Two-Gun Pete

Don't know why anyone would bash him. This roster's likely gonna need a 6th and 7th, and possibly an 8th SP; most teams do. Dunning ain't here any more, and this is what this roster is, for better or worse. Let's pump the brakes on deeming Katz a miracle worker for just a minute. Katz couldn't "fix" Fulmer, and the results remain to be seen with Cease. Ugh, why didn't they sign another SP this offseason? The bullpen looks like it'll be NAILS, even without seeing much of Hendriks so far.

Yeah, that was my viewpoint all offseason long. I wanted 2 innings eater types in FA to start the season, and to push Kopech & others to AAA. THEN, at the TDL, acquire your SP rental, with the assumption that rentals would be cheaper this year than usual. (Given that we're looking at a possible work stoppage in 2022.) As it stands, this rotation is on a knife's edge. I dont want Lopez or Lambert or Stiever as the 6th or 7th SP. But where we are NOW, I cant laugh at Lopez's struggles. We NEED him, unfortunately, because of the choices that were made this offseason. Or, more properly stated, we will likely need him before 162 are finished. I will never understand why a guy like Q wasn't acquired this offseason. He seemed like the perfect fit to get this team TO the TDL. Having him and another innings eater instead of Cease and Rodon would have been my preference to start the season. Oh well, now we have to hope that Rodon can keep this up, while hoping Cease can find the strike zone.

I agree. At the same time, who starts if Cease continues to walk the yard, or Rodon goes back to being made of glass, or if Rodon goes back to walking the yard? As it stands right now, who else can be the next man up in the rotation? The abject lack of depth is worrisome. The choice to use Crochet and Kopech out of the pen, while fun, contributes to this lack of depth. That said, for as disappointed as we all are in Lopez today, I'm equally pleased by Rodon not walking anyone today. Here's hoping Rodon can keep this up. Here's also hoping that someone, ANYONE, can find enough in them to provide quality depth to this rotation. Its inevitable that a MLB team will need a 6th, and perhaps even a 7th or 8th SP over 162.

Well, its spring training for the fans as well. I'm just trying to get my work in.

Thats fair. As a fan, I really want this team to have a good season. I'm also tired of the younger SPs walking the yard, and holding up this entire team's ability to compete, by them not throwing enough strikes, leading them to not throw enough innings, leading to a heavier-tham-necessary workload on the bullpen. So, I want for them to strive mightily to improve their outcomes. Better?

With this lineup, the only things that matter are: 1. Getting through this game healthy, and 2. Carlos Rodon throwing a metric fuck-ton of strikes, getting ahead in the count, locating his FB, and once again, throwing a metric fuck-ton of strikes. Him walking the fucking yard like Cease did yesterday would be an issue, IMO. IMO, the second key to this game is as important or moreso than the 1st. Fucking throw strikes today, Carlos.

I think I agree on this point. I would also throw into this same "area of concern" the ability for Rodon, Lopez, Kopech, and Crochet to throw strikes and stay healthy. At the same time, Keuchel and Lynn have to stave off Father's Time's inevitable victory over them for one more season. Its why I remained stunned and disappointed that this front office did nothing this offseason to improve the depth among the rotation. To the topic of this thread, I think its certainly "possible" that this team could play .600 ball. But I think its equally possible that this team could play .500 ball this season.

(Snicker) Trade Nick Foles? To whom? For what, exactly? There are better players available for free, or if you really need to make a trade, there are other QBs that will be available that are better than him. But, I admire the positivity on your part, sir.

They are right now, a worse team today than they were at the end of a mediocre 8-8 season. They are not done cutting salary, so look for Akiem Hicks to be the next cap casualty. They will have an aging defense that lost two of their more productive players off the defense. They still only have 1 starting caliber skill position player on offense. Even if you believe in the interior of the O-line, there is not a starting caliber tackle (on either side) in this roster. And even if the $10MM man at QB surprises us, at 33 years old, how much does Dalton really have left? (And why did they have to pay $10MM? Who did they have to out-bid for him?) In sum, they should have fired everyone, and blown this thing up instead of bringing Pace and Nagy back. To your point, I believe that every day Pace and Nagy are here will only lengthen the time before this thing can get turned around. IOW, their mere presence IS causing long-term damage to this organization.

