McNeil & Spiegel Today At Rookies In Elgin: The Docket
By Matt Spiegel-
(WSCR) We're live at Rookies in Elgin today (2486 Bushwood Dr., 60124), featuring an hour live with Steve Stone. Come out and say hey.
Guests: Mike Florio from Pro Football Talk will join us, plus Jay Hilgenberg on the O line, Laurence Holmes live from Bears camp, and of course that hour with Stoney.
Some of the thoughts we hope and plan to get to:
Ozzie Guillen praises the opponent's approach after last night's game. You've now seen it from the Yankees, and the Red Sox before them: TAKE MORE PITCHES. We talked about it with Melty yesterday. It's not just how many times those teams walk (1st and 2nd in the AL, while the Sox are 12th). It's the effect of that approach and patience. Tiring pitchers out, stressing pitchers, AND, making them challenge you more! A pitcher realizes he has to throw strikes early; you won't chase. Once you get him doing that…he has now given in to you…you can pounce, knowing he feels he has to attack. The questioning of coaching, Greg Walker and otherwise, is in this case completely valid.
Let me preface this point by saying that Tyler Colvin may not end up being a viable, capable, full time big league outfielder. Okay? He was good last year, awful early this year (though he was not given any kind of consistency whatsoever). But we still do not know what Colvin could or could not be.
Jim Hendry said Kosuke Fukudome was traded in part to let Colvin play at the big league level these last two months. So what happens? 1 game played, 2 games sat. Last night…he plays. 451 foot home run off Pittsburgh's all star Kevin Correia. Read Mike Quade's quotes about the importance of getting Reed Johnson some playing time. He does admit though, that "absolutely" Colvin needs to learn to hit against lefties.
So now it's not just Quade and Hendry together thinking short term instead of long term. Now it's Quade, IN SPITE of what his GM says, and wants, thinking short term instead of long term. Clown college continues in the manager's office.
We'll do lots of Bears. Is Lofa Tatupu going to be here to play linebacker? "Mutual interest" was the report last night. That depth would be most welcome. The bears have more than 20 million dollars under the salary cap, though they don;t have to spend it. There's the option to save it. Hmmmm.
Should be fun.
