MLB FanHouse

Baseball Brunch: Time for Draft Reform?

Ed Price — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Braves, Cardinals, Cubs, Dodgers, Giants, Mariners, Orioles, Rangers, Rays, Rockies, MLB Biz, MLB Draft, Prospects, FanHouse Exclusive, MLB Inside Scoop, Baseball Brunch

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

As the No. 1 overall pick in 1990, Chipper Jones signed with the Braves for $275,000.

Even in today's dollars, that's about $450,000 -- or about 3 percent of Stephen Strasburg was guaranteed as this year's No. 1 pick.

And Jones agreed to his deal the night before the draft, while Strasburg came within two minutes of missing last Monday's deadline to sign.

"I think the only way that you're going to get kids signed and get them into the various camps is to put some kind of cap on it," Jones said. "I was always of the belief that you make your money at the big-league level."

That's how the teams want it too. When the current collective bargaining agreement is up in two years, Major League Baseball may pursue an NBA-style slotting system -- with signing bonuses locked in depending on how high a player is picked, as opposed to the current non-binding slot recommendations.

Commissioner Bud Selig last week told The Washington Post, "There's no question in my mind, in 2011, certainly a [hard] slotting system and a worldwide draft are things we will be very aggressive in talking about."

Which would lead to an interesting tug-of-war between owners, the players' union and agents.

With the alliances not as clear as it might seem.

"I think it's something we can seriously talk about," Mets right fielder Jeff Francoeur told FanHouse. "I don't think the guys mind [slotting] very much.

"A guy like Strasburg, he deserves it. But something to stop it [escalating bonuses], I agree."

MLB might feel that it can get the players on its side as they see the signing bonuses explode -- especially this year, just a few months after the free-agent market went soft.

As Francoeur, who signed for $2.2 million as the 23rd overall pick in 2002, said, "Now, it's crazy. Guys are wanting $7-8 million and have never stepped on the [big-league] field."

But resistance to strict slotting could come from agents (who stand to lose their commissions) and union leadership (on principle).

"I think it goes against what we've fought for in the past, the free market," said Milwaukee infielder Craig Counsell, a member of the union's executive board.

"I know it sounds like something ownership is going to want. They've wanted it before. All you can go by is the past, and in the past it hasn't happened. ... I know in the past we've decided we're not going to restrict what players are going to make."

Through a spokesman, incoming union head Michael Weiner declined comment.

Another person with ties to the union pointed out that if teams save money on signing bonuses, they may not necessarily use it on payroll instead -- so why should current players go for the strict slotting system?

"I don't want to get into what may or may not be proposals," said Rob Manfred, MLB's executive vice president for labor relations and human resources. "It's early, but this whole player talent-acquisition area -- by that I mean the draft, international signings, acquiring professional players from other countries -- that whole group of issues, clubs are talking about.

"The draft system is less than optimal from the perspective of the 30 clubs."

It isn't just Strasburg. According to Baseball America, this year's draft set records for highest bonus to a high school player (San Diego's Donovan Tate), biggest bonus to a high school pitcher (Detroit's Jacob Turner) as well as Strasburg's overall marks for biggest bonus and largest guarantee.

"I think the amount of money we spend at the top end of the draft is now too much for what I like to label unproven talent," said Logan White, the Dodgers' assistant general manager for scouting.

"When you draft a player and sign a player -- that's supposed to be when they're a bargain."

Chart of the Week
When San Diego's Kyle Blanks -- listed at 6-foot-6 and 285 pounds -- hit an inside-the-park home run last Tuesday, he tied for the tallest player ever to do so. Players 6-foot-6 to hit inside-the-park homers:
Player	Vs.	Year
Corey Hart (MIL)	ARI	2008
Darryl Strawberry (NYM)	CIN	1989
Darryl Strawberry (NYM)	STL	1984
Dave Kingman (NYM)	STL	1982
Dave Winfield (NYY)	CHW	1981
Source: David Vincent, SABR

White said about 150 big-leaguers, 35 of whom become regulars, come out of each draft, with the numbers fairly consistent.

"No matter how much money you throw into the draft," he said, "that's not going to make it [produce] 300 major-leaguers and 75 every-day players."

And while the Aug. 15 deadline to sign (Aug. 17 this year because Aug. 15 fell on a weekend) is an improvement on the old deadline of when a player first attended college classes -- imagine a scout trying to intercept a freshman on campus with one final offer before his first class -- there is a whole other set of headaches.

Along with the recommended bonuses, MLB pressures teams that intend to go over slot to hold off on announcing deals so as not to drive up the price for other draft picks. And some agents wait to see what everyone else gets. Which leads to the last-minute deals -- or, last year, two that went past the deadline but were still approved.

Also, teams that ignore the slot recommendations can be rewarded over teams that obey. The classic case in point is Detroit's Rick Porcello, who wanted a $7 million deal out of high school. He should have been a top-10 pick in 2007 but fell to 27th before the Tigers were willing to bust slot.

And their decision paid off. Porcello is a winning pitcher in the majors at age 20 -- exactly what many of the teams that drafted 1-26 could have used.

"We do have [a situation] whereby economics ... undermines the purpose of the draft," Manfred said.

Manfred said such scenarios are on the decline.

"We have really worked with the clubs and, I think, convinced them letting players slip is bad for everybody," he said.

Agent Scott Boras, who represents Strasburg and Porcello, agreed.

"In prior drafts the No. 1 draft pick was not always the best player," Boras said. "Now, because of revenue-sharing, in the draft the best player is No. 1. For maybe 15 years, the best players in the draft were rarely No. 1 because of signability issues."

White said he thinks the current slotting system works in "90 percent of the cases, probably.

"... it's usually fair for whenever we pick the player."

According to Manfred, 75 percent of the drafted players signed, and 75 percent of those signed for within 5 percent of the slot recommendation.

Still ...

"We spend nearly $200 million on players, a very, very small percentage of whom make it to the major leagues," Manfred said.

But from the union point of view, that the teams are willing to make such investments proves they shouldn't cry poverty.

As Counsell put it, "It's easy to say when you see a kid sign for $16 million that's never played a day in the big leagues, 'Oh, that's not fair. There's some guys that have 10-year careers that don't make that much.' But there's market for his services, that's why he's getting that much."

When a new CBA is negotiated, as one high-ranking union person said, "It always comes down to tradeoffs." If the players want something else more, they may give in on a slot system.

One team official theorized that the top agents, such as Boras, would go for a strict slotting system, because it would result in fewer high school players passing up college scholarships to turn pro, and it's easier for the agents to identify and pursue potential clients once they're in college.

But the general perception is that Major League Baseball's pursuit of drastic signing-bonus reform would be determined by whether players or the agents call the shots.

"I would be open to listening to something," Jones said, "but the fact of the matter is, there were people here before me that allowed me to do the things that I've done. Who am I to say that there needs to be a cap or some kind of different system that regulates what kids make out of college or high school?"

Overheard and Understood

o. Before next Saturday's game in Seattle, Jim Bouton will throw out the ceremonial first pitch to catcher Gerry McNertney to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 1969 Seattle Pilots, an expansion team that lasted one season before moving to Milwaukee and becoming the Brewers.

o. Matt Holliday is batting .404 since the All-Star break. According to STATS LLC, since expansion in 1961, only five players have batted .400 or better after the break (200 or more plate appearances): Ichiro Suzuki in 2004, George Brett in 1980, Barry Bonds in 2002, Larry Walker in 1998 and Tony Gwynn in 1993.

o. Pick your poison in the Cubs bullpen -- if you're manager Lou Piniella, that is. Kevin Gregg is second among NL relievers for most home runs allowed per nine innings, while Carlos Marmol has given up the fourth-fewest. But Marmol has averaged the most bases on balls per nine innings (8.2), while Gregg averages 3.6. So you want the guy who gives up walks or the one who surrenders home runs?

o. Kenshin Kawakami opened the season as the Braves' No. 4 starter, but he has faced a Cy Young Award winner five times (Barry Zito, Roy Halladay, Randy Johnson and Johan Santana twice); Opening-Day starters John Lannan and Brett Myers; aces Cole Hamels and Jonathan Johnson; and Clayton Kershaw, eighth in the NL in ERA. No wonder Kawakami is 6-9.

o. San Francisco's Jeremy Affeldt has induced 16 groundball double plays, most among big-league relievers, and has a chance to be the first reliever since Doug Sisk in 1988 to get 21 DP balls.

o. Since opening the season by winning their first 13 home games, the Dodgers are 27-24 at Chavez Ravine.

o. Baltimore's Brian Roberts (46) and Nick Markakis (39) have combined for 85 doubles and could threaten the teammate record of 116, set by George Burns and Tris Speaker of the 1926 Indians.

o. When Ivan Rodriguez rejoined the Rangers, it meant three teams had their all-time franchise hits leader on the current roster, along with Colorado's Todd Helton and Tampa Bay's Carl Crawford.

o. Rockies manager Jim Tracy also ranks fifth all-time in managerial wins against Colorado, with 60.

o. In the Little League World Series 15 years ago, Maracaibo, Venezuela, defeated Northridge, Calif., in the championship game. Current Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel played for Northridge, while Maracaibo featured Diamondbacks pitcher Yusmeiro Petit and Mariners catcher Guillermo Quiroz.

