Fantasy Baseball Draft Review

Last night was the annual Beer Drinkers Fantasy Baseball draft between my longtime friends and I, and I wanted to review each round to give you the highs and lows. If you haven't drafted yet, this type of information can be extremely helpful in making sure that you have a fantasy baseball team nearly as good as mine. Here are the teams and owners (half are fairly obvious):
Team Arp - Chris A
Stinky Hangdown - Mike D
Team Roy - Jason R
Team Ehrecke - Cory E
Team CP - Hott Joe
Beginners Luck - Chad P
Team Vertical Smile - Bryan B
Team Pussylicker - Brad P
Team Waite - Danny W
Team Here4Beer - Scott S
Team Asay - Mike A
Team Prayer - Jon VD

Also, excitement started even before the draft when Asay and I swapped our first two round picks, giving him picks 5 and 20, while I received picks 11 and 14.

ROUND 1
1	Albert Pujols, StL 1B	Team Arp
2	Alex Rodriguez, NYY 3B	Stinky Hangdown
3	Hanley Ramirez, Fla SS	Team Roy
4	Ryan Braun, Mil OF	Team Ehrecke
5	Chase Utley, Phi 2B	Team Asay
6	Prince Fielder, Mil 1B	Beginners Luck
7	Carl Crawford, TB OF	Team Vertical Smile
8	Miguel Cabrera, Det 1B	Team Pussylicker
9	Tim Lincecum, SF SP	Team Waite
10	Matt Kemp, LAD OF	Team Here4Beer
11	Troy Tulowitzki, Col SS	Team Cunt Pounder
12	Joe Mauer, Min C	Team Prayer

Best Picks - Hanley Ramirez falling to three is a very good pick as well as Chase Utley going at fifth.

Worst Picks - Carl Crawford at number seven doesn't excite me. Also, Tim Lincecum at nine is a little scary since his velocity has been down this spring.

ROUND 2
13	Roy Halladay, Phi SP	Team Prayer
14	Evan Longoria, TB 3B	Team Cunt Pounder
15	Mark Teixeira, NYY 1B	Team Here4Beer
16	David Wright, NYM 3B	Team Waite
17	Jacoby Ellsbury, Bos OF	Team Pussylicker
18	Felix Hernandez, Sea SP	Team Vertical Smile
19	Ian Kinsler, Tex 2B	Beginners Luck
20	Ryan Howard, Phi 1B	Team Asay
21	Justin Upton, Ari OF	Team Ehrecke
22	CC Sabathia, NYY SP	Team Roy
23	Jimmy Rollins, Phi SS	Stinky Hangdown
24	Matt Holliday, StL OF	Team Arp

Best Pick - Justin Upton. I had to decide whether I would go with Longoria and Tulowitzki or Upton, and I finally decided a little before the draft that Tulowitzki had more value since there just wasn't much talent at short. Upton has the potential to be the number one fantasy hitter this year. He really is that good, so for him to fall to 21 was a steal.

Worst Pick - Jacoby Ellsbury at 17 is a big reach. Stolen bases aren't as scarce as they were 3-5 years ago, so you can get steals late, and I wouldn't have touched Ellsbury in the first five rounds.

ROUND 3
25	Dustin Pedroia, Bos 2B	Team Arp
26	Grady Sizemore, Cle OF	Stinky Hangdown
27	Zack Greinke, KC SP	Team Roy
28	Adrian Gonzalez, SD 1B	Team Ehrecke
29	Joey Votto, Cin 1B	Team Cunt Pounder
30	Ryan Zimmerman, Was 3B	Beginners Luck
31	Dan Haren, Ari SP	Team Vertical Smile
32	Aramis Ramirez, ChC 3B	Team Pussylicker
33	Pablo Sandoval, SF 3B	Team Waite
34	Robinson Cano, NYY 2B	Team Here4Beer
35	Cliff Lee, Sea SP	Team Asay
36	Derek Jeter, NYY SS	Team Prayer

Best Pick - Grady Sizemore. He's still a young guy and if he can get his average up, he's going to be a fantasy monster. I think he has a much better year than last year.

Worst Pick - It was inevitable, but drafting a guy who is injured every year and who is very good, not great, is not a good idea. Peck loves A-Ram, so he really had no choice.

ROUND 4
37	Justin Morneau, Min 1B	Team Prayer
38	Justin Verlander, Det SP	Team Asay
39	B.J. Upton, TB OF	Team Here4Beer
40	Brian Roberts, Bal 2B	Team Waite
41	Brandon Phillips, Cin 2B	Team Pussylicker
42	Kevin Youkilis, Bos 3B	Team Vertical Smile
43	Adam Wainwright, StL SP	Beginners Luck
44	Brian McCann, Atl C	Team Cunt Pounder
45	Jon Lester, Bos SP	Team Ehrecke
46	Ben Zobrist, TB 2B	Team Roy
47	Ichiro Suzuki, Sea OF	Stinky Hangdown
48	Victor Martinez, Bos C	Team Arp

Best Picks - BJ Upton and Brian McCann. I love the Upton brothers, so it's very disappointing that I was unable to find a good time to select either one of them, but I do expect both of them to have great years this year. Also, Brian McCann had eye troubles last year and still put up good numbers. I think he will have a year similar to his great 2008.

Worst Picks - Another homeboy pick in B-Rob probably wasn't a smart decision, but he's been DW's boy forever, so I understand the pick. He's getting up there in age and I could see a significant decline this year. Also, I'll admit that I could be completely off on this one, but Ben Zobrist has never really shown that he was a great player when he was coming up through the minor leagues. He was great last year, and he may have turned a corner, but I would rather wait another year on a guy like that to see if he's the real deal or a flash in the pan.

