Cubs News: Anthony Rizzo, Alfonso Soriano, Management

I bet you've buried the +Chicago Cubs front office brass this season. You've sat and said, "see, it's the same old thing. Do just enough to keep butts in the seats but they aren't interested in winning!"

Well, looks like the Cubs (who have made a ton of great moves but have been overshadowed by a couple bad ones), have made a move recently that rivals some of the best deals in baseball, Anthony Rizzo's extension.

Anthony Rizzo recently signed a contract extension for $41 million over a 7 year span. There are 2 options and extras that can escalate the deal over $70 million. This is a great deal for a club that is used to making mistakes in free agency and waiting till players are arbitration eligible or on the verge of free agency to sign them. The deal offers Rizzo a large raise (currently earning just under $500,000) as well as gives the Cubs payroll flexibility in the future, while hopefully getting huge value on the dollar.



This was part of the plan Theo Epstein talked about when coming to Chicago, you pay for future production, not the past production. It's just smart business, look at Albert Pujols. Everyone screamed that the Cubs should make a legit run at Albert, solidifying the first base position for years, even if it came at a large price tag. Well, through a year and a half, Pujols looks to be a quarter of the player he was for St Louis, and the Cubs will certainly see more production per dollar over the course of this favorable deal.

This is a HUGE victory for the Cubs as well as a big victory for Rizzo.

Speaking of contracts, especially of the bad variety, Alfonso Soriano. You will not find a baseball guy that will say Soriano's deal is a good one. Heck, I don't think Jim Hendry thought it to be a good deal when he made it, but you have to recognize the player Soriano is becoming in the twilight of his career.



Sori has never been the best fielder, but he has worked harder at it in these last couple of years than most to be somewhat passable. He hasn't been a consistent run producer, but has taught himself some additional discipline to help the team. He has changed parts of his game to conform to both team needs as well as conforming to what he can physically do now. He has always been a darn good baseball player, but it seems as though he has recently become a professional.

I don't say professional in the terms of a pro athlete, I mean it in the terms of a smart, veteran player. A guy that goes all out for his team, has realized he can do additional small things to help the team win, and has taken players under his wing to help them grow, become acclimated, and become pro athletes as well. There was a definite time where I wanted Soriano off of the team at all costs, but I am very happy he is still here. If he gets traded at some point this year, I hope it's to a contender for his sake, and although I know it could be good for the future of the Cubs, it would be sad to see a pro's pro go.

The front office... The Cubs brass; Theo, Jed, the Ricketts, and the bunch have had a lot of bad moments publicly lately. From battles over Wrigley renovations to horrible signings to hearing the Cubs can't spend like they used to, fans were beginning to turn, viciously against them. There were however some brilliant spots that just need to be highlighted.



First, and I've already commented on this Anthony Rizzo. The Cubs were able to pull him into the organization, without giving up much in return. He's now locked up a a club favorable deal for 7 years, and will likely be the face of the franchise for years to come.

Travis Wood. Wood has just recorded his league leading 8th quality start of the season. His 4 wins and 2.02 ERA have him in the league leaders, and he is quickly proving that sending Sean Marshall (at the time considered the best lefty reliever in the National League) to Cincinnati for Wood was a very good deal indeed.



Possibly the best move that the franchise heads will actually, not make... Not calling up their young batters that have tons of promise. I'm talking the Soler's, the Baez's, and the likes. They seem very patient to stay the course on these guys. Allowing them to face frustrations and adversity in the minors, learning from it there, before needing to learn how to deal with it in the bigs, with all of the pressure, and all of the spotlight. This is going to be the test over these next couple of years, making sure that these players develop down on the farms, ensuring they are better ballplayers here in the bigs.

Team of Destiny

From the beginning of this strike shortened roller coaster ride of a season the +Chicago Blackhawks  have been a team possessed. With their record setting points streak to start a season, to their tremendous goal tender play, to the incredible play of Patrick Kane, this team seems to be on course for a special season.

With the +NHL  Stanley Cup Playoffs underway, and the Hawks holding a commanding 3-1 series lead on the Minnesota Wild, the Hawks should be moving along to the 2nd round for the first time since their incredible 2010 Stanley Cup run. From the beginning of the season I have been extremely adamant about 1 thing, do not put tons of expectations on this team, rather enjoy this ride we are all on. What I mean by not putting expectations on the team is this, if we all expect them to hoist the cup at the end of the year we could lose sight of the absolutely spectacular play on the ice.

How many Hawks fans realize the Blackhawks record with Patrick Sharp playing this season? Did you realize that Sharpy didn't lose his first game until Game 3 against the Wild? The Hawks, with Patrick Sharp playing are 26-1-3.



Another record that we saw this year was the best start to a season from a goalie. Ray Emery started the 2012-2013 season (or 2013 season...) 10-0-0. This marked the best start for a goalie in NHL history. His credentials didn't stop there however. Both Emery and Corey Crawford won the Jennings Award for the team that gave up the least amount of goals. Both tenders finished the season with a GAA under 2.00 and very respectable save percentages (both in the .920's). Both goalies also finished the season with 3 shutouts a piece, and Crow added another shutout in Game 4 verse the Wild.