Baseball Brunch: Time for Draft Reform? originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 23 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mariners Sign No. 2 Pick Ackley

Gary Washburn — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:38:00 EST

Filed under: Mariners, MLB Draft

SEATTLE -- Given that the Mariners have struggled mightily offensively, the signing of No. 2 pick Dustin Ackley serves as a serious momentum boost for an organization looking to escape a series of shaky moves under the Bill Bavasi tenure.

For example, Bavasi traded Adam Jones and George Sherill for Erik Bedard, and he selected Cal's Brandon Morrow over the University of Washington's Tim Lincecum in the 2006 draft. Morrow is in the minors while Lincecum is one of the top starting pitchers in the major leagues.

So the Mariners needed this. They needed to sign the best hitter in college baseball. Ackley hit .422 with 22 home runs and 73 RBI in 66 games for the University of North Carolina. Signing him went down to the final minutes, with general manager Jack Zduriencik revealing that the deal was agreed upon at 8:45 PM PT, about 15 minutes before the deadline.

Ackley, 21, was represented by Scott Boras, who also worked out a record-breaking deal with the Washington Nationals for Stephen Strasburg. The Ackley deal is believed to be for $7.5 million and a major league contract. Ackley is on the Mariners' 40-man roster.

"There's a lot of positives to say about this young man," Zduriencik said. "He can run, he's athletic, he's a left-handed hitter. He's going to play well in this ballpark. He's the type of guy you look for over the years when you are scouting."

The Mariners needed some good news regarding their prospects. Losing Ackley to the 2010 draft and receiving just a compensatory pick would have been damaging to the Zduriencik administration. So far, all the moves made by the former Milwaukee Brewers executive have looked good, from dealing now-injured J.J. Putz to the Mets and receiving splendid center fielder Franklin Gutierrez to hiring manager Don Wakamatsu to dealing impending free agent Jarrod Washburn for prospects and acquiring pitcher Ian Snell and shortstop Jack Wilson.

Ackley suddenly becomes the organization's most coveted prospect and gives the club a much-needed future offensive star. The Mariners are faintly in the wild-card race but have fielded bewildering lineups the past few days because of injuries and lack of depth, highlighting the need for an infusion of offense.

"Scott indicated Dustin wanted to play, we knew Dustin wanted to play," Zduriencik said. "I think in this case, we understood his desire to play and I think he understood how important it was to be the second selection in the county. I think he sees what's happening in Seattle. It's a great opportunity for this young man."

Mariners Sign No. 2 Pick Ackley originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:38:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Strasburg Signs for Record $15.1 Million

Jeff Fletcher — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:37:00 EST

Filed under: Nationals, MLB Draft

Stephen Strasburg got the record contract that his agent expected, and the Nationals got the pitcher considered to be the finest amateur in the history of the draft.

Strasburg, the No. 1 pick in the June draft, signed a $15.1 million, four-year deal. The previous record was $10.5 million, which the Cubs gave Mark Prior in 2001.

The Nationals reportedly had put a $12.5 million offer on the table more than a week ago, and the offer apparently was increased with some last-minute dealing. The deal was not announced until just after the midnight ET deadline.

More Coverage: M's Hand Ackley $9M | Draft Tracker

"There was back-and-forth throughout the day," Nationals acting GM Mike Rizzo said. "We started early in the morning, the group of us got together at 9 a.m. on Monday, and we've been together throughout the night. It's been a pretty consistent flow of back and forth, and obviously the last couple of hours -- and specifically the last 45 minutes -- the energy level ramps up. And it gets a little exciting."

Strasburg, 21, earned the record deal by dominating during his junior season at San Diego State. A 6-foot-4 right-hander, he was 13-1 with a 1.32 ERA. He had 195 strikeouts in 109 innings. He won the Golden Spikes Award, as the nation's best college player.

If Strasburg had not signed, he would likely have spent next season playing independent baseball or overseas. He would have then gone into next year's draft pool (unless agent Scott Boras figured a way around it) and the Nationals would have received the No. 2 pick in the 2010 draft as compensation.

There was much bluster coming from the Boras camp during the pre-draft buildup and immediately after the draft. Boras said that Strasburg deserved to be treated differently than a normal amateur draft pick, suggesting that Strasburg was actually more comparable to Daisuke Matsuzaka, who got more than $50 million to sign with the Red Sox.

In the end, though, Boras took Strasburg to a higher level, but he did not set a new precedent in the way the draft operates. Strasburg got more than anyone else, because he was arguably the best amateur, but he was not paid as if he were an established big-league free agent.

The deal reportedly includes a $7.5 million bonus and $7.6 million in salary over four years, starting immediately. Because Strasburg signed a major-league deal, he immediately goes on the 40-man roster. He also uses up one of his options unless he is added to the big-league 25-man roster. However, players who sign in this way typically qualify for a rare fourth option.

Because Strasburg is already on the 40-man roster and earning the big-league minimum salary, the Nationals could call him up later this season without much financial risk. He would start accruing service time, pushing him closer to arbitration and free agency, but an extra 30 days or so won't make much difference in that respect.

Rizzo said it's too early to discuss whether Strasburg will be in the big leagues this year.

"We have to figure out where he's at, how in shape his arm is, how much we have to ramp him up before he can start pitching competitively."

There were two legitimate schools of thought about this negotiation as it dragged on for two months. The first was that Strasburg and Boras were going to twist the system in whatever way possible to get maximum dollars, even if that meant doing something as radical as going to Japan in an effort to become a free agent.

Then there were folks who figured that would be way too much of a risk for Strasburg. If he got the record-breaking deal the Nationals were likely to offer, he was likely to take it, even if it was simply record-breaking, and not earth-shattering.

Strasburg, after all, was an amateur pitcher. A college kid in a college conference (the Mountain West) that wasn't all that good. Sure, he could throw 102 mph with a ridiculous slider, but at higher levels, hitters may lay off that slider. If he was forced to pitch with just a fastball, he might get hit, even at such velocity.

There is also a chance that he might get hurt. The Nationals saw first-hand how easily a phenom can turn into a question mark when Jordan Zimmerman had to go in for Tommy John surgery that is likely to have him out at least a year.

Nothing was a sure thing for Strasburg and the Nationals, which is why it made sense for the two parties to reach a reasonable compromise.

"The reason he agreed to a deal -- he wants to be in the big leagues, he wants to be a Washington National," Rizzo said. "He wants to win a Cy Young award and he wants to win championships in D.C. That's the reason he signed with us here. Money was a nice perk and a nice byproduct for him, but he's here to pitch. He's chomping at the bit to get on the mound. He's ultra-ultra competitive, and I think he was getting a little tired of sitting around the house."

Strasburg Signs for Record $15.1 Million originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:37:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ryan Zimmerman On Strasburg: 'His Value Will Never Be Higher'

Tom Fornelli — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Nationals, NL East, MLB Draft, MLB Rumors

We're roughly 35 hours short of the MLB deadline for teams to sign their draft picks, and in spite of what's reported as a record-breaking contract offer to Washington Nationals first pick Stephen Strasburg, the two sides have yet to come to an agreement. It could just be another instance of Scott Boras wanting to wait until the last minute in hopes of forcing his opponent to crack, or Strasburg may just be dead set on not wanting to pitch for the Nationals.

We won't really know until late Monday, early Tuesday, but after reading some comments from Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman on the subject, I'm wondering if the Nats might be better off having him handle the negotiations. The man speaks the truth.

"When it comes down to it, Strasburg has to think about, 'Can I go to bed if I turn down $15, 16 million dollars -- whatever it is -- to pass up the opportunity to play for these guys?' That's a lot of money. I don't understand what he thinks will be better next year. If we don't take him, who's gonna take him next year? Pittsburgh? San Diego? San Diego is not gonna pay him more. Absolutely his leverage will never be higher. Everybody wants to play where they want to play; everybody wants the ideal situation, but that's not the point of the draft. You can't tell people where you want to play. At some point, do it like everybody else has already done it. I agree, he's one of the better college pitchers ever to pitch, but he hasn't proven anything yet."

Zimmerman is right in his assessment of the situation, and I'm pretty sure Boras is well aware of all this as well. So I'm still of the opinion that Strasburg will sign the Nationals offer before the deadline.

