Chicago Sports Landscape- (9/30/2012)

Before we delve into discussion about the various Chicago sports teams, I wanted to take a minute to talk about Moneyball. Moneyball, of course, is the movie portrayal of Oakland Athletics’ General Manager Billy Beane. It may be a year late, but I finally gave Moneyball a watch last night. Not only was I greatly impressed, but I now have a man crush on Beane. Nonetheless, it got me thinking to the position the Cubs will be in this off-season. The Cubs have a significant amount of money available to them this off-season, and Cubs’ General Manager Jed Hoyer has admitted that the Cubs will be one of the most active teams on the free agent market. But as was displayed in the movie when the Athletics were trying to replace Jason Giambi, don’t expect the Cubs to invest all of their available resources into one player.

Dec 5, 2011; Dallas, TX, USA; Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane on the MLB network set during the MLB winter meetings at Hilton Anatole. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

Josh Hamilton is the premier free agent on the market this winter in terms of position players. The Cubs will not be in the market for Hamilton as there is not an opening in their outfield. But, Hamilton provides a good example for not only the Moneyball philosophy but the Cubs’ as well this winter. For the price that it would cost to sign Josh Hamilton, the Cubs could find three other players on the market that collectively would provide the same type of value that Hamilton does. Nonetheless, keep this philosophy in mind when the Hot Stove season officially starts.

Now, lets talk about Chicago Sports

• Chicago White Sox

Last week at this time the Chicago White Sox were in good position. The White Sox were in control of their own destiny as they were on top of the American League Central division. This week, it would appear that the White Sox will join the Cubs in watching the MLB Post-Season at home. Nick Schaefer of Southside Showdown may have discovered a new curse for the White Sox. That curse would be the Curse of September, as this is not the first September in where the White Sox have struggled while in the middle of a division race. In particular, the White Sox collapsed in the Septembers’ of 2003 and 2006. The White Sox are two games behind the Detroit Tigers with only 4 games remaining, the White Sox could be done after Sunday if they fail to earn a victory against the Tampa Bay Rays.

• Chicago Bears

With the Chicago Bears taking on the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football this week, there has been plenty of discussions this week talking about the similarities between Jay Cutler and Tony Romo. Cutler and Romo are cut from the same cloth as their careers have mirrored one another’s to this point. Both have been hyped as being on the cusp of elite status in the NFL, but consistency seems to be reason why they are not. Matt Mattucci of Bears Goggles On believes that there should be no debate between Cutler and Romo. His reasoning is because of the fact that he believes neither quarterback can lead their respective teams to a championship, and nothing else matters.

• Chicago Bulls 

One of the major criticisms that has been growing in NBA games is the concept called flopping. In short, flopping is a practice in which a player has an exaggerated reaction after being physically contacted by another player. Josh Hill of Pippen Ain’t Easy notes that the NBA has finally outlawed flopping but there is a catch. The catch is that the punishment will not be enforced in the game, rather the only consequence is the player will be forced to pay a fine.

• Chicago Blackhawks

The NHL is still in a lockout, however, BlackHawk Up is being constantly updated with the latest on the lockout as well as the BlackHawks.