ROUND 5
49	Jose Reyes, NYM SS	Team Arp
50	Johan Santana, NYM SP	Stinky Hangdown
51	Mark Reynolds, Ari 3B	Team Roy
52	Chris Carpenter, StL SP	Team Ehrecke
53	Adam Jones, Bal OF	Team Cunt Pounder
54	Stephen Drew, Ari SS	Beginners Luck
55	Andre Ethier, LAD OF	Team Vertical Smile
56	Adam Lind, Tor OF	Team Pussylicker
57	Josh Beckett, Bos SP	Team Waite
58	Yovani Gallardo, Mil SP	Team Here4Beer
59	Jayson Werth, Phi OF	Team Asay
60	Josh Johnson, Fla SP	Team Prayer

Best Pick - This was a very well drafted round from top to bottom, but I like the Johan Santana pick the most. I was drafting him if he fell to me there (although I still have a fantasy hard-on for Adam Jones), but there's a chance that he is the best pitcher in baseball this year, so to get him in the fifth round is a definite steal.

Worst Pick - Again, this was a well drafted round, but I'd have to go with Stephen Drew, even though I love him since he has a brother in pro baseball (I'm a sucker for brothers). I understand the pick because the shortstop position is pretty shallow, but this is too early to be gambling on a guy not only bouncing back, but exceeding what he did in his good year.

ROUND 6
61	Ricky Nolasco, Fla SP	Team Prayer
62	Curtis Granderson, NYY OF	Team Asay
63	Billy Butler, KC 1B	Team Here4Beer
64	Jonathan Broxton, LAD RP	Team Waite
65	Carlos Zambrano, ChC SP	Team Pussylicker
66	Kendry Morales, LAA 1B	Team Vertical Smile
67	Nick Markakis, Bal OF	Beginners Luck
68	Gordon Beckham, CWS 3B	Team Cunt Pounder
69	Josh Hamilton, Tex OF	Team Ehrecke
70	Chone Figgins, Sea 3B	Team Roy
71	Jason Bay, NYM OF	Stinky Hangdown
72	Javier Vazquez, NYY SP	Team Arp

Best Picks - Gordon Beckham - Beckham has enough of a bat to be a very good third baseman. The fact that he is playing second base this year only sweetens the deal on him. Chase Utley's a monster, but I wouldn't be surprised if Beckham was the second most valuable second baseman this year (especially with Kinsler already being hurt).

Worst Pick - Carlos Zambrano - Another homer pick from Peck. I think he'll be better than last year, but I don't think he's a top 100 pick, much less number 65.

ROUND 7
73	Ubaldo Jimenez, Col SP	Team Arp
74	Tommy Hanson, Atl SP	Stinky Hangdown
75	Nelson Cruz, Tex OF	Team Roy
76	Mariano Rivera, NYY RP	Team Ehrecke
77	Jay Bruce, Cin OF	Team Cunt Pounder
78	Brandon Webb, Ari SP	Beginners Luck
79	Clayton Kershaw, LAD SP	Team Vertical Smile
80	Elvis Andrus, Tex SS	Team Pussylicker
81	Yunel Escobar, Atl SS	Team Waite
82	Matt Cain, SF SP	Team Here4Beer
83	Matt Wieters, Bal C	Team Asay
84	Asdrubal Cabrera, Cle 2B	Team Prayer

Best Pick - Clayton Kershaw - As long as he stays healthy, he could lead the league in strikeouts. He could take the next step and become an elite pitcher this year.

Worst Picks - Tough call as I hate a lot of these picks, Ubaldo Jimenez is inexcusable with Hanson and Kershaw still on the board. The same could be said with Brandon Webb, since he is still struggling with his shoulder and Kershaw was still there for the taking. Plus, it seems a little early for good-fielding middle infielders like Elvis Andrus and Asdrubal Cabrera. Bad round for my friends on this one.

ROUND 8
85	Michael Young, Tex 3B	Team Prayer
86	Chad Billingsley, LAD SP	Team Asay
87	Manny Ramirez, LAD OF	Team Here4Beer
88	John Lackey, Bos SP	Team Waite
89	Carlos Lee, Hou OF	Team Pussylicker
90	Aaron Hill, Tor 2B	Team Vertical Smile
91	Andrew McCutchen, Pit OF	Beginners Luck
92	Cole Hamels, Phi SP	Team Cunt Pounder
93	Jason Heyward, Atl OF	Team Ehrecke
94	Hunter Pence, Hou OF	Team Roy
95	Jonathan Papelbon, Bos RP	Stinky Hangdown
96	Jake Peavy, CWS SP	Team Arp

Best Picks - Manny Ramirez and Cole Hamels - Manny has a contract year. Although I think the contract year is blown way out of proportion (and studies have shown I'm right), if there is anybody who might focus a little harder and really give it his all during a contract year, it's definitely Manny. Also, Cole Hamels was a guy who had a lot of bad luck last year, but since his luck wasn't as bad as Nolasco's, he didn't get much publicity for it. I don't expect him to be better than Roy Halladay, but it also wouldn't shock me.

Worst Pick - Michael Young - He's old and not a middle infielder anymore, so I see the decline that everybody predicted last year happening this year. Third base is a very shallow position, so I understand panicking and selecting him here.

