Don't Tell Me how to Feel
I absolutely hate being told how I should feel after a win or a loss. A feeling is a naturally occurring phenomenon and if my feelings don't match the way some clown thinks I should feel, that doesn't make me an "idiot." Following the recent three game sweep that the White Sox handed the Cubs at U.S. Cellular Field this past weekend, an associate claiming to be a neutral-that is, he is a fan of both the Sox and the Cubs-told me I'm an idiot for being happier than usual after the three wins.

His reasons? We've all heard them before. Because the Cubs are not in the White Sox division-they aren't even in the same league-so I should be happier if they were to sweep the Twins, Tigers, or Indians. While true that sweeping one of the latter teams benefits the White Sox in the standings more so than the Cubs, that doesn't mean I can't put something extra into my celebration.

For the record, I didn't celebrate any more than I would normally have if it were any other team. After all, the Cubs swept the Sox last weekend at Wrigley Field. But I was happy today that I didn't have to walk around with my head hanging low, trying desperately to avoid the fans of the other team and their inevitable humiliating comments. You know the feeling. At the office, you walk down five flights of stairs just because if you take the elevator, you have to walk right past the desk of that obnoxious fan of your team's rival. Sure, you're out of breath when you return from your smoke break, but at least you didn't have to hear that annoying guy rhetorically ask with a big silly grin "Hey, how about them Sox?" Guys like him-I'll call him Loudmouth-make my life hell. What's great is that when the Sox win I don't have to say a darned thing to him. My joy is that Loudmouth hangs his head low and tries to avoid me for a change. I love that.

Besides that, who are you to tell me who I can root for and root against, and why the heck can't I have both? Why is it "Don't worry about what the Cubs do, just worry about what the White Sox do?" That's absurd. I hate the Cubs. I love the White Sox. I'm going to be happy when the Sox win, and I'm going to be happy when the Cubs lose. If both happen in the same game, double the pleasure! I root for the White Sox when they don't play the Cubs, and I root against the Cubs when they don't play the White Sox. That's how it has always been, and that's how it always will be. That doesn't make me, or anybody else who is the same way, an idiot.

What's interesting, is what would happen if the White Sox and Cubs (who have both dominated their respective divisions and have both been in first place for several weeks) were to meet in the World Series. If the Sox won, I'd be happy that they won the World Series. I wouldn't be even more happy because they beat the Cubs. But if the Sox lost, I'd be disappointed about the loss, and I'd be even more disappointed that they lost to the Cubs. I'd rather die than face Loudmouth if that ever happens.

Cub's Chances of Landing Sabathia
From everything I've been hearing, the Cleveland Indians are on the verge of trading their Ace, left handed pitcher C.C. Sabathia, to the highest bidder. The Cubs would seem to be in the mix of possible suitors, and there is no doubt that GM Jim Hendry has a strong interest and prospects to deal. But, on second though, does he really have prospects the Indians want?

I've heard the names Felix Pie, Eric Patterson, Rich Hill, Shawn Marshall, and Ronny Cedeno thrown around. On paper it sounds like an impressive package of talent. But after much thought, I've ruled that the Cubs would have to give up much more if they realistically expect to acquire the services of Sabathia.


The Cubs better be prepared to meet the Indians'
demands.

Pie has been a disappointing prospect up and down between the Cubs and their Triple-A affiliate. When in the majors, he is almost exclusively used as a defensive replacement or spot starter. He has similar problems to former Cub Corey Patterson, such as the big question of whether he is a leadoff hitter with speed, or a middle of the order power hitter. Eric Patterson simply looks lost in the field, and lacks plate discipline. He doesn't look like an every day major league hitter to me. Hill, like Pie, has been up and down, and can't find a spot in a starting rotation that features Jason Marquis and his 4.96 ERA. If Hill can't supplant Marquis, how good is he really? Same goes for Marshall, who is only pitching right now in the majors due to an injury to Ace Carlos Zambrano. Ronny Cedeno has "tools" but he is a career platoon and/or utility player.  Ditto another AAAA outfielder named Matt Murton.

So, if I'm GM Mark Shapiro of the Indians, what does interest me on the Cubs? If I'm Shapiro, the next time Hendry calls me, I tell him, start with your starting SS Ryan Theriot, and build the package from there. Get back to me when you're ready to include an actual major league player instead of five players you can't wait to get rid of.

Does Hendry have the sand to agree to such a swap of blockbuster proportions? That I don't know, but I'm anxious to find out.

