A Chicago Fan Can Only Dream...Peavy, Stoudemire, Boldin

His Jesusness Shuttlesworthness comes out of blogging retirement to write this post about how Chicago Sports may be on the cusp of 3 championships. Seriously, I received this message from him as a precursor to the post: "I was just upset about some haters I heard last night that werent willing to do anything we could for Amare, Boldin, and Peavy. We could be at the beginning of a historic transformation in Chicago sports history, a chance to change everything for the better."

We’ve seen wild trade rumors and stingy front offices (ahem, the Bears, ahem) in Chicago for too long. However, speaking as a true sucker, I’d be willing to excuse a recent past full of poor risk management, regrettable drafting, and too many generally unfathomable personnel decisions… if over the course of the next couple of weeks, Jim Hendry, John Paxson, and Jerry Angelo can muster up our capable dollar and some inspiring courage to acquire Jake Peavy, Amare Stoudemire, and Anquan Boldin. I would call this my thesis. A fairly provocative if, then. Now, before you begin to criticize such a conclusion, let me present to you some premises. Lead by the Bulls’ approaching trade deadline (Feb. 19), the big three Windy City franchises (sorry Sox fans) have a chance to turn all their fortunes around…in a hurry.

First, the Bears. The most common, erroneous, and frustrating counterargument to chasing Boldin- “he’s a hothead…a baby...a poison.” Fall back ignorance. Before the 07-08 season, the offense voted him captain. Fitz loves him. So you don’t know shit. What we do know, however, is undeniable. Quickest player in NFL history to 400 receptions. Most receptions in the first 25 games of an NFL career. Perennial YAC leader. Among the best blocking wideouts in the league. Why not? Why not take a chance on Boldin? It’s not like we can get much worse than what we’ve got, right? Well, let’s agree wide receiver is a draft priority- at the least. So would you be opposed to giving up a 1^st and 3^rd round draft pick, with Earl Bennett packaged? Of course not. How could you? Marcus Robinson was our last league-leading wideout (wow, that’s embarrassing) and we haven’t had great success in that department of the draft since (ex. David Terrell, Mark Bradley, Bobby Wade, David Terrell, and so on…) Let’s chase Boldin! After all, he’s got 2 years left on his contract and he is only getting paid half a million dollars more annually than fucking Marty Booker! Boldin has a chance to be one of the league’s best, if you don’t already consider him in that echelon. At age 28, he’s got a lot of career left and you know he’s been yearning to show what he can be as a No. 1 target.

Next, the Cubs. This might be the most obvious. Here’s a resume to ease the uncertainty: Youngest pitcher to win the ERA title since Dwight Gooden, captain for Team USA at the WBC, the pitching triple crown winner in 2007 (one of only 8 in history), unanimous CY Young winner in the same year, and so on… In my not qualified to comment opinion, the best NL pitcher, second only to Johan Santana. Look at the numbers! How can you fight that? Padres GM Kevin Towers has even said he needs to trade Peavy before the spring. Without much doubt, the Chicago Cubs rotation would be the league’s best heading into the 2009 campaign. Imagine. Peavy takes the ball from Zambrano. Harden on the bump after Peavy. Dempster every 4^th game. You’d have to at least project dominance. And if it comes to this, wouldn’t you swap Dempster with Peavy in the blink of an eye?

Finally, our beloved Bulls- only days from the trade deadline. Everyone has been talking about this. Suns management has been hinting towards it. Chad Ford has been skewing, overhyping, and plotting it. The best part- it all makes perfect sense for us. The Bulls have all the pieces. Two expiring contracts with Gooden and Ced Simmons, Steve Kerr’s wet dream in the form of Kirk Hinrich, and the deceiving upside of an athlete (Tyrus) and a game-changing defender (Thabo). Paxson needs to be ready and willing to deal all of these pieces. Moreover, he can’t fall into old patterns by stubbornly protecting Deng and even Gordon.

I love dreaming. And while the above hype might forever remain a dream, it is our job as fans to get worked up about it. I ask you to angrily reject the alternative future. Envision us without Boldin- trying to establish a title competitor with an Orton-Lloyd headliner. Envision us without Amare- more of the same frontcourt disaster. Envision us without Peavy- a pitching gem short from an expectedly competitive NL Central title and an inexplicably squandered chance at the most prolific assembly of talented right-handers in the modern era of baseball.