ROUND 9
97	Adam Dunn, Was 1B	Team Arp
98	Derrek Lee, ChC 1B	Stinky Hangdown
99	Francisco Rodriguez, NYM RP	Team Roy
100	Joakim Soria, KC RP	Team Ehrecke
101	Heath Bell, SD RP	Team Cunt Pounder
102	Andrew Bailey, Oak RP	Beginners Luck
103	Brian Wilson, SF RP	Team Vertical Smile
104	Roy Oswalt, Hou SP	Team Pussylicker
105	Francisco Cordero, Cin RP	Team Waite
106	Alexei Ramirez, CWS SS	Team Here4Beer
107	Carlos Pena, TB 1B	Team Asay
108	Carlos Gonzalez, Col OF	Team Prayer

Best Pick - Adam Dunn - Every year, this guy falls in the draft, and he pretty much produces every year. The move to Washington didn't hurt his stats last year, and there's no reason to expect a big decline this year either. I don't think there will be much difference between him and Adrian Gonzalez when it comes to hitting.

Worst Pick - Since there's really not much difference between closers, I'd say the worst pick was Derrek Lee. Given the choice between the three first basemen taken in this round, Lee is significantly behind the other two in my book.

ROUND 10
109	Nolan Reimold, Bal OF	Team Prayer
110	Shin-Soo Choo, Cle OF	Team Asay
111	Jose Valverde, Det RP	Team Here4Beer
112	Colby Rasmus, StL OF	Team Waite
113	Geovany Soto, ChC C	Team Pussylicker
114	Carlos Beltran, NYM OF	Team Vertical Smile
115	Carlos Quentin, CWS OF	Beginners Luck
116	Clay Buchholz, Bos SP	Team Cunt Pounder
117	Jose Lopez, Sea 2B	Team Ehrecke
118	Jair Jurrjens, Atl SP	Team Roy
119	A.J. Burnett, NYY SP	Stinky Hangdown
120	Juan Pierre, CWS OF	Team Arp

Best Picks - I'm giving a little bit of a gift here, but since I critiqued these guys earlier for picking their boys, I'll celebrate their picks for this round. Colby Rasmus is a young guy who I think is ready to take a big step forward this year. Also, with catcher being a weak position, I think Soto's potential makes him a very good pick here. He let himself get out of shape, and came back in shape this year. He could turn out to be very good value here.

Worst Pick - Nolan Reimold - Reimold is solid, but if you look at the other outfielders taken after him, guys like Choo, Rasmus, Beltran, and Quentin, I just don't see his potential being higher than any of those guys, nor has he established himself as a consistent producer. It looks like JVD realized he didn't have enough young guys and panicked with this pick.

That's rounds 1-10. I'll be doing rounds 11-21 later this week.

-Joe

P.S. This is enjoyable for anyone.

Fran McCaffery - First Impressions

As everyone knows by now, Iowa has selected former Siena coach, Fran McCaffery to be the next leader of the Iowa Men's Basketball team. Although the immediate reaction to the news was "Oh man, why couldn't they have gotten Coach K, or do you think John Wooden would come out of retirement?" Iowa fans are insane. We think of our program as being far greater than it actually is. The bottom line is that Iowa is a football school, but that doesn't mean we can't succeed in basketball. There's no reason that schools like Ohio State and Wisconsin can have very good programs and Iowa can't. Hell, even Minnesota made the tournament. I watched the press conference today on the Big Ten Network, and here are my initial thoughts on Coach McCaffery.

Obviously, with a new coach coming in, the biggest concern is what is going to happen with the players under scholarship and those high schoolers who have signed letters of intent to Iowa. McCaffery said that he has met with the team, and everyone was very positive about him coming in to Iowa (not sure if this included John Lickliter). He has also talked to all of the recruits, and will continue to build that relationship so right now it appears that everybody is on board with the Hawkeye program for next year. McCaffery also mentioned that he is going to analyze the weaknesses of the team and could be bringing in more players to the Hawkeye program, presumably juco guys.

He also addressed how he has talked to former players, highlighted by Jess Settles, that want to get involved with the program. I think this is extremely important, and something that Lickliter failed at during his tenure at Iowa. Not only is it great to have their experience, but it will also be a tremendous help on building relationships within the state so all of the best players stop going out of the state to play basketball.

He also stressed that Iowa will play at a much faster pace next year. This is obviously great news as even when Iowa was playing well (those rare, wonderful times), Lickliter's teams were still extremely boring to watch. He also stressed that he is going to be mixing things up on both sides of the floor, as he plans on using the press and switching between man-to-man and zone. This is another thing that really got me excited as Iowa was extremely predictable these past few years.

My biggest concern with McCaffery coming in is that his teams have an extremely low foul rate. I know that sounds like a good thing, but it worried me that they would not be aggressive on defense. The talk of putting on full-court presses made me feel good. The thing that made me feel great is he addressed the lack of fouls and basically said that he didn't have the depth where he could afford anybody being in foul trouble. This was really the highlight of the press conference for me as he seemed to be a guy who will recognize what talent he has and adjust accordingly on both sides of the floor. A game plan for a team in 2010-2011 may be completely different than a game plan for his team in 2012-2013 depending on what type of personnel he has.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't get chills listening to McCaffery. If I was any more excited after that press conference, I would have knocked a glass off the table with my boner. There's one question that I am surprised I'll be asking, but I know I will be: Is it basketball season yet?