Young/Vazquez Trade a Good One for D-Backs and White Sox
CF Chris Young of the Diamondbacks looks to be a stud prospect boasting speed, power, and outstanding defense.  Much has been made of the former White Sox farmhand, who, on December 20, 2005 was traded along with Orlando Hernandez and Luis Vizcaino to Arizona for SP Javier Vazquez.  I've heard general comments from White Sox fans saying that it was a mistake to trade Young, and recently Foxsports.com's own Ken Rosenthal quipped that this past offseason's acquisition of Carlos Quentin from Arizona would finally help ease the pain of losing out on Young to Arizona.  What seems left out in this talk every time is that the White Sox acquired a bona fide #1 or #2 starter in Vazquez, who is MLB's second leading strikeout pitcher since 2001 and went 15-8 with a 3.74 ERA in 2007 while playing his home games in hitter friendly U.S. Cellular Field for a 4th place team that lost 90 games.  Sure, the White Sox could use the speedy CFer in their leadoff spot right now, but something tells me that their GM Kenny Williams wouldn't be willing to give up Vazquez to re-acquire him.  A potential 30/30 OFer is about the going rate these days for an Ace.

Rays' Seeason a Pleasant Surprise But...
This in response to Foxsports.com's Dayn Perry's column that the Tampa Bay [Devil] Rays winning season is great for baseball.  It sure is nice to see somebody besides New York and Boston atop the A.L. East, but I greatly fear a Tampa divisional title would give MLB execs a false sense of parity in baseball.  (By the way, they will always be the Devil Rays to me, just as the Angels will always be the Anaheim Angels, or occasionally, the California Angels).  Before this season, I'd have given the Devil Rays a 0% of ever making the playoffs under MLB's current structure.  I now see that they are a legitimate contender for the not only the division, but the pennant.  However, these types of seasons are few and far between.  MLB is in desperate need of a salary cap that would give other small(er) market teams a more fair chance more often.  All top notch free agents have three teams that can afford to sign them:  the Red Sox, Yankees, and Mets; once in a while the Cubs, Dodgers, or Angels will join the mix.  In a couple seasons when the Devil Rays' players hit free agency, they will let them walk and they'll stink again... that is if they don't head towards Marlin-i-zation and trade them all before it even gets that far.  The Red Sox and Yankees will never stink so long as they are allowed to throw money around like it's candy.

Whatifsports (WIS) a Must See for Any Sports Fan
Here is a unpaid advertisement for www.whatifsports.com, a subsidiary of Foxsports.com.  WIS is just an amazing website, and if you're a sports fan who hasn't heard about it yet, you should check it out immediately.  Ever been sitting in a bar with your buddies and argue about who would win a series between the 1927 Yankees and the 1969 Mets?  Or how about Grant Hill and Christian Laettner vs Bobby Knight's undefeated Indiana team?  '72 Dolphins against the '85 Bears?  Jordan's Bulls against Wilt's Lakers?  Whatifsports uses a highly complex simulation to match any historical teams in MLB, NFL, NBA, CBB, NHL, and CFB, and then generates a box score with play by play so you can read it as if the game were actually played.  I've simmed all these games and hundreds more and I can't get enough.  WIS also has SimLeagues where you can mix and match players from any era on any team and form your all time dream team (How about Nolan Ryan throwing pirtches to Ivan Rodriguez behind the plate with Brooks Robinson, Ozzie Smith, Roberto Alomar, and Keith Hernandez as their infield defense?).  My favorite though is the Dyansty leagues.  I'm in a MLB Hardball Dynasty where I get to play GM of a baseball franchise complete with 5 minor league teams.  There's a Rule 5 draft, amatuer draft, international free agents, and full trades and free agent signing.  It's just absolutely awesome.

Now that the dust as all but settled on the Jared Allen trade, and I have had time to evaluate what has recently taken place with Kansas City Chief offseason events, I have a few thoughts on the upcoming season and what I would do if I were the the GM in Kansas City (Oh, how I love to pretend I run my own NFL team).


Allen led the NFL in sacks last year, despite
playing in only 14 games.

As a Chiefs fan, I'm quite obviously upset, and my initial reaction was that of fury. But then, I was able to read further into the details of the trade, and I realized a few things:
1) Getting a first and two third round picks for a franchise player isn't all that bad of a deal.
2) There was no way Allen was ever going to sign a long-term contract with Kansas City (and could you blame him?), and they would have lost him for nothing at the end of the season.
3) The Vikings completely overpaid for Allen financially.

I wrote in December that the Chief's top offseason priority should have been to sign Jared Allen to a longterm contract. At the time, the figure I had in mind was around 5 years and $55 million. He ended up signing a contract getting in excess of $70 million for 6 years, which reportedly includes $31 million in guaranteed money.

Allen is easily one of the top three DEs in the NFL, but he's not quite worth that much dough.

Just because I have come to the realization that Allen and the Chiefs were just not a match made to work out, doesn't mean I'm happy about the trade, however (Likewise, even though pulling the plug on Grandma's life support is the right thing to do, that doesn't mean I'm going out to the bars to celebrate).