It's really hard to turn down that kind of money, especially when you're a pitcher. Just imagine if Strasburg turns down this offer, decides to spend next season in an independent league or back at San Diego State, and then hurts his elbow or shoulder. It's a very big risk for Strasburg to take, and hopefully he knows that if for no other reason than I really want to see what this kid can do against big leaguers.

Ryan Zimmerman On Strasburg: 'His Value Will Never Be Higher' originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 16 Aug 2009 13:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Despite Record Offer, Nationals Still Unsure if Stephen Strasburg Will Sign

Pat Lackey — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 00:25:00 EST

Filed under: Nationals, NL East, MLB Draft

With just a little less than 48 hours until Monday's midnight deadline to sign picks from June's draft, Washington Nationals' president Stan Kasten told the AP he has "no idea" if top pick Stephen Strasburg will sign with the team. This is despite the Washington Post's report that the Nats have already offered Strasburg a larger signing bonus than any draft pick in history, a report that Kasten more or less confirmed to the AP.

In each of the two seasons that the early deadline has been in place, most of Scott Boras' clients (including Matt Wieters, Pedro Alvarez and Eric Hosmer, all top-six picks in either 2007 or 2008) have gone right up to the midnight deadline before signing. Even if Strasburg has already decided that he wants to accept whatever it is that the Nationals have offered him (likely in the neighborhood of 15-$20 million), the world won't know until Monday.

What is troubling for the Nats' chances, however, is Kasten's statement that Boras is essentially looking to redefine the way draft picks are valued with Strasburg. If that's truly what Boras and Strasburg want, there's probably nothing the Nationals can do to change their minds.

I studied up a lot on the history of Boras's draft negotiations last year as a Pirate fan hoping to see Alvarez signed after the Pirates picked him second overall. The overwhelming impression that I've had of Boras is that these draft power plays he makes are very rarely about only money. In reality, Boras is almost always working to exploit holes in the CBA and the only way that negotiations really take place is if the team he's negotiating with is willing to play by his rules.

Take the Alvarez negotiations last year; Boras dragged the Alvarez signing right down to the last minute and Alvarez may well have actually agreed to a deal with the Pirates after the clock hit midnight. Because of that, the MLBPA filed a grievance saying the contract was illegally signed and the Pirates, not wanting to risk losing Alvarez, re-negotiated the contract.

The terms of the re-negotiation weren't actually all that different than what Alvarez had initially agreed too. The first deal he signed was a minor league contract with a signing bonus right of $6 million. The re-worked deal was a Major League deal worth a total of $6.35 million over four years. The total sum of money was more, but because some of it exists in options and is to be paid down the road, the total cost of this initial contract could end up costing the Pirates less than Alvarez's initial bonus did.

I don't think Boras' goal was to renegotiate for more money; it was to get a team to ignore the deadline and re-negotiate a contract. The Pirates were willing to play ball and in the end, both sides got what they wanted. If the Nationals want to sign Strasburg, they'll have to do the same thing.

Despite Record Offer, Nationals Still Unsure if Stephen Strasburg Will Sign originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 16 Aug 2009 00:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Baseball Brunch: Youth Served in L.A.

Ed Price — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Athletics, Braves, Brewers, Dodgers, Giants, Indians, Mariners, Mets, Nationals, Padres, Rays, Red Sox, Yankees, MLB Draft, FanHouse Exclusive, MLB Inside Scoop, Baseball Brunch

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

Yes, the Dodgers' solar system revolves around Manny Ramirez. He's their star on the field and their main attraction.

But they wouldn't have Ramirez, nor many of the players who carried the team in his absence, were it not for a farm system that has been remarkably productive.

"It's nice that management kept us all here," ace Chad Billingsley told FanHouse. "There's some teams that maybe just start trading guys away. And believing in us, that's a huge thing."

In the 2002-03 drafts, Los Angeles took Russell Martin, James Loney, Jonathan Broxton, Matt Kemp and Billingsley. Those five players made their big league debuts within an 11-month span, from July 2005 to June 2006.

And they aren't the only homegrown products on the roster. Clayton Kershaw came in the 2006 draft, James McDonald was part of that '02 draft crop and Ramon Troncoso was an international free agent.

"We've been fortunate to have great scouts," Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said. "We have Logan White as scouting director and great scouts with him. They have an eye for talent and pick the right players. And player development people have taken it from there."

It's not just the guys in L.A. who have had an impact.

Catcher Carlos Santana, signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2004, and Jonathan Meloan (2005 draft) were traded to the Indians for Casey Blake. And third baseman Andy LaRoche (2003 draft) and Bryan Morris (2006 first-rounder) went to the Pirates in the three-way deal that brought Ramirez to what is now Mannywood.

Still, the Dodgers kept together a pretty good group. Martin, Loney and Kemp account for 31 percent of the team's RBI. Kershaw and Billingsley have 18 of the team's 61 wins, and Broxton has 23 of the 29 saves.

"It shows a lot about the front office and the scouting," Kemp said, "how good they are and basically just having the faith in us and letting us come up here and show our abilities."

White shared credit with his scouts and the player-development people, but he has certainly had an impact since coming from the Orioles, where he had been the west-coast scouting supervisor.

"When we completed that (2002) draft," he said, "we had a feeling we had something special. Maybe because it was my first. We were surprised at the depth and players we were able to get."

The players say their path to the majors, and their adjustment to the big leagues, was made easier because they did it pretty much as a group.

Billingsley and Martin met a their first day together on a rookie-ball team in Ogden, Utah -- not long after Billingsley was drafted in 2003.

"We all kind of broke in at the same time," Billingsley said. "It's pretty much like a brother relationship. Being in minor-league ball, you get to know each other with 10-hour-plus bus trips, the hotel rooms, not a whole lot to do in some of the cities."

White said Kemp and Loney pushed and fed off each other on the way up in a friendly competition, as did Billingsley and Broxton, who began as a starter.

Then they arrived in the majors virtually together.

"I think usually when a rookie comes up," Kemp said, "he's the only rookie and you've got all the older guys picking on him. When I came up there I think there were eight rookies, and we all knew each other. So it kind of made it more comfortable in the transition."

Every team knows the value of young players, whose salary can be controlled for three years and can't be free agents for three more. The money saved there can be spent on free agents or players with big contracts, such as Ramirez.

"I think we've been patient, as patient as we can be," Colletti said. At times we've probably fast-tracked a few of them and went through some growing pains because of it. But here, 3-4 years later, they've been in the postseason two out of three years, most of them."

A productive farm system had been the staple of the Dodgers franchise going back to Brooklyn, and it seems to be back that way.

White said he had almost the same feeling about his 2008 draft as that '02 crop, with right-handers Ethan Martin, Josh Lindblom, Jon Michael Redding and Nate Eovaldi, power-hitting outfielder Kyle Russell and speedy shortstop Dee Gordon (son of Tom Gordon).

"We have some pretty good players in the system still," White said. "That's the thing I'm happy about."

Overheard and Understood

Chart of the Week
Just because the Rays were the victim of a perfect game Thursday doesn't mean they can't make the postseason. Two teams on the wrong end of perfect games -- both by lefties, as happened to Tampa Bay -- reached the playoffs. Here's how teams that were victims of a perfect game in the past 50 years ended up:
Team	Perfect Pitcher	Finish
'04 Braves	Randy Johnson	96-66, 1st
'99 Expos	David Cone	68-94, 5th
'98 Twins	David Wells	70-92, 4th
'94 Angels	Kenny Rogers	47-68, 4th
'91 Dodgers	Dennis Martinez	93-69, 2nd
'88 Dodgers	Tom Browning	94-67, 1st
'84 Rangers	Mike Witt	69-92, 7th
'81 Jays	Len Barker	37-69, 7th
'68 Twins	Catfish Hunter	79-83, 7th
'65 Cubs	Sandy Koufax	72-90, 8th
'64 Mets	Jim Bunning	53-109, 10th

o. The Mets' lineup is so filled with backups that before one recent game, as the batting order was being announced, an infielder from the other team turned to an umpire and said, "Did they clinch the division last night?"

o. Milwaukee believed as of late last week it was a player in the Roy Halladay drama. "Toronto likes our players," one Brewers person said. "It's just a matter of can we make it work. I don't think money's a problem. We don't have young pitching, that's the problem. I think we'll be in the mix." Milwaukee also has its "toes in the water" on Cliff Lee.

o. The Red Sox weren't looking into Halladay just to block the Yankees. In fact, the Sox felt they won a battle in the never-ending war over the winter when the Yanks doled out three free-agent contracts of five-plus years worth a combined $423.5 million. The Yankees aren't interested in giving up what the Jays want for Halladay, nor do they want to add to their luxury tax.

