DBAHO

QUOTE(YASNY @ Sep 13, 2005 -> 04:43 PM) Who would you like to see the Sox pick up for that 3 hole? Someone already within our organization. Tadahito Iguchi. So in essence, getting a #2 hole hitter in Bill Mueller becomes a priority for me.

If Everett isn't back nor Thomas and we do have to find a DH, these are some options; Mike Piazza Daryle Ward Erubiel Durazo Rondell White Jeff Conine Preston Wilson Juan Encarnacion Jose Cruz Jr. Brian Giles Dustan Mohr Jeromy Burnitz I do think we'll pick up Everett's team option though. It's 5M with a 500K buyout.

So Patrick Ramsey's been demoted after 1 game and has demanded a trade. My guess is Miami would be the favorites, although if the Bears could get him for about a 4th rounder.............

Josh, if it was anyone else than Marte who showed up late, would you still start a thread?

Yep it's a sad day.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Sep 13, 2005 -> 07:49 AM) Its easy to make an argument sway one way or the other. Where are the other QB's on your year by year list. Where are the Qb's who won titles. You mentioned a select few who were great and didnt win a title, how about the ones who won a title and werent great, there are some of those too. Fact is, being a first round draft pick, does not make you a great player. We have played several first round QB's and they were busts. In fact, if you want to make a list by year, why dont you list the first round busts as well. Having a great 1st round QB doesn't automatically gift you a superbowl. Look at the Colts. They have a wonderful offense with Peyton Manning, but can't stop anybody on defense (sorry Greasy). The fact is though, QB is the most IMPORTANT position in football. That's why you see so many teams over the past few years in Houston, Detroit, San Francisco, Cincinatti etc. using their top pick on the best QB available to them. And as the league has shown over the past few years, you need some resemblence of a passing game to be successful. And yep, hammer hit the nail on the head, you're more likely to be successful if you're a higher pick than a lower one. Rex Grossman was a 1st round pick because he deserved to be.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Sep 13, 2005 -> 12:41 AM) Like I said in another thread, the Sox are lucky. They hold this divison in the palm of there hand. They are going to decided if they want to play in the postseason or not. And with they way we've played against the division this season, I still like our chances. The Cleveland Series will be the key of course though, but we've got the mental edge over them from our last series, hopefully that will count for something.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Sep 13, 2005 -> 12:43 AM) Laughable, absolutley laughable. What makes you think Grossman is our QB of the future? He is done in a bears uniform. The guy has been a complete bust. You can say what you will about injuries, but that is a part of a player. It has become obvious(3 injuries 3 years) that Grossman is a paper QB, and has nothing to contribute in the NFL. Saying he is talented, drafted in the 1st round, big deal. There are plenty of QB's drafted in the first round that dont make it. Leaf, McNown, Smith. Sorry guys, Orton is your QB of the future, and Grossman has probably seen the last of the field for the Bears. Before you use the 4th round defense as why Orton shouldnt be starting: All told, since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, Aikman is one of only four first-round quarterbacks to win a championship with his original team, joining Pittsburgh's Terry Bradshaw, Chicago's Jim McMahon and the Giants' Phil Simms. Late round QB's: Tom Brady (6th), Kurt Warner(FA), Brad Johnson(9th), Marc Bulger(6th), Jake Delhomme (FA), Hasselbeck(6th), Aaron Brooks (4th). Favre wasnt even a first rounder. The draft position means nothing in the NFL as far as the QB position goes. Late round QB's do happen but they're generally out of the norm. Just saying I'd take my odds on a 1st rounder over a 4th rounder any day of the week. As for saying Grossman is done in a Bears uniform, well he's due back in about week 12 right? He was the starter going into the season, and that'll probably stay the same for this year going into training camp next season when the 2 will have a competition. Orton's not going to win any games for you with his arm this season, and the Bears offense hardly looked very good at all yesterday, albeit it's not Orton's fault with no running game and 1 only good receiver at the moment. Grossman deserves a chance in this system, how do you think Orton would have looked under John Shoop and Terry Shea? As for saying there are plenty of QB's that don't make it in the 1st round, yeah over history that's been the case, but it hasn't been the norm. From what the last about 5 years the year just after the Smith, McNown fiasco etc. the QB's selected have generally been very good.

