Foul Balls

MLB Power Rankings - Week 21

noreply@blogger.com (Fornelli) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 17:28:00 +0000

In news that is sure to please the commenter from a few weeks ago who called me a homer for ranking the Yankees ahead of the Phillies, we have a new number one in the rankings this week.

Yes, I've removed myself from my undying love for all things Yankees, and have seen fit to place the Phillies atop the poll. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make for the good of all of you. I'm kind of a hero in that sense.

No need to thank me, just check out the rest of the rankings after the jump.

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My Preseason Blogpoll Ballot

noreply@blogger.com (Fornelli) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 16:27:00 +0000

There are some changes to the Blogpoll this year, most notably the one in which MGoBlog's Brian Cook -- the founder of the poll -- will no longer be running it. The poll is completely in the hands of SBNation and Andy Hutchins now, who I'm sure will do a fine job wrangling all these ballots every week.

Anyway, ballots are due in on Monday now instead of Wednesday, which shouldn't be a problem for me considering I always get mine in on Monday anyway.

As for the actual ballot, our preseason ballots are due on Monday of next week, but I already have mine done so I submitted it. As I've said a million times, I feel like preseason polls are a waste of everyone's time because they're based on nothing but opinion, not actually seeing any of these teams play football. So what I do with mine is just make an educated guess as to how I think things will look when the year is over.

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Brian Cashman Isn't Interested In The Cubs Job

noreply@blogger.com (Fornelli) — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 17:46:00 +0000

With the news that Jim Hendry had been fired coming out of no where yesterday, one of the funnier things I heard during the day was that Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was a candidate to replace him. No offense, Cubs fans, but if you honestly think Cashman would leave a team with an unlimited payroll to take over a team that is strapped for cash and hasn't won in over a century, well, pass that flask of yours over here.

So it's not all that much of a surprise to see that Cashman has already downplayed any supposed interest of his in the Cubs job.

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MLB Power Rankings - Week 20

noreply@blogger.com (Fornelli) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Quite a few changes this week because even though the top three teams remain the same, the Red Sox have fallen further out of the top two spots than they've been in two months. And while the rest of the top ten teams are basically the same, there was a whole lot of jockeying for position as teams slid up and down.

The Brewers have not only distanced themselves from the rest of the NL Central in recent weeks, but now they've entered the top five.

Find out where everyone else is after the jump.

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So What Was Devin Hester's Role In The Miami Fiasco?

noreply@blogger.com (Fornelli) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:23:00 +0000

That'll be $500!

Just when I thought things couldn't get any crazier in the college football world, Yahoo and Charles Robinson had to go and drop a bomb on Miami on Tuesday. As I read the report on Yahoo last night, my emotions went from "holy shit" to "Holy Shit" and then a lot of "HOLY SHIT!"

I seriously felt like I was reading a script written by Oliver Stone. It was Any Given Sunday, but instead of a fictional pro team in Miami, it was about a real college team. It was just insane.

Of course, I write about it here because one of the names that keeps popping up in the report is that of Devin Hester. Now, there will be no repercussions for Hester because of this story. He's in the NFL and he did nothing illegal. Still, as Bears fans, I thought you might be interested in reading about what Hester actually did.

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Congratulations, Jim Thome

noreply@blogger.com (Fornelli) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 16:33:00 +0000

I'm incredibly busy over at CBS these days as we work on our season previews and the season creeps ever closer, which means there won't be many posts here in the coming days, but I'd be remiss if I didn't take a moment to congratulate Jim Thome.

Thome hit two home runs last night to give him 600 in his career. Even better, they both helped the Twins beat Detroit and bring the White Sox a little bit closer to first place in the AL Central.

Thome has always been one of my favorite players in baseball, even before he came to the White Sox -- where he hit home run number 500 -- and I'm happy to see somebody that is universally loved finally break the 600 mark these days.

Cubs Plan On Keeping Jim Hendry

noreply@blogger.com (Fornelli) — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 22:55:00 +0000

Well, Cubs fans, sometimes you just have to take the good with the bad. On Saturday the Cubs placed Carlos Zambrano on the disqualified list following his latest tantrum on Friday night in Atlanta. That means Zambrano won't be getting paid for the next 30 days, nor will he be allowed to be around the team for that period of time.

Which also means that Zambrano's tenure with the Cubs for all intents and purposes is over. He's not going to be back in 2012. Though apparently the same cannot be said for general manager Jim Hendry.

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And Life As An Aston Villa Fan Has Begun

noreply@blogger.com (Fornelli) — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 17:58:00 +0000

You'll have to forgive me for the lack of posting on Friday and what will likely be another slow day on Foul Balls today. I've just been completely swamped by all the mayhem taking place in college football the last few days with Texas A&M, the SEC, and OH MY GOD IT'S ARMAGEDDON.

Every time I turn around there's a new report or a rumor about this school doing that and what not. It's a giant pain in the ass, and much like last summer, I have a feeling it will all end with one or two schools making a move and not much else.