o. Scouts say Seattle lefty Jarrod Washburn (recently scouting by Philadelphia) is a different pitcher this year. He has added a sinker and split-finger pitch to his repertoire. Before, he had trouble going anywhere but inside on right-handed hitters with his below-average fastball. Now he can work them away and work down. As a result, a career-low 5 percent of his fly balls are going for homers, his strikeout-to-walk ratio is a career-best 2.6 and he has a 2.71 ERA.

o. If Tampa Bay is to make a charge in the AL East, it will have to earn it. The Rays have 63 games left, with 10 against the Yankees, eight against the Red Sox, and six each against the Rangers and Tigers.

o. Mark Buehrle's perfect game was his first, of course, but it was the third time in his career he pitched nine innings and faced the minimum 27 batters (a no-hitter with a walk and a pickoff and a two-hitter with two double plays). No other pitcher in the past 55 years has done that three times, according to baseball-reference.com, and the only pitcher with two such games in Sandy Koufax. The White Sox said the quick-working Buehrle spent just 32 minutes on the mound in his perfect game.

o. The Indians have averaged 3.5 runs a game when Lee starts and 5.5 runs per game for all their other starters.

o. Last week's series between the Mets and Nationals was the first in the majors since July 2004 in which all three games lasted 2 hours, 20 minutes or less (2:16, 2:09, 2:20).

o. Despite playing in Petco Park, the Padres have gone 531 games without a complete-game shutout (the last was by Chan Ho Park on June 2, 2006). That's the second-longest streak ever, behind the 2001-05 Rockies, 645.

o. The Athletics call the first three pitches of a plate appearance "conversion pitches" and consider them crucial for pitchers. That's because batters have a .832 OPS after getting ahead 2-1 but a .520 OPS after falling behind 1-2. So, according to Oakland manager Bob Geren, the goal is two-thirds strikes on those first three pitches. "We stress it here," he said, "from the minor leagues all the way up. We track it and we teach off of it."

o. No Brewer has ever had 100 walks in a season, but Prince Fielder has a shot, with 72 so far.

o. Eric Hinske joined Dave Kingman as the second player to hit four homers in his first five games as a Yankee. Kingman's streak started Sept. 17, 1977 -- 43 days after Hinske was born.

o. Where did the Braves spend the All-Star break? Atlanta hit 68 homers in 88 games before the break and have 15 in 10 games since (four by Yunel Escobar and three by Chipper Jones).

o. Dan Rohn of the Giants' Triple-A Fresno (Calif.) team earned his 1,000th win as a minor-league manager last week.

Baseball Brunch: Youth Served in L.A. originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 26 Jul 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scott Boras Cooking Up Something 'Unusual' for Stephen Strasburg

Jeff Fletcher — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:12:00 EST

Filed under: Nationals, MLB Draft

Ever since word started to circulate about how special Stephen Strasburg seemed to be, everyone wondered just how agent Scott Boras was going to bend the system to get the most for his client. Boras himself said that Strasburg is unique the day after the draft, but further proof came along Tuesday. Ben McDonald, the former No. 1 pick and phenom, told the Washington Post that he's talked to Boras -- his former agent -- about Strasburg.

"He just told me that he's got a special kid, reminds him of myself a little bit, and they're going to do something 'unusual.' But that's all he told me. I don't know what he's got cooked up."

Makes you wonder just what that is. Could Boras seriously be considering having Strasburg play in Japan in order to wangle his way to major league free agency in 2010? Maybe he'll have Strasburg renounce his citizenship and move to Tibet.

Anyway, whatever ends up happening with Strasburg short of signing with the Nationals -- and the guess here is that he is going to sign just before the Aug. 17 deadline for around $15 million -- folks are certain to start decrying how evil Boras is for manipulating Strasburg's career for his personal gain.

Well, in the same Washington Post item, McDonald gives us a little insight on Boras. He said that during his negotiations with the Orioles 20 years ago, Boras always remembered who was the boss.

"Scott always said, at any point in time, you wanna play ball, we'll just end this thing," McDonald recalled. "Any point you just can't take it any more, we'll just go do it. But I never got to that point. People try to portray about Scott Boras like he's this greedy, money-hungry kind of guy. He always remembers that it's the player's career. But he was always saying, Hey, here is where I think the negotiations should go, and here is why."

Scott Boras Cooking Up Something 'Unusual' for Stephen Strasburg originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:12:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Baseball Brunch: Unheralded Marlins Pitching Duo Among Game's Best

Ed Price — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Athletics, Blue Jays, Giants, Mariners, Marlins, Nationals, Orioles, Phillies, Pirates, Rays, Red Sox, Tigers, MLB Draft, MLB Inside Scoop, Baseball Brunch

Best 1-2 punch in baseball? Maybe Josh Beckett and Jon Lester.

Best young 1-2 combo? Probably Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain.

Best young 1-2 starters you may not have heard of? Josh Johnson and Chris Volstad.

"If Volstad and Johnson pitched in a major media market - they're better prospects than Joba Chamberlain," one scout told FanHouse. "They're going to be around a long time."

They're on the Marlins, in case you were wondering.

"You've got young guys with great stuff, good command and exceptional mound presence," Florida catcher John Baker said. "And they're also very cool under pressure. Rarely do you see one guy that young that pitches that well under pressure, much less two."

Volstad is just 22 and, despite struggling lately, has a career 3.81 ERA. Johnson is 25 and 25-12 for his career - 13-2 with a 3.16 ERA since returning from Tommy John surgery (and entering his start Saturday night).

"They're capable of matching up with anybody in the league and winning the game," pitching coach Mark Wiley said. "They're big guys that have better than average command of their pitches. They're good athletes who maintain their delivery and they have enough weapons that they can throw to different parts of the strike zone with different pitches. Both of them can change speeds."

Johnson, in fact, is the most underrated starter in the game. Florida bench coach Carlos Tosca compares Johnson to Roy Halladay - whom Tosca managed in Toronto - in the way that he attacks hitters.

Elbow surgery in August 2007 kept Johnson out until last July 10. Since then he has a lower opponents' OPS than Johan Santana (whom he has faced twice this season, with Florida winning both games).

"He throws hard, has that good sinker, his slider's pretty devastating, and this year he's using his changeup a lot more too," Volstad said of Johnson, whose fastball can get up to 97 mph. "He can throw all three pitches for strikes whenever he wants to."

Wiley said Johnson's slider is better than a year ago and he has improved his command to the inside part of the plate.

And Johnson, whose 12 quality starts are tied for the major-league lead, sets the standard for Volstad the rest of the staff.

"He's the lead dog," manager Fredi Gonzalez said.

Volstad came to the majors last July straight from Double-A. He didn't allow more than four earned runs in any of his first 26 career starts, tying Brandon Webb for the longest streak of its kind since Aaron Sele in 1993.

His fastball isn't as hard as Johnson's - usually around 91 mph - but Volstad uses his size to get great sink on his pitches.

It's not like the Marlins can hide these two, since Johnson is 6-foot-7 and 230 pounds and Volstad comes in at 6-8, 225.

"They're built like two basketball forwards," Baker said. "But they're good athletes, they swing the bat, they get bunts down, they do all the little things."

Still, Johnson and Volstad can probably walk down any street, even in south Florida, unrecognized.

"It doesn't matter at all," Johnson said. "We know that we can be pretty good. We don't get caught up in that, ever."

Overheard and Understood

o. At least one person in the Phillies organization has pushed for them to acquire Red Sox right-hander Brad Penny. And while the asking price was apparently reasonable at the time, Philadelphia passed. Now as Penny pitches better, the cost to get him will go up.

o. But for the most part, trade talks are still slow. Two general managers agreed that there are more buyers than sellers, with bunched divisional races, and teams looking to acquire players not offering much in return, saying that taking on payroll in this economy is enough without adding in prospects.

o. One GM predicts No. 2 overall pick Dustin Ackley will sign with Seattle for closer to "slot money" - the recommended bonus from the commissioner's office - than the $9.5 million Scott Boras seeks.

