Planting a (7) seed

Well, the Bulls couldn't quite pull off the upset over the Celtics, but they got some much needed experience for youngsters like Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Tyrus Thomas and even coach Vinny Del Negro. For Del Negro to match wits with Doc Rivers while Rose battled Rajon Rondo, Noah found ways to exploit his energy and contribute to a winning cause, and a team came together at the right time to nearly pull off something nobody expected--all in the most watched opening round series in NBA playoff history--well that just might be the start of something good.

Don't get me wrong, epic series or no, this was still a 41-41 team. And if Kevin Garnett had played in the series, the Bulls surely would have made a quick exit. But a banged up Celtics team gave the Bulls an opportunity to grow and build a foundation for next year. With a maturing Derrick Rose, a healthy Luol Deng, and some solid pieces in John Salmons, Brad Miller, Noah and others, the Bulls should be able to put the .500 mark in the rear view mirror and compete in the East. Their best opponent this year was often themselves, as they lacked intensity at times and had a tendency to lose focus. But the Bulls were 18-11 after the All-Star break, and they certainly showed some passion in the series against the Celtics, a series which I believe requires a warning to viewers who may be pregnant or nursing, or who have a heart condition.

The big question for now: What happens with Ben Gordon? He says he wants to be in Chicago, but has turned down contracts worth $50 million or more each of the last two offseasons. To sign Gordon, the Bulls would need to move payroll or risk entering luxury tax territory. John Paxson has some work to do over the next few months, but the Bulls provided their fans a level of excitement we haven't seen since the 20th century, and hopefully this experience planted a seed that will help them climb higher than the seven seed they attained this year.

Cubs win, but do they lose Zambrano?
The Cubs offense continued to produce Sunday in a 6-4 victory over the Marlins, their third in a row. It's the third time this season the Cubs have won three in a row--they'll go for a season-high four in a row Monday against the Giants. Dempster would love to get a win in game one of this short two-game set, because Tuesday the Cubs will face reigning Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum.

Good news from Sunday? Derrek Lee hit another home run--a grand slam--and Fontenot added his fifth of the year. Lee's slam--which traveled over 400 feet to straightaway center--marked the first time he had homered in back-to-back games since last April15-16 versus the Reds. Soto also showed signs of breaking out of his early season slump, drilling a double off the wall in right, hitting a hard liner to center, and driving one deep to left center in the 8th.

But the bad news could be really bad: Zambrano laid down a beautiful bunt in the 5th inning but strained his left hamstring as he beat it out. If Zambrano has to go on the DL, expect to see a fill-in from Triple-A Iowa. It could be Randy Wells (eight career appearances), Jose Ascanio (six appearances out of the 'pen last year, 7.94 ERA), or Mitch Atkins (never appeared in majors).

So we await news on Zambrano's hamstring, and hopefully he won't miss much time. Zambrano has never gone on the DL for any type of leg problem.

MLB notes
-The Rays' Carl Crawford stole six bases against the Red Sox Sunday. That ties the modern major league record and it's just the fourth time the feat has been accomplished since 1900.

-Only two of the top 10 batting averages in the majors are held by National Leaguers (Carlos Beltran and Joey Votto).

-The Giants have scored just 82 runs in 23 games this year, though they still find themselves with a 12-11 record. They beat the Rockies Sunday 1-0 in 10 innings.

Not over(time) yet

Is it too late to change the rules and make it best of 13? I can't get enough. The Bulls-Celtics series has lasted longer than the Joey spinoff and has had more drama than an ad for TNT. Believe it or not, this series has now had more overtime sessions than that Syracuse-UConn marathon in the Big East tournament.

When the Bulls went up 91-81 with nine minutes left, I said to Trevor Sierra, "Looks like we get a Game 7." Boston then immediately launched into an 18-0 run to go up 99-91, and I texted Khair Sadrud-Din to lament that the Bulls had blown it. 3:44 and three overtimes later, Derrick Rose did indeed force a Game 7 with an amazing block on Rajon Rondo.

Ray Allen dropped 51 points, including nine threes, which ties the NBA playoff record (Allen took one more three--18--than the Bulls as a team); John Salmons became the third Bull to put the team on his shoulders and carry them to victory in this series (along with Rose and Gordon); Rose had 28, 8 and 7; "Big Baby" Davis couldn't be stopped; Joakim Noah was charged up all night and had a huge steal-and-dunk over Paul Pierce in triple OT ... the list goes on and on.