QUOTE(White Sox Josh @ Sep 12, 2005 -> 02:44 PM) i hope not. Orton is your future. You can't hand the job to Rex. Rex hasn't done s*** yet in the NFL. Orton will be the next bears QB. I loved what i saw from him in college and i think he will be a steal at the 4th round. Grossman was a 1st round pick. He's in his 3rd NFL season and has started about 6 games. Kyle Orton was drafted in the 4th round, and played his 1st NFL game thoday. Right now, when both healthy, Rex Grossman is the QB of the Chicago Bears.

It's highly unlikely that both Frank Thomas and Paul Konerko are back for next season. Right now, Konerko is the favorite to come back. However if he goes to the Mets, Dodgers or Angels, then the chances of Frank coming back increase a little, unless the Sox trade for Lyle Overbay or Chad Tracy and re-sign Carl Everett. A lot of scenarios to play out basically.

If you sign Bill Mueller for 2 years to hit in the 2 hole, Iguchi can hit at #3, and Josh Fields can take his time down at B-Ham. Seems like the best solution at the moment, unless someone at 3B can come via a trade. In response to Soxfest, we're not disputing Gooch's value in the 2 hole, but he could be even more valuable in the 3 spot, plus it pushes a guy like Everett lower down the order, and you don't have Joe Crede and his pop - ups in the 9 spot.

Thanks for the kind wishes guys, had a pretty quiet day really, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. It's nice to be out of the teens.

QUOTE(SoxFan101 @ Sep 12, 2005 -> 06:40 PM) ive just read 3 of your posts in the span of a few minutes.... And maybe you would like to add a little bit more to them lol because none really add anything to the conversation. As for the TE position I think that should be on the priority positions the Bears should look to address this off-season. I dont know if there are any studs in the college level coming out this season but Clark has shown he really isnt the guy. You can find a good one in the 2nd or 3rd round as well, Witten was a 3rd round pick bout 2 or 3 years ago, so you don't necessarilly have to waste a 1st rounder on one.

QUOTE(Capn12 @ Sep 12, 2005 -> 04:44 PM) As a Packers fan(yeah, yeah...don't start), I'm gonna go ahead and write this season off as the farewell tour of Brett, be content with 8-8 or so, and hope like hell that Aaron Rodgers turns out to be some kind of hellacious prodigy under Favre. This team just doesn't have 'it' anymore. And with Walker now in doubt, well I'll say that I'm glad I at least get to watch Spurrier and South Carolina... Thompson's going to have to rebuild that defense majorly in the off-season. I count about 2 or 3 good players on there in Grady Jackson (when he's motivated) Kammer Gbaja - Bamila (don't know if I said that right), and Nick Barnett. Besides that, they're really brutal, especially in the secondary. I wonder if Ahman Green will want to stick around with a rebuilding team too. Even though the market for experienced good RB's isn't big at all (just look at James and Alexander), will he want to stick around in Green Bay?

