DAVID ORTIZ AND THE "ABILITY TO DRAW WALKS"

Not surprisingly, ESPN's Steve Phillips made a shockingly bad "defense" of David Ortiz and his legacy in the aftermath of the revelation that Ortiz was a positive test in 2003. Phillips made the case that he "observed" Ortiz' development from his days with the Twins into a player who "learned" how to take walks and become a more patient hitter and that this, more than anything else, was responsible for the staggering numbers he produced with the Red Sox.


From ESPN's You Tube Site: Phillips comments are at about the 1:45 mark

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqfPkw4uzLU

I could just imagine Joe Morgan throwing something at his TV screen as well, because this is one of the themes that emanated from the "Moneyball" revolution that is wholly erroneous on a macro basis and certainly weak/non-existent in the individual example of David Ortiz.

Many who read "Moneyball" came away with the impression that the A's used statistical analysis to identify high-OPS, high-walk ratio hitters in the college ranks, who had a greater probability for success at the major league level. This was an extension of the strategy employed at the major league level, which was to identify these type of players and acquire those who were not valued as highly as their peers--who were using other metrics to acquire/reward hitters.

The A's were able to acquire productive players economically and compete for a time at the major league level. I still maintain that this ability to compete only lasted as long as the starting staff included Zito, Hudson and Mulder but that's another story.

Anyway, the A's model at the player developmental level was highlighted by their drafting of a catcher by the name of Jeremy Brown, who they identified as being one of these high-OPS, high walk ratio guys. He was drafted by the A's higher than virtually anyone would have projected--meaning they overpaid for him--which seemingly defeated the purpose of acquiring talent economically, but I digress.

Many of the other guys they identified while the author followed the process--guys like Nick Swisher and Khalil Greene--subsequently developed into good major league hitters. But most if not all of these players did not follow the model that the A's suggested they would to succeed.

In the same way, David Ortiz did not follow the "model" as Steve Phillips believes he did.

The model suggest that there is some inherent ability to work the count, exhibit patience as a hitter and draw walks, thus becoming a high-OPS, productive hitter that contributes to more team wins. The productivity flows from this perceived ability that can be somehow identified statistically.

What the model ignores is the human elements that cannot be quantified until after the fact, if at all.

The high-OPS, high walk rate flows from the hitter earning RESPECT from the pitcher. Once the pitcher believes that he can be hurt by throwing pitches in certain zones-- which tightens the window that pitchers can throw to--thereby increasing the hitters walk rate. That does not happen until the hitter "hurts" the pitcher and earns respect.

To extrapolate to the extreme, if you had a hitter with fighter pilots 20/10 vision, who could identify balls/strikes with a 99% success ratio compared to Questec--but couldn't hit a lick--how many walks would that hitter draw at any level above Little League? Probably not many.

As hitters advance from one level to the next, whether it's from HS to college, college to low minors, minors to majors--that RESPECT must be earned again.

That is why you will see virtually all of the A's players identified in college as the prototype, model high-OPS, high walk-rate player not statistically demonstrate that "ability" as they enter the minor league system. Why? They have to earn RESPECT of the pitchers all over again. Pitchers who didn't read the hitters stat sheets or press clippings and are trying to earn their own measure of RESPECT.

Respect is earned, and as the Dominicans say, "You can't walk off the island". Respect is earned with the bat. Ted Williams earned his reputation with the bat first and then the high walk rate followed. Respect was earned from pitchers and umpires and the walks followed.

Look at Ortiz ' career stats from Baseball Reference:

DAVID ORTIZ CAREER STATS FROM BASEBALL REFERENCE.COM
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/ortizda01.shtml

You can clearly see he debuts with the Twins in 1997 as an above average hitter as measured by an OPS of .802 and an OPS+ of 107 (OPS+ of 100 is major league average, it is OPS--On Base Average + Slugging--compared to the league average). His Walk Rate (Walks divided by Plate Appearances) of 4%. FOUR PERCENT!! OK only 51 AB's, but it demonstrates what players do when they advance levels. They try to show their talent.

