Bears players spurning front office with play on field

Take your pick, Lance Briggs, Chris Harris or Matt Forte. What do they all have in common? All three have had spats with Chicago Bears front office during the short offseason and now. What have all three done? Nothing but make an even better case for themselves with their play on the field.

The biggest and best example of that has been Matt Forte. By now, you've heard about Forte's $600,000 salary this season. For me, that would be a phenomenal payday, but for the most valuable player on the Bears offense, it's a travesty. Helping his case are fellow Bears teammates, including Brian Urlacher after Sunday's win: "He's the best player in the NFL." Yeah, that's a ringing endorsement.

The great thing about Forte has been his not holding out. His not pouting. Leaving no doubt he's letting his play do the talking on why he deserves a raise. In Sunday's win, he rushed for 145 yards with a touchdown. He also made what could have been the biggest play in the game, a catch on a dumpoff throw from Jay Cutler that turned into a 33-yard gain. His first-quarter touchdown was impressive, too, with him shedding and dodging tacklers on his way to the endzone from 32 yards out.

One must simply look around the league and see how valuable Forte is and what he deserves for compensation. The Vikings gave Adrian Peterson a big pay hike at the start of the season to lock him up long term and Forte is outperforming him to this point of the season. The big holdout of the summer was Chris Johnson with the Titans and Forte is out rushing him, too. And it's not even close.

With Briggs not getting the trade he requested at the start of the season, the team has another disgruntled player. He is taking the same approach as Forte in letting his play speak for him. And he's been impressive in getting this defense turned around the last two weeks.

Throw Harris in the mix and it's a trio of players versus the team. With Harris, his frustration can be aimed more at coach Lovie Smith, but he's still the front office of the team. As the trade deadline came and went without any of the players being moved, the team has stood pat in keeping these guys on board.

At the end of the day the unity of the locker room has emerged as the biggest key for this team. How many times have players used contract talks to sit out games and watch the team falter. These guys won't back down on each other and use it to push the team.

Entering the bye week, one would think if an extension is going to come down to Forte, this is going to be the time if it's going to happen during the season. You can feel the team coming to all three guy's backs each time something like this comes up and to me it might be what pushes them to get better and keep piling up the wins.

One has to think if there is no movement on getting Forte the money it could be what defines this team and pushes them to perform week in and week out. Is it the motivating factory for the front office? You can't say yes, but in the end it probably works. They are notorious for being tight with their cash, even now with the NFL handing over $160 million to pay players. You have to support the guys looking out for themselves, but you can't back the front office in stiff arming them and shipping them elsewhere when the means were available to keep this team together. 

End of a magical Brewers season has me feeling empty

The sun did come up today, but that didn't mean I liked what I saw or how I, one of the most die-hard Milwaukee Brewers fans I know, felt about the team's season ending in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series. It wasn't so much that my team lost, but how they lost the final two games that left me in my seat watching the Cardinals celebrate their World Series berth 10 minutes with tears in my eyes reflection on how close the team I love was to reaching the pinnacle of success.

Yes the final two games of the season, which saw the Brewers commit seven errors and that's what makes this sting that much more. This was not the Brewers team I loved for 162 games during the season and attended 29 games in section 223. This was the Brewers putting their worst foot forward with the pressure on the line. That's what the tears and the emotions were filled with, sitting next to April and R.J. after the game Sunday night.

I know as a fan you can sometimes get a little caught up in things and not see the negative in the team heading in. My experience writing sports, I feel, gives me a unique perspective, even for my favorite teams. That was the case with the Brewers and that was the case Sunday night. Yes, I knew the numbers and stats on Shaun Marcum, but with no one saying he was injured and was "right" I had some optimism. It wasn't much, but it was enough, as a fan to think there was a chance to get the series to a Game 7.

The Brewers I loved were the same ones you loved, especially after the All-Star Break when they were one of the hottest teams in baseball and ran away with the National League Central Division title with their pitching and the bats of MVP candidates Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. That's the Brewers I was expecting would have a flash on one night to capture that magic.

It was the same magic that made celebrating in the 223 with my summer family after Game 5 of the NLDS so much fun (even though I had a massive headache from yelling so much). After that we started to believe this might be the year. We all wanted to believe didn't we?

This was the same team that went 27-5 during one stretch of the season and had a Cy Young winner in Zack Greinke and an ace in Yovanni Gallardo that mesmerized us with the pitching this team desperately needed the last two seasons (Sorry Braden Looper!). So yes, down 3-2, I definitely still believed.

Down 4-0 and Corey Hart homers to leadoff the bottom of the first, it's only one, OK. But down 5-1 and Jonathan Lucroy hits a two-run bomb with a run already in to make it 5-4, yeah, I'm believing. After that, I'm not sure I had more than a glimmer of hope left in the team, down 9-4. The hill proved too tall to climb.

