Hawks, Bears and Bulls

Three big stories in Chicago these days are the Black Hawks, the Bears and the Bulls, all for different reasons. 

The Hawks are the biggest positive story - they sit atop their division and lead the league in points.  They have talented young stars and it seems that everyone knows who Toews, Kane and Sharp are.  But more surprisingly, people know who Michael Handzus, Marcus Kruger, and Brandon Bollig are!  Leddy, Saad, Rozsival, and Oduya are also recognized names these days!  They are creating fans as we speak!  That's the way to do it.

The Bears have a different story - they're right there in the playoff hunt, and have a minor controversy at the most important position.  While Jay Cutler has been injured, backup Josh McCown has been more than serviceable - he's been good, and even outstanding against the Cowboys.  So, going into Cleveland, there is actually a debate about who should play.  Looks like it's gonna be Cutler, but then McCown goes and wins the offensive player of the week award (or whatever they call it) for his performance against the 'Boys.  So what do you do?  Risk the game on the clearly more talented, but possibly very rusty Jay Cutler, who at his best is still (though not as much) prone to turnovers because of trying to make big plays instead of taking what's given to him by opposing defenses?  Or go the conservative route and let McCown take the helm again?  What if he wins?  Then what happens for the following week? 

I guess it's nice to have something like that to discuss instead of just how terrible the defense has been for most of the season. 

And then there's the Bulls.  I'm more a Bulls fan than a Hawks or Bears fan, I think.  But this Bulls team, with an out-for-the-season Derrick Rose (again) and injuries to Deng and Butler and Noah (the usual suspects, with new addition Jimmy Butler), has been pretty bad.  So there's a legitimate question:  Do they acknowledge what most fans and sports talkers seem to know and accept, and that is, that they will not be winning an NBA championship this year without Rose, and play for next year where there is a very strong draft class?  Or do they try to squeak into the playoffs with a 7 or 8 seed and see a first round exit, and a consequently lower draft pick? 

This organization should know what they're going to do with players like Deng and Boozer.  Are they part of next year's team?  If not, then Deng should be moved.  Not only would it make the team worse in the short run, but it might get them an extra first round pick and free up minutes for rookie Tony Snell.  If Deng is going to be resigned after the season, then he should be babied along to try to make sure he comes back at full strength along with Rose next year.

I personally don't think Deng is that "second option" that they seem to need to get past the other elite teams.  I'd deal him.  I'd deal almost anyone except for Butler, Snell and Rose (of course).  I'd even deal Noah if there was a crazy package of picks and young players,  though I'd be fine with having Noah on the team as the center for a long time.  Likewise with Gibson.  I wouldn't give him away but I wouldn't hesitate to deal him for a package of picks and young talent if I could get it. 

So we'll see what happens.  We might have another Stanley Cup come next summer, we might have a Bears playoff appearance (or we might not), and we might witness a sensible rebuilding program for the Bulls. 

Then we can see what the Cubs and Sox have done to make themselves better in the long term. 

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14 DARK WINDOWS is live on Amazon!

I'm happy to announce the publication of my short story collection, 14 DARK WINDOWS, on Amazon for Kindle.  It contains 14 short stories, 10 of which are available as pairs or trios in four different Kindle short books, and 4 more that have not been published before.  It is available for purchase for $2.99.

You can check out the title here:  14 DARK WINDOWS.

Thank you for any interest!

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Arrow pointing up or down?

Bulls:

Derrick Rose is back and looks to be pretty well recovered from his torn ACL from the 2011/2012 season playoffs.  Dunleavy is probably an upgrade from both Kyle Korver and the Italian guy from last year (I can't even remember his name).  Hinrich moving to the second unit is an upgrade from Nate Robinson, though Robinson was outstanding offensively last year, better than Hinrich likely will be.  Marcus Teague is a year better, and the frontcourt rotation of Noah, Boozer, Gibson and Nazr Mohammed should be similar to what it was last year.  Jimmy Butler was a revelation in the playoffs and should be solid at the two guard.  Undefeated in preseason. 