Yeah, I see they're still trying to sucker gullible fans into clicks/likes/RTs/views/ratings. There's no chance of Wilson coming here, and I think that package as you described it might be less than what Seattle supposedly just turned down. Either way, EVEN IF by sheer luck and the will of The Almighty, and IF Seattle lost their damn minds, and IF Wilson would want to come to a decimated shell of a team, youd still have to rely on Ryan Pace to build a team around Wilson. (Without cap space and draft picks to do so.) I think you just reinforced my view that every day that Pace & Nagy are here is another day further from the inevitable teardown. I think every day they're here just pushes the next competitive window further into the future. I think the Bears would have been better to fire everyone, & start the firesale THIS offseason.

Sure. If you're a BEARS fan, think about all the time you'll save this fall, not having to tune into BEARS games this season. OR, if you're a glutton for punishment, you can DVR the games, and drink in the glory of a team without Fuller, Hicks, and [probably] Robinson in a matter of a half-hour instead of 3 hours. Think about all the money you'll save off your cable bill by not having to get any of the additional packages. You can maybe parlay that additional cash and time into something that will improve your life, instead. If you're NOT a BEARS fan, think about all the money you can win by betting against gullible BEARS fans all year long. If a fandom can be led around by the balls all offseason, think about how [collectively] irrationally exuberant they must be. After all, half of all BEARS fans are also probably stoopid scrubs fans.

Relax, that was a bit of gallows humor. And yes, I was being hyperbolic for effect. In any case, the failure to acquire a QB that could choose his destination was eminently predictable. And anyone who wasted a billisecond actually believing that there was a snowball's chance in hell of occurring is either young and inexperienced, or gullible, or was simply led around by the balls by a sensationalistic media that fed into a fandom's false hopes. Wentz wasn't coming here, because the offense has all of 1 starter-caliber skill position player [Who may not want to re-sign/report here], a sub-standard O-line, a coaching staff & GM on the firing line, and no resources to fix it. [IOW, good professional players don't want to go to shitty teams.] Watson wants out of Houston, but all of the above that applies to Wentz also applies to Watson, PLUS Watson still holds a grudge against this stupid GM who didn't even talk to him during the draft process. For Wilson, this organization never had the ammo to make a trade happen, PLUS any sort of internal issues with Seattle were entirely overblown, and based on moronic media speculation that was designed to get clicks/likes/views/ratings. Again, this was so fucking predictable that no one older than 5 should have spent a second thought believing this bullshit. Not with THIS roster, THAT coach, THAT GM, and THAT utter lack of resources [picks/cap space, etc...] to make it happen. Whoever said that the BEARS = 2016 SOX right now are correct. This organization IS mired in mediocrity. And those of us who wanted a mass firing of everyone and everything in the Org, followed by a firesale are vindicated, IMO.

Wait, I was led to believe that Watson or Wilson were "all but certain," right? And wasn't it "moralistic" to assume that the Bears would fail to land a top 5 QB as well? I mean, I'm shocked, SHOCKED that all the media bullshit that was ginned up to lead the gullible around by their balls didn't come to fruition. Totally surprised, I tell ya.

I think I agree with this. I also think that the org is planning on a work stoppage after this season. I also think that Lynn hasn't been as careful to take care of his body as others. So, I think his age-related regression will be more dramatic than other players that have taken care of their bodies over the course of their careers. So, from that perspective, extending a 34 year old makes much less sense. For me, I hope Harold's eyes are about a Giolito or Vaughn extension.

