Taking Inventory

My most recent post? July 23rd, 2012. Almost two years ago. The post before that was entitled "Why Rip Hamilton Gets Me Excited for the 2011-2012 Bulls." While I'm still trying to decide if it's more disappointing that I haven't posted for 2 years or that there was a moment that I was excited about Rip Hamilton being a member of the Chicago basketball team, I am certain that a lot has happened in these last two years in the world of sports. The Blackhawks won another Stanley Cup in 2013 with a fairly impressive 17 second stretch, Derrick Rose's knees did their best Glass Joe impression twice, Chicago baseball continued to underwhelm, and the Bears gained a new coach while saying goodbye to one of their franchise's greatest players in Brian Urlacher. Oh, and Bartolo Colon even got a hit!

I'd like to get back to using this venue to share my thoughts and opinions about the happenings in the sports world in a more consistent manner, and to do that I think it's best to asses where the major Chicago teams are at right now. Let's start with the teams that are currently playing actual games:

The Chicago White Sox

I am always guilty of being overly optimistic about my favorite team in all of sports. At the beginning of the year I kept trying to remind myself that with the extra wild card team, a weak AL Central division with Detroit's key contributors like Cabrera and Verlander getting older, that the Sox could potentially sneak into the playoffs. I'm happy to report that generally the performance of the southsiders has helped me maintain my optimism: Chris Sale continues to be a leading Cy Young candidate, Jose Abreu has crushed all expectations (along with several poorly located pitches) with his prolific all-fields power stroke, Adam Eaton has been a welcome addition as a catalyst at the top of the order, and Alexei Ramirez and Gordon Beckham have shown significant improvements at the plate so far this year.

Of course Sale, Abreu, and Eaton have already spent time on the DL, the bullpen was awful to start the year, the Erik Johnson experiment did not work, which has led to far too many starts from the likes of Andre Rienzo, Scott Carroll, and Hector Noesi, not to mention that Danks has mixed in a couple of solid starts with some significant implosions. This team will likely hover around .500 all year, which means they won't be too far out of a playoff spot, but it's unrealistic to think they can overcome Det, KC, Cle in their own division, to to mention Anaheim and a number of teams in the AL East competing for Wild Card spots.

The good news is that GM Rick Hahn has shown that he can bring in good young talent in Abreu and Eaton, not to mention Avisail Garcia coming back next year when he gets healthy, new #3 overall draft choice Carlos Rodon, and more prospects in the minors than Sox fans are used to. Lots of holes can be filled through free agency as well when Adam Dunn's massive contract is off the books at the end of this year. There is a lot to be excited about when considering the future of the White Sox, although it's probably best for my own sanity to not get too excited this year.

The Cubbies

The Cubs have a ton of young talent and should be ready to compete in a few years. So what if that last sentence could have been copied and pasted from any number of years when describing the Cubs, this time it's true damnit!

Gratuitous Cubs vibing aside, Wrigleyville should be excited that Rizzo has seemed to figure out left-handed pitching this year (slashing a robust .328/.432/.582 this year against lefties versus .189/.282/.342 last year), and the fact that Kris Bryant's dominance of the high minors might force a call up before the Cubs can avoid his Super 2 status (giving the Cubs an extra year of control over Bryant before he hits arbitration) is a good problem to have, especially since the Cubs shouldn't have to worry about operating like a small market team.

The list of exciting Cubs prospects is endless, but the issue will be if Theo and Jed can cobble together a pitching staff when the time is right. The plan is supposed to be to sign impact free agents (likely pitchers) to pair with the elite prospects when the young'uns are ready to perform on the big stage. This is easier said than done, and the plan is also reliant on the development of young prospects. If I'm a Cubs fan, I'm certainly more in a "show me" state of mind rather than just blindly believing that the Cubs will be WS contenders in 2016.