The arrow is pointing up.

Bears:

Cutler and Briggs both injured.  Melton already out for the year.  Peppers looking like his age might be catching up with him.  Tillman still looking good but fighting injuries.  Defense in general has gone the wrong direction.  O line looks improved, running game should continue to be solid.  Tight end is a 100% improvement.  But...Cutler out for minimum 4 weeks. 

Arrow pointing down.

Black Hawks:

All the stars back and healthy.  Some role players gone (I always liked Dave Bolland) but there are others to step in and take their places.  Corey Crawford locked up, hopefully he continues to perform.  Looking good so far. 

Arrow pointing flat.  How can it go up from a Stanley Cup Championship?!?!

White Sox:

Konerko a shadow of his former self, and may be gone.  Relatively young arms like Danks and Floyd and Quintana and Chris Sale are average to very good, but a couple (Danks and Floyd) are injury prone.  Defense was horrid last year.  Will it improve?  How? 

Arrow pointing down.

Cubs:

Figuring things out with their young "stars" - are they really star major leaguers or are they run-of-the-mill guys?  (I'm talking about Castro and Rizzo.)  Young stud prospects are still at least one season away.  Pitching is rough after Samarzidja and Travis Wood.  Edwin Jackson is an expensive journeyman.  Scott Baker might help.  Ryan Sweeney and Nate Schuerholz at least give them a little something in the outfield.  There will be a new manager, but we don't know who yet. 

For 2014, arrow pointing down.
For 2015, arrow starts to point upward, we hope. 

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I've published 2 short stories on Amazon!

Hi, anyone!   I don't know if anyone actually reads this blog but what the heck!  Just a quick note to let it be known that I finally got around to publishing my first two short story pairs. They are currently only available on Amazon. Each is a main story, with a second story paired with it (to add value, hopefully).   They are under the pen name "Scott Dyson". The first is SOLE OCCUPANT and it is $0.99 on Amazon. It contains the 2400 word main story SOLE OCCUPANT and the short flash fiction piece THE ONLY SOLUTION (~700 words). The second is ODD MAN OUT and it is also $0.99 on Amazon. It contains the 1600 word main story ODD MAN OUT and a second horror tale, HOUSE AT THE BEND IN THE ROAD (~1800 words). That's 3100 words (about 14 pages with author note) for the first pair and 3400 words (about 15 pages with short author note) for the second pair. Take a look at them if you're so inclined. Thank you!!!    (Find my website at ScottDyson.com )

Off Topic: Tom Piekarski, Chicago Bassist, passes away

(I also posted this at another blog...)

One of my favorite musicians in the Chicago bar band scene was bass player Tom "Pickles" Piekarski.  Besides playing with John Prine, he also played with the Famous Potatoes, Mike Jordan and the Rockamatics, Betsy and the Boneshakers, and finally, The Bad Examples.

I loved watching him, listening to him, and talking with him between sets and after or before shows.  Pickles always had time and interest in chatting with people.

Here's the obit from the Chicago Sun-Times:  The Tasty Force of Tom Piekarski


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And I didn't even mention...

The BlackHawks!

I know I haven't been very good at updating my sports blog, and I do tend to focus on stuff like deals and roster moves because that's often what interests me the most about Chicago sports.  It always has been like that for me - I was a stats junkie as a kid and even though I'm not really up on sabermetrics, the ideas behind it fascinate me.  I used to play entire seasons with my own version of the major leagues via baseball cards and a deck of playing cards.  (Aces were home runs, red kings were triples, black kings were singles, queens were doubles, jacks were singles, 10's were walks, 9's and 5's were sacrifice flies if there was a runner on third, and the rest were just outs.  I didn't mess with stolen bases or double plays or errors.)  I used to log trades in a notebook, then play games with my card deck, using my revamped rosters.  It was fun. 

Anyway, here I am writing about the trading deadline in baseball (which is something I always pay attention to in all sports) and I'm not even mentioning that:

THE BLACKHAWKS WON THE STANLEY CUP!!!

