...from the cheapest seats

Sweeping the Bleachers: Sun. July 1 - Rebounding

2007-07-01T18:13:00.001-05:00

Cubs take series from Brewers after yesterday’s blowout

After Friday’s impressive walkoff victory after being down 5-0 after the top of the first inning, the Cubs suffered one of their worst defeats of the year yesterday. Rich Hill allowed four runs in the first inning, and though the Cubs were able to respond with two of their own immediately, no one could stop the Brewers’ bats. The game was over quickly; Lee, Ramirez, and Soriano were all given a rest after 5 innings, and every Cub pitcher gave up a run.

So not only was today’s game important because it’s the rubber match against the division leaders with the Cubs finally making a charge in the last few weeks, but their ability to bounce back from yesterday would give some good insight on both teams, even if it’s just one game.

And they produced. Not giving four-plus runs in the first inning definitely helped, as did Theriot and Lee scoring two runs apiece in the first and third innings. Jason Marquis, surrendering only one run in 7 innings, took that lead and never looked back.

Now its on to the pitiful Nationals and Pirates, whose fans tried to organize a mass walkout on Saturday. 6 of 7 is not too much to ask for, and gaining momentum heading into the break is reachable and almost expected at this point. The Cubs are rolling; they’re playing bad teams. It’s time to get some wins.

Here’s some more evidence from Rick Morissey of the Trib on why today’s game was so important. It’s part of Cub tradition to doubt the team after any setback whatsoever, but it’s not like we haven’t got cause. And Pinella’s Punchers haven’t exactly been the most consistent group of players this year, either.

The bullpen is stretched to the max. It’s time to deal Jones and Izturis. If there’s nothing in place by the end of the break, we should just designate them for assignment. There’s no reason we should be wasting $9 Million on these guys, let alone two roster spots.

Rocky Cherry called up, Rocky Cherry to the DL. And Billy Petrick’s back. I’m sure Petrick’s not complaining, but he was here for like 5 days, got sent back, was in Iowa for two, and is back on the club. Des Moines isn’t really right across Addison. There’s also some discussion about Derrek Lee’s power outage. And more here.

Um… no comment.

And, finally, from the AP:

What a wild month it was for the Cubs with Carlos Zambrano and former catcher Michael Barrett getting into a fight and manager Lou Piniella getting suspended after a dirt-kicking tirade against an umpire. ``It wasn't wild for me. It may have been wild for Cubland, but it wasn't wild for me,'' Piniella said. ``(Compared to) the teams that I played with the Yankees, it was very tranquil.''

Okay, Lou, whatever you say.

Sweeping the Bleachers: Wed. June 27 – Don’t look now…

2007-06-28T09:56:00.000-05:00

Cubs break out the brooms for the second time in a row

Don’t look now, but the Cubs are just one game below .500 after this six-game winning streak. Led by Zambrano, Soriano, and Fontenot (huh?), the team is finally hitting stride, playing 16-10 ball after the fight between Zambrano and Barrett.

Too bad the Brewers are playing just as well right now. They’ve won eight of their last nine and the Cubs are still 7.5 back, although they’ve separated themselves a little from the rest of the riff-raff in that division. Right now, the Cubs are actually closer to the Wild Card than they are to the Central lead; they’re just 6 games back for that spot. Unfortunately, they’re behind 4 teams: San Diego or Arizona, the LA Dodgers, Philadelphia, and Atlanta.

I think the Cubs’ best path to the postseason lies within the division, and Lynn Henning from the Detroit News hopes there’s an exciting race between them and the Brewers. I’m a little surprised by the show of confidence in this current team, but just as surprised that Prior and Wood were mentioned. Haven’t we moved past that? I can’t even understand what that paragraph is trying to say.

Unlike previous reports, it appears Kerry Wood did get his throwing session in on Tuesday. He threw 18 pitches and there were no problems. If only everything were that easy.

That same article also talks a little about Bobby Petrick, the new relief pitcher from AA, and Carlos Marmol’s first save. Marmol’s always had good stuff; if he can get enough control for one inning he could be a pretty good closer in a year or two.

Rob Neyer does not approve of Jim Hendry’s trades.

“The point is that [Barrett]'s a good player, and all Hendry got for him is another team's backup. You can make the occasional deal like this, and still win….Hendry's made far too many of them.”