In 1998, his Walk Rate stabilizes at 12%, which becomes his baseline for the next couple of years. His OPS is .817 and OPS+ is 111.

1999 is a lost year, only 25 Plate Appearances, statistically meaningless.

2000, Walk Rate - 12%. OPS - .810, OPS+ - 101
2001, Walk Rate - 12%, OPS - .799, OPS+ - 106
2002, Walk Rate - 9%, OPS - .839, OPS+ 120

A Bit of a breakout as a hitter, higher OPS with a LOWER walk rate. Hardly the skill or ability that Phillips is articulating. Then the trade to the Red Sox.

2003 OPS rises to .961, OPS+ rises to 144 and yet walk rate only comes back to the original baseline of 12%. Again, hardly what Phillips was articulating. More like Ortiz is finding his wheels as a power hitter, a force--but pitchers still are not convinced.

In 2004 again OPS rises to .983, OPS+ rises to 145 and yet WALK RATE declines to 11%. The OPPOSITE of what Phillips says he observed.

Finally in 2005, OPS cracks 1.001, OPS + rises again to 158 and now pitchers appear to be convinced, elevating Ortiz' walk rate to 14.5%.

Ortiz punished pitchers for 2-3 years before THEY ADJUSTED, by giving Ortiz the RESPECT as a hitter that he EARNED. We're not seeing some inherent ability to draw walks that flows into increased production. We're seeing quite the opposite.

More interesting is the recent history.

In 2006 OPS - 1.049, OPS+ - 161, Walk Rate - 16%
In 2007 OPS - 1.066, OPS+ - 171, Walk Rate - 16%

In 2008 OPS falls to .877, OPS+ to 123 and walk rate follows to 14%.
In 2009 OPS plummets to .720, OPS+ to 82 and walk rate drops to 11%.

What happened? The "ability" to draw walks should be getting better with age, but we see that RESPECT is lost. Scouts whisper, "Ortiz lost bat speed, can't turn on the good FB anymore" and more than whisper, they write this in their advance reports which are read by pitchers and catchers. And the rest is history.

It doesn't even matter WHY Ortiz lost bat speed. Take the PED speculation out of your mind for a moment and it's crystal clear what happens at the cellular level in MLB. And it's been happening like this for generations and will continue to do so. The other issues just muddy the waters a little bit.

We see the same thing with uber-prospects like Colby Rasmus. When they debut in the majors, they have all this advance billing baggage and mega-bonus money to validate.
And that is what they try to do. And pitchers initially exploit that, yes. But the bottom line is this: If this is even a chicken/egg debate, it seems pretty clear which comes first.

The debate remains if plate discipline is a teachable, identifiable skill or an inherent, God-given skill. The old nature vs. nurture argument. Good luck winning one of those.

Are some hitters so "hard-wired" in their approach since their youth days to be either a "hacker" or a "selective" hitter that they cannot be changed after HS-collegiate level?

Does the pressure to perform either to justify money/publicity received or potentially obtained in the future create such "internal noise" that players cannot be changed significantly?

Perhaps the truth lies somewhere in between the extremes and includes some measure of all the extrinsic variables. Maybe there are just too many human variables to quantify as efficiently as we would like. Put that in your spreadsheet and smoke it.

THE MITCHELL REPORT GOES TO WASHINGTON

Mitchell does a great job of defending his reports contents, methods and recommendations. He's smooth under questioning, although they are generally receiving him well. He does have the advantage of being one of the brethren, indeed a well-respected former member.

Again, I think he reiterated the central theme of his report, that the focus should be on moving forward and continuing to make incremental progress, as other sports have done in the past.