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Does Johnny Knox Want To Be Traded?

noreply@blogger.com (Fornelli) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 17:59:00 +0000

When the Bears released their first depth chart of camp at wide receiver, the man who led the team in receptions and yards last season, Johnny Knox, was third on the depth chart behind newcomer Roy Williams and Devin Hester.

Which apparently isn't sitting all that well with Knox, because according to Brad Biggs in the Chicago Tribune, if things don't change Knox may ask the Bears to trade him.

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MLB Power Rankings - Week 19

noreply@blogger.com (Fornelli) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 17:04:00 +0000

Sorry, Philly, but 77-40 just ain't good enough

No major changes in the rankings this week, as the Yankees are still atop the rankings in spite of the fact that they're not even in first place in their own division, and the Phillies have the best record in the league. Unfortunately for Boston and Philadelphia, a team's record is only one of the factors in my formula.

As for how everyone else falls in line behind the three powerhouses of MLB, check it out after the jump.

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Let's Be Grateful The Blackhawks Aren't A Soccer Team

noreply@blogger.com (Fornelli) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 17:45:00 +0000

If you missed it earlier today, the MLS has signed a new deal with NBC Sports to have MLS games broadcast on NBC and the NBC Sports Network -- what we now call Versus. Which means that the NHL and MLS now share a broadcast partner, as NBC has become home of the "little guy" in sports television.

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Maurice Jones-Drew Wants You To Know He Did Not Rape Or Kill Jay Cutler

noreply@blogger.com (Fornelli) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 16:11:00 +0000

By his own standard, this mascot likely owes MJD an apology

There was a lot made of Maurice Jones-Drew's tweets about Jay Cutler last season after Cutler left the NFC Championship game with a knee injury. Essentially, Jones-Drew questioned Cutler's manhood for leaving the game with what turned out to be a rather significant knee injury even though Jones-Drew missed the last few games of the Jaguars season with a similar injury while his team was still in contention for a playoff spot.

The thing I found funny about the whole story was that Jones-Drew was ripped by Bears fans and others for making the statements, when a ton of Bears fans were saying the exact same things during and after the game.

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Jereme Richmond Continues To Make Good Decisions

noreply@blogger.com (Fornelli) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 21:23:00 +0000

When Jereme Richmond announced that he was leaving Illinois after his freshman season to join the NBA Draft, just about everybody who cared knew it was the wrong decision for Richmond to make. Bruce Weber knew it, you knew it, I knew it, the rotting corpse of Chief Illiniwek knew it, everybody knew it.

Everybody but Jereme Richmond.

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George McCaskey Talks Turf

noreply@blogger.com (Fornelli) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 20:29:00 +0000

After the Bears had to cancel Family Night on Friday because the turf at Soldier Field was being the turf at Soldier Field, they've been doing a lot of public relations cleanup. The thing that I found the most entertaining about the whole fiasco is that they say the reason the turf wasn't ready to practice on was because it hadn't been watered.

Never mind the fact that it has been raining pretty regularly in Chicago the last few weeks. Somehow there's this force field around the stadium, which actually does make sense since the place looks like a space ship and in most movies space ships always have an impenetrable force field around them.

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Dan Carcillo Wants Your Love, Chicago

noreply@blogger.com (Fornelli) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 19:33:00 +0000

From a pure hockey viewpoint, I had no problem with the Blackhawks signing Dan Carcillo earlier this summer. The team lacked a certain level of asshole last season, and that's a role that Carcillo can easily fill, and since he's only getting paid $775,000 for a year, if he doesn't work out it's not like he hurts the team cap-wise.

The problem I did have with the signing is purely personal. I don't like Dan Carcillo. I didn't like him before the Blackhawks faced off with the Flyers in the Stanley Cup Final, and I liked him even less afterward. The idea of having to root for him is one that bothers me, and I know I'm not the only Blackhawks fan that feels this way.

Which is something Carcillo realizes as well. So when he was introduced officially by the Blackhawks on Monday afternoon, the pandering began.

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Even Stephen Colbert Is On Adam Dunn's Case

noreply@blogger.com (Fornelli) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 14:09:00 +0000

I've spent a lot of time writing about Adam Dunn on this blog this season because he could quite possibly be having the worst season by any professional baseball player that I've ever seen. And just to be clear, there is no hyperbole in that sentence. I really mean that this could be the worst season by anyone at any point in the history of baseball.

It's the kind of thing we'll tell our children about one day, and they'll tell their children, and so on and so forth. So one day, in 2123, when some free agent robot is signed by the New York Yankees for $875 billion yuan and has a terrible season, my great, great, great grandson can say "well it's still not as bad a season as the one Adam Dunn had in 2011."

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MLB Power Rankings - Week 18

noreply@blogger.com (Fornelli) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 16:00:00 +0000

There's Curtis Granderson driving in one of the 200 runs the Yankees scored last night

The White Sox have finally had an impact on the top of the rankings. You see, we have a new team atop the rankings again this week, and I can't help but think that the Sox allowing the Yankees to outscore them 27-5 in the first three games of their series played just a tiny factor in the jump.