-Joe

P.S. As excited as I was with McCaffery's press conference, he was still not the highlight. When BTN went back to the studio, Tim Doyle stole the show. Mike Hall asked Doyle about why the Iowa job was more attractive to McCaffery than Seton Hall or St. John's. I was expecting the Big Ten conference to be part of that, but boy was I wrong. Doyle basically made the argument that McCaffery chose Iowa because it's a better party school than those other two. He then waxed poetically about how Iowa City is one of the most fun places he has ever been and he always has a great time there. He sounded like an 18 year old high school senior with a fake ID the way he talked about how great Iowa City is. It was awesome. Tim Doyle, I salute you.

UFC 111 Picks

Rory Markham +240 over Nate Diaz -300 - I figured I'd start off with an upset as I think Markham could be a bad matchup for Nate. Markham is a good striker and has also never been submitted in his career. Markham can keep the fight standing or probably muscle Diaz to the ground. Nate Diaz is definitely dangerous, so this is by no way a guarantee, but I needed to pick one upset, so I figured why not pick the guy who trains in Bettendorf?

Rodney "Sho Nuff The Master" Wallace -130 over Jared Hamman -Even - I'm basically picking Wallace because of his nickname. He's a pretty good wrestler, and if he can win the position battle, he should be able to grind out a decision.

Matthew Riddle - -250 over Greg Soto +190 - I'm picking Riddle as these guys have pretty similar styles, but Riddle is very big for a welterweight, so I think he will be able to use that to win the wrestling battle and probably TKO him in the second round.

Ricardo Almeida -160 over Matt Brown +130 - Although Matt Brown has been very impressive in his standup game against his recent opponents, I think Almeida will be able to get the takedown consistently against Brown. Once they get to the ground, it's Almeida's world, and I think he'll be able to pull off a submission.

Rousimar Palhares -225 over Tomasz Drwal +185 - Drwal does have pretty good wrestling, but I don't think it's good enough to consistently stop Palhares from getting a takedown. Palhares is such a threat once the fight gets to the ground that I think he will submit Drwal once he gets him to the ground.

Jim Miller -500 over Mark Bocek +325 - Bocek has the advantage in jiu-jitsu, but Miller is no slouch. If the fight stays standing, Miller will pick him apart, if it goes to the ground, Miller will be on top, and he'll pound on Bocek. I would rank this as the safest bet of the night.

Kurt Pellegrino -250 over Fabricio Camoes +190 - Pellegrino is well rounded, and although Camoes is very good on the ground, I don't think it will be enough to win, Pellegrino by decision.

Jon Fitch - 450 over Ben Saunders +300 - Saunders did something very smart by asking for Fitch once Thiago Alves wasn't cleared to fight. Saunders was already training for a very similar fighter in Jake Ellenberger (Not as good, but similar). Fitch was training for a much different fight with Alves, so there's different things for Fitch to worry about while Saunders knows what he's up against and his entire training camp has focused on that. I still think Fitch wins, but if Saunders were ever going to beat Fitch, these are the ideal circumstances.

Shane Carwin +125 over Frank Mir -155 - Mir's boxing has looked great in his last few fights, but even if he gets Carwin in trouble on the feet, Carwin can and will take him down. I know that Mir is very good at jiu-jitsu, but Carwin has a very good chance of keeping a dominant top control and pounding on Mir. Mir's wrestling has never been good, and since Carwin can dictate where the fight goes, I think he will be able to TKO Mir in the 4th round.

Georges St. Pierre -625 over Dan Hardy +425 - Dan Hardy's standup is good, it's not great. He's knocked out one guy in his UFC career, otherwise, he's Decision Dan, and two of those decisions were split decisions. He's never fought anybody anywhere near the same level as GSP, and this fight ends with a TKO, probably in the first round.

This is probably the strongest card the UFC has put together this year, so it should be a good night of fights.

-Joe

P.S. Since I know today's posts weren't the most fan friendly pieces, go here to read an awesome article on keg tapping.

Baseball America Top 100 Prospects: 70-61

I know these aren't the most fun-filled writings, but this is my vanity project, so read at your own peril. I have decided to go through all 100 of Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects to give my opinion on each and every one of these players. I will try to make at least one off color comment on each player to keep it at least somewhat entertaining. Whenever I talk about what scouts think about a player, I am referring to the excellent work done by Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus for just about everything so big props to him. Today, we hit up prospects 70-61.

70 Josh Vitters, 3b, Cubs – Vitters would definitely make my Top 50 and maybe even Top 40. He destroyed Low-A, hitting everything in sight, and then basically got his ass kicked in 50 games at High-A. But he made up for this by doing very well during the Arizona Fall League. His defense has improved to average at third. The biggest question is his plate discipline as he doesn’t draw many walks, but he’s able to hit so many pitches, both in and out of the strike zone, that I don’t think it will stop him from being a very productive third baseman. Also, I'm assuming he'll be my buddy Peck's best friend when he plays for the Iowa Cubs. Congratulations to Peck for being in a relationship. Even if most states won't recognize gay marriage, at least Facebook will recognize gay relationships.

69 Arodys Vizcaino, rhp, Braves – I’m way high on Vizcaino as he’d be about 30 spots higher on my list. He was the reason that the Braves traded Javier Vasquez (and the fact that they wanted to save money). He’s undersized which immediately makes me like him more than any list will. He’s got a great fastball, and his curveball has already shown the potential to be a plus-plus pitch. He dominated short-season ball last year, and I expect him to do more of the same when he makes his full season debut this year. Also, I really wish Harry Caray was still around so he could say Vizcaino again. Also, Harry hated Cracker Jack.