I agree. Now let’s watch as the same thing happens with Jacque Jones. He hit .285 with 27 HR last year and I think we’d be lucky to get a major leaguer at this point with our lack of leverage.

Sweeping the Bleachers: Tuesday, June 26 - Execution

2007-06-27T14:04:00.000-05:00

Cubs get an 8-3 lead, don’t blow it this time

This is the team we’ve been waiting for all year. We’ve seen flashes, and this may have been just another one of those, but a solid performance all-around last night by the Cubs. Ted Lilly didn’t bring his A-game, and his control was pretty bad, but he managed to not be horrible and the defense and batting delivered. The Cubs were never built to win with pitching, even though it looked that way in April, and Lilly’s ERA of 4.03 isn’t as worrisome as it may seem. This team should score more than that.

And once again, the defense was great. It seems like every day they’re either exceptional or horrendous, but considering the recent history of the franchise (where it was either mediocre or horrendous), I’ll take it. Another great day for the rookies playing (Fontenot and Hill) where they both hit balls to the outfield wall for doubles. Showing power is very important for these guys to be able to keep up their stellar play this year, and I’ll have more on that tomorrow.

Zambrano takes the hill this afternoon for the second sweep in a row. That would be great.

Elsewhere…

Dempster officially went to the DL yesterday. Billy Petrick, a right-hander from AA, was brought up. I’m going to defer judgment on the Dempster issue, and I know nothing about Petrick. But we’ve called up several different bullpen guys from AAA this year and sent them back… any chance we’ll see any of them again?

The fan who rushed Bob Howry is going to court. It’s bad enough when “fans” do reckless and stupid things like this… but why do people insist on trying to damage their own team?

Interestingly enough, the guy should be lucky he didn’t touch Howry. As it is, he’s probably looking at a serious misdemeanor, but had he even laid a finger on the pitcher; it’s a felony.

Jacque Jones is leaving soon… but he’s not going to the Marlins. Fine with me. I’d rather have the Cubs tough it out a few days than to get less value than they could.

Here’s a great piece of Ryne Sandberg’s short, but successful career as a minor-league manager. Ryno was one of my favorite players as a kid (even though he was on the very tail-end of his career), and if he’s the real deal as a manager, I’d love to see him in the dugout in a few years when Pinella’s gone.

And finally, this isn’t about baseball, but it’s not worth a full post. This ongoing mock draft with Bill Simmons and Chad Ford is one of the greatest things I’ve read on the Internet in a long while. Plenty of heated banter going back and forth between the two, but Ford is pretty much delivering the smackdown to Simmons right now.

Spooked.

2007-06-26T19:06:00.001-05:00

I was going to write up my own mock draft, detailing what I think every lottery team should do, and then John Hollinger came out with this brilliant article, rating every collegiate player and showing how the system is much more reliable at predicting success than draft order. I now have no confidence in what I thought were my own thoughts.

Interestingly enough, according to Hollinger, the Bulls got the best player in 2004 and 2006 with Deng and Thomas, respectively. Thomas, in particular, was far and away the best choice. Hooray.

More importantly, the article shone some light on players whose success I and many others assumed was a given. Corey Brewer, Nick Young, Acie Law, and Julian Wright were all said to be way overrated. But the most overrated? None other than our man Spencer Hawes, who Hollinger calls a second-round prospect. I’ve been teetering on this for months now, but I think this column may have made up my mind. He writes:

“Hawes has an unimpressive rebound rate, which is a huge red flag considering he was bigger than everyone he played against. And for all the talk of his great post skills, he had a run-of-the-mill 55.0 true shooting percentage and didn't even have the best PER on his mediocre team (that belonged to Jon Brockman). A lot of folks think he can become a quality pro post player; based on his numbers, I just don't see it.”

This terrifies me. Hollinger isn’t wrong often, and when he is, it’s not by much. So I’ve made up my mind: The Bulls didn’t finally get out of the NBA cellar by taking 7-foot prospects. we did it by taking established college players who were assumed somewhat more flawed than they actually were just because of the higher degree of exposure (Hinrich, Gordon, Deng, even Duhon to a degree). We haven’t missed with a pick since ’02 (and even that was due to a tragic off-the-field accident). Let’s dance with the girl that brought us here get the best, most proven player we can.

