Doldrums

With no Bears game on Sunday and the signing Jeff George (aside: were I an owner of a Soldier Field PSL, I’d be livid. The Bears are trying to placate me with this dreck?), the Trib has to find something to print. So, they do a backpage on the state of the two Chicago base teams’ offseasons.

The message from both teams appears to be: we have tons of holes and we have some cash to spend, but we are waiting for the 63rd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor before we do anything.

December 7th is the date after which teams can sign free agents from other teams and not lose draft choices as a result. That effectively lowers the cost of the free agents. The Trib is suggesting that singings could commence after that date. What’s more obvious is that neither team likes the way the market is shaping up. The singings of Omar Vizqeul, Damian Miller, Cory Lidle and Cristian Guzman to contracts that fit more with 2000 budgets than the more austere 2003 budgets seems to be making GM’s a little gun shy.

It’s pretty simple as far as I can tell. If you want the Cubs to retain Nomar, Todd Walker or Matt Clement, the best chance to do so is to sign them prior to December 7th. After that, the cost for a competitor to sign them goes down. The next 10 days will be worth watching.

Moreso than Jeff George and the Bears, anyway.