68 Alex Colome, rhp, Rays – This guy has HUGE potential, so I could see him about 20 spots higher than where they have him right now. He dominated the New York-Penn League last year, and scouts came away extremely impressed as most feel he has the highest ceiling in the Rays farm system (which is saying a lot considering their bevy of pitching prospects). Right now, consistency with command and release point are his big issues, but if he can get that going, he’s a guy that could skyrocket up the charts next year. He is related to Jesus Colome, so that's his worst case scenario.

67 Tim Beckham, ss, Rays – Beckham seems reasonably rated at this spot. His first full season was a pretty big disappointment, but there’s a reason he was the #1 pick a couple years ago. He wasn’t a definitive #1 like Strasburg, but scouts still like his tools. I honestly don’t know enough about him to comment any more, but I do think he has the best chance of moving 30+ spots on next year’s list. Whether he moves up or down is still up in the air. He also has no relation to David Beckham.

66 Dan Hudson, rhp, White Sox – I think Hudson should probably be 20-30 spots higher than this as I am a huge fan of his. What he did was very similar to what Matt Garza did a few years ago when he made his way to the majors. He absolutely dominated Low-A, High-A, and Double-A last year. Then he was good in Triple-A and the majors when he made it there. The only concerns are that his slider needs some refinement and he works up in the zone a little too much. It was his first full season in the minors, and he has a good chance of making an impact at the major league level this year, but I see him starting the year at Triple-A. Still, a great prospect who I feel Baseball America is highly underrating. No relation to Tim Hudson.

65 Alex White, rhp, Indians – I think this is a fair ranking for White, but I do like him more than most and he’s a little higher in my book. He hasn’t pitched any professional innings, and his junior year was a bit of a disappointment, but the guy had a great college career. He’s got a very good fastball and splitter as well as an average slider, and I think he can stay in a starting role as opposed to moving to the bullpen. Really though, there’s not much to go on right now, so we’ll see how he does once he starts facing the professionals. Contrary to popular belief, he is not the son of Vanna White.

64 Jason Knapp, rhp, Indians – Here’s a guy that is rated too high for my likings. Although his strikeout rate was excellent, he still had a rather high ERA. The biggest concern is he had many injuries including a shoulder surgery that ended his season. I just think there are way too may question marks regarding Knapp to put him up this high, and I think he’s about 20 spots lower. Still, the raw talent is there, scouts love him, but I still think I’d take the wait and see approach on this guy. Although I was unable to confirm this, he is probably not as tough as Brandon Knapp.

63 Zach Britton, lhp, Orioles – I think this is a pretty fair rating for him as he did a good job in High-A last year with a 2.70 ERA and striking out nearly a batter per inning. The biggest thing that Britton brings to the table is a 3.4:1 ratio of groundballs to fly balls. He’s got solid stuff, but only has his sinker and slider to rely on right now as his changeup is still a work in progress. If the changeup develops, he goes up on the list, but he could still remain in this area next year if it doesn’t as any pitcher who can induce that many groundballs will find a way to the majors. He is not from Britain.

62 Ike Davis, 1b, Mets – I’d probably put Ike Davis a little lower than this. He’s a first base prospect who isn’t all that athletic, but he did hit the ball very well at Double-A last year so the guy can do enough to be a starting first baseman. Still, he struggled against left-handers, and he strikes out more than one would like. Still, he knows how to work a count and crushed righties, so I think he’ll be a starting first baseman, but I think he may end up being a middle-tier first baseman as opposed to a top tier guy.

61 Kyle Gibson, rhp, Twins – I think this is a fair ranking for him, as although I like him a lot, there are health concerns that, well, concern me. Gibson was one of the top arms in college coming into his final college season, but he lost some of his velocity late in the season, but was still able to dominate. Then, a stress fracture in his forearm was found, so he fell to late in the first round. I thought it was an excellent value pick, as he has two very good pitches (fastball, slider), and a solid changeup. He has very good command, and he is somebody who should be able to plow through the minors quickly. If the velocity is back, he is a steal for the Twins.

That's it for now, but I will be making UFC picks later today.

-Joe

Iowa Hawkeyes vs. WNBA All Stars

Dumb, Dumb, Dumb, Dumb, Dumb, Dumb. No, I am not talking about Mormons as this is even more idiotic than American Jesus (which is actually a pretty cool idea). I am talking about the hype surrounding Connecticut's Women's Basketball Team. There is actually talk that they might be able to compete in the men's tournament. Not only is this completely asinine, but somebody said that they would have an easier time playing Men's College Basketball than Kentucky would playing in the WNBA. Kentucky would become the Dream Team of the WNBA, they wouldn't win by less than 40 points in every game. Anyone who disagrees with this is a moron. So let's look at a more compelling matchup, Iowa vs. The WNBA. Here are the five indisputable reasons the Hawkeyes would dominate a WNBA All-Star team:

1. Size - Jarryd Cole is small in college basketball, he is a behemoth in the WNBA. Courtney Paris, the big broad that played at Oklahoma, is only 6'4", so not only would Cole dominate on the inside. Cully Payne could probably post up anybody in their league. LJ (Lauren Jackson for those who don't have a passion for the WNBA like me) is 6'5" and she'd get murder-raped by Aaron Fuller on the inside.

2. Speed - Have you watched the WNBA? Their video game captures it perfectly:


3. The Size of the Basketball - I can't believe this is never brought up, but women don't even use the same basketball as men. Even Brommer could score some points with a basketball of that size.

4. Mental - Between periods, mood swings, and getting knocked up, not even Vinny Del Negro (Yes, he is a MUCH worse coach than Lickliter) could ruin the chances of the Hawkeyes beating a WNBA All-Star team. Plus, they'd probably get jealous that Cougill has better tits than them.