Chart of the Week
The Red Sox reached 500 consecutive sellouts at Fenway Park on Wednesday night. (It must be noted that only Tampa Bay and Oakland have a smaller listed home capacity.) Only three other North American pro franchises have sold out more consecutive home games:
G	Team	Years
744	Portland Trailblazers (NBA)	1977-95
567	Boston Celtics (NBA)	1980-95
515	Chicago Bulls (NBA)	1987-2000

o. While there are indications that the Nationals will eventually keep acting general manager Mike Rizzo on a permanent basis, and the team has allowed him to make decisions for the long term, Washington recently reached out to former Texas and Cleveland GM John Hart for input on GM candidates.

o. Those Baltimore team flights must be pretty quiet. The Orioles are 0-9 in road series finales.

o. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel believes that Jimmy Rollins, who went into Saturday's game hitting just .223, has a hot streak coming. "Once Jimmy really gets his swing down, he usually keeps it for quite a while," Manuel said. "He gets it, but he hasn't kept it like he usually has." And while Rollins, despite his speed, hits the ball in the air more than the league average, Manuel doesn't mind. "I'm sure that he thinks when he gets up in the count like 2-0, 3-1 stuff like that, he's thinking if I get a good fastball to hit, I'm going to hit it hard and see where it's going to go. And his swing gets a little long and he'll get underneath the ball. That's kind of natural. That's how he thinks at times. I'm not saying that's all wrong because he does have power. " Historically, Rollins' average gets better each month as the season goes along.

o. The Tigers moved toward the trade deadline with concerns about their offense, thanks to Carlos Guillen's shoulder injury and Magglio Ordoñez's power dropoff.

o. Ivan Rodriguez made his big-league debut on June 20, 1991, and the catcher on the other team was Carlton Fisk, whose record for games caught Rodriguez broke last week.

o. A's shortstop Orlando Cabrera went into Saturday's game with 11 errors, matching his 2007 total with the Angels. He made 16 last year wit h the White Sox.

o. Tampa Bay has a chance to join the 1996 Rockies as the only teams to hit 200 homers and steal 200 bases. Meanwhile, the Giants and Pirates are on pace to be the first teams since the 1992 Red Sox to have fewer than 100 of each in a full season.

o. Brad Mills became the 11th pitcher to start for the Blue Jays this year; the team record is 13, set in 1979 and tied in 2002.

o. Outfielder James McOwen of the Single-A High Desert Mavericks (a Mariners affiliate in Adelanto, Calif.) extended his hitting streak to 30 games on Friday.

Baseball Brunch: Unheralded Marlins Pitching Duo Among Game's Best originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 21 Jun 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Let Tanking Talk Begin, Bryce Harper Will Be Draft Eligible in 2010

Andrew Johnson — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Nationals, MLB Draft

Fire up the Bryce Harper hype machine. The 16-year-old baseball prodigy who was recently hailed as the "Chosen One" on the cover of Sports Illustrated is poised to accelerate his path to the big leagues.

Harper, who is a rising high school junior, plans to earn a GED later this year and will enroll at the College of Southern Nevada, a junior college in Las Vegas, this fall and play baseball for the Coyotes next spring, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The move - virtually unprecedented - will allow Harper to be eligible for the draft a year early, in 2010 instead of 2011.

He was already a cult figure in the baseball world before SI profiled him. Word of his 500-foot home runs granted him that status, and a YouTube video of him clattering a record 502-foot shot off of the back wall of Tropicana Field at the International Power Showcase only confirmed it.

But Harper's legend really comes into focus when you see what talent evaluators are saying about him.

Within Verducci's piece one scouting director says he would have gone in the top five in this year's draft. Another says he would have gone second, behind only Stephen Strasburg.

"Top two," he says. "And that's taking nothing away from the guys in the draft this year. He's honestly that good. He is a once-in-a-generation talent."

Harper, barely old enough to drive a car, might have been the top pick in this year's draft if it wasn't for Strasburg, a freakish talent in his own right, and a guy some people regard as the greatest college pitcher ever.

By that measure, calling Harper a "once-in-a-generation" talent might be underselling him. Would once-in-a-lifetime be a more appropriate moniker? Let's leave that to the professional talent evaluators and the sands of time, but let's also make the (relatively) safe assumption that he will be the No. 1 draft prospect in 2010.

That's an assumption which brings us right to the door of the Washington Nationals. There isn't a sadder sight in baseball on most nights than the Nationals. They are a staggering 16-45 on the season, a full 9 1/2 games worse than the next saddest squad, the 27-37 Arizona Diamondbacks, and on pace to go 42-120. That would tie the 1962 Mets' record for most losses in a single season.

Drafting Strasburg was easily the highlight of the season to date, and that is unlikely to change even with 3 1/2 months left to go. (OK, maybe actually signing him will top it. You get the point.) Their former general manager, Jim Bowden, was entangled in a scouting scandal in the Dominican Republic that drew the attention of federal investigators. Current management appears on the cusp of firing manager Manny Acta. For now, he is twisting in the wind.

Attendance is poor. The Nats drew 29,005 fans per game last season, the fourth-worst mark in the National League despite the fact that they unveiled all-new Nationals Park in 2008. This year, they're drawing 20,506 fans per game, roughly 4,000 more than the perennially unwatched Florida Marlins.

Mostly, the Nationals appear hopeless.

Strasburg could change that, at least partially, if he lives up to the hype. And so could Bryce Harper one day.

The Nats, unwittingly until this point, were lapping the field in the Harper Derby over the first two months of the season. They know for sure now that if they finish with the worst record they will have a shot to draft Harper.

He catches. He throws 96 mph. He can even steal bases. He's special. And he raises a question rarely asked in baseball, where the draft is such a crapshoot that there hardly seems to be a difference between a first-round pick and a 15th-rounder, much less No. 1 overall and No. 15. (There is, of course, but the point is that there is significant noise.)

Should the Nats ensure they get a chance to draft Harper by tanking on purpose?

That might offend your sensibilities for two reasons.

First, because it is against the spirit of competition - you know, the whole reason we watch sports to begin with. It's a sentiment that is easy to sympathize with, but unfortunately it's also reality. Tanking games for a better draft pick is a part of the discussion every year in the NFL. It's a big reason the NBA and NHL went to a lottery system, but even that doesn't prevent talk from bubbling up in hockey and, particularly, basketball, where the presence of Kevin Durant and Greg Oden in the 2007 draft class led to near-constant speculation of tanking by lottery teams leading up to the draft.

So, I'm sorry that tanking is a part of the American sports lexicon. I wish it wasn't the case. But until we embrace relegation like our European brethren have, it's here to stay.

Second, you might look at the Nationals' historic rate of futility and wonder if they even need any help to get to No. 1. Washington has done plenty to show it is worthy of the top pick in 2010 already, but it isn't as bad as it seems.

The Nationals can actually hit. They rank eighth in the NL in runs and fifth in team OPS. Jordan Zimmermann and Ross Detwiler are both promising young pitchers. The team is underperforming its Pythagorean record by six games, suggesting it should perform better over the remaining 101 games. They are mostly hopeless, not entirely so.

Washington will probably finish with the worst record in the majors, but would a little nudge hurt matters, especially with such an apparently singular talent available at the top of the draft?

The beauty of the situation for the Nationals is that whether or not they wish to tank, they should proceed in the same manner over the coming weeks. Harper or not, Washington should clearly sell at the trade deadline. There are some valuable parts on its roster and on short money - Nick Johnson, Adam Dunn, Cristian Guzman, Joe Beimel - and it seems like a foregone conclusion that at least a few of those pieces will be gone come July 31.

It will save the Nats some money and could bring them some of the young, cost-controlled talent that is so vital to success these days.

If it also happens to push them closer to Bryce Harper, consider it a convenient side effect.

Let Tanking Talk Begin, Bryce Harper Will Be Draft Eligible in 2010 originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Baseball Brunch: (St)Ranger Than Fiction, Texas Pitching Is Pretty Good

Ed Price — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Astros, Angels, Brewers, Cardinals, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Giants, Indians, Mariners, Marlins, Padres, Rangers, Red Sox, Yankees, MLB Draft, MLB Inside Scoop, Baseball Brunch

NEW YORK - Thanks in part to the influence of a 300-game winner, and the brother of a 300-game winner, the Rangers no longer have to try to out-slug people.

In the most remarkable turnaround of the season, Texas' pitching staff is actually pretty good, with a 4.46 ERA after shutouts Thursday and Friday and allowing three runs Saturday. If the Rangers can keep it there all year, it would mark the first time since 1993 the franchise had an ERA better than 4.50.

Not coincidentally, Texas leads the AL West at 35-26, the second-best record in the league.

"This is my third year here," right-hander Brandon McCarthy said, "but in two years I got sick to death of hearing, 'Texas pitchers stink. Texas pitchers stink.'

"Now we can turn those tables a little bit, be the group that maybe changes that whole mindset. It would be an awesome accomplishment."

The credit goes mainly to the pitchers, who like to share it with a solid defense.

And there are two other men involved. Team president Nolan Ryan, the Hall of Famer who pitched into his mid-40s, challenged Kevin Millwood late last season to get in better shape. And Ryan has preached the value of endurance and old-fashioned starters' working deep into games.

"He let it be known that he wants starters to throw more pitches, stay in games longer," said Millwood, who is second in the AL to CC Sabathia with an average of 110 pitches per start. "And that's what we've done. Maybe that gave us a little confidence to know that they want us out there longer."

