BS Bears

I sure hope the Bears' D was playing the third game of the preseason like it was bullshit. But that's probably bullshit. On the other hand, I hope the 49ers' D was playing like it wasn't bullshit. But that may not be bullshit.

Orton undeniably put up great numbers, mostly because he had all day to throw to receivers that were wide open. Of course, the facts that the line gave him all day and that the receivers got wide open were encouraging. We'll see what happens in a real game, I suppose.

On the other hand, it's hard to comprehend how the dominant D of '05 and '06 (differing by only two starters, I believe) has become such a joke. I'm having nightmares of Adrian Peterson (V) passing out in the late fourth quarter against the Bears after having run one too many 80-yard dashes down the middle of the field.

The Sporting News

Before the Cubs swept the Brewers I was ready to call the Central for Milwaukee, so you may not want to take my opinions seriously. However, my assessment of the State of the Cubs follows.

Obviously, no major complaints about the starting pitching.

My concerns about the bullpen can be stated in two words: "Bob Howry". If the Cubs were playing anyone but the Cards (or Brewers) on Friday night I honestly would have been rooting for him to blow yet another game, so maybe Lou would start to consider not using him when the game is on the line. I just don't understand the confidence in a mediocre career reliever. He's got a stellar K/BB ratio, but does that really matter when half the balls going into play are making it to at least to warning track. The Cubs have four solid relievers (assuming Wood's healthy) and that should be more than enough, but why do I have this sinking feeling that Howry's going to be trotting out in the seventh inning of Game 1 in the NLDS with the Cubs up 3-2?

I'm more worried about the offense. We've got a right fielder who can't hit and a first baseman who has hit four home runs since May 29th, is slugging .475 for the season despite a hot start, and seems to always be good for a ground ball with men on base. Moving DeRosa to RF, Fontenot to 2B and benching Fukudome seems like the right move to me, but I doubt it will happen.

Remember how the 2000 White Sox put up runs in bunches all year and hit a wall during the ALDS?

Guatemala (Pictures)

Finally, here are some pictures from our trip to Guatemala last month. Like the majority of tourists arriving by air, we headed straight for Antigua after landing in Guatemala City. Antigua, a 16th century colonial city, lies below the inactive Volcan de Agua (above). We were lucky to get that shot: The volcano was obscured by clouds for most of our stay.

Here is a shot of the Santa Catalina arch:


After going for a swim, we walked up a mountain and had some nice views of the city below:


The Museum of Santo Domingo had a moving exhibition about the disappeared during the Argentine Dirty War. This piece shows the artist's disappeared father from our point of view:


The image gradually fades to blankness as one walks around to the back of the sculpture.

After staying a couple of days in Antigua, we headed to Panajachel, on Lake Atitlan.
This is the view from our hotel the first night:


This place was about a 20-minute walk outside of town, and we heard from the locals that the road wasn't safe at night, so we moved down into town for the next two nights. Here's a typical shot of Calle de Santander:





We headed to nature reserve later. See if you can spot the monkey:


A day later we took some boat trips to other towns on the lake,


and saw San Pedro and Santiago, both more impoverished and less touristic than Panajachel.

The cathedral in San Pedro:


In Santiago we visited an effigy of the local saint Maximón. Unfortunately, the camera ran out of batteries at this point, but there's a picture at the link.

The next day we said goodbye to Lake Atitlan and its volcanoes,


and headed stopped back in Antigua for one more night on our way back to Mexico.

Duluth, Duluth

Heading out to Duluth in a couple of minutes. I'm excited to be visiting the birthplace of Bob Dylan and Low. I promise a full report (and, yes, those some pictures finally) upon return.

Veggie Bite

I wholeheartedly endorse Veggie Bite.

Burger, gyro and salad were all delicious.

Mt. Greenwood always seems to have a token veggie/vegan place, and they usually go belly-up with six months or so. I hope this place is still around next time I'm in the Chi-tizzle. We only saw one other customer during what should have been peak dinner time, though.

Top Non-obvious Things About Being Back in the States

1. Not worrying about what I eat and drink. I managed to evade any serious health incidents over a seven-week stay in Mexico/Guatemala, but after the incidents during my first trip to Mexico, I just don't trust the water/street vendors. I don't know if my distrust of filtered Mexico City tap water is irrational (need to check that out), and boiling everything just isn't a practical option. The unfortunate result is was a small-landfill's worth of water bottles emptied during my stay.

2. Being a few hundred feet above sea-level. I kind of feel slightly fatigued whenever I'm in Mexico. It's worst when I first arrive, and my body gradually adjusts. I haven't had a chance to go running since I returned, but I bet I'm going to feel like my lung capacity has tripled.

Guatemala was awesome. I'll post about it when I get I finally get the pictures onto the computer.

Unretirement

David Haugh writes the unthinkable. Jim Edmonds's performance as a Cub has already been more than enough to heal my mental scars, but this is another league altogether. I say nothing short of a Superbowl ring is worth seeing Favre wear the orange and blue. And I don't think the Bears are anything more than a 1 in 12 shot even with the Favre of last season (remember he was in a precipitous two-year decline before last year's renaissance). And Haugh's just lost it when he proposes giving up a first-rounder plus:

Look at it this way: If Favre makes the Bears as good as they could be with him, their draft choice will be later in the first round anyway. If the Bears keep the pick to avoid the Favre sweepstakes and finish under .500 again—which many people outside Halas Hall expect—then they will strongly consider using it on a quarterback anyway with Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton both signed to short-term deals.

Presumably that first-round quarterback would have a career expectancy of longer than one year starting in 2009. (OK, with Angelo picking, maybe it's a close call.)

Anyway, I think the best (and probably most likely) scenario for the Bears is that Packers "come to their senses", Favre starts for them this year, reverts back to his 2007 form, and delays the development of Rodgers for one more year.