GaryMrMets
06-04-2004, 02:33 AM
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/sports/8824781.htm
Posted on Thu, Jun. 03, 2004
Bill Conlin | Catching a draft with another Drew
WHEN I'M KING of the World...
If you draft an amateur baseball player represented by Scott Boras, the outrageous bonus you pay him will count against your payroll...In fact, every cent a major league ballclub spends on its June draft signing bonuses will be charged as payroll. What's the worst that can happen if the Yankees elect to take $20 million worth of risks on the aluminum bat set? The worst is a lot of the overspent bonus money will flow back to the welfare clubs as luxury tax.
Meanwhile, we have another Drew Watch. Set the whirlpools on high, order up some extra MRI readouts and get ready for Stephen Drew. Florida State's Seldom Steve, a junior shortstop, will be the top-rated position player in Monday's first round. That doesn't mean the little brother of first-rounders J.D. and righthander Tim will be the first position player picked. Many teams prefer to go cheaper, but the Mets pick third this year. During J.D.'s St. Louis years, the Cardinals referred to their disabled list as the JDL. Stephen also appears to be blessed with the brittle gene.
After all, if you're going to be paid all that up-front money, why earn it? Stephen Drew, who has missed considerable time to injuries during his three seasons in Tallahassee, could be the first position player if the Mets take him as a second baseman. Some scouts feel Seldom Steve's lack of first-step burst limits his range at short, where the Mets have a major investment in Kaz Matsui. There is no arguing this Drew's ability. He has the same classic swing as J.D. The family problem, however, is getting the Drews to play more than a Division I schedule.
With the Phillies sitting at No. 21, you can expect Mike
Arbuckle's drafting posse will
select a high school pitcher you never heard of. The Phillies will tell us they were amazed he was still there at 21 and peg his ceiling higher than the Boom Box scoreboard...Speaking of Brad Baisley - that very expensive 1998 second-round Phils draft flop signed with the Dodgers as a 6-year free agent. He is currently toiling for Class A
Vero Beach, where he was 0-3. The 6-9 righthander just couldn't stay off the disabled list...The best bargain in a weak draft could be five-tool Princeton centerfielder B.J. Szymanski, a 6-5 flyer with big power potential. Baseball America rates the Tigers football wide receiver No. 1 in Best Athlete, No. 1 Best 5 Tool Talent, No. 1 Best Power Hitter and No. 3 Fastest Baserunner. After all that, wouldn't B.J. be voted the best position prospect? Nope, he's rated No. 19. Go figure...
When I'm King of the World...
In the movie, Smarty Jones will play himself...I had a dream about Smarty in the Belmont Stakes and in that dream, he has a 6 ½-length lead only 12 lengths from the finish line. The jockey was a miniature Gene Mauch. That's when I woke up. Screaming...Larry Bowa's No. 3 hole was manned Tuesday night by a slump-ridden bench player, and isn't that precisely whom you want hitting in front of Jim Thome, a guy with a .179 stick? Do you think during those years when he was rewriting the NCAA record book at the University of Miami, Pat Burrell imagined in his wildest imaginings he someday would play in a major league game where he batted two spots behind Hurricanes teammate Jason Michaels? Nah, that 4-1 loss to the Mets in 10 excruciating innings was far from Bowa's finest hour as a manager. And it bottomed out when he pinch-hit Bobby "Automatic Transmission" Abreu, who, as his nickname suggests, is clutchless, for Doug Glanville against fearsome Mets reliever Ricky Bottalico. It wasn't so much that Abreu is a brutal pinch-hitter who rarely delivers in end-game situations, it's that Glanville was a career 4-for-5 against Bottalico with a walk. After Abreu flied out, Bowa was left with a right-on-right, Ricky Bo vs. Michaels mismatch. The manager said he feared the Mets would walk Abreu if he hit him for Michaels. What a vote of confidence for the next hitter, Thome.
I know, I know, Michaels batting third with his sub-Mendoza average was one of those, "We didn't want to disrupt the rest of the lineup" ploys that emerged from the Cerebral Seventies, when managers dropped the Educated Hunch for the Advance Scouting Report. But to dignify that premise is to forget that Jimmy Rollins, David Bell and Marlon Byrd have been hopscotched around a lineup where Abreu shuttles between 3-5, Thome between 3-4-5 and Burrell 4-5. This lineup is chiseled in Jell-O.
When I'm King of the World...
Jevon Kearse will look up the meaning of the word "tact"... OK, The Beast's college major wasn't diplomacy. He probably couldn't spell tact if you spotted him both "t's." But, of course, he's right. Philadelphians are a few F-words short of Emily Post approval. But take a walk down Beale Street in Memphis some summer Saturday night and tell me it's not a lot like South Street with a drawl and a blues beat. Go to big cities, Beast, and you'll find a lot of rude, pushy people accustomed to spending their lives and making their livings in crowded places where, "outta the way" often works better than, "excuse me, please." Philadelphians kind of play life, Jevon, the way you play defensive end on third-and-12, with a lot of push, urgency and relentless drive. Don't get knocked down, and you won't have to worry about getting picked up.