But in order for pitchers to work deeper into games, they had to be more efficient with their pitches. And that's where new pitching coach Mike Maddux comes in. The Rangers hired Maddux, the older brother of 300-game winner Greg Maddux (and a former big-league pitcher himself) away from the Brewers, and he has had an immediate impact.

"He's a teacher," manager Ron Washington said. "He's been helping them to make adjustments through the course of the the ballgame. ... He's certainly built up their confidence. He has them pounding the strike zone. Those are the type of things you want your pitching staff to do.

"He deserves a lot of credit for building the trust that he has with those pitchers. They trust him and the results have shown."

Millwood praised Maddux for his preparation and gameplans, but Maddux's biggest point of emphasis has been eliminating timidity.

"Pitching's a mindset, man," Maddux said. "You've got to take the at-bats to them and be the aggressor."

McCarthy echoed the idea: "Just let them hit it, let our defense take care of what they're supposed to do and always be on the attack. Take the at-bats to the hitter instead of letting them take it to you. Kind of simple things, but you forget about them."

The defense is a major factor. The Rangers are second in the league in defensive efficiency - percentage of balls in play turned into outs - after moving Michael Young to third base to allow 20-year-old whiz Elvis Andrus to play shortstop and bringing in Andruw Jones and Omar Vizquel (21 Gold Gloves between them) as reserves/mentors.

"It's as good as you can ask for," McCarthy said of the defense.

Said Millwood: "The defense has been a huge part of it. We're not a team that's going to strike out a ton of guys. We're going to pitch to contact. And that means we need our defense to play well. And they've been pretty outstanding so far."

Second baseman Ian Kinsler said it's a symbiotic relationship. The defenders are more into the games, and more on their toes, because the pitching staff is more aggressive and the games are closer.

"It's fun to play defense," he said. "[The pitchers] have confidence in their ability. They have confidence in the stuff that they're throwing to the plate."

Some of statistical change isn't radical: from 17.3 pitches per inning last year to 16.4 this year, a dropoff of only about 5 percent. But the staff has gone from 25th in the majors in walk percentage to 13th.

And the starters are averaging 6.1 innings per start, second in the AL to Toronto.

"We're aware of pitch counts," Maddux said. "But they're not limits. That's not a limit. That's not a ceiling - 'As soon as you get to this number right here, you're done.' The ninth inning is when you're done."

So after making 457 pitching changes in 2008, Washington this year has made the fewest in the league, on a pace for 393.

"You're only as good as your bullpen," Maddux said. "And the starting pitching have to protect the bullpen.

Most impressive of all are the results. Texas' 3.57 ERA for May led the American League.

Hard to believe that a team known for a lineup of thumpers might turn into a pitching-and-defense outfit.

"That's a manager's dream," Washington said, "to see balls put in play and constantly being caught."

Overheard and Understood

o. Final total on the draft: 1,521 players selected. The Angels' 40th-round draft pick, catcher/outfielder Assad Ali from Niles, Mich., is a son of Muhammad Ali. Patrick Schuster, the Florida high-schooler who threw four straight no-hitters this year, went to Arizona in the 13th round. And Texas' sixth-round pick was Ruben Sierra Jr., son of the former Rangers outfielder.

Chart of the Week
Gary Sheffield on Friday homered in his 42nd different ballpark - new Yankee Stadium - giving him the fourth-highest total in history:
Player	Parks	Most
Sammy Sosa	45	Wrigley, 293
Ken Griffey Jr.	43	Kingdome, 198
Fred McGriff	43	Atl.-Fulton, 58
Gary Sheffield	42	Land Shark, 68

o. Random draft factoid: The Yankees drafted Fred Lynn in the third round in 1970. He didn't sign, went to Southern Cal and got drafted three years later by the Red Sox.

o. Houston's Ivan Rodriguez on Saturday caught in his 2,224th game, leaving him two short of Carlton Fisk's major-league record.

o. The Marlins faced five former Cy Young Award winners in an eight-day span and went 3-2 in those games. Florida lost to Barry Zito on June 5 and Tim Lincecum on June 7 but beat Randy Johnson last Monday, won against Chris Carpenter on Tuesday and won a game started by Roy Halladay on Friday.

o. In the Giants' effort to add a hitter, "All they're doing is dangling [Jonathan] Sanchez out there," said an official from another team. "Nobody wants Sanchez, and if Sanchez was pitching the way he could, [San Francisco] wouldn't be talking about him either." Sanchez has 43 walks in 57 2/3 innings.

o. Could St. Louis and Arizona be a fit for a trade? The Cardinals seek a bat, the Diamondbacks have Chad Tracy and Mark Reynolds capable of playing third, and Arizona is known to be enamored of St. Louis prospect Brett Wallace.

o. The small-market Indians are burdened with some rather bad contracts (of their own doing); Travis Hafner has $40.25 million and three years remaining after 2009, Jake Westbrook (Tommy John surgery) is on the hook for $11 million next year; Jhonny Peralta (now playing a lot of third base but with a .335 slugging percentage) makes $4.6 million next year, and Fausto Carmona, now in the minors, is signed for $11 million the next two years.

o. San Diego's Adrian Gonzalez walked at least once in 10 straight games (20 total) before not drawing one Friday, and it's about time. Why does he ever see a strike in that lineup? "They're starting not to [pitch to him]," one scout said. "I don't know why it took two months to figure that out." And an advance scout gave his report on how to pitch Gonzalez by drawing four fingers on a piece of paper - i.e., intentionally walk him every time.

o. The Astros have four walkoff wins this year. Three have come against the Cubs.

o. Seattle went 4-1 with a split in its first six series. Then the Mariners went 2-8 in the next 10 series. And they went into this weekend's set with Colorado having won four straight series.

Baseball Brunch: (St)Ranger Than Fiction, Texas Pitching Is Pretty Good originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 14 Jun 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MLB FanHouse's Stephen Strasburg Pool

Andrew Johnson — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Biz, MLB Draft

Drafting Stephen Strasburg No. 1 overall in the MLB Draft was the easy part. Now the Nationals are staring at potentially (OK, likely) two-plus months of negotiations with his adviser, agent Scott Boras.

What are the rest of us left to do? Sit and wait. Gawk at the numbers and rhetoric likely to be thrown out from the Boras camp. Cross our fingers and hope Nationals president Stan Kasten -- one of the more hard-line pro-management executives in the game -- gets in on the fireworks.

That might be fun for a week, but two months? Nah. So the MLB FanHouse gang decided to spice things up the best way we knew how -- by gambling on it.

The rules are simple: Each member of the staff submitted a figure for the total guaranteed value, including bonus, of Strasburg's contract with the Nationals (presuming of course he signs); The Price Is Right rules are in effect. To the winner goes a heavy dose of pride and bragging rights. After the jump, you can see a visual representation of all of our guesses and can leave your own in the comments*.

How to Fix the Draft: Establish Hard Slotting | Abolish It Altogether

The Official MLB FanHouse Strasburg Pool
Staff	Boras Bucks	$Mil
Josh Alper		$25M
Knox Bardeen		$23.5M
Jon Bois		$50M
Jeff Fletcher		$15M
Tom Fornelli		$22.1M
Dan Graziano		$14.9M
Andrew Johnson		$27M
Pat Lackey		$22M
Ed Price		$21M
Matt Snyder		$30M
J. Wheatley-Schaller		$18M

* All members of Boras Corp. and relatives of Stephen Strasburg prohibited from participating.

MLB FanHouse's Stephen Strasburg Pool originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 09:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How to Fix the Draft? Eliminate It

Ed Price — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Biz, MLB Draft

SECAUCUS, N.J. - Baseball's draft took another step forward out of obscurity with Tuesday night's prime-time showing on MLB Network.

I'm glad to see it, because I enjoy following the draft and I know how important it is, maybe more important than the draft is in the NFL or NBA.

Unfortunately, there are still problems with it. And unfortunately, I believe the best way to fix the problems isn't a worldwide draft or a draft with tradable picks.

It's no draft at all.

Jeff Fletcher: Establish Hard Slotting System

Why? Well, I'm no supply-sider or Adam Smith, but I think that the ultimate free market would allow signing bonuses to truly reflect what a player deserves.

I can hear Scott Boras drooling from here.

The biggest issue with the draft is getting the right players to the right teams at the right prices. It was designed, like the draft in every sport, to help teams that aren't doing as well. But the worst teams don't always get the best players.

"I've said before," commissioner Bud Selig said after Tuesday's first round, "there are some other things that need some tweaking and modifications. But I'll leave it at that for this evening."

Compounding the problem is Major League Baseball's attempt at "slotting" - determining the bonus by draft position.

