Chicago & Illini Sports

Chicago Bears, reasons for hope, reasons for despair.

Veteran quarterback Brian Griese is the main reason for optimism. He may show some rust at times. But he is an accurate, crafty qb who can develop a good short- and medium-range passing game, the kind of game that can use up a lot of time.

The Bears finally unleashed rookie Greg Olsen. Now it’s time to do the same with Devin Hester. Think of what Hester could do if he were thrown the kind of slant passes over the middle that Brett Favre was throwing against the Bears.

The Bears also could improve their offense if Adrian Peterson and Garrett Wolfe handled the running until the Bears reached the red zone of their opponents. Then bring in Cedric Benson for the heavy lifting and scoring. The Bears are now realizing they should have kept Thomas Jones instead of Benson.

The main area of concern is the hapless offensive line. They are old and slow. They are poor at pass protection. They have trouble opening up running lanes.

Otherwise, they’re great!

So look for a lot of Bear games with victories in the 21-10 range.

posted by Warren @ 10:24 AM

Our final emotion for the 2007 season of the Chicago Cubs?

Embarrassment. What happened to the booming bats? It's a puzzlement.

Overall, however, there was a lot of good stuff, including a division title. And with a few upgrades, the team should be in a good position for next season’s race to the World Series.

The key players will be back: Derrek Lee, Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, Ryan Theriot, Mark DeRosa, Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Carlos Marmol, and Bob Howry.

Having Geovany Soto from the start should make a big difference. Pitchers who could contribute more include Rich Hill, Sean Marshall, Kevin Hart, Kerry Wood, and Ryan Dempster. We’d like to see Marmol and Dempster switch roles.

Filling the holes. The Cubs need upgrades in the bullpen. Say goodbye to Will Ohman and Scott Eyre. Look for free agent left-handers. Whoever they find can’t be worse than Ohman and Eyre.

In the starting rotation, get rid of Jason Marquis. The Cubs could get breakout years from Hill and Marshall. Spend the money and get one of the best free agent starters available.

Center field and right field are the main problems. Cliff Floyd is injury prone, Jacque Jones is inconsistent, Matt Murton and Angel Pagan are not power hitters, and Felix Pie is questionable. Sign the best free agent center fielder in case Pie can’t hack it. Switch DeRosa to right and give minor leaguer “jewel” Eric Patterson a try at second base—or try Patterson in center or right. In the least promising scenario, play Pagan in center and Murton in right.

With these changes, the Cubs should be the best team in the National League. Imagine how exciting it would be to celebrate two milestones in 2008—the 100th anniversary of the Cubs’s last World Series win and a World Series victory that will launch a new era of Cubbie greatness.

posted by Warren @ 9:55 AM

The Chicago Cubs, otherwise known as the Cardiac Cubs, will win the series against Arizona in four games.
They will split the two games in the desert and triumph in both games over the weekend in Wrigley Field.

Pandemonium is being held on ice until Sunday.

The Cubs will win for four reasons.

First, the Diamondbacks are a young team and will fold under the pressure.

Second, Lou Piniella is the better manager.

Third, the hungry, er starving, Cub fans will scare the bejabbers out of the Diamondbacks.

Fourth, the Cubs are a team of destiny.

Destiny always wins.

Go Cubs, go!

posted by Warren @ 1:00 PM