Tony

I mean, he put up a - 1.1 WAR in 18.2 IP for them last year, which is almost impressive in how bad he was lol. So that makes some sense. Low risk move by the Getz, sounds like the prospect they got back has some potential, even if he ends up in the pen…type of moves they should be making.

One thing I'm curious about, and I don't believe the article mentions (I also could have missed it)...do the Sox (and other teams) set this up for someone like Quero, or was this something Quero wanted to do on his own? I'm curious of the teams involvement. And I'm not looking for some "gotcha" moment against the Sox, I'm genuinely curious how that works.

That was a very good read and always interesting to get a better understanding of what baseball is looking at and what improvements are trying to be made. I suggest everyone give the article a read, especially for some of our more "veteran" members who are less analytics focused.

I love the Blackhawks but haven't sat down to watch a game in like 3, 4 years. I understand what they are trying to do but it when their season ends, it will be six years in a row of not making the playoffs, and even the last few years they did make the playoffs, the team was garbage. It just wears you down over time.

Was just talking about this with my dad a few days ago. I remember being at a wedding a few years ago, talking to some old friends from high school I hadn't seen in a long time. We were all big sports guys, and I asked him if he still follows the teams like we used to. He said not as much, and I said the same thing, which was true. Then this Bears season came along and reminded me how much I still do care, how much I enjoyed thinking about each game throughout the week, making sure I was in front of the TV at kickoff. And even in the last week, the discussions continuing about what they do in the offseason, etc. My "big three" teams are the Sox-Hawks-Bears. Combined, those franchises have given us very few things to get excited about over. Before the Bears beat Green Bay, the last time I saw a team I root for advance in the playoffs was during the 2014-2015 Blackhawks season. (Bulls are actually in the exact same spot, their last playoff series win was in 2014-2015 as well.) The "optimists" here are convinced those that are critical of the Sox just want to be miserable, which simply isn't true. Just give us something to be hopeful about.

Yeah, I did sort of write that wrong. It was more the idea of deciding not to keep him and go all-in on JJ. I get it, hard to read what Darnold was at that point…but at the end of the day he was a 27 year old that just put up All Pro numbers for you at QB, and you let him walk for JJ. The ripple effect it has had is pretty amazing

I mean, I get the timeline…but it’s still shocking that a 27 year old Sam Darnold led the Vikings to a 14-3 record in 2024 (4300 yards, 35/12 TD/INT) and Minnesota said “Nah, we’re good, let’s use a Top 10 pick on JJ McCarthy”

Feel like Shemar Turner is not discussed at all regarding the 2026 Bears. Bears found a lot of success with their other two second round picks (Ozzy and Burden) and while Turner basically didn't play in 2025 because of the ACL injury, I still think there should be some potential for him there to make an impact next season. Certainly not going to "solve" the DE problem, but hopefully he can contribute.

You left out the part when Rick had to TELL Jerry to fire him after the rebuild didn’t work, and convince Jerry he didn’t deserve another chance. But both Kenny and Rick should have been shown the door somewhere around 2014-2015, it was insane they were able to ride 2005 for that long.

lol, yeah, because if there is one thing Jerry has shown, it’s his lack of patience and removing people who don’t get the job done 🤔

You understand the analogy, you just don’t want to address the issue of giving credit to something that should be expected to have been done 15 years ago, and because Getz is simply keeping up with the rest of the competition, the White Sox deserve heaps of praise. But keep deflecting

To quote Tom Waddle “My kids don’t get extra credit for not doing drugs.” And staying on the Bears theme…a few weeks ago when the Bears were playing the 49ers, Darnell Wright was sick and looked like he may miss the game. On Saturday, he was feeling better and the Bears flew him to San Fransisco on a jet with a member of the training staff. 10 years ago, Darnell Wright is probably flying commercial because that’s not the way the Bears did business. My point is while I’m happy to see them keeping up with the times, I’m not rushing to give the Bears extra credit for something good organizations have been doing for a long time.