As a result, teams are punished when they don't have money to spend - which are often the same teams that pick high (yes, I mean you, Pittsburgh) - or follow Selig's orders suffer.

Take Rick Porcello for example. He may have been the best player in the 2007 draft. But he (or Boras, his advisor/agent ) let it be known he wanted "Josh Beckett money," meaning $7 million.

So after Tampa Bay took David Price No. 1, Kansas City passed on Porcello. As did the Cubs. And the Orioles. And the Nationals. And a number of other teams.

Until finally, at No. 27 overall, the Tigers said, "Screw slotting. We think Porcello is worth it, and we have the money to afford him." And less than two years later, he's in their rotation. Think the Royals could use him? The Nats? The O's?

So the draft is broken. And one proposal to fix it is allowing the trade of picks.

That's appealing. It might create interest. But it's also unwieldy.

And if Washington this year decided it didn't want to pay Stephen Strasburg, what would it get by trading down? Anyone nearly as good?

Baseball would say the solution is firm slotting (as Jeff Fletcher has endorsed), with bonuses fixed by draft position. Then a team would know what it's spending and draft without regard to money.

But getting that instituted over the union's objections might be difficult.

Another factor to consider is the international market. The draft covers only the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. So a prospect in another country - the Dominican Republic, or Venezuela - is a free agent on whom teams can bid against one another.

Or as Boras told ESPN.com:

"What if Stephen Strasburg was raised in Tibet? What would we do? Because he's American, we're going to penalize him? That's the story."

Teams that scout better in Latin America or Asia are rewarded for their ingenuity and effort. So let's spread that everywhere.

That's the reasoning behind my proposal. Now, there would have to be some rules. Like in college football, teams would be limited on total number of players under contract at any time and players signed in a year, so the Yankees couldn't pull a Nebraska and sign every player they can just to keep other teams from getting them.

And there would have to be regulation. One baseball old-timer told me a story from the pre-draft days (it began in 1965) when a player had just become eligible to sign by graduating and all the teams were scheduled for half-hour visits with the player.

A scout went into the house, took the phone off the hook and covered it with his coat, so the player wouldn't know the next team in line was calling. And when scouts from the second team started peeking in the window, the scout in the house pulled down the shades.

Imagine the shenanigans that could go on with cell phones, texting, Twitter and the Internet.

But if baseball could enforce behavior, there would be other strategy in signing amateurs with no draft.

According to Baseball America, the Royals last year spent $10.165 million on signing bonuses in the first 10 rounds and the Angels spent $1.743 million.

If those teams budgeted the same for my draft-less world, they could decide how to spend it: One super prospect, and a bunch of fill-ins to stock the minor leagues while risking a lack of depth in the organization? Two or three top-tier guys? Lots of longshots?

And every player would wind up with what he was "worth."

How to Fix the Draft? Eliminate It originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MLB Draft Needs Hard Slotting System

Jeff Fletcher — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 07:00:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Biz, MLB Draft

With all the hand-wringing about the increasingly outrageous bonuses amateur players are getting these days -- and none will be more outrageous than what Stephen Strasburg hauls in -- I can't figure out why baseball still doesn't have a NBA-style bonus structure.

I mean, I know why. It's because the players' union has not allowed the owners to implement one in collective bargaining. One of these days the major league players in the union are going to realize: "Hey, all that money going to amateur kids could be going to us!"

And that would be good for the big-league teams and for the current big-league players.

Ed Price: Abolish the Draft Altogether

Here's how it works now. The commissioner's office has some "guidelines" for what the bonus ought to be for players picked in the different spots in the draft. But teams can simply ignore those guidelines and sign players for whatever they want.

The NBA, by contrast, has a first-year player salary system. You are drafted in X spot and you are essentially signed for $Y. No negotiation. No signing bonus.

In baseball, we get all sorts of ugliness.

Like teams passing on the best available player because they want too much money.

Or players holding out throughout the whole summer looking for a few extra bucks, thus slowing their progress toward the majors.

Or players filing grievances because their contract offers came a few minutes past the deadline.

Or players skipping their senior year of high school to circumvent the draft and become free agents.

The point of the draft is to create a system in which all the teams have a shot at all the players, fair and square, with the worst teams getting the first shot at the best players, thus helping competitive balance. But that's not how it works now. The players are not drafted in order of their ability. Signability is involved.

Major league players ought to go to their union and have the system fixed.

First of all, anyone who has made it to the majors has done a lot of hard work to get there. You have to last three years in the majors to be eligible for salary arbitration, and probably a fourth year before you can even make $1 million. Almost all 30 first-round draft picks are going to get at least $1 million before playing their first professional game.

Second, if you are a big-leaguer on a team in a small market, and you want to win, you want your team to be able to get the best amateur players it can. Small-market teams are already handicapped when it comes to keeping veteran players or signing free agents. The only chance for those teams to win is if they can get the best amateurs on draft day.

Finally, they ought to allow big league teams to trade draft picks. It would simply create more options. A team with a high pick that's in contention right now might choose to swap its draft pick for a player (or players) who could help immediately.

I'm not saying these changes would make a dramatic difference. We're only talking about a handful of players each year whose bonuses are so high that they skew the draft. In some cases, teams get an unexpected benefit, like the Twins ending up with affordable Joe Mauer instead of Mark Prior in 2001.

The only people who'd be hurt are the few prospects who would no longer be able to those mega-bonuses. But even they might benefit from getting out to play earlier and still having that carrot in front of them.

The really big money would be in the majors.

Where it should be.

MLB Draft Needs Hard Slotting System originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 07:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scott Boras: Stephen Strasburg Deserves Special Treatment

Jeff Fletcher — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:08:00 EST

Filed under: Nationals, MLB Draft

Scott Boras' policy is not to negotiate through the media, but on Wednesday morning he began negotiating through the media.

A day after the Nationals made Boras client Stephen Strasburg the No. 1 pick in the draft, Boras laid out some of the reasons he believes that Strasburg is no ordinary draft pick, and thus should not be paid like one.

"I don't think you need me to say it, but obviously Stephen falls into that class of players really not associated with the inherent [risk] elements of the draft," Boras said Wednesday morning. "They are just players who happen to be available, whether that be through free agent or posting means. They just have extraordinary ability."

That was Boras' first public salvo in negotiations with the Nationals, suggesting that he will not not be looking toward decorated college pitchers like Mark Prior or Jered Weaver for comps, but toward pitchers like Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Boras said the Japanese major leagues really aren't all that major -- "Japanese baseball is not remotely comparable to the major leagues" -- which would help make his point that there is a precedent for paying $50 million or more to a pitcher who has never pitched in the majors.

The Nationals, of course, are going to suggest otherwise. The Japanese majors may not be our majors, but they aren't the Mountain West Conference either, where Strasburg has done his work.

Boras also suggested that there is nothing that unusual with viewing a certain player outside the normal boundaries associated with American amateur players.

"The idea of an extraordinary player receiving a substantial bonus high above other draft picks has happened before with Ben McDonald, Mark Teixeira, J.D. Drew. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen."

Boras said that those "special" players have largely turned out to be successful major leaguers.

"The reality of it is, if you look at the players who have gotten $5 million or more, since 1998, and evaluate all of them, you can see the scouting system of major league baseball is extraordinary," Boras said. "They don't give out that money unless those players are very good. Every one of them has made the major leagues...

"The risk factors are extremely low. Frankly, the risk factors are zero."

Boras did not specifically address the possibility of Strasburg playing in an independent league or in Japan if he was unable to reach an agreement with the Nationals. The two sides must reach an agreement by Aug. 17, or the Nationals would lose the rights to Strasburg.

"Whenever you are drafted by a major league team, your focus throughout the negotiation is 99 percent of the time you are going to reach an agreement and sign the athlete," he said. "If that does not happen, obviously you would then look at all the available resources one would have to evaluate what the next step is, which would include another draft or alternative places the player would perform."

When Boras was asked if this case was one likely to fall into that "99 percent," he said: "I would say in our history of the hundreds of entry-level contracts we've done, it's a rare case the deal does not get done."

However, later in the conversation, when Boras was saying that he would not be demanding a specific big-league promotion for Strasburg, he said: "Whether Stephen performs in the major leagues or not would be determined by the team that signs him."

Strasburg, by the way, also spoke to the media, handling the baseball side of the equation.

He said he was excited to be picked by the Nationals, but he was ready to take a week off from training and "get a little vacation, just relax this summer and have fun."

"I threw 109 innings this college season so I think it would be good to have this little rest time, especially after the big workload I had this previous year. I think it will be a good summer to lift and get stronger and have the summer I haven't had in a while."

Scott Boras: Stephen Strasburg Deserves Special Treatment originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:08:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MLB Draft 2009: Who Hit, Who Missed?