The Hawks

What a great team. The core of Toews, Kane, Hossa, Keith, and Sharp are locked up, which means this team will be a Stanley Cup contender for a long time, which is very exciting. Every team dreams of having a fairly young core locked up for a while so their window of competing for the Cup stays open for an extended period of time, and the Hawks have exactly that.

Many fans have talked about how the Hawks getting bounced by the LA Kings in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals was one of their most devastating moments as a sports fan. Sorry, but I don't see it. The Kings were a great hockey team, and it was evident to anyone watching that the Western Conference Finals was the de-facto Stanley Cup Finals. These were clearly the two best teams in the league. So Hawks fans were treated to brilliant hockey on both sides for 7 games, and it's ok to tip your cap to a great team. If this series were played 100 times the Hawks probably would have won it about 45 times. Sure it hurts to be on the losing side, but the bottom line is that the Hawks have won 2 cups in the last 4 years even after losing this one. It reminds me of the clashes between Magic Johnson's Lakers versus Larry Legend's Celtics. Both great teams, but somebody was gonna lose. I think Hawks fans should hold up their heads high and be proud of the fact that their team contributed to some of the greatest Stanley Cup games ever played. And let's get it next year.

Da Bears

It's about time they figured it out. Success in the modern-day NFL is predicated on two important factors:

1) Can your offense throw the ball in key situations?
2) Can your defense disrupt the other team's passing game?

Long gone are the days when teams would run the ball and play tough defense; the rules won't allow for tough defense anymore and it's easier to pick up large chunks of yardage through the air than on the ground. Lovie Smith was a fantastic defensive coach. The Bears had a great defense. It didn't matter. The Bears couldn't keep score with the high-paced offenses that were still able to put up points against the Bears staunch defense, and the defensive-minded team was in a lot of trouble anytime they were playing from a deficit.

Phil Emery has finally put the focus in the right spots, bringing in an offensive minded coach in Mark Trestman, providing Cutler with a lot of playmakers who can catch the ball (Marshall, Jeffery, Forte, Bennett), and pass protection, revamping the offensive line last offseason. This year, Emery revamped their defensive line and drafted a cornerback with their first pick, giving the Bears 3 solid corners. It's clear they're preparing to face teams like Green Bay and Detroit; they want to pressure their elite QBs while trying to lock down on the weapons those types of teams possess. It's the right approach, and I'm confident it will lead to a playoff appearance this year (hopefully this isn't like my Rip Hamilton optimism).

The Chicago Bulls

Even though the NBA season just ended, right now the Bulls are the most interesting they've been since Derrick's knee gave out on him again 10 games into this past season. The decisions the Bulls will be making will probably be discussed in more detail in a future post, but the cliff notes are as follows: GMs Gar Forman and John Paxon have been stressing that they want flexibility with their players and their contracts so that they can have a lot of options on how to construct their team moving forward. All of the flexibility has led to the accumulation of these assets:

-The Bulls have the #16 and #19 picks in a loaded 2014 draft
-Bulls draft pick Nikola Mirotic is dominating play in Europe and could come over to play with the Bulls as a stretch 4 if his buyout and NBA contract are agreed upon (or he could be traded)
-They have a future Kings pick and the ability to swap places with Cleveland's pick down the line

All of these assets are important because both Kevin Love and Carmelo Anthony are available (Love via trade, Carmelo is a FA but could be had in a sign and trade with the Knicks). SG Aaron Afflalo from Orlando is also a potential trade target for the Bulls to pair with DRose in the backcourt. GarPax needs to figure out how they can use these assets to construct the best team possible. Do they think they'll be best served by dealing a lot of assets for Kevin Love, dumping a lot of salary for Carmelo Anthony, or consolidating their 2 1st round picks into a higher pick for a more elite shooter and then bringing over Mirotic. It looks like the Bulls are focused on trying to acquire Carmelo Anthony, but it will be fascinating to see how this team looks next year, especially since they could certainly be the Paper Champions with the best looking roster going into the beginning of next year if they can make a starting 5 like Rose/Afflalo/Butler/Anthony/Noah happen.