Option A should be Zach Randolph. The guy’s a voracious low-post scorer, and that’s the one thing that the Bulls need to put them over the top. He’s a proven All-Star who’s just reaching his prime, and his minor character issues should hardly be an issue on this pristine Bulls team.

If we can’t trade the pick for Randolph, I say we draft Joakim Noah. He does all of the things P.J. Brown does except much, much better, and frankly, no one the Bulls can get in this draft is going to make near as much of a difference as improvements made by Gordon, Deng, Sefolosha, and especially, Thomas.

I would take Brandon Wright as well. He impressed me in the tourney with his athleticism, and if Skiles can’t get him to hustle, no one will.

There’s a pretty good chance one of the two will be available when the Bulls pick (it means only two of Yi, Jeff Green, Julian Wright, Corey Brewer, or even Hawes have been picked, because I’m assuming there’s no way Conley or Horford fall to the Bulls), so I’m optimistic. But taking Hawes would be a huge mistake. No matter what the situation is, wasting a lottery pick when there are more qualified candidates is devastating. We probably wouldn’t even find it necessary to discuss the Bulls’ championship aspirations if the Pistons had Carmelo, Bosh, or Wade right now.

Sweeping the Bleachers: Mon. June 25 - What a game!

2007-06-26T09:49:00.000-05:00

Cubs endure massive Rockies comeback, respond with one of their own

To think, after Angel Pagan’s first inning shot that put the Cubs up by 3, it looks like the Cubs were going to ride out an uneventful win. Sure enough, that’s what happened for the first eight innings, as the Cubs stretched the lead to 8-3.

It was easy to tell the Cubs had started packing it in; after Scott Eyre’s comical at-bat in the 7^th (with runners on base!) and leaving him in to pitch the ninth. But Eyre didn’t even record a single out in the top of that inning. The first 6 Rockies to come to the plate all eventually scored, giving the Rockies a massive 6-run comeback. It was looking pretty bleak even after Bob Howry retired the next three batters to end the inning; a fan ran on the field and nearly got to the mound before receiving a smackdown from security.

But thanks to an inconceivable error by Kaz Matsui that would have ended the game and clutch hits by Koyie Hill (I have no idea why our worst batter and backup catcher was in a pinch-hit situation when there were others on the bench, but it worked) and Alfonso Soriano, the Cubs came back to win this wild one, 10-9. The Cubbies had 18 hits in this game, their most of the season.

Alan Trammell says the Cubs should resurface Wrigley. There is a considerable slope from the outfield to the infield dirt, and this sizable ridge where the two meet. Last night, a ground ball skimmed along the infield until it hit that ridge, where it popped right into the air. I'm not against stadium quirks at Wrigley, but this one should definitely get a hard look because it seems like it could be an injury hazard to the players.

The Cubs are "teetering" with this shorthanded staff, says Lou. This means either Dempster should be sent to the DL or Jacque Jones should be traded or designated for assignment within the next few days. Maybe both. But the team could definitely use some bullpen help. Maybe call up our old pals, the Padres, again? However, its mentioned that Ryan Theriot could be a candidate for demotion. That would be a HUGE mistake. More on that later.

Mark Simon of ESPN's Diamond Daily says this streak could turn the Cubs' season around. I'm not so sure if this streak is enough, because the Cubs seem to be just as likely to lose four straight as they are to win four in a row, but things are definitely looking up. We're just three games under .500 and most of the team seems to be clicking (bullpen... grumble grumble). Also, check out what they have to say about the bullpen on the bottom of the page. Yeah, it sure was ugly.

Page 2's Jonah Keri says the Michael Barrett trade will end up in the Padres' favor. I wish Barrett the best, but the Padres are living and dying with their arms right now, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Peavy, Young, and co's. ERAs rise a little (Peavy's already has). Unfortunately, Barrett's offense isn't up to snuff this year, making his defense and game calling not worth it. Yes, it's hard to tell how much of an impact a catcher is making defensively, but I feel much more confident with Bowen behind the plate than Barrett if they're hitting for the same average.

And last, but certainly not least, here's a heartwarming story from 2003 of Rod Beck's time in Iowa. The guy literally lived at the stadium when he was there, and he invited all fans to his RV to sit down after games and enjoy a beer. Now that's a true Cub.

