Chicago Fantasy Sports Week In Review - 9/10

by Jerome Cusson

Nothing says sterling beginning to a Chicago fantasy sports column than a wretched Sunday. The White Sox were officially eliminated from the postseason. Also, for the first time since 1999, the Sox clinched a losing season. Yet, the White Sox still out-scored the Bears, who couldn’t manage a touchdown. Thomas Jones was seen laughing after the Bears-Chargers game, that is until he saw the game film of the Jets-Patriots game. Then the laughter died.

Then there are the Cubs. Just when you think they’re about to take the NL Central division by the Piniellas, they once again show why they’re the Cubs and give the division lead back to the Brewers, who are suddenly hot again. So in a sea of bad, let’s start with Da Bears.

Chicago Bears

The positive is that the Bears have nowhere else to but up. Scoring three points will do that. The stats are not pretty. LeDainian Tomlinson threw for more touchdown passes than Rex Grossman. Michael Turner, the back-up running back, had one less yard and higher yards per carry average than Cedric Benson. Antonio Gates proved why he should have been the number one tight end drafted by having more receiving yards than any of the Bears.

Bernard Berrian, probably the only decent fantasy performer, had five catches for 83 yards. Then again, looking at the numbers of guys like Randy Moss, Plaxico Burress, and Roy Williams, Berrian’s numbers pale by comparison. He also missed a route that lead to a key interception from Rex Grossman.

Grossman didn’t play a bad game. He did have a bad fumble that he should have held onto, but the interception was not his fault. Meanwhile, his running backs were too busy coughing the ball up or running into the guys in the white jerseys to do anything for your fantasy team or the Bears. Don’t be surprised if there is a Garrett Wolfe sighting sometime in the next couple weeks.

The defense, on the other hand, had an outstanding effort. They neutralized Tomlinson for much of the game. He had a couple of garbage yard type runs at the end of the half, but other than that the Bears defense was excellent. They did everything they could to keep this a close game. Tommie Harris was everywhere and gave Phillip Rivers headaches all day. The cornerbacks were excellent too, as Rivers practically forgot about his receivers for most of the game. The safety position did struggle with Adam Archuleta spying on Gate, and Mike Brown once again succumbed to injury. Offenses, especially a good one like this, will always make some plays though, the defense was about the 100th thing wrong with the

Bears

The good news is the Chiefs are coming to Chicago next week. Expect a much better effort from everyone on the offensive end, but beware of starting the top position players and quarterbacks. Defensively, the Bears won’t have as many issues because the Chiefs heavily rely more on Larry Johnson than the Chargers do on Tomlinson. Start the Bears defense if you have them cause you know one half of the team will make plays.

Chicago White Sox

The White Sox are so bad that at this point, they are irrelevant. Bears season has started. The Cubs are in a postseason race, sort of. This team will go quietly into the night. Ozzie Guillen, as frustrated as he is, has made a major error in judgment by experimenting with Josh Fields in left. He’s had enough trouble getting used to the infield, but then to just simply move him as clearly hurt his value as a hitter.

Fields had a solid August. While his average was only .233, his power numbers started to pick up. After hitting nine home runs and 24 RBIs, Fields has only hit .167 during the early part of September with only one homer to show for it. I think Fields was best served struggling at third because it’s his natural position and you can take an entire half season to see if this the guy for the job. Having him play third and then moving him to left is just a dumb idea, and I have to question whether Guillen has lost it. The other question is about Brian Anderson. I know he’s been injured and struggled at times, but the way that this team has treated him and how badly this team has played, why hasn’t Anderson been given a chance.

From a fantasy perspective, Jim Thome is having a solid season. While only hitting .250 during this month so far, Thome is edging closer to the 500 home run mark. When healthy, Thome is still a dangerous hitter. He’ll never give you the great batting average, but he is very adept at driving runs and hitting balls out of the park. Of course, all this depends on his health.

With the playoffs approaching, Jim Thome, A.J. Pierzynski, and Jermaine Dye should definitely be in the starting line-up. They have hit the ball very well recently and even though they’re on a bad team, they might help your team win. From a pitching perspective, it’s pretty barren. A combination of factors have made the starters undesirable, and Bobby Jenks may not get a lot of chances to close out games the rest of the season.

Chicago Cubs

Some Cubs’ fans and fantasy players might be wondering about Derrek Lee. He hasn’t had the best of numbers, although by no means is he having a bad season. This season he’s been healthy, is still hitting .300, and might hit 20 homers with 80 RBIs. An argument could be made that Lee’s aberration year was 2005. His numbers were almost beyond comprehension that season when compared to seasons’ past. Don’t get me wrong, Lee is very good on defense. His numbers are consistently good, but that’s it.

The way things may shake out, Lee is still going to have one of his better years of his career. This is a better indication of what the rest of his career might look like. As a fantasy owner, you should plan accordingly.

Ted Lilly is also a guy to watch out for. This year has been one of his better seasons. Lilly’s always been solid, but this year he’s been the ace of a staff. Lilly is tied for the team lead in wins, but he has fewer losses and a lower E.R.A. Whether he continues this is anyone’s guess. His move from the American League to the National League has helped a great deal. However, be aware of his stats next year as the league is able to figure him our more and watch tape. One year wonders can sometimes be traps for fantasy owners as the year after tends to be a tailoff and a return to their usual numbers. In Lilly’s case, he’s still pretty good and worth a middle to late round draft pick.

The good news about the White Sox is that they’re season is almost over. The bad news for the Cubs is they’re season could be over on October 2nd. The bad news for Bears’ fans could be that the season has only just begun. The good news for Bulls’ fans is that the rest of the conference hasn’t gotten significantly better except for the Celtics, who aren’t in the Bulls’ division. The bad news for Blackhawks fans is I won’t be talking about them because I only talk about teams who broadcast their home games on television.