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Players down there have chicken arms, they don't hit for power, period. That's why you can't take those pitcher's sexy ERA seriously.

Durant dropped out of FIBA. Shocker. Maybe the Paul George injury broke him mentally.

QUOTE (bmags @ Aug 7, 2014 -> 12:42 PM) The cavs have a whole bunch of players who have never played elite TEAM basketball. The cavs were a mess but everyone liked their individual pieces. Love probably is close but again was never in that fully meshed team. I'm guessing Cavs will look very beatable in nov/dec and we'll all laugh and then they'll dominate late as Lebron pulls them up to the level. Then we will justify how Bulls grit will overcome and then get sadly beaten down as Kevin love throws a perfect full court outlet pass to a streaking Lebron for a windmill dunk and we'll say "Oh man won't Rose-Butler-Durant-Gasol-Noah be so SICK next year". This day sucks. I second this. They have more talent on paper, but it will take them time to adjust and play as a team. But there is no reason to assume they can't.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 7, 2014 -> 12:17 PM) As long as we have Gibson and Noah, you will have one of the best rebounding teams in the NBA. We will be against rest of the league, but in a 7 game series against the Cavs, if we can't win the rebounding battle against a more talented team, we are in trouble. QUOTE (Boogua @ Aug 7, 2014 -> 12:22 PM) I don't think rebounding is more important than position flexibility, defense, and floor spacing. Thompson and Varajeo are extremely limited range wise on offense and Thompson isn't a great defender. Varajeo is extremely injury prone and is also limited offensively (I can't imagine how bad the offense might look with him and Thompson on the court at the same time). The only point I can agree on is Varejao's health. I think what he does on the court is being severely under appreciated here. On top of his rebounding, he is a grinder and energy player like Noah, and does a lot of little things for his team. He can do a lot more for the Cavs than Halsem. And if you are talking about floor spacing, Love has just as much range if not more than Bosh. Thompson while limited in terms of range, won't do worse than Birdman in this department. They brought in Miller and Jones, Allen could be on the way. Irving is a can shoot lights out, and Waiters isn't too bad himself. They have ENOUGH floor spacing for Lebron to operate on paper.

QUOTE (Boogua @ Aug 7, 2014 -> 11:12 AM) Those guys definitely have more upside than what the Heat were trotting out there, but the Heat role players were more versatile and fit Lebron better than any of the guys you just named. So you know how rebounding is one of the few advantages Bulls had over the Heat in the past? Well Varejao averaged 14 rebounds per 40 minutes last year, and Thompson was close to 12 per 40. Love is probably the best rebounder in the league. And now that we effectively replaced Deng with Dunleavy and Mirotic is not much of a rebounder at the 4, we will not even have that advantage against this version of the Cavs. While these pieces fit Lebron differently, I wouldn't say they are worse fit.

Varejao, Thompson and Waiters are better than any fourth wheel they had in Miami. Cavs are definitely the team to beat in the East, especially if Kyrie takes another step in his natural progression. I am just disappointed that even with the Bulls involved, the Cavs didn't have to give up anymore than the original rumored deal. Losing Thompson would really hurt their front court depth.

Kevin Smith might not make the 40 man roster since Flowers Nieto and Phegley aren't going anywhere. I wouldn't be surprised if a few teams would put him on their active roster next year.

We have been looking at this from the wrong angle all along. We just need to get rid of Belisario and promote Wilkins. Use Dunn in the bullpen and part time DH. This could only be addition by subtraction all the way through.

QUOTE (bighurt4life @ Aug 5, 2014 -> 08:44 PM) jake peter promoted to WS apparently I like it, and I think he can handle it.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Aug 5, 2014 -> 02:17 PM) Ya no way is Kyrie better than Derrick. Love is a fair argument but I'd still take a fully healthy Rose over him. Easily. In no world would Love be a number 1 on a championship team, Rose could lead a team to championship given a good 2nd scorer.

Between Bassitt, Recchia, Dykstra, and Snodgress, Bassitt is the only one with a plus fastball, which tops out at 95 mph when he starts. If he continues to improve on his change and curve, he has a good chance of sticking as a starter. Even if he ends up in the bullpen, he can be an effective high leverage reliever, which you can't say for most of the other guys. That's why I'd put him over the others.

