Bears Sign Coach Rod Marinelli

According to chicagobears.com, the Bears have signed Rod Marinelli to act as an Assistant to the head coach as well as a D-Line coach. A welcome addition, if you ask me. Maybe he can light a fire under the DT's and get some pass rush next season.

Sox/M. Young Rumor Shot Down

Kenny Williams wasted no time debunking this rumor with an E-Mail to the Tribune.

Saturday Morning Baseball News

Both the Cubs and the White Sox are in the news this morning. ESPN Radio's Bruce Levine (via MLBTR) says the White Sox are looking for a top of the order hitter, and reportedly eyeing Texas Rangers SS Michael Young. Young isn't cheap (roughly $60M owed over the next 5 years) but is worth it offensively. He has a career batting average of .300 with a career OBP of .346. That's not great for a leadoff man, but he is speedy enough to get the job done at the top of the lineup. What scares some teams is Young's defense. He has the range, but is wild with his throws from time to time. The Rangers reportedly asked for Jermaine Dye and SP Aaron Poreda, but the Sox balked at Poreda. The Rangers still like Dye, so maybe a deal can be worked out.

The Cubs reportedly have been checking out Mariners RP Aaron Heilman (previously the Mets closer). I'm not a big fan of his, personally, but he was very good in 2007. His struggles are well documented in 2008. MLBTR suspects that Ronny Cedeno would be a good fit for him. Personally I wonder if the Mariners would rather have Mike Fontenot.

Baseball Tidbits

Just minor news today...

For the Cubs, the Daily Herald believes a new owner may up the payroll to allow Hendry to bring in Jake Peavy. Still not too keen on that idea...The Cubs have other holes to fill (such as 2nd base, now that DeRosa's gone.)
Also, the SunTimes says Milton Bradley's 3rd year becomes a club option if he is seriously hurt in the 2009 season. Smart move by the Cubs.

For the White Sox, SI says they're in on Freddy Garcia. They will have competition however, as the Mets and Rangers are as well. He would be a good low-risk, high-reward option one would think.

Milton Bradley Deal Finalized

Per espn.com (hat-tip MLBTradeRumors)Milton Bradley's 3 year, $30M deal with the Cubs was finalized today. I'm still not sure how I feel about this. If Bradley can play 140 games a year, it's a good deal. History says he can't do this, however. In fact, only once in his nine year career (with LA in 2004) has Bradley ever been on the field for 140 games, topping out at 141.

He had a huge year last season, but I'm still not sure it warrented a contract as big as the one he received. If the 30 year old switch hitter can give us the type of ball he played last season with Texas for a month's worth of games more, this will be Hendry's best move of the off-season.

Pedro to the South Side?

No link...no news...no story at all...just a blogger's "what if?" scenario. It doesn't take a well-educated fan to realize the Sox need another arm, and Kenny Williams isn't going to be going after a Derek Lowe. So just what if Pedro was offered a one year contract to the south side? I'm not sure how much it would take...considering MetsBlog has said Pedro Martinez recently turned down a one-year, $7M offer from an unspecified AL team. One would have to think it was a team that most likely wouldn't be in contention, because Pedro's not going to get that sort of deal elsewhere I don't believe. Maybe a 1 year, $6M deal with Innings Pitched incentives to boost it up to $7M or $8M? I think Pedro would be a good fit on the South Side, and it may be his best shot at winning another ring and getting the money he wants if he doesn't return to New York. Comments?

Peavy Talks back on?

According to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Sun-Times, the Jake Peavy talks will likely resume for the Cubs. After shedding Jason Marquis' contract, the Cubs are now supposedly looking for a dominant pitcher to take his place.

Here's my take on this. We've got good in-house options for this role. Jeff Samardzija would like to start. Sean Marshall has proven he can start (he through 6 innings of perfect baseball in Cincinnati 15 months ago, I believe). If we go after Peavy, it's more than likely going to cost us A-baller 3rd Baseman Josh Vitters. We selected Vitters in the draft with the #3 pick in 2007, dubbed as the best hitter in the class. He should be ready to play about the time Aramis Ramirez's contract is up. I just don't see the need to have four pitchers on the staff that are all #1 or 2 starters. Yes, of course it would be nice to have a rotation of Peavy, Zambrano, Dempster, Harden and Lilly, but, is it worth mortgaging your future? Instead of trading the future for a guy who was injured and saw his velocity drop last season, I'd rather get a the 2nd Baseman we've been trying to get for over a year now (Brian Roberts, Orioles) and keep our very best prospects to ourselves.

DB, DL, and now LB Coaches all Gone

On Dec. 30, Bears GM Jerry Angelo said, "If change is needed to be made, changes will be made." We read ya loud and clear, Jerry. As of today, all three of the defensive coaches under Defensive Coordinator Bob Babich are off the team.

The day after Angelo's press conference, Defensive Backs coach Steve Wilks was shown the door. This was expected by several, as the Bears defensive backfield was horrible this season. I have never seen such a high success rate for opponents on 3rd and long than what the Bears competition showed me this season.

Less than a week after Wilks' departure, Defensive Line coach Brick Haley could apparently see the writing on the wall. On Jan. 5 he sent in his resignation so he could become the Defensive Line coach at LSU. I can't place so much of the blame on the DL solely on him, but Tommie Harris underperformed this season, and the Bears never really established another Nose Tackle to play alongside him. Apparently Lovie Smith and Angelo believe the former coach of the worst team in NFL history can fix this DL, as Rod Marinelli has already been formally offered a contract to become the next DL Coach of the Bears.

Now on to the most recent firing. Lloyd Lee was fired today, making all three areas of defense without coaches. Lee was upset, but classy in his departure, saying, "It is what it is. I'm not going to really get into a lot of detail. You don't go to the playoffs and I guess this is what happens." I have no idea who we might get to fill this role, but I'm sure options are out there.

So the question remains...How long does Bob Babich keep the Defensive Coordinator tag to his name? Will he be let go as well? Several think so. Will he be demoted to LB coach (the position he held prior to receiving the DC job)? It's a possibility. All we know is this defense would not have won us any playoff games in the first place, so it's best to shed the old armor, don a new outfit, and go out to battle again in 2009.

Marquis traded to the Rockies

In a deal that's been pending for a few days, SP Jason Marquis was dealt from the Cubs to the Rockies for RP Luis Vizcaino. I like this deal for one reason alone -- it sheds some pay roll. The Cubs did have to throw an extra $875k in, though. Vizcaino is no better at relieving than Marquis is starting, so I don't know what kind of role he will have.

I'M BACK!

Alright sports fans who are no long here, I have not made a post in 5 months, to the day! But I am back, and better than ever. I completed up my collegiate career over the last few months, rested and ready to get back in the game! I would love to see this website grow, but for now, I'm going to focus on getting my old readers back, and picking up some new ones in the process. On to sports we go!