Chicago Bears

The Bears still don't appear to be listening to us as they've insured several more seasons of unreasonably stupid penalties by re-signing Center Olin Kreutz to a six-year deal for $23M, with $7M payable up front as a signing bonus. This bonus will be spread out to $1.17M each year over the next six years. He'll receive $550K in 2002, $1.6M in 2003, and $3.8 million in 2004.

While Kreutz was elected to start the Pro Bowl last year after two years as an alternate, we don't believe this signing was a good deal. Even though we don't particularly care for veteran left tackle Blake Brockermeyer, he'll now have to either restructure his contract or face release so Angelo can move his $3.8M salary off the books in the last year of his deal. Big Cat is also in the same boat.

Bernard Robertson, a mid-round draft pick a year ago, will now be moved outside as the probable future starting left tackle. Most teams spend money on skill positions like left tackle, but the Bears seem determined to waste their cap space in the center of a respectable line rather than at the normally weaker edges.

Along with the inexcusable error that will likely result in the loss of starting weak-side linebacker, we're now going into the draft probably needing a pass rusher, starting linebacker, an offensive linemen, a safety or cornerback and maybe both, and a backup running back. All those positions don't even take into account the need to spend a high draft pick on a future starting quarterback with more upside than Jim Miller.

They may have taken care of the RB hole by signing RB/special teams' standout Rabih Abdullah to a 3-year deal, although we have little knowledge of his history or abilities.

The Bears began this off-season with a lot of optimism, but we currently have a hard time seeing them reaching the Super Bowl under this regime. We almost expect that the only players remaining on the next great Bears' team will be Urlacher, Anthony Thomas, and perhaps David Terrell, so we're really starting to look towards the draft for more reassurance.

Chicago Blackhawks

The search for a #1 goalie and the ongoing contract status of Tony Amonte have just taken a back seat to the severe injury suffered by defenseman Boris Mironov after he either separated or dislocated his shoulder in Los Angeles in Monday. Despite Mironov's fitness problems from last season, he's playing with renewed vigor and would be a key component in any potential playoff run. Now he's out at least two weeks and might possibly miss the entire season.

Starting center Alex Zhamnov continues to recover from an injury to his right hip from the Olympics, the team still appears to have little confident in Thibeault as a #1 goalie, and Tony Amonte will likely leave as a free agent if he's not signed by next Tuesday's trade deadline.

In consideration of all these situations, perhaps the best path for the Blackhawks would be to take this opportunity to rebuild their team. Since no one has shown faith in Amonte and he'll doubtlessly receive more money elsewhere, perhaps they should look into trading him, especially as we'd probably pick up a couple of top prospects in return. A few publications have been rating the Hawks' minor league system very highly in recent weeks, so instead of foolishly pushing for an unlikely victory in a playoff series, we'd prefer to continue building the franchise. Maybe someone will have the guts to fire Mindless Mike Smith and install a real General Manager with some talent evaluation abilities to oversee the maturation of slowly rebuilding franchise.

Chicago Bulls

In the midst of a seven-game losing streak, Jerry Krause found the time to extend Coach Bill Cartwright's contract for three more years at another $1.5M per year. Considering how well the Baby Bulls have responded to his gentle touch over the past couple months, this move both establishes some security for the franchise and weakens the possibility of Krause's departure.

Considering everyone doubts a more established candidate would want this job, Cartwright seems like the perfect man to guide this team over the next few years back to playoff-caliber, if not championship-caliber basketball. He certainly has a better relationship with Chandler and Curry than Tim Floyd or seemingly anybody else in the organization. As long as we add one more key piece in the draft, there's no reason we can't hit the .500 mark by the end of the deal.

As a couple local columnists have also pointed out, this also insures stability in the GM seat. No team wants to pay three coaches at the same time after firing the first two, and since any new GM deserves the opportunity to hire his own coach, we can expect the current regime to remain in place through the 2004-2005 season.

Chicago Cubs

Our Cubs have had better weeks.

Sosa engaged in a pointless mini-feud with Bonds that only served to make them both look like spoiled brats.

Immediately after we suggested moving either Tavarez or Gordon for Baltimore LHP B.J. Ryan, reports surfaced that Florida was trying to obtain Ryan in exchange for Proven Closer Antonio Alfonseca.

Now with Gordon's likely season-ending injury, some have suggested the Cubs should acquire Alfonseca.

Anyone actually believing that such a move is a good idea has no comprehension of baseball talent.