We were left with giving Prince a standing ovation when he took the field and Albert Pujols calling time to have him extend his moment with the fans. Yes, I got a little choked up there. It's something I'll talk in more length about later, but it was a similar moment to the one I had last year in what I thought was his last home at-bat. It will be tough to see him go, for sure, but I will love remembering every moment I witnessed of him coming into his own.

When Mark Kotsay struck out for the final out and the Cardinals rushed the field, my stomach sank. I just wanted the ride to keep going. The ride with Prince, Braun, T. Plush, and Sully (who threw out the first pitch Sunday night). With Galer in town for the week, I was really looking forward to going to Game 1 of the World Series and remembering it for the rest of my life, regardless of the outcome. I guess it just wasn't meant to be.

As downtrodden as I am right now, in two weeks I'll be exctited when Braun wins the MVP and I'll get jacked for spring training and Opening Day. It's just going to take a little while to get over how the season ended. Don't worry, my love for the Brewers will return next season in hopes of doing it all over again.

'Other guys' play big role in Brewers 2-0 series lead

For the Brewers to be successful in the postseason, everyone knew MVP candidates Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder would have to be successful at the plate. Through two games, both have not disappointed with Bruan hitting .750 (6 for 8 with two doubles, a home run, three RBIs and four runs scored) and Fielder .375 (3 of 8 with a double, a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored). NLDS Stats

What wasn't expected was the contributions of some of the "other guys" in their lineup, namely Jerry Hairston, Jr. and Jonathan Lucroy. Hairston may have been the speculated starter entering the postseason, but when manager Ron Roenicke made the call for the veteran to get the nod over the struggling Casey McGehee, most would say they didn't expect what he's done through two games, hitting .500 with three hits, including a double, plus an RBI and a walk. Hitting in the sixth spot behind what looks to be a nearly healthy Rickie Weeks, Hairston has filled what had been a black hole for most of the season with McGehee struggling.

Many would have thought Roenicke would have tapped Minor League Player of the Year Taylor Green for the spot, but to put a rookie in that spot in the postseason would have been a huge gamble. Roenicke gave Hairston the nod and he's played well since the final weekend of the regular season. For a guy that was brought in to fill the gap while Weeks was out with injury, this has the potential to be one of the best acquisitions this team has made.

This move adds itself to the laundry list of calls made by Roenicke that have all seemed to pan out throughout the season. He's pushed all the right buttons this year and Hairston has stepped in nicely when the stage is as big as it's been all season. It's a credit to both Roenicke and Hairston to be in this spot to help this Brewers lineup. Following the cluster of Braun, Fielder and Weeks Hairston will no doubt see runners on base throughout the series and beyond and if he can continue to deliver, this lineup is that much more dangerous.

Lucroy has come up big, as well, going 3 for 8 (.375) with two RBIs and a run scored. The biggest play he's made doesn't show up in those numbers as the sacrifice squeeze Sunday night that brought Hairston in from third and earned him the nickname "Mr. Bunt." It was the play that broke open the inning that led to five Brewers runs and led to the big 9-4 victory. But, as Diamondbacks Ian Kennedy said, he's not a good hitter. Whatever. Keep thinking that buddy. You also thought you could pitch to Fielder in Game 1. How'd that work out for you?

He's also had a good showing behind the plate for the team, calling the shots for Yovani Gallardo in Game 1 and Zack Greinke in Game 2. Nothing speaks better about a catcher than a pitcher's confidence in him to block a breaking ball in the dirt with runners on base. There were many of those Sunday and all were stopped by "Luc."

The averages aren't there for Corey Hart and Nyjer Morgan to this point in the series, but both had big hits in the sixth inning. Hart's coming after the Diamondbacks intentionally walked pinch-hitter Mark Kotsay and Morgan's two-run single officially busted the game wide open. The Brewers will need both to step up, but both delivered a timely hit, which makes up for things, somewhat. We can live with that.

Going forward, yes Braun and Fielder need to continue to deliver the big hits for this team, but the role players need to continue to put them in a position where they have to get pitched to. It's as much on the big boppers as the rest of the roster. Through two games they've delivered, only time will tell if they can keep it up.



That was the perch for this writer for both Game 1 and 2 of the NLDS at Miller Park with only the best fans the Cathedral has seen. I can say this crowd seemed even livelier than 2008 for Game 3 of the NLDS against the Phillies. Beyond our 223, I couldn't have been happier with the life of the crowd throughout the game. It got a little tense for an inning and a half Sunday, but the fans didn't cash out and when the team needed some life in the bottom of the sixth, us towel-waving "idiots" were there to get loud and make it tough on the Diamondbacks. I can only hope to be back for at least one game of the NLCS and see it get even wilder as we try to have a hand in pushing this team even farther. Keep it up Milwaukee!