The undeniable star of the first half of the regular season was hands down, Patrick Kane. Kaner seemed to shed his party-boy persona and developed into the player people thought he was going to be. Kane averaged 1.17 Points Per Game, finished 5th in the league in goals (23) and 5th in the league in points (55). If there was a negative on his season it might be he only finished with a very respectable +/- 11 on the year.



My Captain. Jonathan Toews put in another stellar season for the Blackhawks. Considered by most as one of the top forwards in the league, Tazer has been this teams leader since his second season in the league. "Captain Serious" as he is coined, finished the year with a team lead tie in goals (23, tied with Kane) and a +/- 23 on the season. It seems like anytime Toews is on the ice, good things happen.

This team grabbed the Presidents Trophy for the first time since the 1990-91 season, when they lost to the +Pittsburgh Penguins in the Finals (possible rematch), and marked the 4th time in team history they finished with the best record/most points in the regular season.

With a regular season record of 36-7-5, 77 regular season points, a 24 game point streak to start the season, and 2 top 5 goal scorers, this is special team to watch. Please take every play in, like your first cup of coffee in the morning. Enjoy every cross ice crisp pass, every stick save, every scrum win in a corner, ensuring that the season is completely enjoyable for you, otherwise your expectations might take some of the enjoyment away.

All Heart

If you have seen as much as 3 minutes of the Chicago Bulls playoffs this year you know exactly what this post is about... Joakim Noah.



Between games Six and Seven of the Bulls and Brooklyn Nets series, Joakim guaranteed a Chicago Bulls win. Some took it as a serious, poster board material, some took it as confidence, Jo took it as a motivator for everyone to step their games up. Coming off a game 6 loss to Brooklyn, in a game which saw Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng out with various aliments and what seemed to be the rest of the Bulls sick with the flu, Joakim Noah lead a Bulls charge for the ages. With the help of Nate Robinson, all heart and no height, and the extremely surprising Jimmy Butler, the Noah lead Bulls took game 7 in Brooklyn and set themselves up for a second round match-up with the heavily favored Miami Heat.

The Chicago Bulls, still down Hinrich and Deng, set the defensive tone early. Making sure there were few easy buckets, contested every single dribble. This team fought tooth and nail, set the defensive tone for this series, for 48 long hard minutes came out victorious in Miami. The Miami Heat now know they are in for a series.

  This was supposed to be the season in-between, the year of waiting for Derrick Rose, and once he's back letting him get back into game shape so they can compete in 2013-2014. Sure the Bulls were going to give a lunch pail effort every game with tough nosed defensive players in the post and a friendly face in Kirk Hinrich running the point and guarding the tougher guards in the league. Luol was always a strong defender, and they added some depth behind Noah, Boozer, and Taj Gibson. Without Rose though, everyone knew this team would struggle to score points consistently, and with teams like the Heat, the Pacers, Nets, and Knicks we weren't sure if they could score enough to win on a consistent basis.

Through a couple of months of this season you saw the team mold and define itself, this was going to be a rough, tough defensive unit that will make you earn every bucket. With quality wins against the Knicks and Nets and Celtics and Heat this team was putting itself in a great position for the playoff run. Then, like it typically does, the injury bug started to bite the team. Noah struggled with plantar fasciitis, Hinrich struggled with various injuries, Rip Hamilton seemed to be at less games than I was, and Taj Gibson went down as well. Around this time we learned that Derrick Rose was cleared for basketball activities, which seemed to cast a cloud over this team.

So now the injury bug and Rose's status was hanging over this team's head, but they still continued to chug along. Impressive wins against the Lakers and breaking the Miami Heat's winning streak highlighted their season. In fact, he Lakers game was the breakout game from Jimmy Butler, which is also where he was coined "Kobe Stopper" from his teammates.



Coming into the playoffs the Bulls had gotten Taj and Hinrich back, and Noah hobbled back as well. All three clearly not looking very well, gutted out performances and took a commanding 3-1 lead against the Nets. Then Hinrich and Luol went down.... The Bulls gutted out a game which they were severely short handed, eventually lost, which lead to this proclamation from Noah:

“I’m ready to play. I want to go play right now. That’s my emotions, We’re a team of fighters. We keep getting punched in the face but we fight back. I’m proud of this team. We’re going to go into a hostile environment in Brooklyn and we’re going to win.”

Noah then went out and gave one of the most inspiring performances you'll ever see. Gutting out 41 minutes with 24 points, 14 boards, and 6 blocked shots. By the way, 5 of his 14 rebounds were 1st half offensive boards. The Bulls opened a large first half lead, and while the Nets fought back, they were able to hold off their late charge. Jo was the biggest reason for that. Joakim is undoubtedly this team's leader.

I heard earlier today, Joakim almost guilt's you into playing hard. You see him out there, giving everything he possibly has, on every play, with the ball, away from the ball. He is all hustle, he is all heart. He does the important things great, he does the little things great. He is a gamer in all sense of the term. Ken "Hawk" Harrelson would say, he has TWTW (The Will To Win).



There isn't a team in the league that isn't instantly much better with Joakim Noah on it. From a kid that was suspended from the team in his rookie season, the kid that most Bulls fans didn't like being drafted, has become Chicago's second son. We are lucky that we have a kid like Joakim in Chicago.

In Noah we trust, in Noah we trust.