Jim Wolf does not tolerate mistakes

2007-06-11T20:11:00.000-05:00

Friday, June 8: Alfonso Soriano hits three home runs in his first three at bats as the Cubs stomp the Braves, 9-1.

Saturday: Alfonso Soriano is hit by Tim Hudson in the first at-bat of the game.

Warnings are issued.

Sean Gallagher is hit by Peter Moylan, who is not ejected.

Sunday: No warnings are issued before the game.

With two outs in the first inning, Ted Lilly throws an errant pitch that hits Edgar Renteria in the hand. He is ejected.

Renteria gives rookie Mike Fontenot a forearm shiver to the face while stealing second base without a slide.

The Cubs’ bullpen, stretched for eight innings, gives up the lead. Cubs lose.

The five stages of Cubs grief

2007-06-01T23:10:00.001-05:00

Today was a new low point for the 2007 season. After 5 straight losses, the last three of which have been embarrassing blowouts, the Cubs punctuated today’s horrible performance in all facets of the game with a fight between our ace pitcher and our struggling catcher. Fantastic. I’m not about to place blame on either of the two; this situation is everyone’s fault.

So let’s take a look at this Cubs season so far, and where we’re undoubtedly going.

Stage 1: Denial

The Cubbies may be 8 games under .500 now, but this is not the worst winning percentage they’ve had this season. No, in late April, the Cubs were floundering along at 7-13, a terrible record in its own right. At this time, the offense was performing pretty badly, but the Cubs still had a very good run differential that belied their record. Hope was abundant; with this much-improved collection of talent, the ship was going to be righted… right?

Stage 2: Anger

For a while, things were looking pretty good in Wrigleyville. In early May, the Cubs had risen to .500, and were even above it on two separate occasions. But then as a crucial swing of series against two good East teams, the Sox, and two good West teams started, the wheels completely came off for the bullpen. Led by Scott Eyre, the ‘pen completely imploded. Saves were blown, winnable games were lost, and no lead was safe with these guys trying to close the door.

Naturally, the rest of the team followed suit. The offense, yet to reach anything near its potential, hasn’t improved at all. Alfonso Soriano’s got 4 HRs, Derrick Lee 5, and Aramis Ramirez is the only one over 7. Our surprising trifecta of starting pitchers, Jason Marquis, Ted Lilly, and Rich Hill, all picked the same time to regress to their career norms. All this naturally makes for five game losing streaks and a bad team sinking in an even worse division.

Given the talent level on this team, it’s surprising they weren’t punching each other earlier. (If Lou Pinella was alive, none of this would be happening.)

Stage 3: Bargaining

Already, in the wake of this Wrigley Rumble, the blogosphere is buzzing with trade talk. Should the Cubs get rid of Zambrano? Or Barrett? Or everyone? Clearly something has to be done, between this embarrassment, the inept bullpen, and the mess of an outfield, there are trades that could be made. (By ‘clearly,’ I mean that I’m currently oscillating between bargaining and anger and it seems obvious at this time.)

As much as we would like to think so, trades aren’t going to turn around this team. The last three years should have proved that. But the rumors will only intensify, and by July, they’ll most likely be the singular focus of Cub Nation as the team flounders on the field.

Stage 4: Depression

At some point in the summer, Cubs fans will realize that if this team really is a bunch of losers, trades or internal changes are going to fix it. That’s when the booing starts. The destructive, poisonous booing that’s become all too common at Wrigley these days that effectively ensures that many players cannot rebound from the natural ups-and-down of a career while still in a Cubs uniform. (As for Corey Patterson, well, he may never be the same). And while this is increasing, it’s still pales in comparison to a much more popular mentality for the Cubs fan:

Stage 5: Acceptance

Wait ‘til next year.

(By the way, today was Carlos Zambrano’s birthday.)

Cavs! Pistons! It's pickup basketball on TNT!

2007-05-31T23:49:00.000-05:00

That Game 5 was the most unwatchable double-OT game I’ve ever watched. I only caught the game at the start of the first overtime, but the two periods that followed were brutal. Only one Cavalier scored. And they were the winning team.