Alfonseca is a worse pitcher than practically all of the potential bullpen arms now in camp. Farnsworth, who we suggested deserved a long-term contract months ago, is ready to close and would find success in the job. The only real qualification needed to close should be a year of high K/9 with decent command in either the rotation or bullpen, and Farnsworth certainly proved his worth last season. Now he'll cost significantly more after he saves at least 20 games this year.

Signing Jeff Shaw would be a decent idea, but so would dealing Julian Tavarez or even Jason Bere for Danny Graves, opening up a spot (and salary) for Shaw in Cincinnati. Cincy needs a quality starter, and with Prior likely ready by May and Osborne, Sanchez, and Tavarez available as capable temporary replacements, there's little reason not to make this move.

However, Farnsworth is currently a better pitcher than Shaw or Graves and could develop into a dominant closer. The main benefit of acquiring a Proven Closer would be to keep everyone in the bullpen in their current roles. While we wouldn't mind that option, we'd prefer the following:

Keep Lieber, Wood, Cruz, and Bere as your Top 4 starters. Close with Fassero and Farnsworth depending on match-ups; don't be afraid to let Farnsworth pitch the 7th and the 8th when needed. Use Tavarez and Sanchez as alternating 5th starters depending on match-ups until Prior is ready; then move Tavarez for a good A-ball prospect while Sanchez stays in long relief.

For the other three bullpen slots, go ahead and keep Courtney Duncan, Scott Chiasson, and Carlos Zambrano. We've heard rumors about the impressiveness of Mark Watson, and we know some officials still like Ron Mahay from last season, but there's no need for a true lefty specialist considering the right-handed talent available. Use Duncan and Chiasson as middle relievers or even occasional closers when Farnsworth and Fassero are needed in the middle innings to get a key out or two. Zambrano can even be given an occasional spot start as he builds more arm strength in the bullpen. If anyone is injured, there's a readily-available supply of NRI arms at AAA like Osborne, Alan Benes, and even Pat Mahomes who could take that 11th or even 10th spot on the staff for a few weeks.

While the Cubs haven't made many cuts compared to some teams, they also opened camp with only 14 NRIs. They re-assigned catching prospects Ryan Jorgensen and Yoon-Min Kweon, starting prospects Felon Ben Christensen, Jose Cueto, Francis Beltran, and Steve Smyth to AA, and IF Ivanon Coffie to AAA. We likely still owe Baltimore a PTBNL for Coffie, and considering the great performances of Bellhorn and Orie this spring, we fully support any attempt to make Coffie his own PTBNL, effectively trading him for himself. The Cubs did something similar with Dickie Noles about fifteen years ago, so we should see if Baltimore needs a half-decent backup infielder.

Assuming one of the papers cooperates and prints a list of their top 10 prospects according to the Cubs in the next week, we'll discuss the Cubs' top prospects next week. As this is looking more and more remote every week, we may not bother discussing the Cubs' prospects as they have both the deepest and best system in the country, as recently rated by Baseball America.

Chicago White Sox

The Sox have made several bizarre personnel decisions over the past few days, and we're quite surprised that no one else has commented much on their cuts.

After spending 40-man roster slots on both players, the Sox optioned out Ryan Kohlmeier and Thomas Jacquez. Edwin Almonte also joins them at AAA, likely as the primary closer for Charlotte. Yesterday, they also demoted Kyle Kane, who will likely set-up Almonte.

The most shocking news was the release of LHP Onan Masaoka. He was considered a solid starting prospect by Los Angeles a few years ago but has spent the last couple of seasons in the bullpen. Masaoka was the primary return for James Baldwin last year, and his MLEs were solid in the second half of last year: 1.8 K:BB, 8.3 K/9, and 0.0 HR/9. Considering the paucity of lefties in the system, we can't believe he wasn't given more AAA time at the very least. While we recognize he's suffered from command problems in the past, he certainly has shown enough potential dominance where he deserves something more than a release after a couple of bad spring outings. If this is the only alternative, the Sox should have just kept Baldwin and taken the draft pick.

Despite severe touting by the franchise, the White Sox reached the correct decision and reassigned Arnaldo Munoz to minor league camp along with fellow lefty Corwin Malone. Hopefully they'll not rush either of these players, as the Sox lack an abundance of left-handed pitching talent.

Other players re-assigned included most remaining NRIs: Dennis Ulacia, Brian West, Mark Dalesandro, Lee Evans, Justin Baughman, and standout Mario Valenzuela, who may have kept himself in the future plans of the Sox with a strong spring showing.