Let’s band together. Yell at our neighbors. Donate facebook statuses. Overhype as much as possible. Then when it’s all lurking on the horizon, close our eyes. And if we wake up to a dream deferred…its management's head! We’ll have already lost Paxson’s balls.

Oh My God, I Just Took A Huge Link Dump (Today's Links)

• Lions fans really REALLY hate Matt Millen. Holding up "Fire Matt Millen" signs is one thing, but this is entirely different.
• Bears sign ex-Northwestern QB Basanez to 2-year deal. Really? What exactly does this do?
• The Bulls didn't look terrible, but they did lose to the Rockets to snap their road-winning streak at 3 games.
  
• Some crazy statistics for Bulls players during January. It gave me a headache, but maybe someone out there can explain them to me.
• Bud Selig makes a lot of money. Not that he shouldn't, but more than 99% of Major League players? That seems like a bit much. (Thanks to Gavin for the tip)
  
• Some sort of crazy wrestling video with AJ Pierzynski (sp?).
• Apparently the Cubs just have way too many short white guys to be a championship-caliber team.
• Big Ten basketball is physical? Get out of here! That many flagrant fouls in that short a time is a little much, though.
• The Peavy rumors live!
• The late Bob Hayes was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame. His "sister" gave a speech at the press conference, but here's the catch: She is faking that she's his sister. Wow. (Thanks to Gavin for this link too; maybe he should just do the freaking links)
  

Cubs Acquire Heilman

The Cubs traded newly acquired pitcher Garrett Olson and infielder Ronny Cedeno to the Mariners for pitcher Aaron Heilman.

Heilman, age 30, has spent his entire major league career with the New York Mets. He appeared in 78 games last year, all in relief. Heilman's career ERA is 4.24 after posting a 5.21 mark last season. However, the three years before that saw ERAs of 3.04, 3.62, and 3.17.

Heilman is expected to challenge Marshall for the fifth spot in the rotation and at the very worst provide dependable relief.

The right-hander spent his college days at Notre Dame, where he apparently caught Hendry's eye.

Does this end speculation about getting Jake Peavy? Well, nothing will ever end speculation, but it certainly looks unlikely since Olson was thought to be a piece in that vexing puzzle.

It's not especially tough to see Ronny Cedeno go, but he showed some good things last year and it would have been nice to see him succeed in Chicago. Plus, isn't he better than Aaron Miles anyway?

Today's Links

• Looks like a Peavy deal hinges on Hendry throwing in Samardijza. Seems unlikely he would do that, but anything is possible.
• Bibby and the Hawks were too much for the Bulls as the Hawks won. The real story happened during the timeouts, though. More on that later...
• Mayor Daley wants Chicago to get another professional football team besides the Bears. If they had only kept the Cardinals decades ago we would be cheering on a Super Bowl-bound team this year.
• In honor of the 44th President, here are some notable 44s in NBA history.
• Larry Hughes may be on his way out...finally. As much fun as it is to see all those DNP-CDs next to his name, Paxson may be sending him to New Jersey for Bobby Simmons and spare parts.
• That Greek priest the Cubs brought in to bless the dugout last season is pissed at Cubs Chairman Crane Kenney. This isn't a real story, is it?
• Top Ten things overheard in the Bulls locker room.

Today's Links

• The Cardinals are going to the Super Bowl! And apparently AJ over at Deadspin has to get a new tattoo.
• The Steelers will be joining them. That AFC Championship was hard-hitting, but boring. Agreed?
• Shut up mom! I want to play my XBox! I'm going to hit you and throw this taco at you if you don't shut up!
  
• Kirk Hinrich and Derrick Rose together in the backcourt, is it a good combo or a bad one? Henry Abbott breaks down their dynamic during the Cleveland game.
  
• Bye bye Felix Pie. The question remains; is Garrett Olson the key to a Peavy deal? Is everything the key to a Peavy deal?
• Two-Month old fetus officially decreed to be NCAA "prospect". Just kidding, but seriously, where are the boundaries here?
• The Bears need a wide receiver, and while I'm more in favor of a defensive back, this guy looks really REALLY good.
• Remember Matt Sylvester? That f#$%er that beat Illinois to ruin their undefeated season? Things aren't going so well for him these days. Good.
  