Mitchell made an interesting comment in response to the observation made by a congressman that the statistical analysis of named users cited by the report, have not shown much, if any "performance enhancement" and what did he think about it (The study was posted earlier on this blog). Mitchell related the possibility of placebo effects, or "Possunt quia posse videntur" which is Latin for "They can because they think they can".

He related his own experience as a young player and compared it to delivering a speech when you feel good, as opposed to when you do not, in order to frame it in terms the representatives could relate to. And even that answer ignores the "non-performance enhancement" effect.

He will be a tough act to follow.

Almost as an aside, Rep. Waxman opened with a request for the Justice Department to look into the possibility that Miguel Tejada may have lied to investigators in 2005 when he said he had no knowledge of steroid use. The Mitchell report did name Tejada as a player who received steroids from a teammate.

One of the representatives did bring up the timing of Rafael Palmeiro lying, before or after his 300th hit. That's not a typo, the Congressman had to be corrected to bring Palmeiro's hit total to 3000, but no suggestion of an investigation for lying to Congress or even menacing finger-wagging was requested for Raffy.
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ESPN Analysis:

Roger Cossock of ESPN seems to be rehearsing to be Roger Clemens defense attorney rather than a legal commentator. He says that Senator Mitchell exhibits an important contradiction when he accepts Brian McNamee's testimony regarding the player Mitchell cited who was excluded from the Mitchell Report. However, as Mitchell testified, that player provided Mitchell with evidence that although he did in fact acquire illegal PEDs, Mitchell believed that he did not use them after the player and his attorney provided satisfactory evidence. Cossock implies that this displays evidence that McNamee lied, but he apparently doesn't listen well enough or he is listening through biased ears.

Steve Phillips who should be able to give the management perspective as well as anyone else, falls back on the "Hey, I didn't have much to go on. I have a family to feed. I can't afford to put myself at a competitive disadvantage."

Which illustrates just the type of toxic culture that pervaded from the clubhouse to the owners box. Nobody wanted to put themselves at a disadvantage. Apparently the predominant justification given, silly as it may seem, for dropping the lions share of blame on the players doorstep, is our kids look up to the players and wish to emulate them.

So of course we need the government to fill the role of parents, the nanny state, because the Washington group-think is that we can't raise our kids adequately enough on our own. Typical.
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Bud Selig and Donald Fehr seem to be playing nicey-nice and showing the committee members that they are willing to work together, so they can keep Congressional involvement to a minimum. They appear to be echoing Mitchell's comments as much as possible under the circumstances. Good strategy.

Both Selig and Fehr publicly take responsibility for mistakes that were made. Of course, the next committee member took them to task for being reactionary rather than more proactive. 20-20 hindsight is a great gift.

The question of using statistical anomalies as a form of evidence or the basis for implementing mandatory testing or impose punishments has come up. This is the International model, where a positive test is not the only way to ban a competitor. Circumstantial evidence can be used. Accusations by competitors can be used. Wholly un-American and a dangerously slippery slope to go down.

Fehr says "Gene Doping will make steroids look quaint". Must be reading this blog because that may very well be a direct quote from here.
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I have to wonder why question Mitchell, Selig or Fehr regarding what they thought about the Giants trainer Stan Conte reporting concerns about Greg Anderson distributing steroids to Brian Sabean and whether those concerns were passed on to Giants owner Peter McGowan and what was done about it. The "Institutional Control Issue" I guess you could call it. I understand asking Mitchell since he must have interviewed them, but why not just call those three in for direct questioning as well?

They let the owners and management off rather easily here today. And the Commissioner and Donald Fehr walked away with no more than minor flesh wounds. Which probably does not bode well for the players when they go in for questioning next month.

The WWLIS Stands for World Wide Leader in Stupidity

One of the enduring memories of the remarkably unforgettable ESPN production "Dream Job", where geeks like me could compete for a job as an ESPN talking head, was the boss man's mantra that "ESPN doesn't make mistakes like....blah,blah,blah,blah,blah".