5. God - When I worked for the Seattle Storm, I saw a lot of ladies holding hands with each other. I got no beef with that. But according to politicians (Why would they lie?), Jesus hates gay marriage and he would take it out on the WNBA if they dare faced his beloved Hawkeyes. From what I've learned from signs made by religious people, God hates gays and lesbians. I tried to reach God for his thoughts but was unable to get anything concrete, just a lot of silence. Even though I question the accuracy of anything religious people say, I'll take the their word for it and say that he would clearly be on the side of Iowa basketball.

Final Score - Iowa 114, WNBA 11

-Joe

P.S. A sign that I might not be taking my job search seriously: In my cover letter for a job with the Nationals, I asked if they'd hook me up with free tickets in two weeks.

Baseball America Top 100 Prospects: 80-71

First off, I apologize to all (three) of you who have been patiently waiting for another blog post. I have finally finished up the Top 100, so those will probably be getting posted near-daily for the next few days.

I have decided to go through all 100 of Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects to give my opinion on each and every one of these players. I will try to make at least one off color comment on each player to keep it at least somewhat entertaining. Whenever I talk about what scouts think about a player, I am referring to the excellent work done by Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus for just about everything so big props to him. Today, we hit up prospects 80-71.

80 Mike Moustakas, 3b, Royals – I would put Moustakas at spot 100 or barely missed. He was the second overall pick a few years ago, but the tools have not translated into stats outside of a couple months late in 2008. He’s rough defensively, and he just hasn’t shown an ability to dominate in the minor leagues. Tools can lead guys to stardom, but his two years of disappointing performances makes me feel that a ranking this high is not justified. This is Justified:


79 Tony Sanchez, c, Pirates – I like Sanchez more than this ranking. He was overdrafted at #4 overall, but I think people are underrating him because he was seen as an overdraft. He was a very good college catcher, and he had a very good minor league debut last year. I don’t think this guy is going to be a legendary catcher, but I could see him being a catcher who hits .280 and has 15-20 home runs. That’s a guy who will probably make some All-Star games, and somebody that just about any team would be happy to have behind the plate. There is a 100% chance that some Pirates blog is going to start referring to him as Dirty Sanchez, but until that happens, there's this.

78 Chad James, lhp, Marlins – This seems a little high for James. He was a late riser in last year’s draft, and he already has three pitches that are average or better, including a fastball that gets into the mid 90s. Still, scouts worry about his mechanics as they aren’t that pretty and it leads to problems with his command and control. He’s a guy that probably wouldn’t make it in my Top 100, because he has yet to throw a professional pitch and the scouting reports are good but still leave a few too many question marks for me. Here is a picture of a homosexual Marlins fan for everyone's enjoyment.


77 Fernando Martinez, of, Mets – I’d put Martinez higher as I am one of the few that still has faith that he can reach his potential. I still think he can be a consistent All-Star who slugs over .500 in an outfield corner. He’ll struggle with plate discipline, but he can be an above average corner outfielder who could steal 20 bases and hit 30 home runs. He didn’t turn 21 until after the season last year, and he’s been a top prospect since 1992 (approximately). Although I don’t think he’s going to develop into a superstar, the guy still has every opportunity to become a great pro player.

76 Austin Jackson, of, Tigers – I think this is too high for Jackson. The crazy thing is that his 2009 was nearly identical to his 2008, and he did it at a higher level. Sill, Baseball America decided to drop him about 40 spots, and I don’t think that’s enough. People stop believing in prospects if they don’t play for the Yankees apparently. But this guy hasn’t really shown greatness since 2007 when he crushed the ball the entire season. I think he’s a guy that needs to hit .300 to have a lot of value, because he doesn’t have great plate discipline or power, and he strikes out quite a bit. I don’t think this guy is a Top 100 prospect.

75 Josh Reddick, of, Red Sox – I like Reddick a little more than this as he really hit the ball well at Double-A while showing good plate discipline. He got pressed into major league action and he quite simply wasn’t ready. He lost all his patience and just pressed way too hard when he was up there. I think giving him time to mature his game at Triple-A will be good for him, and he should be ready to compete for a starting job in the Red Sox outfield for 2011. Don't make the mistake of confusing him with Riddick.


74 Brett Jackson, of, Cubs – This is a pretty fair ranking for Jackson, although I could see him a little bit higher. He’s a five tool player who smoked the ball when he made his debut in the lower levels of the Cubs system last year. His ceiling is higher than most of the people around him at this ranking, but he has a big problem with strikeouts, so that is going to be the key to whether he can actually reach his potential. The downside is what Chris B. Young is, the upside is what Chris B. Young was supposed to be.

73 Jiovanni Mier, ss, Astros – I like Mier more than this. He has great defensive potential as he’s able to make some awesome plays, but he also needs to work on his fundamentals as he can mess up on the easy ones. The big thing with him is that his bat was way better than expected in short-season ball last year. He hit .276/.380/.484 which was far better than most were expecting. This is a guy that should be fun to follow when he makes his full season debut this year.

72 Mike Leake, rhp, Reds – This guy is a stat-guru’s wet dream. He actually had a better statistical year than Strasburg, because of his excellent command and ability to fill the strike zone with four different pitches that all rate out as average or better. His stuff isn’t great, but it plays up due to the fact that he has excellent command. It shouldn’t take him much time in the minors to move up, and he definitely has the ability to be like the good version of Kevin Slowey. That’s meant as a compliment, although I’m not sure if it comes across as one.