1. Oh, I get it. I just don't see how it is in any way "moralistic," so it isn't really worth discussing. 2. Pretty much all of what you posted in this part of your post is speculative. The only "known knowns" about Wilson's issues in Seattle all center around him being hit too much, him being dissatisfied with the O-Line, and the offense overall. He hasn't said anything directly or indirectly about his relationship with Carroll. Ya know, the sort of stuff a team with a metric fuckton of cap space could fix in FA. (Like the Seattle Seahawks!) 3. Yes, I refuse to engage in discussing all hypothetical "internal issues" that, IMO, just aren't in evidence here. Wilson doesn't want to be hit as much, and he wants some help on offense. For Seattle, these issues are more easily fixed than it would be to find another HOF QB. So, I tried to get others to explain to us exactly why Seattle would want to trade Wilson away. There hasn't been any direct and reliable reporting of Wilson having a problem with the organization, or having a problem with Carroll. Anything that has suggested these things is mere speculation.

Ok, I disagree. But, I'll attempt to draw an MLB parallel to Seattle giving away Wilson. Seattle trading away Wilson while they're in their competitive window to a conference foe would be like: The SOX giving away Giolito right now to Seattle, while the SOX are in their competitive window. See? It ain't moralistic, so much as the thought of giving away a #1 SP would be stoopud in the middle of a competitive window, especially to a league opponent. It also ain't moralistic to give away a top QB in the middle of a competitive window, especially to a conference opponent. It would just be stoopud to do. IMO, there's no "morality" involved, so much as it would be impossibly stoopid to do, in both cases. Its probably better and easier for Seattle, with all their cap space, to address some roster issues, while the aging Pete Carroll smooth things out with the HOF QB. (Seriously, Seattle has a metric fuckton of cap space to pick up FA this offseason.)

A. No, I don't think its moralistic, I see it as realistic. When the SOX did the tear down, they sent 2 of their top 3 assets to the NL. And many times, teams send their top assets out of their league to the other one. IOW, its a competitive disadvantage to lose a HOF QB. Its an even bigger disadvantage to deal him within your conference. B. Yes, we agree that a top 5 QB is a massive advantage. Why would Seattle give it up, when it looks like they're trying to compete? OTOH, if Seattle were backing up the truck, and firing everybody in the org, from Carroll down to the waterboy, sure: it might make a modicum of sense to Seattle to ship Wilson out, and accumulate future assets. But as things are today? I haven't read a cogent argument as to why Seattle would do this right now.

1. Thank you for agreeing with me. However, I asked those questions in the hope that someone could convince me otherwise. 2. Carroll is a lot of things, but he ain't stupid. He also knows that his time coaching is finite, and he knows that Darnold is probably not good at football. So I think its more likely that he will use his love of culture to smooth things over with future HOFer Wilson, than it is for him to go 3-13 with noted scrub darnold to finish off his career. 3. Players are egotistical, and they say a lot of things through their agents. Who really gives a rip, until he himself says it? This still feels like a pile of media-ginned up bullshit.

My friends who moved from Chicago to Seattle agree with this assessment. Honestly, no one who believes that Wilson will come here can answer: 1. Why, exactly Seattle would trade in conference, 2. Why a 70 year old Pete Carroll would want to go through a rebuild, 3. Why a team that is trying to compete would want to be the only team trying to compete, WITHOUT an established QB, and 4. Why Seattle would want to trade with a team (the BEARS), who do not have a QB to send back to them? This all feels like offseason filler bullshit that will amount to exactly Jack and Shit. It feels like media hype to give the gullible something to think/talk about. It feels like a ginned-up story, without any real basis. Sure, Wilson said he'd accept a trade here. But why would the holder of the asset (The Seattle Seahawks) want to trade him here? (So far, its all been crickets.)