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Sep 12, 2005 -> 03:34 PM) Depending on injuries, the Bills have exactly 3 question marks this season...only 1 on defense. First, they lost their nose tackle, Pat Williams, to Minnesota. That's about their only question on defense...without him, will they still be able to dominate the run. They were the #2 defense last year I believe, and that was with a fairly banged-up secondary, to which they've added young people and healthy vets this year. 2. The offensive line...it gave up a ton of sacks to "point and laugh at defensive linemen" Drew Bledsoe last year, and lost maybe the best guy on it. 3. Losman. He can't throw picks. If he coughs up turnovers, that team will lose. Those 3 go well, and that's a real good team. Williams was a real big loss. He's a top 5 run stuffing DT in the NFL. And you're spot on on the O-Line and Losman, turnovers are going to be a big key for that offense, because you know that defense is going to have a plus ratio on their end. At least with Losman, he's a lot more active and can scramble around if the pocket collapses. Bledsoe just needs a real good O-Line to protect him, and he'll get in that Dallas, especially if Rob Petiti can stand up at RT, although having Marco Rivera next to him will be a huge plus. But if McGahee can consistently put up 100+ rushing yards a game, and Losman can limit his turnovers, they're definitely a playoff team, although it'll be hard in the crowded AFC, a 10-6 season may not be good enough. In some divisions in the NFC, it'd be good enough to win the division.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Sep 12, 2005 -> 03:35 PM) Henry also had a ton of tackles and a big interception, if memory serves. Yeah I think he'll be still be a very good addition for us. I mean if you at the Boys CB's now in Newman, Henry and Glenn compared to last season when they had Newman, Reeves and Frazier, it shows you how much they've upgraded. Add in DeMarcus Ware, Jason Ferguson, Marcus Spears and Kevin Burnett (once he comes back from minor knee surgery), the Boys D has been upgraded tremendously. And with the way the passing attack looked today (Jones had an average day even though the Chargers dominate against the run), the Boys are looking pretty good right now.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Sep 12, 2005 -> 04:03 PM) Dallas plays for the Colts, and he hasn't played since Urlacher knocked him silly in the preseason... Also, Briggs should be expecting a fine from the league office in a day or two. I assume he was talking about Desmond. Anyways, the Bears really need to upgrade at TE. A good TE can be really, really important to a team's offense. Look at what Antonio Gates did to Drew Brees last year and what Jason Witten will do to Drew Bledsoe (who loves to use his TE). The Bears need playmakers, a good TE would be the place to start.

QUOTE(knightni @ Sep 12, 2005 -> 03:37 PM) There's a smooth move right there. Good call on that one Mr. Fantasy Sports. Uhh yeah, don't know what Rotoworld was smoking on that one.

It's hard to say Gage looked good when he only had 1 reception. If you look at toher receivers that are comparable to him, Patrick Crayton had 6 REC, Frisman Jackson 8, Kevin Curtis 7, Arnaz Battle 5. He needs to improve to hold off Bradley, Berrian I don't think is going to be anything more than the 3rd WR / Deep Threat that stretches the field.

On Dallas's D 101, it'll take time for them to gel under the 3-4, and I don't think Jason Ferguson the big NT started today either. I'm sure it'll get better during the year, although I was dissappointed with Anthony Henry's performance today with McCardell getting 9 recpetions and 2TD's.

QUOTE(whitesoxin' @ Sep 12, 2005 -> 02:08 PM) See my sig. It was an amazing run all spring and summer, but the night before school started for me, it all ended. That was the game where Freddy threw a one hitter and lost the game. It has been a great season, I just hope we can hang onto the division at least or that would be incredibly embarassing. We've seen your sig a lot, you don't need to raise it everytime a "We're Doomed" thread comes up. Anyways, I'm still of the view, if you get to October anything can happen. But with the way Cleveland's playing, we've still got to get there first.

Simple really, El Duque doesn't pitch good at home. Only JG and MB IIRC have better home splits than road splits out of our rotation, which probably shows why we've won more road than home games this year. Quite simply, it raises the need of pushing back the fences once again, but that's not gonna happen.

Giles would be perfect for say a DH/1B/OF spot depending on the numbers, but it's not likely to happen. His OBP and BB/K ratio are insane this season though. Mueller I'm coming around too, basically because he can hit in the #2 hole if needed, which will then push Iguchi down to the 3 spot where he can hit for more power. Here's the article on Tracy that I alluded to earlier BTW;

If only we could have dealt Marte to Florida at the deadline seeing what they gave up for Ron Villione. But my guess is he's probably headed there in the off-season anyways. They've been very interested in him for a long time.

QUOTE(Palehosefan @ Sep 12, 2005 -> 01:40 PM) Congrats to Willie for being the sunday stud. If you guys get a chance to watch him run, you really should. Its a treat. Yeah 3 quality RB's the Steelers have got now, although Duce Staley might be in a bit of trouble to get carries.