71 Jhoulys Chacin, rhp, Rockies – Eh. Chacin sounds like he’d be a fireballing Dominican, but he’s not. He’s got four average to above average pitches that he does a good job of mixing in, but he doesn’t have the stuff to overpower hitters. He depends on mixing it up and using good command to get hitters out. That is not going to get me real excited, so I’d probably put him lower. The bad news is that he’s not a top-tier starter in anybody’s imagination, but the good news is there’s a great chance of him being a solid pitcher in a big league rotation.

That's all for now, keep it real.

-Joe

P.S. I still have no RBI Tournament Recap. It was so long ago that I'm not sure I even remember what happened. I remember something about a clinic and Nolan Ryan throwing the heat, I'll assume I won.

Baseball America Top 100 Prospects 90-81

I have decided to go through all 100 of Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects to give my opinion on each and every one of these players. I will try to make at least one off color comment on each player to keep it at least somewhat entertaining. Whenever I talk about what scouts think about a player, I am referring to the excellent work done by Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus for just about everything so big props to him. Today, we hit up prospects 90-81.

90 James Darnell, 3b, Padres – I would put Darnell higher than this as he showed that he could hit the ball very well at both Low and High-A last year. He is athletic for a third basemen, and has all the tools to succeed both at the plate and in the field. The big issue for him so far is his tools in the field have not translated to good fielding. He makes a lot of dumb mistakes and leaves people baffled as he should be much better than he is in the field. Still, the guy has shown a great bat, and as long as he keeps hitting, they’ll deal with the problems in the field. This is one way where baseball and pickup differ, you can hit it without having to be good in the field.

89 Mat Gamel, 3b, Brewers – Gamel is what he is at this point, and I like it a little more than this. He’s one of the oldest people on this list as he turns 25 this year, but I think he was downgraded because he struggled in his time in the majors. Most prospects do struggle with their first go around, so that doesn’t concern me as much. He’s a bad third baseman, so a move to the outfield would greatly help him, hence a change of scenery would greatly help him, because I doubt the Brewers will get rid of Ryan Braun to placate to Gamel. Still, the guy can definitely hit, and he seems like a guy who will get sold on the cheap for relief help. If he can't beat Braun, maybe Braun will hook him up with a server at his new restaurant.

88 Wilmer Flores, ss, Mets – The scouting reports are much higher on this guy than his stats indicate. Yes, it is impressive that he played at Low-A before his 18th birthday, but he wasn’t all that impressive. He’s a guy that won’t be able to stay at shortstop, and that’s another pretty big knock against him. I can’t see putting a guy like this, with no track record of success, in the Top 100, unless he has other worldly potential. The scouting reports are good, but they ain’t that good. I'm just happy that I can claim a new favorite Wilmer.


87 Lars Anderson, 1b, Red Sox – I would put Lars near 60 on my list, and I realize that is ridiculous considering how bad he was last year. His season would have been considered awful for a slick-fielding shortstop, much less a first baseman. But up until last year, he absolutely crushed the ball. Scouting reports from this past year matched his stats, so it was a really awful year. There is nothing saying positive to say about his 2009, but I really do think that with everybody doubting him, he can relax and start hitting the baseball with authority. Or he can basically kiss his baseball career goodbye, no pressure.

86 Austin Romine, c, Yankees – I’m kind of torn on Romine as he has been known to chase way too many breaking balls, but he’s also athletic for a catcher and has all the ability to be a solid defensive catcher that can hit for power. Looking at a lot of the guys around him, I would probably put him below the Top 100 Prospects. He definitely could be in the Top 50 next year with a strong performance, but right now I think this is a case where the Yankee mystique bumps him up 20 spots.

85 Mike Trout, of, Angels – I like Trout more than this as he fell a little in the draft, but dominated when making his debut. He has great speed and the power potential is there where he could hit 25 homeruns a season. He showed an advanced approach last year, and he is a guy to watch this year at Low-A Cedar Rapids. I expect Burlington Bees Broadcaster Nick Devlin to get an exclusive interview with this guy.

84 Hank Conger, c, Angels – This guy ranks #1 on awesomeness. He’ll be a solid offensive catcher who needs to work to get his defense to acceptable, but he’s heading in the right direction. Really, none of that matters. All that matters is this:


83 Adam Moore, c, Mariners – This guy could be a very solid hitter for a great fielding catcher, the problem is that scouting reports don’t reflect him as a great fielding catcher. He will be an above average hitting catcher I think, but below average defensively. I, personally, think I could find 100 prospects that I would rather have over him. This may be the most boring prospect in the Top 100.

82 Jaff Decker, of, Padres – I think this is a fair ranking, and I’m still not sure how to pronounce his name as I have been told that Jaff is pronounced Jeff. I really hope they were just fucking with me. The big problem with him is that he is short and pudgy, and he doesn’t present any defensive value, nor does he project to have any defensive value. Still, his OBP was .442 last year which is ridiculously high. The guy was able to hit well last year, and as long as he keeps getting on base and hitting the ball well, I’m sure they can take a slight defensive hit out in left field.

81 Travis d'Arnaud, c, Blue Jays – This is a fair ranking for d’Arnaud. He wasn’t great at Low-A, but has above average potential both defensively and offensively for a catcher. He could project to be a 20 homerun catcher with good defense, so the ceiling is definitely there for him to be an All-Star, but he’s far away and really has to prove it on the baseball field before deserving a higher ranking.

That's it for now.

-Joe

P.S. Ricky Stanzi loves America more than I ever thought possible. He's now Americanizing Tyler Sash's dog.

