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It's been a tumultuous offseason for the local nines, with the Cubs and White Sox both saying goodbye to big names who played big roles in recent years. Let's get you up to speed before spring training arrives. (Part of a series.)
Goodbye: Ozzie Guillen
78-82 (.488) last season; .524 win percentage in eight seasons, 1 World Series title
Hello: Robin Ventura
What Happened?
After eight increasingly exhausting seasons, it just became time to end the Ozzie Guillen era. The squabbling with Kenny Williams, constantly the focus of a Chicago press corps, subsumed a 2011 season appropriately promoted as an "all in" year for the Sox. It was bust, not boom, and after 21 years as a Sox player and manager, Ozzie, Kenny and Jerry Reinsdorf agreed he should get an early start on his new job managing the newly renamed Miami Marlins. He left the team in Don Cooper's hands for the final two games last fall.
How Will the Sox Miss Ozzie?
Well, he did win a World Series title, so you definitely could do worse. All of Guillen's weaknesses, especially his refusal to make tough choices about struggling veterans, were laid bare in his final season here, but ...
...
You know what? That's enough about Ozzie Guillen. It was time for a change. Let's just be done with him until the 25-year reunion in 2030.
It's been a tumultuous offseason for the local nines, with the Cubs and White Sox both saying goodbye to big names who played big roles in recent years. Let's get you up to speed before spring training arrives. (Part of a series.)
Goodbye: Carlos Pena
Last season: .225 BA, 28 HR, 80 RBI, .819 OPS (.357 OBP, .462 SLG)
Hello: Anthony Rizzo
Last season: .141 BA, 1 HR, 9 RBI, .523 OPS (.281 OBP, .242 SLG) in 153 PA
Triple-A last season: .331 BA, 26 HR, 101 RBI, 1.056 OPS
What Happened?
Carlos Pena signed a one year, $10 million deal with the Cubs for last season. After the season ended, the Cubs offered Pena arbitration but Pena rejected it. The lefty slugger hung around free agency for a while, finally rejoining the Tampa Bay Rays two weeks ago on a one-year deal worth $7.25 million.
Meanwhile, Chicago traded pitcher Andrew Cashner to San Diego for first baseman Anthony Rizzo in early January. Rizzo became available when the Padres acquired another first base prospect, Yonder Alonso, from the Reds. Just a year ago, Rizzo was a centerpiece of the deal that sent Adrian Gonzalez to Boston.
The Blackhawks fell 3-2 in overtime Tuesday night against the Vancouver Canucks, extending the team's losing streak to three in a row. The game had the feel of postseason hockey with game-changing saves by both goalies, a few unfortunate calls by officials and an intense overtime.
The Hawks' two points over the evening would have been a little easier to swallow had officials called Vancouver's Dan Hamuis' slash against Viktor Stalberg, who had a breakaway in overtime.
There were some familiar faces back on the ice for the Hawks. Patrick Sharp came back from missing eight games with what was believed to be a broken bone in his left wrist. Captain Jonathan Toews returned to the ice as well after his own wrist injury.
It's been a tumultuous offseason for the local nines, with the Cubs and White Sox both saying goodbye to big names who played big roles in recent years. Let's get you up to speed before spring training arrives. (First in a series.)
Goodbye Carlos Zambrano: 9-7, 4.82 ERA (81 ERA+), 101 K, 1.442 WHIP in 145.2 IP last year
Hello (above, clockwise from top left) Paul Maholm: 6-14, 3.66 ERA (105 ERA+), 97 K, 1.294 WHIP in 162.1 IP last year Andy Sonnanstine: 0-2, 5.55 ERA (68 ERA+), 12 K, 1.458 WHIP in 35.2 IP last year Travis Wood: 6-6, 4.84 ERA (81 ERA+), 76 K, 1.491 WHIP in 106 IP last year Chris Volstad: 5-13, 4.89 ERA (80 ERA+), 117 K, 1.425 WHIP in 165.2 IP last year
What Happened?
The Carlos Zambrano Era is over in Chicago. With his act getting old over the last three years, the Cubs shipped him to Miami for starter Chris Volstad. This was an obvious instance of addition by subtraction; although the 25-year old righthander has a little bit of upside, Volstad's impact will be that he is not the volatile, fiery Zambrano. It will no doubt be a more peaceful and serene year in the Cubs clubhouse. When the trade was announced, the dugout's Gatorade jug sighed in relief.
That is a point guard, friends. That is your point guard, that is my point guard and we can all sing Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" around a campfire that's fueled by Derrick Rose's passion. Those tears? You dare mock them? Go watch "Entourage," drink some Michelob Ultra and mock your significant other for being a few pounds too heavy, brah. Derrick Rose's reaction to that one loss? That speaks volumes to what victory and pride mean for Englewood's man. Since he entered the league Rose has always been the measured one, "the nice guy you're really pulling for." Now in a scant two-and-a-half weeks, we have Squire Rose goofin' on his new shoes, calling out the Pacers and shouldering his universe and gritting his teeth after a loss to the team everyone wants to know if he'll be able to beat.