So at least the White Sox are having an effect on something consequential.

As for how the rest of the rankings shape up this week, take a look after the jump.

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Patrick Sharp Has Himself A New Contract

noreply@blogger.com (Fornelli) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 16:57:00 +0000

The Blackhawks made a lot of moves this decision with the idea of creating cap space so the team would be able to find a bit more depth this season than it had last year when it barely snuck into the playoffs before taking Vancouver to seven games.

Of course, there was another reason the Blackhawks wanted some financial flexibility, and that was so the team could sign Patrick Sharp to a contract extension.

Well, mission accomplished.

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Notre Dame Reinstates Michael Floyd

noreply@blogger.com (Fornelli) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:27:00 +0000

It's amazing how all these college football programs decide it's time to reinstate suspended players the same week fall camps begin, isn't it?

Coincidence or not, I don't care. I'm just happy to know that Michael Floyd will be lining up and breaking every single record at Notre Dame this season, and won't be missing a single game. At least, not due to suspension.

Read about his reinstatement over at The Eye.

Will Ozzie Ever Move Adam Dunn Out Of The Clean Up Spot?

noreply@blogger.com (Fornelli) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 23:34:00 +0000

Last night's White Sox starting lineup was one of the funniest jokes I'd ever seen. With Paul Konerko out of the lineup thanks to his sore knee, Ozzie had to tinker with a lineup that is already terrible without his best hitter available.

Which led to Adam Dunn batting fourth and Alex Rios batting fifth. Yes, the heart of the White Sox lineup involved two guys whose OBPs combined equal .548. It wasn't surprising to see Dunn and Rios combine to go 1-for-8 with three strikeouts. To make things better, the duo saw 26 pitches total in those 8 at bats.

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Three Seems To Be The White Sox Magic Number

noreply@blogger.com (Fornelli) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 18:54:00 +0000

More of this could go a long way

It's the first day of August, and the first four months of the baseball season are in the books. After 106 games the White Sox find themselves 52-54 and 4 games behind Detroit in the AL Central. A gap that is nothing close to insurmountable, even if it feels like it may as well be.

It's been a frustrating season, and not one that's hard to figure out why it's been so frustrating. The White Sox offense is terrible, and the blame lies in the bats. The Sox rank fifth in the American League in ERA (3.70) and runs against (424). The offense, meanwhile, ranks tenth in the league in batting average (.250), seventh on OBP (.316), tenth in OPS (.697) and, most importantly, twelfth in runs (417).

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Olin Kreutz Is The Greatest Leader In The History Of Leaders

noreply@blogger.com (Fornelli) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 04:32:00 +0000

The Bears effectively said goodbye to Olin Kreutz on Sunday when they signed center Chris Spencer after refusing to budge on what they said would be their best offer to Kreutz, a decision that now has Kreutz reportedly considering retirement. Or has him considering a play to get San Francisco to increase their offer to him since he no longer has the Bears around for them to bid against.

Who knows? We'll have to wait and see.

Either way, what we've learned since Kreutz was shown the door is that he was not only the leader of the Bears locker room, but the greatest leader in the history of the entire world. It's possible that without Kreutz around, players won't even remember how to put on pads, or which cleat goes on which foot.

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The Olin Kreutz Era Comes To An End

noreply@blogger.com (Fornelli) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 20:10:00 +0000

It's official, Olin Kreutz's days as a Chicago Bear are over. The Bears announced the signing of center Chris Spencer to a two-year deal on Sunday, which means that they're done negotiating with Kreutz and he'll leave Chicago second on the all-time list in starts as a Bear with 183.

One start behind Walter Payton's mark of 184.

It's a move that a lot of people may question, but to be honest, I'm not going to shed any tears about Kreutz leaving.

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I'm Willing To Give Roy Williams A Chance

noreply@blogger.com (Fornelli) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 20:50:00 +0000

The news became official this morning that the Bears had signed wide receiver Roy Williams, who was just recently released by the Cowboys and spent a few years with the Lions before that. There still hasn't been any word on what the Bears will be paying Williams, but I highly doubt the deal is long-term or that he's getting a lot of money.

This news did not please me too much, because make no mistake about it, I do not like Roy Williams. Like, at all. He's annoyed me since he was still playing college ball at Texas, and that only grew once he became a Detroit Lion (Examples here and here).

Still, he's a Bear now, and I'm going to give him a chance.

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Greg Olsen Shipped To Carolina

noreply@blogger.com (Fornelli) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 22:53:00 +0000

It's been a bad week for Jay Cutler. First he loses his fiance, and now he loses his best friend as the trade trend continues to sweep Chicago.

After hearing rumblings about it for the last few days, followed by an email from Drew Rosenhaus to all 32 teams on Wednesday night saying TIGHT END FOR SALE, the Bears have traded Greg Olsen to the Carolina Panthers.
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