Quick Thoughts

First off, something that I forgot about Todd Lickliter's firing was put brilliantly in this post at Black Heart Gold Pants. I'm glad I'm not the only person who had trouble differentiating Iowa's backup point guard with Evan Turner.

From Basketball Prospectus, a more serious look at Lickliter's firing.

Here is a link to a six-part series on the decline of Iowa Basketball.

I was going through the NCAA basketball bracket (still can't find Iowa) and was shocked when I saw that Syracuse would have to play their arch-nemesis, Vermont. In this epic game, my buddy, who I will refer to as Simple Peck, screamed for Boeheim to rally his troops against Vermont as he picked them for the Final Four. When Vermont finally defeated them, in a drunken, Panama City induced stupor, asked "Where's Vermont anyway? Connecticut? New York?" I feel the public school system failed him. But because of this memory, I may pick the first ever 16 over 1 upset in NCAA history.

Every year, I like to pick a surprise entry into the Final Four, because it gives me a team to cheer for as they make their way through the brackets. Well, that is ideally what would happen if they advanced at all. Last year, it was Tennessee, this year, it's BYU. When filling out a bracket, don't pick BYU.

-Joe

P.S. Last night, I had a dream where I came up with the idea of a bar where only in-shape people could come in, and wowee, there were some promiscuous ladies at my bar. It was awesome.

Lickliter Gets Fired

As everybody knows by now, Todd Lickliter was fired as Head Coach of the Iowa Varsity Men's Basketball team. Although most Hawk fans are rejoicing, I am left with mixed emotions about Lickliter's time at Iowa. Was it successful? No, definitely not. But could it have been? That's what I'm trying to figure out.

Everything went wrong for Todd during his time at Iowa. He inherited a bad team that immediately lost its best player in Tyler Smith. That one didn't take anybody by surprise, but it became a theme for Lickliter's teams during his tenure at Iowa. This was probably the third biggest problem that Iowa fans had with Lickliter.

Hence the 2007-2008 team was led by Tony Freeman and Justin Johnson. Their seniors were Seth Gorney, Kurt Looby, and Johnson. That is not a recipe for success. With that talent level, Iowa predictably struggled to a 13-19 record, going 6-12 in the Big Ten. The highlights included a win over Northern Iowa, and a win over #6 ranked Michigan State. The problem was that even though they beat Michigan State, it was an atrocious game to watch as Iowa scored just 43 points in a 43-36 victory. This was the second biggest complaint that Iowa fans had with Lickliter (I'm speaking for the majority of fans, as this was my biggest problem with the team). His first year was bad, but everyone expected that, so hopes were high that the following year could be better for the Hawks.

Tony Freeman (as well as Dan Bohall) decided to leave the team in the offseason. I'm not sure that this sucked more that Tony Freeman left, or that it mattered that a player of Tony Freeman's caliber leaving was a big deal for the Hawkeye program. Still, this was the year that the savior was finally going to arrive. Matt Gatens, who I believe committed to Iowa 18 months before he was conceived, was finally arriving to play for the Hawkeyes.

Although, very few will remember it as such, 2008-2009 was a step forward for the Hawkeyes program. Yes, they were only 15-17 and lost an extra game in the Big Ten, but they were pretty competitive in most games. They beat both Northern Iowa and Iowa State, but then got blown out by Drake in an absolute embarrassment. They beat Wisconsin and Penn State (who wasn't bad that year), but gave Indiana their lone Big Ten win. Finally, they laid an egg in the Big Ten Tournament against Michigan. Still, the positives were there. They had four players score in double digits (Kelly, Gatens, Anthony Tucker, and Jeff Peterson), all those guys were freshman or sophomores, an they were losing JR Angle and Cyrus Tate.

A step forward was expected for 2009-10, but those chances took a big hit when Peterson, Kelly, David Palmer, and Jermain Davis all left the program. Although Kelly was the toughest to lose, Peterson was the biggest red flag. Most guys will transfer if they aren't getting playing time, but if they are playing, you'd think that you could keep them in the program. Peterson either would have started or gotten significant minutes, but he still didn't want to be a part of the Iowa program.

Then we get to this year, and Lickliter's biggest problem, he never won. This year, the team took a huge step backwards. They showed improvement during the middle of the season, but they were an absolute joke at the end of this season. Their last four road games during the Big Ten regular season they lost by 23, 17, 27, and 35. That is an absolute joke. Another scary thing was that despite Iowa being a very young team, only one player played consistently better as the season wore on, and that was Aaron Fuller. Everybody else would show signs of improving, but then take a big step backwards.

This all led to what happened today, Lickliter was let go. Was it the right choice? It depends. If he truly had lost the players (Gatens looked lackadaisical a lot this year), then yes, he had to go. And yes, I know there were a ton of rumors of guys saying they didn't want to play for Lickliter, but that is always going to happen if the team is losing. Nobody likes losing, and there's no doubt that players hated it. Still, all of those were just rumors.

If they weren't true, then this was a poor decision by Gary Barta. If this was forced by boosters or the fans, it's very unfortunate. I love Iowa, but Iowa fans have not shown the support that a Big Ten team deserves. Giving a college coach only three years to succeed is an absolute joke. He had gotten his best recruiting class coming in, ranking 26th best in the nation. The transfers were unfortunate, but next year was a year that Lickliter deserved so he could show progress.

We may never find out all the true details of the situation, but I don't think Lickliter got a fair shake at Iowa. I wish him (and even his son, John) the best of luck and believe that the next team that hires him will be pleasantly surprised with their new basketball coach.

-Joe

P.S. Should I start this campaign back up again?