I’m still in disbelief that Cleveland won this game. Their offense was completely inept; every single trip down the court consisted of LeBron dribbling 30 to 35 feet away from the hoop, a few aborted screen and rolls (which obviously don’t work since Ilgauskas is slow and useless 20 feet away from the basket, Gooden fouled out early in OT, and Varajao just kind of jumped around), then LeBron would chuck up a shot from just inside the 3-point line, often fading away. I’ve heard quite about this (I know Bill Simmons has described the same thing a couple of times), but it’s different actually watching this train wreck than reading about it. It really is remarkable that LeBron made as many shots as he did given the circumstances, but his performance wasn’t as remarkable as it was made out to be; he took every single shot.

And since the Cavs gave up even trying to look like they were going to involve their other players in the offence as the game went on (Pavlovic might have actually been sitting down in the corner, no one would have noticed), that makes Detroit’s lack of an adjustment even more inexcusable.

They had success when trapping LeBron off screens and when sitting in a trapping zone, but for most of the time they let James burn them man-to-man. A single player scores 25 consecutive points and every point scored in both overtimes is the ideal situation to use a box-and-one or even a triangle-and-two zone! No one else was going to score, no one else was even trying! And yet with six seconds left, Lebron was guarded one-on-one and drove straight to the hoop through four Pistons for a clean layup.

None of this horrible mismanagement was really noted in the commentary that accompanied the game. I did hear a lot about offense-defense substitutions and timeout management, though.

Da Bench: Duhon, Nocioni, Thomas, Sefolosha

2007-05-31T23:35:00.000-05:00

For a 2nd round pick, Chris Duhon’s a pretty good player. He hustles, plays with smarts and composure, and plays good, quick defense, and that fits in with the team’s ‘defense first’ mentality. In short, Chris Duhon is the quintessential Scott Skiles Scrapper™.

But I don’t care how much he endears himself to the coach, there’s no excuse for a player of Duhon’s caliber to be starting on a team that has designs on an NBA championship, as he was at the start of the season. In fact, I’ll take it a step further—it’s a bad sign when Duhon is a 6th or even 7th man. Despite the guts and defense he brings, he’s a horrible fit for this Bulls team.

As it is, the Bulls are very short. Hinrich’s fine for a PG as 6’3’’, but Gordon’s quite short for an SG at the same height; Ben Wallace is a 6’9’’ center, and Andres Nocioni is a 6’7’’ forward who usually plays the 4. Even Luol Deng, a 6’9’’ SF who was the only Bulls regular tall for his position (besides Thabo Sefolosha, and whether or not he was a regular is debatable) found himself physically overmatched at power forward quite often. So it’s not a good thing when the team gets both smaller on defense and less skilled on offense when Duhon comes in. With Duhon and Nocioni in the game, the Bulls would find themselves giving up three inches or so at every position on defense against teams like the Pistons or the elite Western teams.

Fortunately, Nocioni brings a lot more to the table. He’s got the scoring skills of a 2-guard and the athleticism and defensive tenacity to shut down all but the tallest power forwards and do sufficient work on the glass. I’ve always been a huge fan; he’s one of those guys who everyone just hates to play against. Unfortunately, his timely offense and undersized toughness aren’t really needed on this Bulls team right now; but put him on a team like the Mavericks or Rockets and he’d have a huge impact. And despite battling plantar fasciitis all year (and during the playoffs, where he was noticeably not himself), he was the Bulls fourth-most efficient player (in PER), after Deng, Gordon, and Hinrich.

I don’t think Paxson should let Nocioni go (he’s a restricted free agent), but changes must be made if he is to stay on the team and be effective. Nocioni’s obviously got no problem overcoming his size, and he’s one of those Charles Barkley-type players who is more comfortable playing undersized, but if he’s surrounded by an entire team of dwarves, it just doesn’t work. A Nocioni-Wallace front line is completely ineffective in the low post.

Unfortunately, Tyrus Thomas doesn’t fix that problem; he doesn’t have much of a post game, either. But he does bring a lot more to the table with his jaw-dropping athleticism. He’s still an offensive threat because he can jump out of the gym (he averaged 15 points every 40 minutes), and while he doesn’t have the strength to play the biggest guys like Wallace can, he’s a very effective defender on PFs as long as he knows what he’s doing (which was a problem at times). And, obviously, he’s dynamite on the glass. Thomas put up lots of numbers in short periods of time, although that did include turnovers and fouls.