Simple mistakes like pronunciation of names, dates when events happened, stadium names, etc. Well, guys how about some remedial math courses thrown into the next corporate get-together?

The reason I bring this up? On a recent Baseball Tonight with Steve Bertiaume and I believe Kruk and Steve Phillips (who should know better) were batting around the
recent Buerhle-White Sox contract drama, and compared his age, salary and prior record with that of the Giants Barry Zito.

They did a good job of illustrating that they were dead even in almost all the relevant baseball stats, not including salary. Good job so far. These guys looked like equal values.

HOWEVER, they then veered into the dollars and centsd and Bertaume acted astonished that the Sox would not sign a comparable talent to Zito for ".50 cents on the dollar vis-a-vis Barry Zito. Apparently, accounting is not for everybody.

I guess using the simplistic "total value quoted" method of analysis this might be correct: Zito signs for $126 million vs. Buerhle's $56 million.

However, given the assembled on-air talent and the army of off-air staff these guys have in research (where's The Schwab when you need him?) shouldn't somebody have told these guys that Buerhle was not giving these guys any real "hometown discount"

That's another term I heard the local (Chicago) ESPN talent tossing around a little too liberally. Guys, there isn't any discount here.

I'll do the homework nobody at ESPN seems to be able to do.

Contract figures are from:
http://mlb4u.com/profile.php?id=209

We'll look at Zito's deal in depth. Although it's reported as a 7-year, $126 Million deal.


Contract:
signed 7-year deal worth $126M thru 2013 season on 12/29/06- + he receives salaries of $10M in 2007, $14.5M in 2008, $18.5M each year in 2009, 2010 and 2011 and $19M in 2012 and $20M in 2013- + the deal includes a team option for 2014 worth $18M or a $7M buyout- + the option becomes a player option if he pitches 200 innings in 2013 (with at least 180IP in either 2011 or 2012), 400 innings combined over 2012 and 2013 or 600 combined from 2011 to 2013- + if the option becomes guaranteed as a player option, but he chooses to decline it then he receives a $3.5M buyout- + he receives a complete NO-TRADE clause- + he receives a suite on road trips- + he can earn award bonuses: $500K for Cy Young Award, $200K for 2nd place Cy Young finish, $150K for 3rd palce Cy Young finish, $100K for 4th place Cy finish, $50K for 5th place Cy finish; $750K for second Cy Young award and $1M for 3rd Cy Young award; $250K for MVP, $150K for 2nd place MVP finish, $100K for 3rd place MVP, $75K for 4th place MVP and $50K for 5th place MVP; $200K for WS MVP, $100K for LCS MVP; $100K for Gold Glove and $100K for All-Star selection- + as part of the deal, he will fund the construction of youth fields in the San Francisco area through his foundation and a portion of his deal will be donated to his charity, Strikeouts for Troops- + 2006 salary: $7.9M, 2005: $5.6M, 2004: $2.7M, 2003: $900K, 2002: $500K (+ $400K signing bonus)

OK, lets see how that works out for Zito for the early years:

2007 - $10M
2008 - $14.5M
2009 - $18.5M
2010 - $18.5M
so for the first four years Zito makes $57.5M in salary.

2011 - $18.5M
2012 - $19M
2013 - $20M
and in years 5-6-7 $57.5M in salary.


So in reality, a 7-year, $115 deal, so far.

ZITO ALSO HAS $11M POTENTIAL BONUSES, BUT HE WOULD HAVE TO WIN THE CY YOUNG AWARD, TH E LEAGUE MVP, THE WORLD SERIES MVP & THE GOLD GLOVE AWARD EVERY YEAR FOR SEVEN YEARS TO COLLECT ALL $11M IN POTENTIAL BONUS DOLLARS AVAILABLE.

What are the odds of that happening? Realistically, out of that $11M pool of "potential" bonus money, he'll be lucky to collect 10-20% of it over the life of the contract.