AGAIN!!!

Two Cups in four years is pretty darned good.  I have to admit, watching as they worked their way through the Detroit, LA and part of the Bruin series, I didn't think they could do it.  They looked less aggressive and slower to the puck, but when push came to shove, they put the puck in the net when they needed to! 

So congratulations, Blackhawks, and congratulations to all the die-hard Hawks fans.  And thank you, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, for finally capturing my son's imagination and making him into a hockey fan! 

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Baseball Trading Deadline...

So here we are at the All Star Break, and both the Cubs and White Sox are about 14 games out, thought the Cubs have the better record.

Both teams are sellers as we approach the deadline for non-waiver deals.  Both teams have a few chips.  The Sox have Alex Rios and Jake Peavy, both of who they would love to more.  The Cubs have Matt Garza, who may be the best available pitcher in baseball, if not for the fact that he is a free agent at the end of the year.

Others could go as well.  I've read that the Sox wouldn't mind moving Alexi Ramirez and of course they'd let Adam Dunn go at the drop of a hat, if there was a taker.  They've already moved lefty reliever Matt Thornton to the BoSox.  The Cubs have already moved Scott Feldman, and I would guess they would consider trading Edwin Jackson for the right amount of prospects.  Likewise with David DeJesus, Kevin Gregg, and Nate Schuerholz, if the deals make sense.  Like Dunn, the Cubs also would move Soriano provided they don't have to eat every last bite of his contract, and Carlos Marmol.

Here's how I feel about trade deadline deals.  There are a couple of reasons to make trades.  First, you want salary relief.  (See Alfonso Soriano.)  Second, you have a young player coming up the ladder who you want to make playing time for.  Third, you can get players who likely can help you in the future.

As a Cubs fan, I've seen too many of the "salary dump" types of deals where the players coming back are little more than minor league roster filler, no matter how management tried to spin them.  That was a different management team.  This year it's different.  It seems perhaps the Cubs have people in place who can actually evaluate talent.

Still, I wouldn't trade a guy like Kevin Gregg for nothing.  Cash in on him, yes.  He's been really good as closer since being signed off the major league scrap heap, and if someone wants to give the team one of those players who can help you in the future, not just minor league filler but a true prospect, by all means deal him.  But to trade him for this year's version of Micah Bowie, I don't think I'd do it.  First, he doesn't cost much.  Second, there is no young player pushing for innings in the closer role.  Third, he is helping the team win a few games.

See, I feel these two teams still have an obligation to their fans to try to put a major league quality product on the field.  This obligation will continue unless they slash ticket prices to minor league levels or something not much more than that.  If someone tells me that they are "building for the future but sacrificing the present", I will tell them that I don't feel I should pay premium prices for an admittedly inferior product, especially one that is inferior by design.  I'm all for getting better, but I still don't have to spend my money on bad baseball.

Right now Kevin Gregg makes the Cubs a little better.  If they can get a real prospect for him go for it.  But don't deal him just to be trading him, and have some B-level prospect come back to the organization in return.  I feel the same way about Schuerholz, Scott Hairston and others.  They are major leaguers and I'd like to see them stay around.

Unless they bring back real prospects in return, as we all expect Matt Garza to do.  Maybe not that quality of prospect, but still - guys with a major league future.

Let's see what happens now...

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Bulls Post-Season Wrap-up

So the Bulls season ended with one of their better games in the playoffs as they took the Heat to the final seconds and had a good look - no, two good looks - at tying the game with a three.  But alas, it didn't happen, and the Heat take the series in 5. 

Mark Silverman on ESPN1000 just asked what the big picture was for this Bulls team next year. 

I submit that it should be a fairly rosy picture.  Everyone should be healthy to start the season, and everyone should be in their proper places.  The starting point guard should be Derrick Rose, and Kirk Hinrich and Nate Robinson (if they resign him) should be playing the amount of minutes and against the players where they should have the better of the matchup.  Hinrich showed his worth this year, I think - he's not a scorer, but he does do a better job of passing and defending than most any other Bull.  Depending on matchups, he could start at the two guard or back up the point guard. 