If The Cubs Get Peavy, Don't Forget to Hide Your Jager

As long as he's not serving me kamikaze shots at Hi-Tops (a la Kyle Farnsworth), I'll be happy. It goes without saying he would pitch better than Farnsy, that's for damn sure.

Today's Links

• If the Cubs get Peavy, are they going to look to deal big Z? (The source is totally unreliable)
  
• God explains Week 14 of the NFL season.
• It looks like Kerry Wood is going to be a Cleveland Indian. I'm glad we don't have to face him now that he'll be in the American League. I'll be cheering for you Kerry.
• Did the Tribune disrespect Ron Santo? No wonder this guy can't get respect from the Veteran's Committee, his hometown paper doesn't even respect him!
• Some quick hits about the Bears from WCG.
• Personally, I think Kobe Bryant should not be compared to Michael Jordan. Kobe should be Kobe, not the next Michael. That being said, MJ was way better than Kobe is, and this guy proves it with all kinds of crazy metrics and statistical analyses.
  
• So apparently the Peavy deal is done. No wait, my bad, it's not even close. This is why I refuse to write anything extensive about the Peavy story until it is a done deal.
• Bulls beat the Knicks in a shootout. Well both teams shot a lot, not many went in. Either way Bulls win.
  

Great Day to be Studying

Sorry about the lack of content today, it gets a little busy for us this time of the year. But honestly, I look to see what's going on today for five minutes and find out:

That G-Rod got arrested. I haven't lived in Illinois long, but somehow this isn't a surprise. I know Chicago and Detroit like to upstage each other, but did Blagojevic really need to play the "governor arrested is cooler than mayor arrested" game? And this involves the Cubs somehow? Oh, boy, can't wait for the trial.

Also, the Cubs aren't remotely close to a closing deal for Peavy. Or, they are very close to a deal for Peavy. Man, these blogs are so irresponsible with their reporting...errr, that's ESPN and the Tribune. Peavy or no Peavy? The only way I see this ending is the Bears hiring Marv Levy.

As if that wasn't enough, all kinds of lame jokes about Derrick Rose cutting his arm are flying around and we don't get to partake. So the Trib and Sun-Times get to write headlines about Rose being a "slashing guard" and a "cut above" while I have to bottle up comments about Rose being the "apple of Stormin' Norman's eye" for another time.

Okay, this was the point where I had to make sure I wasn't in some sort of studying-induced hallucination. A couple of NFL sources have indicated that Matt Millen may still be calling the shots for the Detroit Lions. Yep, read that sentence again. Done? There is speculation he was fired to appease fans and is still making decisions behind the scenes. There is no way I even consider this being true if it's any team but the Lions.

That's all I have for today. Back to the books.

Some Quick Cubs Thoughts

There are a few things going on in the Cubs world this week that deserve mentioning:

• Greg Maddux is retiring. Maddux was one of the great Cubs pitchers of all-time, unfortunately mismanagement by the Chicago Cubs organization led to Maddux leaving for the larger part of his career. I'm not sure what the logic was behind allowing the Mad-Dog to go to Atlanta for all those years, but either way I will always consider him one of my favorite players. He never had the power or nasty stuff that other pitchers had, but he always got it done with possible the best ability to locate a pitch I have ever seen. A funny guy and a great pitcher, you will be missed Greg. I bet he would make a great pitching coach.


• Ron Santo hears from the Hall of Fame today. If he gets the call and gets in it will end one of the most mysterious and unfair omissions from the Hall. There are 19 3rd basemen in the Hall. Of those, Santo is statistically better than more than half of them. Assuming you only compare him to the HOFers of his generation, Brooks Robinson and Harmon Killebrew, he was as effective if not more than those guys, at least by the numbers. In terms of character, I don't need to say much except to acknowledge his courage in battling diabetes and the loss of his legs, his love for the Cubs and devotion to the sport well after his playing days ended, and all the charity and community work he has done for Chicago. Let this man in!


• The Peavy rumor mill has been swirling all fall/winter and doesn't look to stop anytime soon. I haven't addressed it much here because the news ranges from "the Cubs might still be interested in Peavy" to "the Cubs are still interested in Peavy". With no deal being made and no big breakthroughs on this front, it seems pointless to keep reporting. Just as an update though, it appears the Cubs are really the only team left on Peavy's wishlist that seem to have any interest in him. It is unlikely a deal will happen at the winter meetings, however, since the Cubs priority right now is acquiring a left-handed bat.