The wise and powerful Octophant, Phineas X. Jones, has seen fit to bestow upon us a series of gorgeous designs for every corner of the Chicago sports world. Feast your eyes on our new icons for the Bulls, Bears, Blackhawks, Cubs, Sox, Fire and derby demons.
Memory is a funny thing, maybe 16 wins in 19 tries had caused you, the affable Bulls fan, to forget that the Indiana Pacers are no cakewalk. And maybe the extended lockout let you forget another fact about the Pacers, namely, that Indiana is *GULLY* The Pacers after affording the Bulls (and their United Center partisans) a cushy 10-point lead --with your requisite "Resistance is futile at the United Center"-style-Borgspeak. Yet, then Indiana lowered their shoulder and pushed back. Pushing, hefting, pounding and reminding the Bulls --and you, gentle reader-- exactly of how annoying that first round playoff series last April was and in the process, sent the Bulls to their first home loss of the season.
Indiana's front court has depth [Sigh. RIP Josh McRoberts, still depth. -Ed.] in the persons of Man Mountain, Roy Hibbert and Captain Opie, Tyler Hansbrough, NB: Third member of this Justice League of Taller Ballers, The Economist, Jeff Foster was out with a sore back. Hibbert, who frequently is a nightmare for Joakim Noah, was no different on Wednesday night. Noah, for all his talents, his pogo stick legs and not-quite-yet in shape frame, wasn't a match for, in spite of the solid 10 and 13, the Colossus, see also: Howard, Dwight.
An ongoing theme in Tom Thibodeau's tenure as Bulls head coach has been his approach to every regular season game: Just win, baby. Thibs, for better or for worse, has taken this Davis-ism as seemingly his own personal mantra. Running his stars for needless minutes during the tail end of last season's regular season, there were a lot of raised eyebrows and agog expressions around Chicago's water coolers, "Why risk the injury?" "What is he trying to prove?"
Fast forward to this season and the fans and media-types alike are still trying to learn what exactly Thibodeau is trying to prove. The Bulls are off to an incredible pace, dropping a mere three games in their first 19, still, the injuries continue to rack up. Deng's wrist injury is the latest to an already impressive array of dings and bumps in the triage unit that is the Bulls roster: Noah (slight ankle ding), Taj (ankle), Rose (toe sprain/turf toe), Rip (groin), these are normal dings that will accumulate through the course of a regular season, but the compounded 66-game season is magnifying the injuries. The Bulls' stellar early season record which is, let's be honest, a testament to the Bulls depth and a mildly generous early season schedule --10 of their first 19 games have been against teams with sub-.500 records-- may not be so stellar if Thibs continues this Ahab-esque quest for "more minutes, win every regular season game."
We've had months to absorb the reality of a White Sox rebuilding project, what with the departures of Mark Buehrle, Carlos Quentin, Sergio Santos and Juan Pierre, but Tuesday's big MLB news put another nail in the coffin.
After losing Victor Martinez to a potentially season-ending ACL tear, the Tigers filled their cleanup spot behind Miguel Cabrera by agreeing with Prince Fielder on a contract reportedly worth $214,000,000 over nine years.
The good news for Sox fans? See the financial evidence below -- and the corpulent evidence above, from 20 years ago.
The #Tigers have now guaranteed $338 million for the upcoming years to three 1B/DH types in Fielder, Cabrera and Martinez. #MLB
Hey... that looked familiar. I watched the entire AFC and NFC Championship games, and I couldn't help but reminisce.
The Ravens' third-and-3 draw play late in the game to Ray Rice reminded me of Madden. Baltimore ran the play while at the New England 30 with about three minutes left, trailing by three.
I am not a football expert. I am not a member of the Bill Walsh coaching tree, and I did not work as a video coordinator under Bill Parcells. I learned what I know about football by watching the game, and playing Madden video games (or the legendary NFL 2K5). If I was playing as the Ravens, and if I was in that same situation, I would know that there are certain plays that are more likely to gain yards. I'm thinking of quick slants, runs up the middle or between the tackles, quarterback sneaks, fullback rushes (my favorites), or even QB rollouts.
Then, there are the plays that may lose yardage, like play-action passes, screens, pitches to the outside, and anything that may be categorized as a trick play. But the worst offender in this regard is the draw play. They only work when the defense is clearly amped up for a pass. In this situation, Baltimore obviously would like to move the chains, but even a no gain works in their favor. This was not a clear-cut passing situation.
So what happened? Rice was stuffed for a loss of three yards. Baltimore went for it on fourth-and-6, and threw incomplete. Baltimore squandered an excellent scoring chance either to tie it or even continue the drive.
Lee Evans' "drop" reminded me of Lee Evans' catch from last week. He makes an amazing one-handed catch last week, but fails to reel in an easier game-winning catch on Sunday. I know, I know... that was a great play by the Patriots defender, Sterling Moore, to break that play up. But with those stakes, I can't see Larry Fitzgerald or even Reggie Wayne not coming up with a catch in that situation.