Change and success are two different things. Getz and Co. haven't had enough runway to see if those changes will pay off yet, and I'm not saying it's going to be an automatic failure or nothing Getz does can be good. But you, and I, don't know how much has been "poured" into player development. There have been a handful of PR stories about the importance of player development to this regime, and that's a good thing. But how much was spent? Are those investments just getting them on par with other teams that have been doing it for the last 10+ years? It's good to be hopeful as a fan. Not trying to deny anyone that. But it's been 20 years since 2005 and they've won the AL Central twice since then. And Jerry has been involved every step of the way. And he still is. So color me skeptical. Don't feel like it's a terribly difficult stance to understand.

...And? It was seemingly the first time they tore things down with intent behind it and wanted to build something with sustained success. We applauded them for that, and a lot of us (myself included) thought the core looked incredibly promising. What happened? Nearly everyone on that list didn't reach their expected potential, to varying degrees. Passan listed out 12 names in his tweet, and anytime you're talking about 12 young players, you know the hit rate isn't going to be above 75%, at best. That's just how the game works. The problem was those 12 names listed were basically the entire roster. There was no fallback, no reinforcements being developed in the farm to supplement the roster, no pipeline. Why did those things happen? Lack of resources in player development and Front Office employees being given jobs they had no business being in. I have yet to given a reason to believe either of those things have significantly changed under this new regime. And until I do...I'll remain a skeptic.

I want the White Sox to win. And I don't really care how they do it as long as it happens. But it starts at the top, and the man that sits the highest is still in control of this franchise, and until that truly changes...we're on a hamster wheel.

H He also said this in 2020. Ain't a single player with the organization left, never won a playoff series, and during that stretch set the record for worst record in baseball. Like Passan, but the trailer ended up being the best part of the movie...

Yeah, we were all caught in the glow of beating the Packers in the playoffs (rightly so) but that injury was a massive blow for the future. LT is incredibly important and now that position has to become a priority in the offseason, for a team that already is going to have to fill a bunch of holes.

Interesting turn...

That he could go more than a day without making a post that contained eleven random names that were not related, in anyway, to the topic at hand. Just couldn't do it....

The cap is complicated and requires a pretty in-depth understanding of each teams situation. Which is why I prefer getting information from people who actually cover the team, rather than national writer who is painting with broad strokes

This is pretty awesome

I mean, this same article has been written for months on this site. They need a pash rusher, find a solution at LT with Ozzy hurt, and figure out what they want to do a safety. Finley didn’t exactly re-invent the wheel with this one.

I mean, do you think they are going to spend the offseason looking to make the team worse? If there is one thing everyone is on the same page on, it’s right now is the window. The next three seasons before Caleb’s rookie deal is up. Doesn’t mean they can be successful after that, but it’s a lot easier when your QB is still on his rookie deal. You say “there is a feeling the Bears may be in store for a huge letdown next season.” You can feel anyway you want, but the expectation for this team will be to reach the Super Bowl, as it should be. They took a huge step forward this year, and the next step will be expected when the new season starts. Will it result in 11 wins next season and some of the most thrilling games we can remember? No idea, but they need to win multiple playoff games next year, end of story. And lastly, while good fortune certainly seemed to be on their side this season, I don’t know why just straight up growth is being overlooked by so many. Ben Johnson has never been a HC before. Given what we’ve seen from him as a competitor, I don’t expect him to get worse at his job in Year 2. There was also a tremendous learning curve for all involved this last year. The offense looked terrible in the preseason and to start the season. Ben said all along he thought they would be playing their best football in December and January, and he was right. For the first time in a while, there will be continuity from the coaching staff going into next year, and Caleb talked today about working on his accuracy being the biggest focus in the offseason. I know Bears fans aren’t used to any sort of sustained success, but to quote Stacey King…”If you’re scared, go buy a dog”

Correct take