Don't even get me started on the rant about why a guy who is already getting paid $15-20M in salary has these type of bonuses in his contract.

A-Rod has a bonus for making the All-Star team for chrissakes!!!

FOR HIS SALARY, HE SHOULD MAKE THE ALL-STAR TEAM EVERY FREAKING YEAR, OR HE FORFEITS A PERCENTAGE OF HIS SALARY!!!

Oh well, too late.

Anyway, back to Zito-Buerhle:

So Buerhle gets 4 years, $56M vs. Zito's FIRST 4 years, $57.5M, a hometown discount of $1.5M over the same four years. The only difference is Zito knows what his salary is for years 5,6 and 7 and Buerhle does not. Buerhle might get a bigger deal in the out years. It depends on his performance and where the market goes. Both sides are taking a crapshoot.

White Sox fans to this day are clogging the airwaves with fanciful hopes of a pot of $70 million in saved salary that can now be spent on top-tier free-agents (A-Rod??).
STOP IT PEOPLE!!!

Ask yourselves, who are you going to get in years 5-6-7 to be your top of the rotation starter and how much do you think it will cost in those years?

So get all your facts together before opining on these issues or issuing kudos to Kenny Wiliams, White Sox GM, or Buerhle for the "hometown discount" or loyalty or whatever. It's just not there, folks.

I'll forgive the boys at ESPN this time, after all, I owe them for removing Salibury from my local radio airwaves. And now, I hear Danny-boy is leaving also, which means the Olber-douchebag can't be far behind. My ears may stop bleeding after all.
HAT TRICK!!

Now if Doug Gottlieb can only contract terminal laryngitis. Ahhh, perchance to dream.

The Devil Rays are on the clock......1ST ROUND

Who would have thought that we'd live long enough to see the day as baseball fans when the MLB Draft would be televised. Peter Gammons lends instant credibility.

1st Pick: Devil Rays pick David Price, 6-5,215 LHP Vanderbilt.
The Royals are now on the clock.

They asked Price how he feels about being the #1 pick. He should have said rich, because he will be. Emotional was his answer, not bad for now.

Steve Phillips is one of the experts, that might be a reach. HAHA.
What's the over/under Devil Rays fans (both of them) will be chanting "Thanks for Kazmir, Thanks for Kazmir". I'd say by the third round.

Keith Law of Scouts, Inc. is the prospect expert, First surprise of the day, I thought it would be, should be someone from Baseball America.

2nd Pick: Royals pick Mike Moustakas, surprising pick, Boras client and the Royals. Seems like they would look for guys who are more major league ready. 6-0,185 3B-1B type who played short as a prep, 97 MPH gun. Not Bad.

The Cubs are on the clock....

3rd Pick: Cubs take Josh Vitters prep 3B. 6-3,195 power hitting prospect. Gammons calls him the best bat in the draft.

Pirates are now on the clock...

4th Pick: Pirates take Daniel Mosko LHP from Clemson 6-1,200 a bit of a reach. May be the first "signability" pick.

Baltimore Orioles are on the clock.....

The first steroids PSA commercial just ran good to get that one in before you lose your target audience.

5th Pick: Orioles take Matt Wieters the 6-5, 230 lb. switch hitting catcher. Good value here, an acknowledged 1-2-3 guy in the 5-hole. Another Scott Boras client. Don'y you just want to have the armored car business the Scott Boras generates?

National are on the clock.....

6th pick: National pick Ross Detwiler LHP Missouri State. 6-4, 175lbs. Another LHP, go figure. What did I say? You can never have too many of them.

Brewers are on the clock......

7th Pick: Brewers pick Matt LaPorta 6-1,215 lb. 1B from Florida. Where do you move Price Fielder? I guss LaPorta needs a new glove. Another Boras client? He'll need it, he's a college senior without as much leverage. Could be another "budgetary" pick. 20th ranked prospect by Baseball America in the seven slot.

