Bold (Not Smart) Predictions For 2008 Sox and Cubs

What?! Actual sports talk on the Bull? Yeah, I know, seems like a foreign concept given the past couple weeks. But to be honest, there's only so much bitching I care to do. While I do enjoy ranting about how I fucking can't stand Juran Uribe, or cry about how shitty the Bulls have been, I don't feel the need to whine all the time.

We've been trying out some different shit (Would You Rather?, other stupid shit such as We're Pissed, just to make us laugh). Some of it has done alright, the other stuff; not so much. Hey, at least we're tryi...on second thought we've been lazy. What can you do?

Moving on, I would expect alot more sports and shit here with baseball just around the corner. You know what's funny when I think about it? Every upcoming season for Chicago sports in the past year has been like a "Thank fucking God it's finally here"...then after a month the same feeling of waiting comes around.

Well, here's to hoping this season provides at least a longer relief. I'm cautiously optimistic with the Sox this year. I don't expect much out of them, and honestly I think sometimes its better to lower expectations so that you're not let down. That said, I think the Sox will be better. How much better? Only time will tell. So let us wait no further as me and Noce unveil our Bold Predictions for the year on the north and south side:


WHITE SOX:


- Jose Contreras will win 15 games. Boy this one is really going to bite me in the ass if I'm wrong. But if I could bet on this Vegas, I guarantee I'd have some good odds with which to bet. Reasons being:


- Contreras has looked good so far in the spring. That doesn't mean jack shit, but from what I've seen and heard, his stuff has looked better. His split-finger fastball has improved and he'll have to believe he's better then what he showed last year.


- All the divorce shit is out the window. I don't have any idea of exactly how going through a divorice would fuck with you, and I hope never have to. But I have to believe it takes quite a toll. When you only have your job to focus on, it should make a difference.

Now, 15 games is as much of a stretch as it would be for me to make Jim Boylan coach of the year, but fuck it, if I'm right, at least I can say I called it.

- Joe Crede will be on the Sox after the trading deadline. But not after the waiver deadline. I don't see Crede doing any better then the slump he's been in once the season starts. What does that mean? The trade value will not be there...at all. Unless Kenny is content with another fucking Iguchi for Michael Dubee-like trade, the Sox are not going to get the offers they'll want. While I would rather have Fields up and playing, Crede had to yo-yo back and forth a couple times before he finally came up and stayed. Disheartening? Yes. But you can't not play Crede at all. Benching him would make him worth complete dick.



AJ Pierzynski and Paul Konerko will not be in Sox uniforms by the deadline.
The talk of the Sox trading Paulie has been going on for quite some time, and I think this is it for him on the South Side. The Sox will realize that Gavin Floyd and John Danks can't get the job done. Therefore, they will trade both for a starter and a prospect. While Toby Hall is not ready, and this is a complete reach for AJ being traded, injuries happen. It's called taking a fucking guess every now and then.

Fukudome will struggle for the first half, and turn in a stellar second half to win Rookie of the Year.
Most of the Japanese players who have come to America in their first year actually do really well. Ichiro hit .350 in 2001 and won the MVP. Hideki Matsui hit .287, 16 HR's and 106 RBI's. Iguchi his .278 with 15 HR's and 71 RBI's. While Fukudome has been projected to be a .280 hitter with 15-20 HR's and 70-80 RBI's, I think he'll have a tough time adjusting right away, especially if he hits an early slump. However, he's shown flashes of what he can do this spring, and I think we'll be talking about him a lot in July and August.

The Cubs will have the division wrapped up on September 4th. I randomly picked the date, but I will say no later then September 10th that Cubs fans can start wasting their money on their back-to-back NL Central Champs shirts. This is the shittiest division in baseball, and the Brewers are their only competition. Outside of Ben Sheets, the Brewers have no pitching. None. Chris Capuano's going have to get a 2nd Tommy John surgery. Jeff Suppan is washed up. This will be the biggest cakewalk in baseball.

Finally, the boldest call of them all: Kerry Wood will only go on the 15 day DL once. If this were to happen, you can fucking guarantee I will trumpet the fact loud. If Wood stays healthy, I'm calling 40+ saves.

Are these predicitons good? Not really, but that's not to say I won't connect on a few. One of my favorite sales sayings goes something like "Picking just one time to advertise is like blindly throwing a dart at a dartboard, you could hit something good, or you could hit nothing at all".

Well, I'm throwing a few darts here, let's hope I get my money's worth. Feel free to make your predictions in the comments section; we'll bring'em back up in a few months to see how were doing.