I think Bassitt not in the top 25 is a big miss, he's a bit old, but has excelled in every level he has pitched. He has a strong chance of cracking the rotation next year, if not end up in the bullpen. If Rondon is 14 based on floor alone, Bassitt should be much higher as well. I personally also think Bassitt has a higher ceiling/floor than Snodgress, and he's 20. And where do you guys see Martinez rank? He's one name that could really sky rocket next year.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Aug 4, 2014 -> 10:13 PM) Ha I said that about that for BJ Upton after we steal him from the Braves for a bag of balls. Can't believe that dude is still an everyday player on a contending team, he has been god awful.

QUOTE (Bigsoxhurt35 @ Aug 4, 2014 -> 09:52 PM) Ah f*** maybe someone should get Beckham glasses...just sayin'! We can purchase half a dozen of these magical glasses and hand it out in the club house. Beckham gets a pair, Dunn's overdue for one, why not for ADA, Tank definitely needs a pair. And they ought to be upgrades over Belisario's hideous glasses.

Martinez has the most potential for pitching prospect outside of the big 4.

QUOTE (Jake @ Aug 4, 2014 -> 06:45 PM) I don't like the "helps every day" argument. He does, but he rarely can win you the game. A pitcher requires relatively little assistance to directly and almost completely determine the outcome of a game. And he'll do it every time he pitches. A hitter bats 4 times a game and makes a handful of defensive plays. When he can do too much damage at the plate, they'll walk him. Whether Abreu is at bat when you need a run is a matter of luck. Whether the starting pitcher is pitching when you need to hold the lead is a matter of skill. An average hitter gets 10% of his team's PA throughout the season. While an average starting pitcher pitches 13-14% of his teams total innings. The amount of defensive responsibilities a position players has over a pitcher brings that % of impact a little closer. I'd still pick the position player given they frequency they play.

QUOTE (Jake @ Aug 4, 2014 -> 05:44 PM) I would imagine there are more "good" starters, but the problem is the need for five of them. By this logic, starting pitchers just became the most valuable position in baseball and relievers became a lot more valuable as well. I think it's more fair to look at it from a value perspective. At the end of the day is it harder to replace a true ace or true middle of the line up hitter? I think the Sale over Abreu give the park factor they are performing in.

If Kevin Martin goes to Sixers in a three way, I really hope Bulls jump in and scoop him from them. Snell and Dunleavy for Martin gives them both a young asset and more cap space next year.

Brewster is on the Brad Goldberg track. Hopefully he fares better than Goldberg did in his sophomore year.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Aug 1, 2014 -> 09:37 PM) What's the recovery time for that? 5-6 months? I would say he's done for the year. Hopefully he comes back healthy next year.

That looks like a Shaun Livingston leg break for Paul George. This really blows

Ideal (not necessarily realistic) starting lineup. CF - Eaton SS - Sanchez 1B - Abreu DH - Martinez (2 years $30M) LF - Cabrera (4 Years $48M) RF - Garcia 3B - Gillaspie 2B - Micah C - Flowers Bench - Phegley, Wilkins, Michael Taylor, Tyler Saladino Trade Alexei to Giants for Clayton Blackburn 1 - Sale 2 - Quintanna 3 - Masterson (3 years, $24M) 4 - Danks 5 - Rodon/Beck/Rienzo/E Johnson/Bassit

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 31, 2014 -> 08:15 PM) 1b- Abreu 2b- Semien (for 3 months until M. Johnson is ready) SS- Alexei 3b- Gillaspie Lf- Viciedo Cf-Eaton Rf- A. Garcia C-J. Castro (Montas and T. Thompson) DH-A. Lind (Sanchez and Beck) SP- Sale, Quintana, Danks, J. Hammel, Noesi (until Rodon is ready) No way am I giving up Montas for Castro. He could be our number 1 pitching prospect as early as next season.

He's just not that good. We are stuck with $33 mil for a fifth starter for the next 2 years folks.

With the exception of Tank, everyone's hitting the ball well against Smyly, he won't last long out there today