Colorado Rockies are on the clock...........

8th Pick: Rockies pick Casey Weathers RHP from Vanderbilt. Can start or relieve. Hard Thrower. Another college senior. Second Vanderbilt pitcher taken, that's gotta help recruiting.

Diamondbacks are on the clock.....then the Giants....

9th Pick: Diamondbacks pick Jarod Parker RHP 6-2,175. Hard Thrower, first HS pitcher taken.

Giants on the clock......Beau Mills, Beau Mills, Beau Mills.....
Jim Callis from Baseball America is one of the experts so I guess they're really spreading it out and seeing who shows well. No Mel Kipers so far, A few seem kind of stiff and wooden.

10th Pick: Giants take Madison Bumgarner 6-5, 220 lb. LHP from North Carolina. HS pitcher, he's not going to help for years. GREAT. This guy is going to help our Short Season or Low-A team. See you in 2010 kid.

Mariners are on the clock..........

First shot of a "war room". I hope they all got the memo about not scratching yourself or picking your nose at inopportune times.

11th Pick: MAriner take Phillipe Aumont 6-7, 225 RHP from Canada. Not a bad pick here. Got to be hard to project with the weather and the competition. Mystery past, live with guardians, doesn't discuss his biological parents. Uh, oh.

The Marlins are on the clock.......

12th Pick: Marlins pick Matt Dominguez 6-2, 185 3B from same HS as Moustakas, the second pick. I hope they won state with those guys.

Indians are on the clock.............

13th Pick: Indians pick Beau Mills 3B 6-3,205 could move to 1B if Indians lose Hafner down the road. Way to go Giants, if this guy turn out and we're stuck with Peter Happy for 5 more years I'm going to scream.

Braves are on the clock.......Gigantes pick 22nd and 29th in the first round, I think they better get some potential immediate help. Collegiate players guys.

14th Pick: Braves pick Jason Heyward, Georgia prep star. 6-2,198 lb. OF, the Brave like to pcik the hometown kids and they have a boatload of prep talent down there. The Georgia youth programs in some areas are developing into the upper echelon of youth programs in the country. MLB.co has this kid at 6-4,220 vs. Basbeall America's number shown above. That's quite a difference. I've heard of inching, but this is ridiculous.

Reds are on the clock..............the Porcello kid from NJ is still on the board, the Reds like young pitchers or Brackman from NC State if they are looking for more immediate help.

15th Pick: Reds take Devon Mesaraco HS C from PA. Too high for a prep catcher.

Blue Jays are on the clock...........

16th Pick: Blue Jays take Kevin Ahrens 6-2, 180lb. switch hitting 3B. Comparisons to Chipper Jones are good but might be a reach here.

Rangers are on the clock...........

17th Pick: Rangers pick Blake Beaven 6-7,210 lb RHP from TX. Highly rate power picher with outstannding control , 4 BB's in 73 IP vs. 139 K's.

Porcello and Brackman are slipping, hopefully they get some Suzy Kolber love in the green room. Porcello is asking for Josh Beckett $$ plus inflation, he'll go to the Yankees.

Cardinals are on the clock......

18th Pick: Pete Kozma, 6-1,180 SS from OK. This is a major reach. Maybe the first non first rounder to elevate into the first round. MLB.com comments "savvy, hard worker, no flash, WISYWIG, fundamentally sound" echo ominously like "good personality" describing a blind date. Hope Eckstein can play until he's 40.

Phillies are on the clock........

19th Pick: Joe Savery 6-3, 215 LHP from Rice. Rice has produced a lot of steady if unspectacular pitchers. K numbers are not overpowering.

Dodgers are on the clcok.........

Selig pronounces Los Angeles like an idiot. It's not Angle and there's not two ee's on the the end, "Angle-ees". What a tool.