Posted on Thu, Jun. 03, 2004
Bill Conlin | Catching a draft with another Drew
WHEN I'M KING of the World...
If you draft an amateur baseball player represented by Scott Boras, the outrageous bonus you pay him will count against your payroll...In fact, every cent a major league ballclub spends on its June draft signing bonuses will be charged as payroll. What's the worst that can happen if the Yankees elect to take $20 million worth of risks on the aluminum bat set? The worst is a lot of the overspent bonus money will flow back to the welfare clubs as luxury tax.
Meanwhile, we have another Drew Watch. Set the whirlpools on high, order up some extra MRI readouts and get ready for Stephen Drew. Florida State's Seldom Steve, a junior shortstop, will be the top-rated position player in Monday's first round. That doesn't mean the little brother of first-rounders J.D. and righthander Tim will be the first position player picked. Many teams prefer to go cheaper, but the Mets pick third this year. During J.D.'s St. Louis years, the Cardinals referred to their disabled list as the JDL. Stephen also appears to be blessed with the brittle gene.
After all, if you're going to be paid all that up-front money, why earn it? Stephen Drew, who has missed considerable time to injuries during his three seasons in Tallahassee, could be the first position player if the Mets take him as a second baseman. Some scouts feel Seldom Steve's lack of first-step burst limits his range at short, where the Mets have a major investment in Kaz Matsui. There is no arguing this Drew's ability. He has the same classic swing as J.D. The family problem, however, is getting the Drews to play more than a Division I schedule.
With the Phillies sitting at No. 21, you can expect Mike
Arbuckle's drafting posse will
select a high school pitcher you never heard of. The Phillies will tell us they were amazed he was still there at 21 and peg his ceiling higher than the Boom Box scoreboard...Speaking of Brad Baisley - that very expensive 1998 second-round Phils draft flop signed with the Dodgers as a 6-year free agent. He is currently toiling for Class A
Vero Beach, where he was 0-3. The 6-9 righthander just couldn't stay off the disabled list...The best bargain in a weak draft could be five-tool Princeton centerfielder B.J. Szymanski, a 6-5 flyer with big power potential. Baseball America rates the Tigers football wide receiver No. 1 in Best Athlete, No. 1 Best 5 Tool Talent, No. 1 Best Power Hitter and No. 3 Fastest Baserunner. After all that, wouldn't B.J. be voted the best position prospect? Nope, he's rated No. 19. Go figure...
When I'm King of the World...
In the movie, Smarty Jones will play himself...I had a dream about Smarty in the Belmont Stakes and in that dream, he has a 6 ½-length lead only 12 lengths from the finish line. The jockey was a miniature Gene Mauch. That's when I woke up. Screaming...Larry Bowa's No. 3 hole was manned Tuesday night by a slump-ridden bench player, and isn't that precisely whom you want hitting in front of Jim Thome, a guy with a .179 stick? Do you think during those years when he was rewriting the NCAA record book at the University of Miami, Pat Burrell imagined in his wildest imaginings he someday would play in a major league game where he batted two spots behind Hurricanes teammate Jason Michaels? Nah, that 4-1 loss to the Mets in 10 excruciating innings was far from Bowa's finest hour as a manager. And it bottomed out when he pinch-hit Bobby "Automatic Transmission" Abreu, who, as his nickname suggests, is clutchless, for Doug Glanville against fearsome Mets reliever Ricky Bottalico. It wasn't so much that Abreu is a brutal pinch-hitter who rarely delivers in end-game situations, it's that Glanville was a career 4-for-5 against Bottalico with a walk. After Abreu flied out, Bowa was left with a right-on-right, Ricky Bo vs. Michaels mismatch. The manager said he feared the Mets would walk Abreu if he hit him for Michaels. What a vote of confidence for the next hitter, Thome.
I know, I know, Michaels batting third with his sub-Mendoza average was one of those, "We didn't want to disrupt the rest of the lineup" ploys that emerged from the Cerebral Seventies, when managers dropped the Educated Hunch for the Advance Scouting Report. But to dignify that premise is to forget that Jimmy Rollins, David Bell and Marlon Byrd have been hopscotched around a lineup where Abreu shuttles between 3-5, Thome between 3-4-5 and Burrell 4-5. This lineup is chiseled in Jell-O.
When I'm King of the World...
Jevon Kearse will look up the meaning of the word "tact"... OK, The Beast's college major wasn't diplomacy. He probably couldn't spell tact if you spotted him both "t's." But, of course, he's right. Philadelphians are a few F-words short of Emily Post approval. But take a walk down Beale Street in Memphis some summer Saturday night and tell me it's not a lot like South Street with a drawl and a blues beat. Go to big cities, Beast, and you'll find a lot of rude, pushy people accustomed to spending their lives and making their livings in crowded places where, "outta the way" often works better than, "excuse me, please." Philadelphians kind of play life, Jevon, the way you play defensive end on third-and-12, with a lot of push, urgency and relentless drive. Don't get knocked down, and you won't have to worry about getting picked up.