Outfielder Julio Ramirez was given his outright release after not showing enough improvement to satisfy the club. Instead of being used as a AAA back-up for Borchard, Valenzuela, and other hitting prospects, the Sox decided not to keep him around one year after he broke camp with the team.

Speaking of Borchard, he fouled a ball of his right foot and broke his big toe. He'll miss 4-6 weeks before heading to AAA Charlotte. The Sox optioned him out yesterday as a formality. Ramirez could have taken his spot in center, but it will likely fall to the loser of the last roster spot between Brian Simmons and Willie Harris. The latter certainly should play every day at AAA, so hopefully they'll wisely keep Simmons around and let the kids develop.

Four NRIs remain in camp: RHP Gary Majewski, likely headed to AAA soon; C Humberto Quintero, kept because of the injury problems of Sandy Alomar and Mark Johnson; Tim Hummel, future starting middle infielder who benefits from more big league exposure. Finally, spring surprise LHP Mike Porzio appears almost assured of the second lefty spot in the bullpen if the Sox choose to keep two lefties. The only other lefties remaining in camp are nominal ace Mark Buehrle, probable #3 Jim Parque, and specialist Kelly Wunsch. Porzio's 2001 MLE ratios don't really impress us(1.4 K:BB, 5.3 K/9, and 1.4 HR/9), although maybe he'll surprise similar to Wunsch two years ago.

Illinois State Gubernatorial Primary on March 19th

While we try to avoid political commentary, the upcoming Gubernatorial primary on Tuesday seems like an appropriate topic for discussion, as politics remain most people's favorite Chicago Sport.

For the Republicans, AG Jim Ryan seems to have wrapped up the nomination over State Senator Pat O'Malley and Lt. Governor Corrine Wood. Governor George Ryan looms large over this campaign due to the license-for-bribe scandal from his SecState days. Wood faces the stigma of being his running mate and the problem that her somewhat liberal viewpoints pose for many Republicans. She's also laughingly portrayed herself as an outsider, and she was one of the only politicians reckless enough to run, albeit briefly and supposedly accidentally, campaign ads based on 9-11.

O'Malley's views place him in the same camp with the Christian Coalition, Strom Thurmond, and Jesse Helms. He wouldn't be a disgrace in the Governor's mansion, but we can't imagine why anyone would want to vote for him now as he doesn't seem electable in the general election, as he's even too extreme for many Republicans.

So Jim Ryan likely has the nomination secure, probably to some extent because voters will see "Ryan" and think they're voting for the incumbent. Now while George Ryan may be up for the Nobel Peace Prize because of his moratorium on the death penalty and efforts with Cuba, his scandals will tar the Illinois Republican party for many more years in the future. Jim Ryan will face a stiff challenge from any of his Democratic competitors for this reason.

We are not party affiliated, so as we believe Ryan has already wrapped up a primary win, we'll likely take Democratic ballots this time to help determine his opponent. Perennial Candidate Roland Burris faces Congressman Rod Blagojevich, son-in-law of Chicago Ward Boss Dick Mell, and former Chicago Schools' Superintendent Paul Vallas.

Burris, running for seemingly the fourteenth time for Governor, again offers few new ideas, and despite likely retaining much of the Democractic African-American bloc of votes, we don't think he has much of a chance against Ryan.

Now we're left with two choices, neither of which we find particularly appealing. Not a single candidate has opposed the Peotone Airport Boondoggle Project or recognized the existence of Gary as a viable third airport for the south suburbs. So without differing views on the most important political issue of the state, we're left with a choice based on personality and background.

Blagojevich made more reported outside income than any other member of Congress. His father-in-law has been expertly running his campaign, and if we sent him to Springfield, the Daley machine would have another strong ally in office.

Vallas has almost as many faults. He "saved" the Chicago school system by balancing its budget while consistently raising test scores, though he reportedly managed the latter by forcing the kids with the lowest scores out of school altogether. While the end result may appear impressive, no administrator should actively try to remove students from an education system that remains their best chance of escaping poverty.

So we can choose an uninspired wannabe, a connected drone, or an elitist accountant. None of these options are particularly attractive, but Blagjevich's attack ads have been simply ridiculous. The next Illinois Governor needs to balance the state budget after Republican mismanagement, and only Vallas has demonstrated the abilities necessary to achieve this daunting goal. He'll receive our votes next week, and unless something significant happens in the race by November, we'll likely return to his camp in the fall.

I apologize if our politics have offended anyone desiring an exclusive sports' column, but in Illinois, you're as likely to find Democractic and Republican fans as White Sox or Cubs' fans.

Until Steve Goodman can rest in peace, these are your Good Chicago Sports.