Apparently Chad Ford has said that he would still have Thomas ranked 3rd in this new crop of draft prospects, right below Oden and Durant, so that’s reassuring, at least for me. Thomas showed minimal offensive skill, and it’s going to take a lot of work for him to become a polished offensive player and realize his potential. But he’s only 19, and he’s already our 5th most efficient player (right behind Nocioni and ahead of Wallace) based on PER. I just hope he’s treated with patience, because if so, the Bulls “Big 3” will become the “Big 4.”

Thabo Sefolosha quickly became one of my favorite players this season after bringing some size and athleticism to the backcourt along with some great fast breaks. He got a lot of playing time around the New Year, but found himself mostly riding the pine by the end.

That’s a shame, mostly for reasons I’ve mentioned above with Duhon. Sefolosha isn’t much of an offensive presence, but neither was the person taking most of his minutes, and Thabo’s 5 or 6 inches taller than Duhon on a team desperately needing height. But poor shooting and turnovers seemed to be Sefolosha’s undoing (he shot 51% on free throws, so his shot definitely needs some work), and hopefully he can cut those down and firmly entrench himself in that 3rd guard spot next season. Again, patience is the key.

When will they stop calling them the "Baby Bulls?" (Part 2)

2007-05-25T12:09:00.000-05:00

The starring cast: Hinrich, Gordon, and Deng

Before the season started, I predicted the Bulls would finish second or third in the East. (Because they finished with the third-best record, I still consider this to be correct.) I had two reasons in mind: one was the addition of Ben Wallace, which really didn’t seem to help near as much as I expected. Beyond Wallace, I assumed the core of players the Bulls rely upon is going to get a year older, a year more familiar with their teammates, and a year better.

That’s what happened, and it really is remarkable how patience is rewarded with dealing with teams that aren’t old, like this year’s Heat. The Pistons are a great example of this; they’ve kept the same nucleus for four or five years and play as one seamless unit; the Spurs are another. Even the woeful Knicks showed a marked improvement this year after keeping virtually the same team together. So it should be no surprise that all three of Chicago’s three young guns kicked it up a notch this year. I expect this to continue with the future, as long as this group is kept together, both they and the team will keep improving.

…Did you know Kirk Hinrich is already 26 years old? Neither did I. It’s not horrible (we’ve got enough “potential” teases on the roster anyway), but despite Hinrich’s improvements this season, I expected more consistency from a player quickly nearing his prime. Hinrich started out absolutely horrible, racking up turnovers and unable to shoot whatsoever, but he managed to rebound quite well by season’s end. He also seemed to suffer from A-Roditis in the playoffs, especially against Detroit. When there was no pressure, he played superbly, but when it mattered (in the first two games and in the last one, but particularly in 4th quarters), he seemed less likely to find the open man and more likely to take a bad shot or turn it over, although he wasn’t the only one doing those last two things against Detroit. However, I’m confident that this is something that will go away with experience; in addition it’s important to note that this is Hinrich’s first season with the starting PG job in a few years now that Duhon’s back to the bench.

With all this in mind, it might be time to consider Hinrich more of a complementary player than a star, given his age, limited athleticism and good-but-not-great shooting stroke. But as the emotional leader of the team and a fan favorite, I don’t see Captain Kirk going anywhere in the near or distant future.

Given Ben Gordon’s dynamite offensive skills, it’s always puzzled me why he hasn’t scored more than he has, especially because he doesn’t bring much else to the table besides his scoring (he is a better defender than he’s given credit for, as long as he’s not matched up against tough guys like, say… Chauncey Billups). He’s also the only guy on the Bulls who can create his own shot reliably, even though sometimes it just seems like he’s the only one with the guts to try and fail. He’s got the quickness to blow by most defenders, it’s just that he can’t finish in the lane well enough (I was blown away when I learned that he can’t dunk very easily), and his 45.5% shooting marks confirm that. He shot 41% from three, though. I can’t imagine how the Bulls would have gotten by this year without his instant offense.