20th pick: Dodgers pick Chris Withrow 6-3,195 P from Midland, TX. 44th Rated prospect by Baseball America (right below Casey Crosby) might make it seem like a reach but the Dodgers are usually loaded with prospects, so I can't argue with them. Athleticsm, bloodlines and clean mechanics are a Big Three. Just goes to show, it only takes one.

Blue Jays on the clock again........

21st Pick: Blue Jays pick J.P. Arencibia 6-1,195 C from Tennessee. Anothher reach from Blue Jays here I think. They must know something or their budget for signing bonuses just isn't there this year.

Giants are on the clock.........Little early for Frazier here, but I wouldn't mind seeing a 3B who can help, SOON. I'm not as sold on the kid from texas Suttle, even though BA has him ranked higher than Frazier. Maybe Mangini fro Oklahoma State.

22nd Pick: Giants pick Tim Alderson 6-7,210 HS P from Scottsdale AZ. A bookend for Bumgarner. Only 4 BB's vs. 111 K's. Either he's a great control pitcher or his Mom umpired all his games. Quirky delivery has some ??'d whether the risk of a first-round pick for him, Giants obviously have a height requirement this year.

Padres on the clock........

23rd Pick: Padres select Nick Schmitt 6-5,230 LHP from Arkansas. Late riser,a verage FB, knows how to pitch. About right for the spot. Some thought he could go even higher.

Rangers are back on the clock...........

24th Pick: Rangers select Michael Maine RHP from Deland FL 6-1,171 power pitcher. Another athletic pitcher, some liked him as an OF but can reach the upper 90's with the FB.

White Sox are on the clock...........

25th Pick: White Sox select Aaron Poreda 6-6,240 LHP from Univesity of San Francisco.
Not overpowering numbers, but thows hard, secondary pitches seem to be a problem.

A's are on the clock

26th pick: A's select James Simmons RHP UC-Riverside 6-4,215 RHP. Rated best command among college pitcher by BA. Oakland likes the collge pitchers, college players, in general.

Tigers are on the clock...........

27th Pick: Tigers select Rick Porcello 6-5, 188 RHP from NJ, Tigers can sign Boras clients. The 4th rated prospect in the 27 slot is a good deal here. Great FB, power pitching prospect.

Twins are on the clock.......

28th Pick: Twins select Ben Revere 5-9,152 OF from Lexington KY. The 135th rated prospect. The biggest reach so far. Twins must be holding car washed and bake sales for bonus money.

Giants are on the clock again......Third time is the charm.

29th Pick: Giants select Wendel Fairley 6-0,190 OF from MS. WOW. Their philosophy is directly opposite from what mine would be for the Giants. A bit of a reach but one of the more athletic players in the draft. Big club just may not see him for 3-4 years. Steve Phillips applauds the move, so I feel better about my philosophy.

Yankees are on the clock.......

30th Pick: Yanksees select Andrew Brackman 6-10,230 RHP from NC State, the 7th ranked prospect in the 30 hole. The rich get richer.

Five Boras clients in the first round, again TRGR.

If you want to talk about a couple of things that are wrong with baseball, these two examples right here would fly at or near the top of my list.

This concludes the first round

ESPN Harold Reynolds Update

Harold, Harold, Harold dumb to turn the ESPN PA pool into your own personal petting zoo. Dumb to say your phone is ringing off the hook with offers. It's probably not and even if it is, it hurts your possible wrongful termination or defamation suit. That was just your ego talking wasn't it? Your reputation for having good hands during your playing days simply does not transfer over well to corporate functions or around the water cooler.

I'd say someone needs a hug, but that may just be throwing gasoline on the fire.

Notes to PDA To Do List:

1) clean out desk at ESPN
2) punch Jeff Brantley in the face before exiting building
3) kick John Kruk in the nut for all the times he acted smug and intelligent
4) tell Steve Phillips a blow dryer and a GQ hairdo can't replace good baseball IQ
5) see if Isiah Thomas needs an assistant coach.

