Iguchi for who?

The Sox traded Iguchi earlier this week for little known Minor League pitcher Micheal Dubee. Dubee was 4-4 with one save and an ERA around 4 in the Class A division for the Phillies. My first thought was, who? I haven't ever heard of this kid, but who knows, maybe he is a gem that just needs a little polish? But, isn't Iguchi worth more than that? Iguchi has been a solid contributor ever since coming over from Japan. I know Kenny keeps working the phones and that he most likely isn't done, I guess I just expected more from the Gooch.


Now, many teams needed a 2nd baseman: Mets, Phillies, Dodgers, and others. But two things that comes to mind when I wonder why Kenny made this deal:

1. He had Danny Richar, who he desperatly wanted to play on the big league team for the rest of the year. The kid has good potential, and now has a chance to show it.
2. Remember the Freddy Garcia deal? After just a few starts, Garcia went down for the year. Now, the Phillies said he passed all the physicals and they have no ill-feelings toward the Sox, but part of me can't help but think that this was a little "sorry" from Kenny Williams to the Phillies. Neither team would ever admit it, but Kenny was just trying to make up for sending them a guy that got lost for the year.

I guess that could be the case, but we'll never know. Who knows, maybe this Dubee kid will become an integral part of our bullpen in the near future. Or maybe Kenny just helped himself stay in the good graces of the GM nation by giving the Phillies a fill in for Chase Utley.

I'm sure there will be more moves for my Sox, hopefully it will be a busy afternoon.

Previewing the Chicago Bears 2007 season

The Bears are about ready to report to training camp for the 2007 NFL season. We are returning as NFC North champions for the first time since we shuffled in 1985. We won't be overlooked this year, and everyone will be gunning to take us down. Perhaps that's why every team to lose the Superbowl in the past 5 years has a combined record of 33-47. Ouch. But this team isn't a one year wonder, or flash in the pan. In fact, I think we got there a year to early, so without further ado, here is my preview for the season.

I believe the Bears to finish with a 12-4 record, 1st place in the NFC North. I see them playing either the Eagles or Cowboys in Round 1, and meeting with New Orleans again in the NFC Championship game. Finally, this will be the year of the '85 Super Bowl rematch. The Patroits will be the team to square off against the Bears. Bears are victorious, but it won't be as big of a butt-whooping as it was back in 1985. I'm sure you are saying to yourself now, geez...what a homer, and maybe you are right. Sure every yahoo out there has their own predictions, but let me also provide some in-depth analysis of our team, position by position, to help give my prediction some backing.

QB: Weakest link first, right? Let's start at the bottom of the depth chart. Kyle Orton came out of college with a pretty good resume. He started many games for the Bears as a rookie, and won most of them. However, everyone gave credit to the defense, not to Orton's ability. That was two years ago, and Orton's grown a lot. Word out of mini-camps had him taking great leaps in decision making ability, and finding the open receiver much easier. He's a very solid 3rd QB, and has some very valuable game experience. Then, occupying the #2 seat, we have a grizzly veteran named Brian Griese. Most people know Griese from his time in Denver, where he had a decent career. Griese knows the offense and is more than capable of coming in and leading the team to victory, he has started 72 games in his career. He owns a 84.5 career QB rating, which is pretty respectable. He just has always seemed to have the ability to cripple his team late in the game, or late in the season....but doesn't every QB until they finally win the big one? And #1 on the depth chart, Rex Grossman. Rex "led" the Bears the Super Bowl last year for this first time since '85. Rex started all 16 games last year to the dismay of many a Bear fan. First of all, he stayed healthy and hopefully shook the tag of being "injury prone". Secondly, after a few of his games everyone thought he would be benched in favor of Griese. After all, the #2 QB is always the most popular guy on the team. Rex had many off games last year, with the Dec 3rd game against Min sticking out the most because of his 3 interceptions and 1.3 QB rating. But let's not forget the high either...week 2 against Det when he threw for 4 TD's, no INT's, and a 148 QB rating. So the question begs...wll the real Rex Grossman please stand up? I think Rex is somewhere in between those two examples. He has worked extremely hard in the off-season on footwork and pocket awareness, the two biggest areas of need for him. I rate this group a C+