Carlos Boozer seemed, to me, to play far far better when Hinrich was playing point guard than when he wasn't.  Would this be a way to get some real value out of Boozer?  What if he was putting up a double double a night in part against second teamers?  Start Boozer, play him 3 or 4 minutes, bring in Taj until the second team comes in and make sure Boozer and Hinrich get plenty of minutes together.

Backup center:  A weakness for this year's team.  Mohammed was okay in his limited minutes, but the Bulls ended up using Taj as the back-up center quite a bit, it seemed to me.  Or Boozer, with Deng at power forward. 

Jimmy Butler matured into a bonafide NBA player this year.  Is he the starting two-guard next year?  I think he's more of a small forward.  Would I rather have Deng at SF?  Sure, but Deng might also be the one guy on this team who could bring back real value in a deal.  It would depend on what they could get for Deng in a trade as to whether I would consider moving him. 

I'm not enamored with Marco Bellinelli, but I certainly wouldn't rule him out as the long range spot-up shooter and another backup two guard.  I'm certain that Hamilton, who appeared to be poorly used in the playoffs, is going to be bought out and I won't have a problem with that, though I wonder if Rip's lack of contribution throughout the latter part of the year was his problem or Tom Thibodeau's problem.  Thibodeau is a great coach, but he does seem to 1.) overwork his players a bit, too many minutes and too much pedal to the metal, and 2.) underutilize some players for whatever reason.  As examples of the second, see Rip, Marcus Teague, and maybe even Vlad Rad.  The guy ended up buried on the bench and really wasn't given any opportunity to contribute as far as I could see. 

There will be a somewhat higher draft pick this year, and that may translate into a useful player, but with Thibodeau's  tendency to sit young players, will it matter?  With Rip going, will there be a spot for a veteran PF or center who can back up in the front court?  Will some players look at the Bulls and say, now there's a team that can compete with Miami and I just might have a shot at getting to the Finals and getting a championship with this team, so I'll take the veteran's exception, or even the minimum, to play for them?  (So many players seem to do that with Miami.  There has to be someone who will do it with the Bulls...) 

The Bulls got some real experience in the playoffs this year for players like Butler, Bellinelli and even a little bit for Marcus Teague.  Can that translate to a much improved squad next year?  Let's hope. 

That's my big-picture view of the Bulls.  Now it's on to watch the BlackHawks on their road to the Stanley Cup, then focus on the Cubs' rebuilding efforts this summer...

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Bears' Draft - round one

Just a quick post to note that the Bears drafted OL Kyle Long out of Oregon with their 20th pick in the first round of the NFL draft.

Seems that it was a bit of a surprise.  I heard one guy saying that the two surprises of the first round were Buffalo taking the QB they took and the Bears, who everyone thought would either go for Tyler Eifort if he was there, or a defensive player, probably a linebacker like T'eo (from Notre Dame) or Alec Ogletree, but maybe the corner (Trufant) who was drafted two picks later.

As of the end of the first round, T'eo and Kevin Minter are still on the board, along with some fairly highly thought-of QB's and a bunch of other guys who were at least discussed as potential first rounders.

The Bears only have 5 picks, and have to make every one of them count.  Round Two starts tonight at 6:30 pm CDT, and the Bears once again have the 20th pick.

What are the chances of T'eo or Kevin Minter dropping to them?

Should they consider a QB if Barkley or Smith drop that far?  (That might not be such a bad idea...especially if their new coach really likes one of these guys...)

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Loyola jumps to a new conference...

...but not that all-Catholic school conference. 

They are dropping out of the Horizon League and going to the Missouri Valley Conference. 

I hope it helps with recruiting.  At Loyola's level currently, upgrading the players/talent is all that's really going to help them.

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Who are these guys?

Admittedly, I haven't been following along during this Cubs' offseason as carefully as I have in years past, but when they read off the lineup card, I'm surprised by how little I know about most players on the Cubs. 