The "YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS" Awards

With apologies to and admiration for John McEnroe, whose rendition of "you cannot be serious" is the inspriation for the Award. The following items are so egregious as to merit anger and outrage at that level.

ESPN: for firing Harold Reynolds. YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS. Does Jeff Brantley have a no-fire clause in his contract? Or picture of top-executives of ESPN in compromising positions in his possession? He'd have gone first in my book.

What about the other Yoda wannabe John Kruk? Are we appealing to the much coveted 35-55, spit tobacco swilling, writes with a crayon demographic here? Then he's expendable.

How about Steve Phillips? This guy is giving advice to the Yankees to trade A-Rod? Does he not recall that it was his trade of Scott Kazmir for a box of rocks that resulted in his dismissal from the Mets? This is like Dr. Kervorkian giving advice to the American Medical Association.

How about the ethical wizard Doug Gottlieb. Keep you hand on your wallet when he's on the air that's all anyone can say about this guy.

And how about the fool that is Eric Karros? During a recent Yankees braodcast this fool was tossed a softball question by his play by play man re: whether Yankee captain Derek Jeter should have in some way come to the defense of A-Rod given his recent treatment by Yankes fans. Karros lent nothing, simply regurgitating Jeter's quotes that he doesn't have the cache to chastise Yankee fans. THE HELL HE DOESN'T!!! Let's just count the ways shall we?

1) He's the freaking captain of the team, BE A LEADER!!!
2) this is his supposed good friend as well as teammate (at least that's what we were told when A-Rod came on board)
3) He stood up when Yankee fans gave Jason Giambi what-for after the steroids fiasco. So you can stand up for a cheater and a liar, but not your friend?
4) Pee Wee Reese did as much or more symbollically for Jackie Robinson when Brooklyn Dodger fans treated him like fans on the road where when he first started playing and you best believe it sent a message to Dodger fans and improved things, and I guess, thank God he had the courage to do so.

Derek Jeter: You get a large "YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS" , in my mind, based on words and behavior in l'affaire A-Rod, you go from being the face of baseball to the ass-face of baseball.
Give back the "C" if you don't know how to handle it.

Floyd Landis: Tour de France winner, alleged doper based on the A sample anyway. He claims his testosterone levels are naturally high. Does this give us much hope for the results of the B sample? Or was this sample taken after any event that would have substantially lowered the level enough to pass the test? If you have abnormally high levels naturally, wouldn't you have failed most prior tests? Including the six taken at prior points in the Tour> But you've never failed one in the past right? YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS. OK, Next?

To all the fools at WADA, USADA and any other aphabet soup pseudo-nazi organization that wants to mainstream this type of drug testing protocol not only in all major sports but down to the high school sports level in this country. Let's see if I understand how this works.....You've splashed crimson red paint all over Landis reputation based on his A sample, but wait says one of the experts in the field of cycling, the B sample could test negative and exonerate him.

Presumably it's the same piss, but then what does that say about the test? We still have one positive vs. one negative, of course we exonerate, but then we're back to the damage to his rep appears on page one and the reatraction appears on page ten. And the original stain of the initial charge lingers forever, I repeat FOREVER.

And we want these jack-booted, idiots making policy in this country? I heard one of these talking heads speculating that the positive could have been caused by a) the couple of beers Landis had to rinse away his prior days disappointing performance and b) the coritsone shots he took for his hip. You're going to eliminate most competitors in every major sports league on the basis of those two conditions, I can assure you of that right know.

This same talking head opined that Landis had low testosterone levels but a high ratio of testosterone to epistosterone. First off, what is epistosterone? Regular testosterone gay cousin? And, second Landis comes out the next day saying he had naturally high levels of the big-T. Can't have it both ways, get your stories straight before you go on air please. So here we are in this state of affairs in the sports world, all because white America can't stomach Barry Bonds being the home-run king. YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS.