Um, What?

How can the following sentence be published in a real newspaper with real editors:

When the Kings were preparing to retire the numbers of Vlade Divac and Chris Webber last season, some fans said they was undeserving of the honor because neither had won a championship in Sacramento.

That is a direct quote from The Sacramento Bee. Sure, it's not the most trusted name in news, but this is a publication with a circulation of about 300,000.

...some fans said they was...

Is that Ebonics? Was that a purposeful butchering of the English language? Come on.

2010 Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft

The Sports Banter gets the first pick and will select Albert Pujols. No drama here.

Potpourri of Thoughts

I'm a bit late the party here, but a few weeks back, Dave Cameron at FanGraphs.com put together his annual "Top 50 MLB Trade Value" articles (there are about 10 in total, but here is the recap). His goal is rank the 50 players with the highest trade value while taking into account contracts (full intro here).

Overall, Cameron does an excellent job, but I have a few qualms.

-Prince Fielder belongs in the top 25. Prince has 141 home runs in the equivalent of four seasons while maintaining a career OPS+ of 136. Sure, he's not fleet of foot, but he plays a passable first base.

-David Price does not. Were his 19.2 innings in 2008 (5.2 in the playoffs) really enough to warrant the rating he has received? I don't buy it. Plus, he's not all that cheap since he was signed to a ML contract after being drafted.

-Gordon Beckham belongs in the Top 40. Beckham made his ML debut one year after being drafted. He has become a fixture at the hot corner and has impressed from Day 1.

-Joba Chamberlain does not. Joba has been a product of the New York media hype. His results have been far from overwhelming.

-Josh Beckett belongs above Dan Haren, not 28 slots below him. Color me mystified at this one. Beckett has two rings.

-Clay Bucholz should not be on this list. Perhaps in time he will prove to be more than a AAAA player, but right now what separates him from Homer Bailey aside from the hype and the no hitter (admittedly, no small feat)?

-Matt Wieters has to do a whole lot more to earn top 6 status. I understand he is a switch-hitting catcher but let's relax a bit before crowning him a Hall of Famer.

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Best Quote of the MLB Trade Season:

"Frankly, I am flabbergasted that the White Sox would want to make this deal with him in his physical condition." -Agent Barry Axelrod in reference to his injured client Jake Peavy

White Sox fans rejoice... or not.

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MLB Post-Waiver Deal That Make Sense:

Houston trades Miguel Tejada to Boston for prospects. As the Astros fall in the standings, it makes sense for them to dump salary. Tejada has been fantastic this season with the stick and fits in perfectly with the Red Sox as a plodding runner and subpar defensive player.

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Beginning on Tuesday, I will be taking part in a 2010 Mock Fantasy Baseball Draft on FantasyBallJunkie.com.

Assumptions:

-10 team snake draft.
-5x5 roto format.
-Each team will draft nine batters (one utility player), four starting pitchers and a closer.

We will go through two rounds per day for the next seven days.

Check back to see what you think of my team.

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Sneak preview

Here's my Top-20

1. Albert Pujols
2. Hanley Ramirez
3. Miguel Cabrera
4. Chase Utley
5. Alex Rodriguez
6. Ryan Braun
7. Mark Teixeira
8. Justin Morneau
9. Evan Longoria
10. Prince Fielder
11. Tim Lincecum
12. David Wright
13. Jose Reyes
14. Carl Crawford
15. Ian Kinsler
16. Matt Kemp
17. Ichiro
18. Grady Sizemore
19. Matt Holliday
20. Ryan Howard

Best Seven Free Agents After '09 Season

Best Seven Free Agents After '09 Season

If you are a Royals, Mariners, Padres, or Nationals player or fan, here's what you have to look forward to next year. Warning: These pickings are slim.

1. Matt Holliday, OF, StL - Trade to the Cardinals could net him millions.

2. John Lackey, SP, LAA - I'm not sure why the Angels haven't locked him up long term.

3. Jason Bay, OF, Bos - Quiet, dependable, solid.

4. Chone Figgins, 3B, LAA - Table setter that makes a lot of sense on the South Side of Chicago.

5. Rich Harden, SP, Chi - When healthy, he's been dominant. Could fit into the category below.

6. Bobby Abreu, OF, LAA - His one year gamble should pay dividends.

7. Orlando Hudson, 2B, LAD - See Abreu, Bobby.


Others To Watch: Healthy (alphabetical)

Johnny Damon, OF, NYY
Aubrey Huff, 1B, Bal - Quietly won the AL Silver Slugger Award this season. He'll be 33 at the end of the upcoming season so he'll be looking for his last long-term contract.
Marco Scutaro, SS, Tor
Miguel Tejada, SS, Hou - Does anyone know his actual age yet?

Others to Watch: Injury Concerns (alphabetical)

Adrian Beltre, 3B, Sea - Probably on the downside of the career but still only 30 years old.
Erik Bedard, SP, Sea - Will he ever be the dependable workhorse he was? Doubtful.
Hank Blalock, 3B, Tex
Carlos Delgado, 1B, NYM
Vladimir Guerrero, OF, LAA
Brandon Webb, SP, Ari


Notes: I fully expect the following team options to be picked up or these players would rank much higher: Victor Martinez (Red Sox), Carl Crawford (Rays), Cliff Lee (Phillies) and Jermaine Dye (White Sox).

AL-NL Realignment

Why are there 16 teams in the National League and only 14 in the American League?

I assume the rationale for moving the Brewers between leagues in 1997 was to put an even (as opposed to odd) number of teams in both leagues so one team from each league would not sit idle every weekend. However, now that we have interleague play, why not move them back?

Makes no sense.

Fundraiser

Tonight, I had the privilege of attending a fundraiser for the Pediatrics Department of Mt. Sinai. The night was hosted by Sadina Gadecki, host of the World Poker Tour and girlfriend of New York Knick (for now) power forward David Lee. There was a silent auction and half-hearted attempt at a poker tournament.

Sabina Gadecki

I got a chance to talk to New Jersey Nets C Josh Boone, John Starks and the aforementioned Lee and Gadecki. Any preconceived notions I had about any of these individuals has evaporated as they turned out to be incredibly generous, wholesome people.

Most importantly, I implored / begged / pleaded with Mr. Lee to re-sign with the Knicks. So, if he does and you are a Knick fan, you can thank me later.

David Lee, Mary, and Me

David Lee = the man

John Starks and Me

Guess which one is me.

For what it's worth, Starks was a really enjoyable person to talk to. Very down to Earth. I'm a fan.

Thoughts on the Sports World

Been a crazy few weeks (will get into the details in a later post). Sorry for the delay, but here we go again.

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I cannot believe I am writing this, but I actually like what the Pittsburgh Pirates are doing these days. Namely, I love the Freddy Sanchez for Tim Alderson deal. This team is not going to win this year or next, but the only way to win in the future is to plan for the future. I finally think they are doing that. (Full disclosure: I did not like the Nate McLouth deal at all, but once that move was made, the series of moves that have followed make sense.)

In other words, the Pirates are acting just like the Kansas City Royals ... except the exact opposite. Right now, the Royals are a joke of a franchise that seem to repeatedly stumble upon poor decision-makers.

Let this be my first official push for the general managerial post of the Royals.

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Getting back to the Alderson deal, what were the Giants thinking here? I know Sanchez has been an All Star three times, but those appearances should be accompanied with a Barry Bonds-sized asterisk. Every team needs to have at least one All Star each year. If that requirement didn't exist, would Sanchez really have qualified three times?

In this day and age, if you are going to trade one of your organization's top five prospects (especially if that prospect makes his living on the mound), you ABSOLUTELY MUST get a surefire performer in return. I'm not sure Sanchez qualifies.

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In another wise move out of the city of Pittsburgh, the Steelers signed Heath Miller to a six-year extension.

This kills me, more so now than it did in 2005 when I was working for the Mike and Mike Sports Talk Show. If you remember, the New York Jets traded their first round pick (number 26 overall) to the Oakland Raiders for TE Doug Jolley and a second round pick which eventually was used on K Mike Nugent. At the time, I expressed my displeasure on the air calling for the Jets to just draft Miller instead. Jolley and Nugent were busts, and Miller is now the third-highest paid tight end in football.

I'm counting on you Dustin Keller to make us all forget this fiasco.

Side note: If anyone has the archived tapes of the MMSTS, please let me know.

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After stealing, err, dealing for Cliff Lee, I'm almost afraid to type this because I don't want Ruben Amaro to read this (yes, he's a regular around these parts). If they traded Kyle Drabeck, JA Happ and a few other prospects to Toronto for Roy Halladay, wouldn't they be World Series favorites this year and next year?

The only thing worse than seeing the Phils win the WS once would be seeing them win three times in a row.

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If someone is creating a college fantasy football league, please invite me.

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Omar Minaya should be fired.

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Two Deals That Make Sense:

*Marlins trade Mike Stanton to the Indians for Kerry Wood and Victor Martinez. Indians get one of the top five prospects in baseball and payroll relief. Marlins get an offensive beast and bullpen help. The city of Miami gets excited about baseball.... well, let's not get that crazy.

*Blue Jays trade Roy Halladay to the Dodgers for the entire Albuquerque Isotopes roster. The Dodgers are not built to last. They have to make a run now.

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All the talk about Kyle Drabeck has reminded me of Doug Drabeck which reminds me of how ugly Zane Smith was. Six degrees of separation or something like that. Good times all around.

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Hopefully, my next absence will be for a much shorter period of time.

Separated at Birth

The world's best tennis player, Roger Federer and one of the world's leading fund accountants, Drew Garrabrant.

Interesting...

Loyal reader Cowboy Bob Sanzillo sent in these stats:

Through their first 80 games, the Reds were 40-40 overall, 20-20 at home, 20-20 on the road, 36-36 in nine-inning games, 4-4 in extra inning games, 28-28 against right-handed pitchers, and 12-12 against left-handed pitchers.

Chances of making the playoffs: 50-50.

Chances of winning the World Series: 0

2010 NFL Mock Draft - Top 10

A way too early rendering of what next year's Top 10 will look like.

1. Detroit: Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska – They found the leader of the offense this year. Suh will anchor the defense.

2. Oakland: Taylor Mays, S, USC – Huge surprise: Al Davis drafts a speed demon. Conveniently, Mays happens to be a ridiculous athlete as well.

3. St. Louis: Jevan Snead, QB, Ole Miss – Marc Bulger will be begging out of St. Louis by year's end.

4. Kansas City: Eric Berry, DB, Tennessee – Best defensive player in college football.

5. Cincinnati: Gerald McCoy, DT, Oklahoma – In a surprise move, the Bengals take a player without any major character issues or past arrests.

6. Tampa Bay: Renaldo McClain, LB, Alabama – Derrick Brooks Part II.

7. Seattle: Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma – The 'hawks passed on Mark Sanchez this year but cannot wait any longer to mold their QB of the future.

8. Tennessee: Tim Tebow, QB, Florida – I'm not buying another 13-3 season in Tennessee. Kerry Collins can't last forever and Vince Young's best days are behind him. I love the idea of a three-headed bulldozing backfield: Tebow, Chris Johnson and LenDale White.

9. Denver: Colt McCoy, QB, Texas – They dealt Jay Cutler and need to replace him with another gunslinger. McCoy does a better job of not forcing passes into tight spaces although he does not have Cutler's arm strength,

10. Atlanta: Ciron Black, OT, LSU – The Falcons play a brutal schedule this year. I think they fall back to Earth a bit. Black will protect Ryan for a number of years.

Color me puzzled, but...

...for the life of me, I do not understand why the Blue Jays would release BJ Ryan this week. It makes absolutely no sense. Now, the Blue Jays are stuck eating the remaining $15m on his contract.

On the same day they made this boneheaded move, the Jays announced they would be fielding offers for staff ace Roy Halladay. Wouldn't it make sense to couple the two as a package deal?

Here you go, Philly. You can have Roy, but you have to take Ryan with him and we still want your best prospects.

That would have saved them $15m over the next year and a half. That's $15m they could have spent elsewhere this offseason. In this economy, that can buy a whole lot of talent.

Mind-numbingly absurd.

Separated at Birth?

Toronto Blue Jays LHP Brian Tallet and former Philadelphia Phillies LHP Mitch Williams

Gomp Theory

Gompiness (noun) is a state of being, a way of life. (See also: plump, husky, chunky) People existing in this state possess heavy midsections but normal-sized top halves of the body. Those that are "gompy" are occasionally called "frumpy," but the two are not interchangeable as gompiness requires some athleticism. The term was coined by a number of my college baseball teammates (circa 2004).

Gompiness is best exemplified in the form of baseball players. Allow me to convey my point in a college-type way.

Course Listing

Level 101 Intro to Gomp - Professor Giles: Brian Giles began his career as a relatively speedy outfielder with some pop. He recorded double-digit stolen bases in four of his first six full seasons. Since then however, Giles has devolved into a husky left fielder devoid of any speed with an ever-growing midsection.

Professor Giles

Level 301 Gomponomics - Professor Bell: Heath Bell has taken the Gomp Group by storm this season. As a member of the New York Mets, teammates considered him svelte. Now, only inebriated fans of his would make that mistake.

Professor Bell

Level 305 Anti-Gomp - Professor Upton: When looked at from the side, BJ Upton is practically transparent. His waist is microscopic.

Professor Upton

Level 501 Gomp Theory - Professor Beckett: Josh Beckett dumps like a truck. What, what.

Professor Beckett

Level 901 Group Gomp - Professors Berkman, Lee, and Rodriguez with Guest Lecturer Tejada: The Houston Astros employ the three gompiest Major Leaguers. In fact, one is aptly nicknamed "Pudge."

Professors Berkman, Lee and Rodriguez

Guest Lecturer Tejada

Note: Joe Torre would be considered "gompy" if he were not a robot. Robots cannot have this distinction.

Robot Torre