RB: Thomas Jones is gone, and it's now the Cedric Benson show. We saw glimpses of what Benson can do, and you better believe he is out to prove everyone wrong. Benson fell out of favor last year, because he had a bad attitude or always seemed to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. Benson averaged over 4 yards per carry last year in a platoon role with Thomas Jones. Benson has shown he has the ability to run right through people. This is his third year, and will probably want to start talking contract next year, and if he has his breakout season, he'll get it. Adrian Peterson, no not the OU guy, is our #2 this year. Peterson has always been productive everytime he's been on the field, and is an outstanding teammate. And picking up the 3rd spot will be the rookie, Garrett Wolfe. Wolfe is small, but extremely fast and powerful. He catches like a WR and should see some playing time when the game situation call for it. I rate this group a B

WR: We have a veteran in Mushin Muhammed leading this group. Behind him we have the speedy Bernard Berrian, Mark Bradley, and Rashied Davis, and the newly converted Devin Hester. Mushy is the only guy that has more than 4 years experience in this group. They are a very talented group, and they will all push for playing time. Hester will be used as a decoy a lot, but they will get the ball into his hands plenty of times. Berrian exploded last year as a deep threat, which created a lot of room in the middle for the other guys. Look for that to expand this year with Hester creating Havoc for Defensive Coordinators. I rate this group a B.

TE: Desmond Clark did an admirable job last year at the TE position catching 45 balls for 600 yards and 6 TD's. With the drafting of Greg Olsen out of Miami, we are looking very good at the TE position. He has the speed to run right by Linebackers and has the ability to make the tough catch. These two guys working together should help out the QB when the rush is on. I rate this group a B+

OL: Probably the highlight of our offense last year. Anchored by Olin Kruetz, it just doesnt' get much better than this line. We have John Tait, Ruben Brown, Olin Kruetz, Roberto Garza, and Fred Miller. The only complaint about the O-Line is that they are starting to get a little long in the tooth, but these guys know how to play together and have been extremely successful. I rate this group an A-

DL: Mark Anderson pushed his way into a starting gig last year with an amazing rookie year capped off with 12 sacks. Adewale Ogunleye will start the opposite side with veteran Alex Brown and rookie Dan Bazuin rotating in to keep everyone fresh. Ogun needs to prove to everyone that he deserves to be the starter or he could be the one rotating in for playing time. This is a very athletic bunch at DE, and they know how to get after the QB. In the middle we have Tommie Harris and....and...Dusty Dvoracek? Antonio Garay? Anthony Adams? Harris is an absolute stud who looks to have fully recovered from a hamstring injury last year. With Tank Johnson gone, I look for Adams and Dvoracek to get the most playing time opposite Harris. I rate this group a B+

LB: Let's see, Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, and Hunter Hillenmeyer. Which one of these is not like the other? Hillenmeyer is often overlooked, seeing as how the Bears play a lot of 2 LB sets. When Hillenmeyer is in there, he is a very smart player and a great compliment to Urlacher and Briggs. Urlacher is a beast at MLB and Briggs is the top Wingman in the NFL. No other team can top this group. A+

DB: We have Charles "Peanut" Tillman and Nate Vasher at the corner spots, Ricky Manning JR at the Nickel, Mike Brown and Danieal Manning at the saftery positions. For depth we have Chris Harris, Adam Archuleta, Brandon McGowan, Dante Wesley and a couple rooks. This is a very solid group, and if Mike Brown can stay healthy, they will be one of the top DB groups in the league. Brown is the unquestioned leader of our Defensive backfield, it's just a matter of him making to the field each week. How many of you knew that no other CB duo had more interceptions over the past two seasons than Tillman and Vasher? I rate this group a B+