Nah, it ain't Bmags who can't handle "negativity." But, while Houston might be coerced into trading Watson, I don't think Watson wants to come here. Athletes are egotistical, and I don't see Watson getting around any perceived slight at this stage of his career. That's even BEFORE getting into what the cost of acquisition might be for a player like Watson. OTOH, Wilson might want to come here, but I don't think that there are enough assets to convince Seattle to give him up. Why, exactly, would Seattle want to be the "one team" that's trying to compete that doesn't have an established QB? And why would they trade him inside the conference? Pete Carroll's about to be 70 years old this September. Why would he want to go into a re-tooling process at this point in his career? Darnold/Fitzpatrick/Foles/Smith/Winston isn't what I would want in an ideal situation. But I think the best that this FO/coaching staff can do would be to sign the best FA they can find, and hope that it works out.

You don't have to go back too far on my posting history to see those types. You don't have to go back too far to see the sacchariney-sweet types who can't handle any sort of "negativity." [Shrugs] LOL, yeah, there's a fair amount of those over here who don't like any sort of critique of any of the FOs in town... That said, I don't know if this org even SHOULD pursue a QB, given the awesome job they've done hereto fore in the four QB decisions they've made. But if it's Watson v. Wilson, I think it will more likely be the latter rather than the former. When the dust settles, I don't think this team will land either, in all honesty. I think it'll be in the Foles, Alex Smith, Sam Darnold, Ryan Fitzpartick level of QB.

I know some here will get offended because I don't have the pom pons out for Pace. [Some people here can only tolerate sacchariney-sweet cheerleading at ALL TIMES, WSI-style.] That said, I think that Watson is/was offended by Pace's ingeniously-glorious decision to NOT have Watson out for dinner during the draft process. [Gotta compliment ALL FOs in town, or else some people here might whine about how they can't tolerate anything other than positivity.] Because of this intelligence on the part of a highly-competent BEARS FO, I think it is more likely that Watson would refuse a trade to Chicago. After all, he can choose where to go, or he can refuse to report, or he can immediately request another trade if he were to be sent to Chicago. I think that IF a QB is traded to Chicago, it'll be Wilson, not Watson. That said, my contacts in Seattle doubt that it'll happen. NOT because of Pace's pulsating brain an ability to out-think others, just like he out-thought the league to get Trubisky with his awesome trade-up. My contacts don't think that the BEARS have the asset necessary to make it happen, vis a vis a QB to send to Seattle. No matter what happens, I think we all have to be 10,000% positive, like a fucking Disney movie, and not ever point out any sort of perceived failing on the part of ANY FO in Chicago.

TLR is RIGHT NOW a HOF-caliber manager in the same way that Dick Butkus is RIGHT NOW a HOF-caliber MLB. Its merely more deleterious that a wealthy and famous "man" couldnt even have the ability to use his flip-phone to call a cab. Oh, and that instead of taking responsibility for his actions like a MAN, he pulled the "Im a HOF baseball person" bit. Honestly, TLR's kinda a whiny old b****.

I was OK with the rebuild. I just never thought that the imbeciles who traded for James Shields and got this team "mired in mediocrity" should have been given the opportunity to oversee the rebuild. I don't think I'm alone in thinking this way; their choices in this and last offseason are proving why we were reluctant to trust those morons. That said, one can think this way, AND still enjoy the season.

I don't believe that, a decade removed, and gallons of booze separated from his last game managed, the dessicated remains of TLR is RIGHT NOW a HOF manager any more. I think his brain has lost some sharpness in the intervening years, and I think that the booze has robbed him of some of his sharpness as well. I think his 76 years on earth have robbed his body of the physical endurance needed to be at his best over 162. Lynn might be good, or he might not be in 2021, when his overweight, 33-going-on-34 year old body may or may not hold up. What's more, is that over 162 games, EVEN IF Lynn is good, there's an equal-or-greater chance that Cease/Rodon/Lopez will continue to suck horses asses, walk the yard, and burn out the bullpen in 2021. In terms of the competitive window [which was the point of that post], trading 1 year of Lynn for 6 years of Dunning absolutely was the wrong choice. I will agree with you that RH should have been fired. But that should have happened years ago. Along with KW, and pretty much the entirety of the FO.