June 28 - Prickie V's Draft Day Dodge

Dick “the Prick” Vitale is in mid-season form and we are still six months away from the start of conference play. Lest you missed it this moring, and I am sure you did, Dick was asked to give his “winners and losers” assessment of the NBA draft. So on the winner’s side, he listed seven teams – Charlotte, New Orleans, Minnesota, Utah, Boston, New York and Los Angeles. Meanwhile, on the loser’s side, he singled out only Toronto as a franchise that had its head up its own ass. Oh yea, he did mention three other clubs as losers, but they only showed up on this side of the ledger because they didn’t have picks. Prickie Veee really went out on the limb with that one. As expected, the Godfather of Crap once again refused to criticize anyone in his fraternity and went out of his way to congratulate all those who selected players from UNC. So according to Dick, everyone wins on draft night except those who don’t have invites. That is some party. It is almost as if this were a senior prom and the only kid who didnt get laid was the fat Canadian kid. When it comes to the draft, there simply are no bad picks as far as Prick is concerned - just like there are no bad point guards in the ACC and no bad coaches roaming the sidelines in the Big 12. Aside from jumping on Toronto a bit for selecting Charlie Villanueva and being a bit tepid on some of the foreign selections, Dickie V was all sunshine on the morning after. This is standard fare for a guy who will receive half his pension from the Grand Optimists Club of America. I have said it once and I will say it again – it is disgraceful that a guy born without a skeptical bone in his body is paid to offer analytic insight.


That was an absolute car wreck in Boston last night as Mike Timlin and Keith Foulke were unable to protect an 8-5 eighth inning lead. Timlin was bad, but Foulke was downright horrific as he gave up five ninth inning runs to seal Boston’s fate. I am not sure what happened over the off-season, but Keith Foulke is not the same guy who pitched brilliantly for the Sox at the end of last season. His velocity is down and he hits his spots about as often as a general speaks candidly with the press. There is some talk that his knee is bothering him but who cares at this point since his ERA in save opportunities is in double digits. At this point, Terry Francona and GM Theo Epstein have to consider looking at other alternatives since this bullpen just cannot get to the finish line without a large cushion, and even that wasn’t good enough last night. So where can the Sox turn? Well, with Curt Schilling coming back, Bronson Arroyo could be headed to the pen and that could help, especially against tough righties, but I don’t think BA is ready to close. Cla Merideth has been decent at AAA (22Ks in 21 IP, but an ERA close to three), but his first shot at the majors was not good and its tough to see a rookie closing games in Boston. With the internal options being poor, the Sox need to start looking for an import and I suggest Theo does what it takes to pry Eddie Guardado from the Mariners. The M’s are clearly going to be sellers and the Egg Man – EG for short - would be a perfect replacement for Alan Embree. Moreover, Everyday Eddie could probably close and that is probably what will be needed given Foulke’s problems. If they can get Guardado and pair him with Timlin and Arroyo, the Sox could be back in business. Until that time, no lead is safe when the Sox are on the field.

So have the Yankess finally gotten so desperate that they are contemplating parting ways with Gary Sheffield? That is the story out this morning in several New York papers that say Sheff could be traded to the Mets for Mike Cameron and Miguel Cairo. Wow. Sheff for Cameron says a few things to me: The Yankess are desperate for an outfielder who can catch, the Yanks are tired of Sheff’s crap in the clubhouse, and the Yanks are basically ready to throw in the towel on 2005. I think the Yankees are thinking in the right direction on this one, but to trade Sheff and only get Cameron in return is not the answer. Cameron is a decent player, but he is no cornerstone and he certainly is not a long-term solution for the Yankees. All his addition will do is end this season and cast a cloud over 2006. After all, Hideki Matsui is currently unsigned for 2006 so the Yanks will end 2005 with possible openings at both corner spots and Cameron signed to play center. With little on the free agent market, the Yanks could be back to having guys like Juan Rivera and Karim Garcia playing in the outfield come opening day. Getting back to 2005, losing Sheff for Cameron is tantamount to raising the white flag. Sure, Cameron would help that outfield defense, but he can’t possibly replace Sheff’s bat in a lineup that already struggles to come up with big hits. And once Sheff is gone, who is going to play right? Fifty-seven year old Ruben Sierra? If this trade comes off, I will be jacked since it will drive a dagger through the hearts of all Yankee fans who are only just beginning to see how hard it is too re-load when there are no bullets available. I can’t think of a better mid-year gift.

What has gotten into the Atlanta Braves? What have they done since I compared them to the Gereman Army post Battle of the Bulge? Well, they have won 10 of 12 and five straight without a number of regulars. They are doing it with a bunch of enlisted guys, including grizzled staff sergeant Julio Franco who had a grand slam on Monday and drove in three more last night. If the Braves torched D-Train last night, what do you think they are going to do to Al Leiter tonight? Does Washington ever lose at home? After winning last night, the Nats are 27-10 at RFK this year and that is almost as good as some of Joe Gibbs teams. But unlike Gibbs better teams, these Nats have almost no pop – 15th in NL slugging. Vidro’s return will help that number, but Washington needs another offensive threat. On the flip side for the Nats, Ryan Drese has thrown two very good games since coming over from the AL and Chad Cordero is lurking within striking distance of the NL MVP award. The Mets got back to .500 last night and if they really have a shot at Sheff, they would be crazy to not pull the trigger. Putting Sheff behind Beltran and ahead of Floyd would give the Mets the best 3-4-5 in the NL East. Victor Zambrano got the win for New York last night and he has quietly been pretty solid for the Mets. The thing about Zambrano is he always gives the Mets a chance. He may never shut the other team down, but he hasn’t been blown out since April 24. Los Madres are banged up right now and can’t really think about going on the offensive until they get some guns back, but I don’t think they should be too concerned by Arizona. The Dbacks are only 9-16 in June and you get the feeling that this team has a fairly low ceiling – probably no more then 84 wins. Jason Schmidt wasn’t great for the Giants last night but he did pick up a win. After watching Schmidt give up nine hits and three walks in six innings, I am not sure Brian Sabean’s phone will be all that busy until Schmidt’s next start. The Cubs pitching staff got knocked around last week, but since Saturday the staff has only given up two runs in 27 innings. The bet here is Wood won’t keep it going today against Sheets.

After crushing the Rangers over the past week, the Angels are close to pushing their lead in the West to double digits. If they can get there by the end of June, you can almost take it to the bank that they will finish the year on top. I say that because the last 26 teams to amass ten game leads in June have gone to win their leagues or divisions. The White Sox and Cards are basically in the same spot, each needing to tack on a game to get to that magic number of 10. I am no fan, but both Jarad Washburn and John Lackey are twirling for the Angels right now. Washburn went deep last night and Lackey goes today. With these guys going strong, who cares if Escobar is gone for the year? Meanwhile, the Rangers’ lungs are gasping for air. One of the big reasons Texas has been getting mauled by California is Alfonso Soriano has been staying at a place called Motel Struggle. He is 1-22 in the Rangers five losses to the Angles. If the Rangers don’t find some life over the next two weeks, I suspect Soriano will be dealt, presumably to a team that is odne playing California. I am not sure Minnesota could afford him, but he would be a nice addition to that lineup.