And just to add a little more spice to the Game 7 stew, Kirk Hinrich got a little testy (isn't that Ben Gordon's job? bah-dum-pssh) when Rondo chucked him into the scorer's table, and the refs had to prevent a fight. A veteran team trying to claw their way into Round Two as they defend their title vs. a young bunch of start-ups trying to prove something to themselves and the world--Saturday should be an awful lot of fun, and someone is finally going to get the last laugh.

On a side note, do NBA players go through some sort of swear word training before they're allowed to enter the league? I don't mean training to be respectful, I mean training to use swear words as often and effectively as possible. It seems like every time there's a closeup of a player, they're either celebrating a made basket with "F--- yeah!" or "That's right, motherf---er!"; lamenting a ref's call with "F---!" or "No f---ing way!"; or on the sideline screaming "Let's f---ing go!" NBA games really should be rated TV14 with that little "L" under it for "language." We're used to hearing that MLB needs to "clean up the game" with reference to steroids, but the NBA needs to clean up their game with regard to all that foul language. It's really f---ing inappropriate.

Cubs notes
-Cubs pitchers lead the league in walks allowed. You can't win consistently when you give up that many free bases.

-What is wrong with Lou Piniella? Thursday's loss is on him, if you ask me. Because he:

1) brought in Marmol in the 8th instead of Heilman. Marmol walked the world Wednesday, and might still be getting over his injury. Heilman's been our best reliever all year, but remained in the 'pen until the 10th. Granted, he imploded, but that could be because he threw about 10,000 pitches in the bullpen before coming into the game.

2) pinch-hit Zambrano in the 8th instead of Hoffpauir or Reed Johnson. Um, Lou, we do have bench players. Feel free to use them. But worse:

3) Zambrano ran for himself in a 2-2 game, even though we have Joey Gathright on the bench. The Cubs stole three bases Wednesday, and Gathright could have come in and tried to take second with Soriano batting.

4) pinch-hit Reed Johnson for Mike Fontenot in the 9th, meaning Koyie Hill had to play 3rd base in the 10th, a position he hasn't played in years.

Then on Friday, Piniella pinch-hit Zambrano AGAIN. Does Big Z have some dirt on Big Lou?

-I pointed out recently (though not in this blog--you'll have to trust me) that Ryan Theriot's been swinging with a bit of an uppercut. That's not at all his game. He hits grounders through the hole and line drives, but not fly balls. I was listening to Friday's game and when Theriot lifted a fly ball with the bases loaded, I immediately assumed it would be an inning-ending flyout. But somehow Theriot managed to put enough oomph into it that he got the Cubs on board with this grand slam trend sweeping baseball this year. Just like we all figured: if you need a grand slam, just call on Ryan Theriot.

-Cotts had a good inning! Cotts had a good inning! I mean, he walked the leadoff man on four pitches, but he didn't give up any runs!

Having a Ball

Is it just me, or are the NBA playoffs about 180 degrees (okay, maybe 150 degrees) different from the regular season? It's the selfishness, the lackadaisical play, the lack of teamwork that limits my interest in the sport from October through March. But the first round of the playoffs--highlighted by the Bulls-Celtics series--has nearly lived up to the not-so-great slogan, Where Amazing Happens.

The 76ers came back from an 18-point deficit in Game 1 to beat Orlando, then hit a game-winning shot with two seconds left in Game 3, and had a chance to tie Game 4 at the buzzer.

Three of the four Rockets-Blazers games have been decided by four points or less.

Deron Williams hit a game-winning shot with under five seconds left in Game 3 to keep the Jazz in their series with the Lakers.

But the best of them all has been the Bulls and Celtics. Game 4 managed to top the Game 1 thriller, as Ben Gordon grabbed the ball (pun intended) and drilled a game-tying three-pointer to send the game into double overtime. Ben Gordon must never need an ice bath after games because he's got ice-cold blood running through his veins. He's also got something in his shorts he'd like you to see:



After playing Game 3 as if they thought it was a best-of-two series, the Balls--I mean Bulls showed up in a big way Sunday, going back and forth with the defending champs and giving the United Center faithful a game to remember. Young guards Rajon Rondo and Derrick Rose engaged in battle, and with one more Rose assist, they both would have finished with triple-doubles.

All seven Bulls who saw action scored in double figures, and all five Celtics starters did the same. The win guaranteed that the United Center will see more NBA playoff action, and while it's anyone's guess as to which Bulls team will take the court that day, here's hoping for some more excitement the likes of which we haven't seen since last June. Hopefully Ben Gordon will be at full strength for Game 5--he strained his left hamstring during Game 4.

Cubs salvage one
The Cubs are quickly turning into an Abbott and Costello routine. Ramirez and Marmol were unavailable Sunday, and after Lee left the game early with neck spasms, it appeared for a second after Soriano was hit in the helmet by a pitch that Lou Piniella would have to add himself to the 40-man roster and play left field (remember, Bradley's out as well). For most of Sunday's 10-3 victory, the Cubs had an atrocious defensive infield comprised of Mike Fontenot, Ryan Theriot, Aaron Miles and Micah Hoffpauir.

Luckily, they don't expect Lee to go on the DL, and Ramirez and Marmol could be ready as early as today. Bradley's status remains more mysterious than that polar bear on Lost.

Despite all the injuries, the Cubs offense finally exploded, scoring 10 runs behind Fukudome's five RBI (on his 32nd birthday), Micah Hoffpauir's second homer of the season, and a solid six innings from Rich Harden. Fukudome is now fourth in the league in batting and tied for eighth in RBI. Kosuke started strong last year as well, so I'm not quite ready to assume he'll do this all year. But he sure looks a lot more confident at the plate than he did post-All-Star Break last year. And it's worth pointing out that through April last year, Fukudome had one home run and 10 RBI; so far this year he has four home runs and 15 RBI.

The Cubs now head to the desert to face a struggling 7-11 Diamondbacks team with no Stephen Drew. Lilly, Zambrano and Dempster will face Dan Haren, Yusmeiro Petit and lefty Doug Davis.

Did you know ...
-Fukudome's home run Sunday was the 14th of his career, but his first off a left-hander.

-The Rays have struggled and find themselves in last place, 6.5 games out of first.

Stunning of the Bulls

Let's play a game called Which Statistic From Game 3 Most Offends You as a Bulls Fan?

A) The Bulls lost by 21, and trailed by as many as 34
B) The Bulls shot just 37% from the field
C) The Bulls turned it over 22 times
D) The Celtics had 16 steals, including six by man-beast "Big Baby" Davis
E) The Celtics were 12-21 from the three-point line
F) all of the above

The Bulls were dominated from the start in Thursday's 107-86 pounding by the Celtics. If you only had one word to describe their performance? Sloppy. They looked unfocused and unprepared, a very different team than the one we saw in Boston. The Celtics wrested home court advantage back with the victory, and Game 4 is now a must-win for the Bulls.

What a dump
Rarely has there been a purer example of a salary dump than the Cubs' trade of Jason Marquis to the Rockies this past offseason.

The return on that trade--reliever Luis Vizcaino--was officially DFA'd (designated for assignment) Thursday after Hendry was unable to trade him. If Vizcaino signs elsewhere for the league minimum salary, the Cubs will eat $3.6 million. Add in the $875K they sent to Colorado as part of the trade, and the Cubs will have essentially paid $4.475 million instead of Marquis' $9.875 million salary.

So the final math looks like this: $5 million in the coffers, one less starting pitcher. That, my friends, is a salary dump.

Cubs notes
-Just what any sane person would have predicted on the heels of a three-game winning streak: the Cubs scored a total of one run in two games against the Reds, and consequently lost their first series of the year.

-The red hot Cardinals (10-3 in their last 13) swept the Mets, upping their record to 11-5. The matchups for this weekend's series in St. Louis will be:

Dempster vs. Wainwright
Marshall vs. Walters
Harden vs. Wellemeyer

Hopefully, facing the "W"s of the Cardinals will result in some "W"s for the Cubs.

-Soriano has a 10-game hitting streak.

-Milton Bradley will sit until he's completely healthy (is that an oxymoron?), and will bat sixth when he returns. I'm not sure if that means Fontenot will move up to five, or if the lineup will look more like Thursday's, with Theriot moving up to two, followed by Fukudome, Lee, Ramirez and then Bradley. I prefer the latter--Theriot's a good fit in the two spot. It's unfortunate that injuries and struggles at the plate have quickly eroded the lefty-righty balance Piniella was seeking when we traded for Bradley.

Did you know ...
-Carlos Quentin leads the majors with seven home runs.

-Oakland has hit just four home runs; Texas leads the league with 27.

-This is completely inconsequential, but I can't help myself: I saw on the interweb today that a no-hitter was thrown on this date in 1946. The pitcher who threw it was named Ed Head. Ed Head. I just thought you should be aware of the fact that there was once a person with the name Ed Head.

Bulls are in it to win it

In Game 1, the Bulls were nine point underdogs. After shocking Boston with a 105-103 victory, the Bulls were ... 8.5 point underdogs in Game 2. Well, the Bulls couldn't quite pull off another upset, but they once again played with Boston the entire game and lost on a Ray Allen 3-pointer with just two seconds remaining. No one--including yours truly--gave the Bulls a real shot to win this series, but they have thus far scored at will and been unfazed by the defending NBA champions. Now the Bulls will try to do what the Blackhawks just did--win two playoff games at the United Center.

Ben Gordon kept the Bulls in Game 2 with 42 points, including six threes. But the Bulls were killed on the boards, allowing the Celtics to claim 21 offensive rebounds and take 96 shots compared to 80 for the Bulls. One would hope that the energy in the United Center Thursday will help the Bulls clean up the glass more effectively.

The young Bulls were once again composed, remaining calm despite going down by 12 in the first quarter. Vinny del Negro didn't always have his guys focused this season, but they've been locked in during the playoffs. It's also becoming more and more clear that the midseason trades made by the Bulls were good ones, as trade acquisitions Brad Miller and John Salmons combined for 33 points Monday.

Bulls notes
-The Bulls set a franchise playoff record with 14 blocks, including six by human pogo stick Tyrus Thomas.

-The Bulls shot 50% and scored 115 points on the heels of their 105 in Game 1--this despite the fact that Boston allowed just 93.4 ppg during the regular season, good for third in the NBA.

Samardzija watch
Jeff started for the second time Saturday, going six innings and allowing two ER on just one hit. He walked one and struck out five. The outing dropped Samardzija's ERA to 3.75.

-In other minor (league) matters, OF Jake Fox is absolutely tearing it up with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. He's batting .478 with seven home runs and 22 RBI in just 11 games. Fox was the Pacific Coast League Player of the Week last week, and leads the Minors in homers, RBI and hits.

In spring training with the Cubs this year, Fox played in 22 games, batting .350 with four home runs and 16 RBI. Fox is 26 years old.

Every Rose has its horns

All year, Derrick Rose has been a superstar waiting to happen. Well, the wait is over.

In his first ever playoff game, the 20-year-old rookie went on the road against Rajon Rondo and the defending champion Celtics, and all he did was drop a game-high 36 points, adding 11 assists and four rebounds for good measure. The 36 points are the most he has scored all season, and are tied for the most points ever by a player making his playoff debut. He played 48 minutes (out of 53) and was 12-12 from the free throw line.

On the back of Rose's amazing performance, the Bulls stole Game 1 from Boston 105-103 in overtime, and no doubt came to believe they can win the series in the process. In a season in which the Bulls have at times lacked intensity and been consistently inconsistent, they showed some serious guts as they maintained their composure during a second half Celtics comeback, forcing overtime and ultimately getting in the playoff win column for the first time since 2007.

Sans Kevin Garnett, the Celtics looked awfully pedestrian, allowing 97 points in regulation, shooting just 39% from the field, and letting all five Bulls starters score in double figures. Boston was 35-6 at the Garden this season, but did not intimidate the young Bulls on Saturday. So the Bulls strike first, and have the advantage of knowing that if they hold serve at home, they'll be moving on to the second round.

Cubs notes
-Milton Bradley was suspended for two games, meaning it took him less than two weeks to get injured and suspended. Some things never change.

I don't mind the passion he showed after striking out with the bases loaded on what appeared to be a ball inside. But unfortunately, he made slight contact with the ump's hat, and however slight it may have been, that's a big no-no.

Bradley's appealing the suspension, but remained out of Saturday's lineup due to injury (though he did pinch hit). If he's not going to play anyways, couldn't he just serve the suspension while he's hurt? Maybe MLB rules somehow prevent this clever maneuver, but I'd rather he serve it now instead of in a few weeks when he's healthy enough to play.

-How good would Dempster be if he didn't tend to have one inning each start in which he walks several guys, can't find the plate, and consequently sees his pitch count skyrocket? It was Dempster's debacle of an inning that led to a loss in Game 1 of last year's NLDS.

-I've been saying this for a while now, but the Cubs are going to have to improve their bullpen if they want to a) win the division, and b) do anything in the playoffs. Specifically, they have to add another lefty. Cotts's ERA should be much higher, except other pitchers keep bailing him out after he walks and/or hits multiple batters.

-Is every Cubs/Cardinals game going to be like this? The rivalry seems to be in full force this year. I'll be at Wrigley Sunday with Trevor Sierra and Tony Fuggiti, and while another nail-biter would be exciting, a blowout wouldn't be so bad either.

MLB notes
-Oh, those poor Nationals. Friday, they took a 2-1 lead into the 9th against the red-hot Marlins, only to lose 3-2 in 10 innings. Saturday, they took a 5-0 lead in the first and navigated their way to a 6-3 lead in the 9th. But an RBI single and a two-run homer later, they had blown another late lead and a great chance to win their second game of the season. After 10 games, the Nationals are 8.5 games out of first.

-Chien-Ming Wang won 19 games in '06 and '07, and was 8-2 last year before suffering a season-ending injury. In three starts this year, Wang has pitched a grand total of six total innings and has allowed 22 ER, good for a 33.00 ERA. I wouldn't be shocked if the Yankees DL'ed him, if for no other reason than to give him some time off mentally.

Wang was knocked out of the game Saturday as part of a 14-run 2nd inning for the Indians--17 batters stepped to the plate in the frame. It was the second time in the series that the Indians had put up at least nine runs in an inning. Through 10 games, the Yankees' team ERA is 6.84, good for 27th in the Majors.

-After 47 consecutive saves, Brad Lidge finally blew a save with the Phillies--the Padres scored four runs in the 9th to win it 8-5. Lidge's streak was the 3rd longest in MLB history.

UPDATE: The Nationals took another lead into the 9th inning Sunday, but gave up four runs and lost 7-4 to the Marlins. It was the first time in MLB history that a team had come back from three consecutive 9th inning defitics to sweep a series.

Also, the Yankees have placed Wang on the DL.

Thinking green

Woo hoo! The Bulls made the playoffs!

If you sense a little sarcasm there, that's because the Bulls finished the season exactly .500, 41-41, and there's a pretty good chance the Celtics are about the put the "bull" in bulldoze as they show Chicago what a real playoff team looks like. Doc Rivers vs. Vinny del Negro? That just ain't fair.

The Bulls had a great chance to lock up the #6 seed in the East, but they had a rare slip-up at home in the final game of the regular season, losing to a bad Raptors team with nothing to play for. So instead of playing the struggling, 3-pointer dependent Magic, the Bulls will take on the defending champion Celtics.

Now despite what I said above, there is at least a bit of intrigue in this matchup. It sounds like Kevin Garnett is going to be out for the whole series, if not the entire playoffs. Also, the Bulls are 9-3 in their last 12 and 14-2 in their last 16 home games, including a victory over Boston. Winning one in Bahstin will be a challenge, but the Bulls may be able to make some noise at the United Center. But for anyone holding out hope for a miraculous NBA championship? The highest seed ever to win it all was a #6 seed--the #6 seed the Bulls threw away against Toronto.

One good thing is that even if the Bulls get trounced, Derrick Rose will get playoff experience in his rookie season. The Bulls hope D Rose can be the one to lead them back to the promised land, and spending some time on the big stage is a solid way to begin his career.

Series prediction: Celtics, 4-2

From green uniforms to a green jacket


What a great Masters.

First, Tiger and Phil were paired together for the final round, and lived up to expectations with a combined score of -9.

But they couldn't quite catch the leaders, who ended up in a three-way playoff when Kenny Perry posted back-t0-back bogeys on 17 and 18. It ultimately took 20 holes to crown Angel Cabrera the winner, and I must say that I'm getting used to these Major tournament playoffs. Did Tiger institute a new PGA rule? Did he demand that any Major he plays in must end in a playoff? Bravo, Tiger.

Though Tiger didn't win it, it was good to see him back on his game--he finished eight under par and tied for 6th. But we all know who's way happier than me about Tiger's comeback--the PGA. After a solid 12-year marriage, TV ratings slapped the PGA around a bit and then abruptly left, but now they've come crawling back with their (Tiger) tail between their legs. Tiger was just one back through 16, and finished in the top 10. Add it all up, and you get:

Golf is back.