I’m still very optimistic on Gordon’s future, and it would really help if the Bulls could find someone who could score from the low post and draw attention away from Gordon, who could bomb away from three much easier if he’s not the #1 scoring option. So, like Hinrich, it seems like Gordon probably won't be the multi-dimensional superstar we all hoped for. If only he was three inches taller…

I’ll admit it; I was never a really big Luol Deng fan until just before this season. I was in love with Nocioni and thought Deng didn’t deserve some of the minutes he took from Nocioni. I wasn’t really sure what he brought to the table.

But then I learned something right before this season started that really changed my mind. Deng has grown two inches since he was drafted. It all makes sense! The lack of offensive moves, the fact that his arms look way too long for his body… we’re just scratching the surface of what we’re going to see from 21 year-old Luol Deng.

Sure enough, Deng took a major step forward this season and positioned himself as a true franchise player, someone to build around. Paxson recognized this and refused to give him up for Gasol, and that’s a move I defend. Gasol would have helped, but we’d also be losing our best player in the process (and probably others).

After this season, there’s no debate that Deng is the Bulls’ best player, but I still have no idea how he does it. He scored 18 points a game and led the Bulls in shooting percentage despite not really having a post game or being the focal point of the offense. In an effort to raise his efficiency, he stopped shooting threes altogether, abandoning them in favor of loads of 20-22 footers which went in as if they were free throws.

It’s easy to see exactly where Deng can improve, and the guy can still make some huge strides. Watching Tayshaun Prince use his length offensively in the post in the Pistons series shows that someone with Deng’s build can still have lots of success down low, so look for Luol to work on that over the off-season; the Bulls could really use him down on the blocks. And while those extremely long 2s are all fine and good when they go in, they’re a very low percentage shot and it’s a lot more economical to just take a step back and shoot threes to get that extra point. Hopefully Deng can expand his range and have some more confidence from beyond the arc. Taking a step back and shooting 3s instead of long 2s should add 2 or 3 points to his scoring average alone.

The refusal to pull the trigger on a Pau Gasol deal is still getting a lot of flak even now, but I support the decision. This kid’s only 21 years old; he’s still growing into his body. Deng’s not flashy, he’ll put up a 20-8-5 and no one may notice until afterwards, but he provides the consistency this young, streaky, and inconstent team could not possibly survive without.

The luck of the Irish

2007-05-22T22:36:00.000-05:00

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming…

That was the first time I had ever watched the NBA Lottery. I had no idea they counted the picks down in reverse order. What an ingenious and suspenseful way to draw out the opening of envelopes!

I suppose I shouldn’t be too upset about the Bulls’ placement at 9; they were facing pretty long odds and the pick is basically a freebie anyway. But two things happened tonight that may turn out to benefit the Bulls if they are to pick a big man who’s not Spencer Hawes or Roy Hibbert (or Joakim Noah, who has fallen out of my favor once I realized that we already have Tyrus Thomas and Ben Wallace). Of course, this is all pure speculation based off excessive viewing of ESPN’s Lottery + Mock Draft, all assumptions could easily turn out to be wrong. So bear with me.

First, the Grizzlies dropped to #4, and from all indications I’ve seen, they’re so keen on Mike Conley that they’re willing to take him there. That’s huge; if the Suns were there with the Hawks pick (the more likely scenario), they were most likely going with a big like Brandan Wright. It also helps that the Sonics got moved up to #2. They were huge on Yi Jianlian and would have snapped him up if he fell to them, but now they’ll obviously be taking Greg Oden or Kevin Durant. The more guards and swingmen picked in the top 8, the better the chances are that Brandan Wright, Al Horford or Jianlian fall to #9. It’s possible. The Bulls just need a little more good fortune than they had tonight.

The big winners up in Portland have to be ecstatic right now. They already have a great young core with Rookie of the Year Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Zach Randolph (plus Sergio Rodriguez and Martell Webster). Now they’re going to be adding either Oden or Durant, a win-win scenario. More on this later.

And finally, this lottery taught us one thing (in a resounding way, I might add): tanking doesn’t pay. The Bucks and Celtics, the season’s two most egregious tankers, both ended up empty-handed in the Oden-Durant sweepstakes. The Bucks shouldn’t be too worried; they’ve still got Redd, Bogut, and Villenueva, but this really does hurt for the Celtics, losing out on another potential savior. I’ll leave the rest to Bill Simmons, who’s probably already typing his column. The poor Grizzlies didn’t really tank this season—they were legitimately bad. Oh well. That’s what they get for asking for Luol Deng and refusing to budge.