I know a few of them were there last year, guys like Valbuena (the third baseman) and Camp (the pitcher), but most of their bullpen and some of their rotation and even the free agents - I don't know much about them.

So, what do they have, going forward?  Who's a part of this team when they're actually trying to be good again?  I'd guess Castro, Rizzo, Samardzija, maybe Castillo (the catcher), maybe Barney, maybe Travis Wood and Jeff Russell.  DeJesus, Schuerholz (sp?), Ian Stewart and Scott Hairston are probably elsewhere as soon as next year.  We can only hope that Marmol and maybe even Soriano are elsewhere as well.  And Edwin Jackson got a sizable contract but he's not untradable either. 

To tell you the truth, I'm not even sure about Castro and Rizzo.  We have to see what Rizzo can do for an entire season.  And Castro so far looks better at short, but as late as the end of last year, there was discussion as to whether that was his position or not.  (No questions about Castro's hitting.)  Soler and Baez are coming, but can they be counted upon to be impact players?  We've seen Josh Vitters and Ryan Harvey and a score of others come through and not make any impact.  We've seen players like McGehee and Hinske be given up on by the Cubs and go on to have relatively (compared to other Cubs prospects) productive careers elsewhere.  I know it's a new regime in charge of everything, including player development, but so far I haven't seen anything to inspire a ton of confidence in this team's player development. 

To tell you the truth, as a Cubs fan for over 40 years, I'm really tired of watching, investing time and emotion in the Cubs, and ... of just WAITING TILL NEXT YEAR...

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New conference of Catholic schools...

Two posts in one day?  Some kind of record for me recently...

I wanted to touch base on the report that several schools, including DePaul, St. John's, Marquette, and Notre Dame, are forming a new conference made up of all Catholic schools.

This is where Loyola should be.  I know they're a founding member of the Horizon League.  I was there when they formed it.  It was then called the Midwestern City Conference, and included Butler, Oklahoma City, Oral Roberts, Detroit, Xavier, Evansville and Loyola, and maybe one or two more.  That's right, Xavier.  They were a founding member of this conference also.  They didn't let that keep them from joining a better conference.  Back then, they were often in the NCAA tourney as a representative from this conference when they went to that automatic bid system.  They were good.  They've gotten better because they're in a better conference.  Of course, now Butler's gone too.

Loyola isn't good.  But if they were playing ND and St. John's regularly, they might be.  They might be able to recruit better players, and do better things.

Maybe there's going to be a requirement that the team play in a certain sized stadium, and the Gentile Center won't be big enough.  But if they can, they should move to that conference.

Hey, a Jesuit is now pope, so why shouldn't LU embrace their religious background and play in this much better conference?

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Harry Teinowitz gone from ESPN 1000

I noticed it a couple weeks ago and meant to find out why ESPN 1000 had gotten rid of afternoon co-host Harry Teinowitz from the show Carm, Jurko and Harry.  I liked Harry.  I thought he injected levity and irreverence into an otherwise not-very-attractive grouping.  Yes, some of his jokes fell flat, but some didn't, and I thought the show was better for his input.

It seemed, however, that his co-hosts didn't like him much.  First Dan MacNeal, who seemed to be happy to throw insults Harry's way, and didn't like it much when Harry returned fire.  Now John Jurkovic (I don't know if I'm spelling that correctly), who does the same thing.  When I'd listen, it would sound a little like bullying with Carmen trying to smooth things over and keep things focused on sports, which is where Carmen always seems to be focused.

I guess that the common denominator was Harry in these little on-air feuds...so maybe his personality in person was a problem.  But over the air, it sounded like he just was being made the brunt of jokes.  And the other two, especially Jurko, were a little too happy when he was gone and they were on their own.

I liked them, with Harry, as an alternative to the insulting and arrogant Bernstein and Boers on WSCR.  I think Bernstein and Boers both are very intelligent, but I think they got the idea that their schtick of ripping their callers for their opinions is worth listening to.  I know I switch over, even though I like their insights.  Too uncomfortable listening to them trashing another fan as knowing nothing, or however they can belittle the caller's opinion.   