ST: Devin Hester, Brad Maynard, Robbie Gould, Patrick Mannely, Brenden Ayenbedajo, Dante Wesley, Adrian Peterson. These guys are the keys to our special teams. Everyone knows about Hesters ability to return kicks, especially the record keepers. Gould was as good as gold last year and Maynard had yet another solid season punting the ball back to give our defense a good starting spot. Mannely is probably not well known at all, but he is the long-snapper specialist. I can't remember the last time I saw a bad snap from this guy, he's amazing. The others, they are the "gunners" on kicks and punts. These guys are the first ones down the field looking to kill whoever catches the ball. I rate this group an A-

The coaching staff returns intact minus DC Ron Rivera. Bob Babich takes his place, but has been here since day 1 with Lovie. We have one of the best HC in the NFL, IMO, in Lovie Smith. He knows how to lead, he coaches with integrity and respect for the game and his players. He became the first African-American to lead his team to the Super Bowl last year, and his best friend became the first African-American to lead his team to a Super Bowl victory last year.

This team has a great blend of Veterans and Youth with great leadership in the coaching ranks. These are the reasons I believe the Bears are not a one year wonder, and will not suffer through the same letdown that past Super Bowl runner-ups have. Homer or not, this is a great team the Bears have assembled. This will be the year of the New Super Bowl Shuffle. But just so you don't forget the old one....here it is...one more time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRj76375kZ4

Role Models in Sports

I've been out of town for the last week, so I haven't had time to write much. Hopefully, I'll be able to post a lot more of my wandering thoughts from now on....to my latest thoughts:

I've heard a lot over the last few weeks and months about Sports players being role models for our youth. Heck, when I was growing up I wanted to be as good as Walter Payton, Ken Griffey JR, Frank Thomas, Jerry Rice, or Michael Jordan. I started thinking about how sad it is that our sports these days are mired in controversy. Where do I begin?

1. Micheal Vick's dogfighting situation
2. Pacman Jones various arrests and suits.
3. Tank Johnson's arrests and suspension
4. NBA Referee Tim Donaghy bets on games he called and has ties with the mob
5. Steroids in baseball

I could go on and on, but my stomach is starting to turn as it is.

When I first heard on the radio that these guys are being bad role models for our youth, I agreed. But then I started thinking about it; Should a prefessional athlete's be our children's role models? After a little thinking, I realized that statement is completely wrong. Sure, it's okay to want to hit the ball as hard as Barry Bonds, run as fast as Devin Hester, and catch as good as Jerry Rice, but that doesn't make them a role model. As parents, WE need to be the role models. WE need to teach our children the difference between wrong and right, not leave that up to an athlete. Sure, we probably can't play sports as good as their favorite athlete can, but we have a much more important job, we are their parent. It's not always an easy job being a parent, but it is easily the most rewarding job we could ever have. I know I won't ever be the athlete that my children watch on Television, but I also understand that I have more responsibility than that athlete does.

The Storm

My family is going through a rough patch right now, and I can feel just how easy it would be to lay down and let the situation take control of me. Many times in the past few weeks I've gotten very weak and started to slide. But each of those times, God was there for me. A family member calling, a friend calling, someone in my church family calling me, someone emailing me....things like that. I heard this song last week, and it really stuck with me. It's a song from Casting Crowns and it's called "Praise you in this storm"

I was sure by now,God, that You would have reached down
and wiped our
tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls I barely hear You whisper
through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise
my
hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.

