the White Sox should be nearly as bad of a fielding team as seen this year. The Cubs will need to add >10 WAR to their pitching staff to be competitive. The White Sox need to add something like 15 WAR to their offense to be competitive while getting their defense back to 2012 levels. I clearly think the latter is much, much easier. One issue is the checkbook. The Cubs will always have more money to spend than us. I don't think it would be hard to for them to go out and sign a pitcher or two. Another issue is prospects. In 3 years, the Cubs offense could be one of the best in the league, if Baez, Soler, Almora, and Bryant pans out, with Jimenez knocking on the door. I don't think they would have to drastically upgrade their pitching to be competitive. While I don't see any of the Sox position prospects being able to contribute significantly in 3 years. Last issue is defense. As it looks now, our outfield defense is brutal. Rios was one of our better defenders for the past two years, and now we are replacing him with Garcia, who is a terrible defender as is it now, and doesn't project to be an above average defender in the future, won't solve our defense shortcomings like you think it would, in the short run. Last last issue, which is debatable. If you want Theo or Rick to run a rebuilding franchise, personally I would take Theo 4 times out of 5.

uh oh, we have a one page game thread, and it wasn't moved to the archive section the day after.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Aug 30, 2013 -> 04:27 PM) That's ridiculous. There's only 15 SP in MLB with K/9 at 9 or higher. He gets plenty of strikeouts and you're projecting him to get plenty of strikeouts. Averaging close to 1k/ inning in the minors is far from indicating he would do the same in the majors. There's usually a 15% drop off between the two numbers. If you think he can average a K per inning or close to it, that's even more ridiculous. I do think he can average 7K/9. If that's a strikeout pitcher to you, then we just have different scales. There's a reason he's always been viewed as a mid rotation starter, not an ace. His stuff is above averaging. He's had a great season, but we shouldn't have unrealistic expectations for him.