I'm happy for Allen, who becomes rich beyond my wildest dreams. And I'm happy for the Vikings, who now own the NFL's best pass rushing end and best overall defensive front four. But I'm upset as a Chiefs fan, primarily because I know the Chiefs have absolutely no chance to make the playoffs next year, and most likely will not sniff .500 for several years to come.

If the Chiefs were serious about trying to win this upcoming season, they might have followed a plan similar to what I outlined in my December writing (link above). But it appears that they will not come close to achieving any of my goals.

I could much more easily come to accept this trade if Tamba Hali, the other starter at DE for Kansas City, were almost as good as Allen, and if they had a third DE about as good as Hali. As of now, the Chiefs have nobody capable of applying consistent pressure on the passer, which weakens their entire defense. The Chiefs likely figure to draft a DE in the first round, and if that player is drafted fifth overall as speculation has, the Chiefs will have to pay him about $20 guaranteed (last year's fifth pick got $18.1 million). I don't often make guarantees, but I will guarantee that neither Chris Long nor Vernon Gholston will be anywhere near as good a player as Jared Allen, a DE who comes around once every 8-10 years. Which tells me that either Long or Gholston would be paid about two-thirds the amount Allen would get for about a quarter of the production.

Another thing to take into consideration is the opportunity cost of drafting a DE with that 5th pick. As terrible as the offense was last year, I was desperately hoping for that pick to help the offensive side of the ball. Now they have a big void to fill at their rush end position.

The Chiefs do have gaps all over the place, but their one major malfunction, as I have written about so much recently, is that their GM, Carl Peterson, has an awful track record of drafting, especially recently. Over the past 8 NFL drafts (dating back to 2000), he has drafted only three Pro Bowl players. Two of them are no longer with the team (Dante Hall and Allen) and the third will probably never be the same due to overwork and injury (Larry Johnson). Peterson had his run in the early 90's but the game has changed and his way is outdated. I don't trust the Chiefs to draft a quarterback because that player is doomed to failure due to the fact that coach Herm Edwards runs an offense not conducive for a young QB to learn and develop (far too conservative). The Chiefs need a front five to protect whomever their QB is next year, but a Peterson drafted offensive linemen has not made the Pro Bowl in a Chief's uniform since.... Will Shields, picked in 1993. In the Peterson ERA (going back to 1988!), the Chiefs have yet to draft a Pro Bowl QB, WR, OT, or DT.  The last Safety to go to a Pro Bowl was Jerome Woods (selected 1996), the last CB was Dale Carter (1992), and the last LB was Derrick Thomas (1989).  So yes, Kansas City has 13 draft choices in 2008 and will need every last one of them to fill the myriad of holes on both sides of the ball. But I have ZERO confidence in Peteron's ability to adequately fill those holes given his recent failures in the draft. Alex Marvez recently rated the Chiefs number 21 out of 32 NFL teams in best drafts over the last five years.

There are a few players left on this team that I still like and will root for, but I find myself feeling sorry for them. Which is why I am sad to admit that I hope the Chiefs will attempt to trade Tony Gonzalez, Donnie Edwards, Patrick Surtain, and Johnson to contending teams. It kills me that Gonzalez, who in my opinion is the best TE in NFL history, gets knocked on by fans of other teams because he has never even won a playoff game, let alone a Super Bowl.

I am also sad to admit that I am hoping that the Chiefs go 0-16 in 2008. It has nothing to do with wanting a top draft choice (remember, I don't believe Peterson is adequate enough to successfully draft a Pro Bowl player in any round). It's because I think that might be the only way the Hunt family ever gathers enough stones to send Carl Peterson and Herm Edwards to the unemployment line. Edwards is a good defensive coach but he has ruined the once proud Chief's offense. The year before Edwards got to Kansas City, they had the #2 offense in the NFL and finished with a 10-6 record. In his first season they won 9 games, and last year they went 4-12, lost 9 games in a row, and had the 31st ranked offense. Hali and Derrick Johnson are much ballywhoed starters recently drafted by Peterson, but they have combined to make 0 Pro Bowls and Edwards has failed to develop them. I expect more from first round picks. Being a "good player" isn't good enough for me. Johnson was the 15th pick in the draft. I expect that by his third season he'd be one of the top OLBs in the NFL by now. He's not.

The worst thing that could happen to the Chiefs is that they rebound next year and finish 8-8. That gives the Hunt's a false sense of security seeing that they have improved. Peterson and Edwards absolutely must go. The Kansas City Chiefs will never win a Super Bowl under their leadership.

And isn't that what this league is about? Winning the Super Bowl? It's high time for the city of Kansas City to wake up and stop being content with "being a contender," "showing improvement," "making the playoffs," and being "a team on the rise." I don't care if they win the division. And I'm not happy with settling for an AFC Championship appearance. I want a Super Bowl win, and this trade of Allen sets the team back a few more years.