And I'll
praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who
You
are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold
in your
hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will
praise You in this storm

I remember when I stumbled in
the wind
You heard my cry to You
and raised me up again my
strength
is almost
gone how can I carry on
if I can't find You
and as the
thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
and as Your
mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who
gives and takes
away

And I'll praise you in this storm
and I
will lift my
hands
for You
are who You are
no matter where I am
and every
tear I've cried
You
hold in your hand
You never
left my side
and
though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this
storm

I lift
my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come
from?
My help comes from
the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I
lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes
from the Lord, the maker of
heaven and earth

And I'll praise you in
this storm
and I will
lift my hands
for You
are who You are
no matter where I am
and
every tear I've cried
You
hold in
your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will
praise You in this storm

Meme: 8 things about me

Well, I was tagged by the people at newslimericks to post 8 things about me that no one knows.

Here we go...

1. I had long hair (very long) in High School.

2. I had gas one day in my Stats class at MSU. I thought it would be quiet, but it wasn't. Right afterward, I just gave a weird look to the person next to me, then everyone assumed it was him.....he was sleeping. Sorry man.

3. I used to work at U-Haul, and our initiation for new employees was to put them in an enclosed trailer and drive around the lot as fast as possible.

4. Head Cheese makes me gag. I used to work in a Deli, and if people would order it, I couldn't cut it. Nasty stuff.

5. I'm addicted to Fantasy Football. I have 10 leagues I am in. I will be starting an FFA class in the near future. (fantasy football anonymous)

6. My office is in a cave. No, I am not Batman.

7. My son wasn't watching where he was going at Silver Dollar City one day, and he ran into a cart. I then took a few minutes to teach him the importance of paying attention so he doesn't hurt himself or anyone else. I then promptly stood up, turned around and knocked over a guy walking the other way. You have to love Irony.

8. I can't get enough Peanut Butter. If it has Peanut Butter, I will eat it.

These are 8 things you may not have known about me.

The Big Hurt

Frank Thomas began his career in 1990 with the White Sox. He played in 60 games that year, and showed some definite promise batting .330 with 7 homeruns. He showed a keen eye for the strike zone, and the ability to remain calm at the plate no matter the situation. His first full year in 1991 he was third in MVP voting. He showed the ability to not only hit for power, but to hit for average as well. He crushed 32 HR's, drove in 109 runs and batted .318. I was 16 at the time and really into baseball, he quickly became my favorite player. My Dad was a Sox fan before me, I remember Harold Baines was his favorite player from the time I was 5. I liked HB to, but I never really had a favorite until "The Big Hurt" came along. I heard the announcers calling him the "Big Hurt", and I always thought that was funny. He was such a big guy, he just hurt that ball.

Frank was simply the man year in and out for the Sox. He would go on to drive in 100+ runs in 9 of the next 10 years. He's one of only two players to win back-to-back MVP's while playing First Base. He was in the top ten voting for MVP almost every year during that 10 year run. He was amazing to watch, he could hit any pitch. He could hit if he was down 0-2, or if he was ahead 3-0. Runners on base, bases empty, he was simply unstoppable with almost a .450 OBP over those 10 years. That means he was on base almost every other time he grabbed a bat, that is unbelievable.
In 1994 he had 38 homeruns, 101 RBI's, and a .353 batting average......in only 113 games thanks to the strike shortened year. The White Sox were in first place that year, and had everything rolling, and then the strike hit. Oh, what could have been that year. We had it all, pitching, defense, offense....and the Big Hurt.

Frank recently hit his 500th homerun the other day, and now sits at 501 for his career. And although he isn't a member of the Sox anymore, he will forever be a White Sox' in my heart. I have a poster in my sports room of Big Frank leaning against a bat smiling. While playing MLB07 the show this past weekend with my 6 year old son, he asked me about "that big guy" on the wall. I told him it was the Big Hurt, Frank Thomas. He asked why they called him that, and before I could answer he said "probably because the ball hurts after he hits it".....and I said, "yeah, I bet it does".

So I just want to thank Frank Thomas. Thanks for the memories, thanks for being a leader on the field, thanks for playing the game with integrity, and thanks for hurting that ball every year. I look forward to your HOF speech when you decide to retire.