Listening to Carm and Jurko the last few days on my drive home has NOT been as entertaining.  Carm is likeable but Jurko just comes off as, well, kind of a jerk.  At least they're not condescending and downright insulting to their callers, so I'll probably keep listening to them.  But it won't be as fun.  I'd rather listen to Waddle and Silvy.  Or J. Hood.  (Always have really liked Hoodie.  He can be condescending at times, but usually he's pretty respectful of his callers/listeners.  He's smart, informative, opinionated, and funny.)  Or Lawrence Holmes on the Score.  Thank God for Mully and Hanley and for Mac and Spiegs in the morning.

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No Rose?

So the news the last couple of days has surrounded Derrick Rose's comments in an interview with USA Today that he may sit out the entire season.  That's disappointing.  I had sort of thought he'd be back shortly after the All Star Break (now) in a limited role to begin preparing him for the playoffs.  But maybe we're just out of luck for this year.

I'm of two minds.  I'm not sure the Bulls have enough to take the Heat in the playoffs, let alone the Pacers, this year.  Rose coming off a serious injury probably won't be at 100% by the playoffs, and even though Rose at 80% probably makes the Bulls a better team just by changing the rotations, I'm thinking that it won't make them good enough.  And then there's the injury factor...no one wants him coming back too soon and screwing something else up.  When you favor or protect one joint or limb, you tend to put more stress on something else.  Will that something else give him problems that he might not get if he waits it out and just comes back next year at full strength? 

Then there's the matter of the Bulls' finish in the division.  Can they finish low enough to get a draft pick that can contribute?  Or be valuable enough to deal for the right piece?  I'm not suggesting that they throw the season away, but maybe they end up with only the 8th or 10th best record instead of the 3rd or 4th by virtue of Rose's absence?  One of these years that Bobcats' pick will actually become the Bulls' pick without strings, and if it was this year, could the Bulls perhaps package a couple picks for another really useful player?

On the other hand, Deng is having a good year.  Noah has up until now been pretty healthy.  They picked up Hinrich specifically as a backup to Rose, and they still have Hamilton and Butler's emerging.  Boozer's been good, and Gibson is solid as usual.  (They have a dropoff on their bench at center.)  Could they give the Heat a run for their money?  Another part of me wants to see just what this Bulls team can do in the playoffs at full strength. 

So what will it be?  Stay tuned to find out...

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Chicago Sports Bits

Just a few notes that have struck me as 2013 takes over...

The Bears, despite finishing 10-6, didn't make the playoffs and promptly fired coach Lovie Smith.  Their coaching search has extended to 13 different names, including 7 current NFL offensive coordinators.  Lovie was a decent coach, but did not seem to have the ability to develop a consistent offense, and it was definitely time to move in a different direction.

The Cubs signed Edwin Jackson, a guy who seems to have been on most of the teams in MLB, to a relatively long term contract.  Four years, I think...and something around 52 million total, if I recall correctly.

The White Sox said goodbye to A.J. Pierzynski, their long time catcher and one of the few holdovers from their 2005 world championship team.  A.J. was looking for a big money committment and the Sox have a younger player, Tyler Flowers, who is ready and needs the opportunity.  As long as A.J. was here, he wasn't going to get it.  He may flop, but that's the way of the world.  Out goes the old, in comes the new.  Can't wait till it is too late...

The Black Hawks will apparently have a few games to play this season, since the strike appears to be settled.  By this time, however, are there enough people left who care?

And finally, the Bulls have held their own without Derrick Rose, going something like 19-12 up until today.  Apparently it projects to a 49 win season without Rose, who is coming back soon.  Guys like Gibson and Jimmy Butler are stepping up their game a little, which is a very good thing.  Hinrich and Nate Robinson will be an upgrade in the backcourt over last year's C.J. Watson/John Lucas tandem, and though Kyle Korver was better overall, I think this Belinelli kid seems to be getting a little more comfortable and he too can be a three point threat.

Have a happy new year!!!

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