A look back on the ’06-’07 season (or “When will they ever stop saying ‘Baby Bulls’?”): Part 1

2007-05-22T16:09:00.001-05:00

The original “Baby Bulls”: Curry and Chandler

This past summer made one thing clear: the Eddy Curry trade will either be looked upon as either an impeccable heist or a wasted opportunity that will make Darko proud. On one hand, Paxson traded away a center with motivational problems and a heart ailment for cheaper players, the #2 pick in one draft and a lottery selection in one of the deepest drafts ever. On the other hand, that Curry kid’s gotten pretty darn good in the low post (and he’s only 24; he’s still going to improve), the players the Bulls got in return amount to nothing after giving away Tim Thomas and watching Sweetney eat away his career, Tyrus Thomas is still horribly unrefined, and who knows what’s going to happen in the upcoming draft.

Let’s also not forget that all year, but especially in the Pistons series, the Bulls struggled because they had no consistent low-post scorer, and Curry might have been the best in the entire Eastern Conference. Yes, the future looks brighter because of the trade, but it’s also undeniable that the Bulls really could have used Eddy Curry this year.

After the Bulls signed Ben Wallace, it was inevitable that Tyson Chandler had to go. There’s no way that Paxson could afford to give $60 million a piece to two centers who can’t score and still have room to resign Hinrich, Gordon, and Deng. So Chandler was shipped off to New Orleans for P.J. Brown, J.R. Smith, and P.J. Brown’s expiring contract. Unfortunately, Ben Wallace put up Tyson Chandler numbers (minus the turnovers) and Chandler put up Ben Wallace numbers. I’m not saying that the Bulls would rather have had Chandler than Wallace, because there’s no guarantee that Chandler would have done that well in Chicago, but it’s still unfortunate.

Also, Smith had a breakout season in Denver after he was given away for a 2^nd rounder. Forgot about that. I’m still not sure what the motivation behind that move was; yeah, it would have been tough to get Smith minutes when Thabolosha couldn’t even get enough, but a promising big young guard who can score in bunches is surely worth more than a 2^nd rounder. I think Paxson’s hoping we all forget about that too after the Bulls draft JamesOn Curry with the pick and stick him in the NDBL.

The view...

2007-05-21T12:13:00.000-05:00

There’s no doubt in my mind what the best sporting events are. There’s the Super Bowl and the opening rounds of the NCAA basketball tournament, and then there’s everything else.

It’s no coincidence that both are television creations. The Super Bowl often pits two teams which I have no interest watching (and if I did, it was beaten to death in the previous week) in a sport that’s notoriously boring in person. And those first few days of the NCAAs aren’t memorable because of any specific games, but that there are multiple games going on at once makes for two automatic sick days every year.

Now I’m not saying that I wouldn’t want to take in the spectacle of Super Bowl weekend or live and die with a mid-major’s 3-pointers in a potential first round upset; sure, it would be cool to say I was there. But I live 4 hours away from my favorite teams (or any other major teams), so if I were to preoccupy myself with attending the games I want to see, I’d be wasting my time.

I get along just fine with TV and the Internet, thank you. Television provides angles you couldn’t hope to see sitting in row 26, aisle 5, and the Web offers a wealth of retrospective analysis and context (not to mention the couch is much more comfortable).

There’s one thing missing from this vicarious attitude towards sports, and that’s the feeling of being there as a fan to cheer on your team when it matters most, whether it’s the playoffs, a game against a key rival, or even the last throes of a close game. Any Golden State fan sitting at home this postseason was missing out, to say the least. But unfortunately, this experience is hard to come by in big-time sports. In a midseason game against the exciting Phoenix Suns, it took the Jumbotron to even compel Bulls fans to stand up and cheer during a game that came down to a last second three-pointer. And don’t get me started with Wrigley; it seems the tradeoff for Cubs fans getting into things and not accepting their status as “loveable losers” has also compelled them to boo anyone in a hitting slump.

So while I salute the fans painting their chests in mid-January and remain in awe of the dedication of the bleacher bums, I’m not in a rush to join them. I’m content with the view from the cheapest seats.