Billy Cundiff's miss reminded me of U2's "Stuck in a Moment" music video. Poor Billy Cundiff.
Watching it live, I thought it was a combination of errors that led to the miss - I thought the snap was bad, the hold was bad, and the kick was the result of those two miscues. Nope. The snap and hold weren't perfect, but they were good enough. Cundiff just missed it.
The Bears are long gone to hibernation, but Chicago was well represented in Sunday's NFC Championship Game: Kyle Williams, the backup wide receiver "who cost the 49ers a trip to the Super Bowl" by fumbling twice on late punt returns, is the son of White Sox general manager Kenny Williams.
Before last night, that was the only thing Kyle Williams was famous for. Now he's getting death threats on Twitter, YouTube and wherever else mouth-breathing sports fans gather on the Internet.
Die Marke mit den Drei Streifen has dropped the latest Derrick Rose ad/self-review of adidas' adiZero Rose 2.5 on the YouTubes. More than anything I really like these ads because they force Derrick to talk to the camera. He stumbling and umm'ing his way through the spot is priceless and showcases, in a non-judging sense, his goofy demeanor. This is humanizing stuff for the NBA's reigning MVP who, heretofore, has been showcased as a high-flying, slicing, dicing, on-court impresario that off the hardwood has shown to be (save for the awesome "Caviar Swimming Pool" spot from last season and the Skittles fetish) a bit wooden or cardboard.
Tailgate's quick recap of what's happening in the Chicago sports scene. Today, the Chicago Fire get a new kit sponsor, registration for the madness of Chiditarod has commenced and three of Chicago's best high school basketballers are profiled.
Chicago Fire Get New Kit Sponsor
Crain's Ed Sherman is reporting on his blog that the Chicago Fire will be sponsored by the Quaker Oats company starting in the 2012 season. No details have been released by the Fire, but Sherman is stating that the deal will be for $7.5-8 mil. for three years, including an annual $1.5-2 mil. for the kit sponsorship. It wasn't certain if that jersey cash will be part of a grander Quaker Oats takeover/sponsoring. What is certain is that new Fire coach/longtime Chicagoan, Frank Klopas, will be spotlighted as a marketing presence by the team and purveyors of delicious oats.
Chiditarod Registration Is Open!
Pop a peyote button and strap on the madness! The Windy City's annual tribute to cart-craziness, art projects, pub crawling and food drives, The Chiditarod, has opened up registration. Per usual, the registration fees are tiered (the earlier you sign-up, the cheaper it is!) so get in early and if you're the artistically minded, enter a patch design. Chiditarod #7 is March 3rd.
Chicago's Basketball Future, Today
The Sports Fan Journal drops some knowledge on the best and brightest of Chicago's hoopster youngsters. Including a shout-out to Oak Park's Iman Shumpert, the starting point for the New York Knickerbockers.
I've grown accustomed to a wave of low-grade nausea whenever Tom Ricketts and his cronies talk about milking Cubs fans for more money, but this weekend's announcement made me throw up all over the dog:
The Cubs announced the addition of a patio in the right-field bleacher section at Wrigley Field, which will be ready for the 2012 season and create a rooftop-like atmosphere.
The Budweiser Patio will include a 75-foot LED sign installed above the right-field wall with the capability to display game information, such as pitch count, photos of players and statistics. It will not have video replay because of the size.
The new right-field configuration can handle a group of 150 people, or three groups of 50 each, or may be sold on an individual basis.
I don't much care if the Cubs want to violate their ballpark with corporate advertising, but I absolutely can't believe team president Crane Kenney can say stuff like this with a straight face:
"What we're finding both for our suites as well as other parts of the ballpark is that people want to be able to circulate -- you see it on the rooftops. ... [It will be] a place where you can bring clients, move around in the space and not just be fixed. If I'm in seat [No. 1] and my clients are in seats two through eight, I don't get to talk to the person in seat [No. 8]. It's a chance to circulate."
Yes, truly, because money, not egregious personnel decisions, has been the Cubs' problem. Please, let's adjust the ballpark to make sure everyone has a chance to "circulate" with all their clients.
Do you love writing and sports and writing about sports? Tailgate is always looking for new recruits.
The Blackhawks fell 
Memory is a funny thing, maybe 16 wins in 19 tries had caused you, the affable Bulls fan, to forget that the Indiana Pacers are no cakewalk. And maybe the extended lockout let you forget another fact about the Pacers, namely, that Indiana is *GULLY* The Pacers after affording the Bulls (and their United Center partisans) a cushy 10-point lead --with your requisite "Resistance is futile at the United Center"-style-Borgspeak. Yet, then Indiana lowered their shoulder and pushed back. Pushing, hefting, pounding and reminding the Bulls --and you, gentle reader-- exactly of how annoying that first round playoff series last April was and in the process, sent the Bulls to their first home loss of the season.
Hey... that looked familiar. I watched the entire AFC and NFC Championship games, and I couldn't help but reminisce.