• The other reason the Peavy deal is not likely to happen is that it looks like Sam Zell may be headed for a fall (a la Gordon Gekko). The Tribune is preparing for the possibility of filing for bankruptcy. Obviously taking on a huge contract like Peavy's would have to be approved by Tribune ownership and that seems unlikely until the financial situation is settled.
  

Today's Links

• L'il Wayne lives with D-Wade? I don't know if I would be trying to wake up to that face, but you never know.
• Chicago is 1 of 18 places Lebron could land in 2010. I like those odds.
  
• Did you know Chicago has a Female Roller Derby team? Not only that, but they are pretty good too.
• Bulls lost to the Lakers but they put up a good fight well into the 3rd quarter. 1 down, 6 to go.
  
• I may or may not be able to recap the Bears-Packers game, considering how angry I am. If you want to read a cool shout out to some old school Bears-Packers moments, though, check this out.
• Tyson Chandler gets advice on how to be a good father from Eddy Curry? Talking about those two guys in the same sentence makes my stomach hurt, but this story is funny.
• Former Cubs Cy Young winner Rick Sutcliffe makes a sales pitch to Jake Peavy.
• Top Ten Chicago athletes that could be Bond villains. Moises Alou is no villain!
• Apparently former NBAer David Wesley has returned to undergrad and is serving as the Baylor team manager? Yikes. (Thanks to His Jesusness Shuttlesworth for this link)
  

Cubs Acquire Kevin Gregg (And Other Chicago Acquisitions)

The Cubs have acquired Kevin Gregg, the Marlins closer, for unnamed players Jose Ceda (Thanks to Judd for the useless update that it was Jose Ceda). This could mean a number of things, two of which are:

• The Cubs intend on re-signing Wood and made this move in order to flip Gregg in some kind of deal with the Padres. Now that Hoffman is gone, the Pads are in need of a closer.

• The Cubs don't intend to re-sign Wood, and this was done to add some depth to the bullpen.

Or maybe it's neither of those things. Stay tuned.
***UPDATE: The White Sox dealt Nick Swisher to the Yankees.
Also, the Bulls acquired Lindsey Hunter to back up Rose at the point.

Today's Links

• Did you hear about Obama playing ball on election day? Well here's some video of it. apparently he was being a "ball hog".
  
• I was at the Bulls game last night. They lost. Rose played well, Noce played well, even Gordon played well. On both ends of the floor no less. So why did we lose? Rebounding. The numbers don't show it, but trust me, we got hosed on the boards.
  
• God is back and he's explaining Week 11. That was not the real Kerry Collins Sunday against the Bears!
• Whoa! One source is reporting the deal for Peavy is all but done. Guess who is going to San Diego? Theriot. Interesting...
• Quotable Bears Week 11. I didn't read them because I'm still too mad, but maybe you'll be interested.
• Sam Smith's mailbag. I'll give you a clue about a majority of the article: trade speculation.

Today's Links

• Funny cartoon depicting "Take an NFL player to school day" starring Rex Grossman.
• Kelly Dwyer breaks down the Iverson-Billups trade (don't forget McDyess, the throw-in). Apparently this gives the Pistons a lot of cap room this summer. I'm just glad Rose won't have to face Chauncey 4 times this year.
• The Peavy trade talk rolls on. Cubs are still in the running.
• Bulls played crappy all game, then made a late run and almost won. Too bad. Also what was with that 3-guard small ball lineup? It actually was somewhat effective in short spurts, but I'm skeptical.
  

Today's Links

• Why are we giving Larry Hughes minutes? Entitlement for his big contract? I don't like it.
• Top Ten Chicago Sissies from a couple years ago. Some still are, but sissies don't last that long in sports (for the most part)
• McCain mocks himself and Obama in front of Obama. Don't worry, Obama does the same thing. Oh, and Hillary gets mocked too. Good times. Trust me its a good video. Thanks to Real Stadiums Have Roofs for the links.
• In ex-Bears WR news, Bobby Wade thinks Bears fans will boo Berrian this week. I say who cares.
  
• VDN does not like the way his team has been playing so far, and they are working hard in practice to correct it.
• Sounds like the Cubs plan to sign Dempster. But where will the money come from if we get Peavy too?
• The Bears lost a close one, but does that merit the tumble they've taken in power rankings around the interwebs?