Jeff Fletcher — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Diamondbacks, Nationals, Orioles, Pirates, Royals, MLB Draft

It's impossible to really evaluate a baseball draft until years after it's over, when the players have all had a chance to develop and grow into whatever type of big leaguers they are destined to be.

Of course, here at FanHouse we're not patient enough for that. We waited, oh, about an hour after the first day of the draft was over before we hit up three independent analysts to get their take on what transpired.

We talked to John Manuel, editor of Baseball America; Ben Hyman, director of amateur scouting for Real Baseball Intelligence; and John Klima, editor of Baseball Beginnings.

Complete Coverage of MLB Draft

The experts agreed that any discussion of who fared the best on Tuesday has to start with the Nationals. They obviously got Stephen Strasburg, who was the best player in the draft and arguably the best player in the history of the draft. They also got Stanford reliever Drew Storen at No. 10, whom Manuel called a "solid college pitcher with ability." And in the third round they picked University of Georgia right-hander Trevor Holder, an easy-to-sign senior who throws 94 mph.

One of the other teams that scored big was the Rockies. They had five picks on the first day and ended up with three players -- California high school pitchers Tyler Matzek (pictured right), Sacramento State outfielder Tim Wheeler and Lipscomb University lefty Rex Brothers -- who at one point were considered middle-first-round talents, Manuel said.

"From an organization that had been way too conservative draft-wise, they did things differently this year and I'm impressed with the results," Manuel said.

Manuel added that the Rockies may have gotten the single biggest steal of the first round, taking Matzek at No. 11.

"He's a big athletic left-hander with premium stuff and a good pro body," Manuel said. "Those guys usually don't last 10 picks. His ceiling is a lot higher than Mike Minor (Atlanta, No. 7) and Mike Leake (Cincinnati, No. 8). He's big time. I can't believe they got him at No. 11."

Hyman said he also liked the Padres picks of a couple of high-ceiling high school outfielders in Donovan Tate (pictured below right) at No. 3 and Everett Williams at No. 52. The Mariners went the other way with two relatively safe, polished college hitters, taking North Carolina teammates Dustin Ackley (pictured below left) and Kyle Seager.

Among the best single picks was the Royals' nabbing Aaron Crow at No. 12, Hyman said. Crow went unsigned after the Nationals drafted him last year. He had been pitching in an independent league.

"He's got two easy plus pitches, a mid 90s fastball, great slider, great command," Hyman said. "He's polished. He's got a lot of solid college pitching. I thought a guy like Crow was the best of the rest [after Strasburg]. To get him at No. 12, I think the Royals have to be thrilled with that."

Klima said the Orioles might take some heat for picking Southern California prep righty Matt Hobgood at No. 5, but he liked the selection. He's compared him to Matt Cain.

"I think they saw a right handed staff anchor, which is why they went for him," Klima said. "I know they were on him pretty good all year. It wasn't a fly-by-night sign-ability pick. They did like him. I'm sure they are thinking they have Brian Matusz (the No. 4 pick from last year) left and Hobgood from the right. Baltimore fans are surprised he went that high, but most people didn't think he'd get out of the first 10."

In identifying the worst moves of the day, the group was unanimous in picking the Pirates, who took Boston College catcher Tony Sanchez with the No. 4 pick. Considering that word leaked out before the draft that the Pirates had already reached an agreement with Sanchez, it is clear this was a pick driven by dollars.

"I just think you have to ask yourself if you are Pittsburgh, do they really believe that Tony Sanchez is the fourth best player on the board?" said Manuel, who added that Sanchez is Yadier Molina at best and Kelly Shoppach at worst. "He's a quality kid, with tremendous makeup, but talent-wise I don't think he fits at No. 4. ... It's hard to see what the Pirates are doing. It's hard to see the plan. I'm not saying it's not there. I just don't see it."

First Round Recap
No.	Team	Player	Pos.
1	WAS	Stephen Strasburg	P
2	SEA	Dustin Ackley	OF
3	SD	Donovan Tate	CF
4	PIT	Tony Sanchez	C
5	BAL	Matt Hobgood	P
6	SF	Zach Wheeler	P
7	ATL	Mike Minor	P
8	CIN	Mike Leake	P
9	DET	Jacob Turner	P
10	WAS	Drew Storen	P
11	COL	Tyler Matzek	P
12	KC	Aaron Crow	P
13	OAK	Grant Green	SS
14	TEX	Matt Purke	P
15	CLE	Alex White	P
16	ARZ	Bobby Borchering	3B
17	ARZ	A.J. Pollock	OF
18	FLA	Chad James	P
19	STL	Shelby Miller	P
20	TOR	Stephen Jenkins	P
21	HOU	Jiovanni Mier	SS
22	MIN	Kyle Gibson	P
23	CHW	Jared Mitchell	CF
24	LAA	Randal Grichuk	LF
25	LAA	Mike Trout	CF
26	MIL	Eric Arnett	P
27	SEA	Nick Franklin	SS
28	BOS	Reymond Fuentes	CF
29	NYY	Slade Heathcott	CF
30	TB	LeVon Washington	2B
31	CHC	Brett Jackson	CF
32	COL	Tim Wheeler	OF

Hyman said the Pirates should have learned their lesson from 2007, when they made an apparently financial decision to draft Daniel Moskos at No. 4 instead of Matt Wieters.

"It doesn't seem they learned from that," Hyman said. "They wanted to save some money. [Sanchez] is a solid big-leaguer, but at the fourth pick with guys like (Zack) Wheeler, Tyler Matzek, Aaron Crow and Jacob Turner on the board, to go with Tony Sanchez is puzzling to me."

Manuel also singled out the Diamondbacks' selection of Notre Dame outfielder A.J. Pollock at No. 17 as a strange pick.

"That's a typical Arizona conservative, low upside safe pick," he said. "I guess you have to take some of those when you have extra picks (Arizona had eight picks on the first day). He's got lower upside than every outfielder that went after him."

The three experts were all surprised that two pitchers with medical questions, Tanner Scheppers and Kyle Gibson, fell as much as they did. Scheppers, who didn't sign out of Fresno State last year because he was hurt, went undrafted until Texas took him at No. 44.

"There were scouting directors that said the only guy with better stuff than Scheppers was Strasburg, and he threw 98 two days before the draft," Manuel said. "There have to be some makeup issues with him. Think about it. His Fresno State team loses him last year and then goes on to win the College World Series?"

Gibson, a right-hander out of Missouri, was out about six weeks with a stress fracture. The Twins got him with the No. 22 pick.

"Gibson and Scheppers, I thought their injury concerns weren't serious enough given their talent," Hyman said. "Gibson missed six weeks. That's how long Stephen Strasburg is going to hold out."

Which brings us to the second phase of this process. Now that the players have been drafted, the teams must sign them. Although all of the first-round picks are likely to sign before the Aug. 17 deadline (the normal deadline, Aug. 15, is a Saturday this year), some may do so with only minutes to spare.

Strasburg will obviously be the one most closely watched, but Tate, the No. 3 pick, will also command a big deal to get him out of going to North Carolina to play baseball and football. St. Louis prep pitcher Jacob Turner (Tigers, No. 9), Texas high school pitcher Matt Purke and Matzek will also be looking for big bonuses to get them out of college commitments. At least one college junior, USC shortstop Grant Green (A's, No. 13), also a Scott Boras client, is expected to drive a hard bargain.

MLB Draft 2009: Who Hit, Who Missed? originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MLB Draft Missing Something: Players

Ed Price — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:49:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Biz, MLB Draft

SECAUCUS, N.J. - Mike Trout was the star of MLB Network's coverage of Tuesday's draft.

But only because Trout, a first-round pick of the Angels, lives in Millville, N.J.

Trout braved the two-hour drive upstate to the MLB Network studio in Secaucus, making him the only draftee present at the new-format draft.

For years, the baseball draft was a model of obscurity. In fact, Major League Baseball, for a long time, would release only the names of drafted players, and not the rounds. That was painted as an attempt to avoid helping college coaches (whose recruiting was long over by June) when it was actually an effort to keep bonuses down.

It's still about the money of course. It's just that now the money can be made on TV. And while the baseball draft has come a long way from secret conference call to televised event, there's still room for improvement.

No. 1 is getting players on hand.

"I hope more people will do it in the future," commissioner Bud Selig said.

Selig said he'll work on that, and while it may not be easy, it's needed.

What's memorable about the NFL draft? Other than the booing of Jets and Eagles fans, how about the drama of Brady Quinn falling and falling?

That happens in baseball too. But whoever falls is at home, following the draft, kept from the public eye by his agent.

Scott Boras wouldn't even allow Stephen Strasburg, the No. 1 pick, to take part in a media conference call through the team - which is standard procedure for a first-rounder.

So good luck to Selig in improving attendance.

While the show itself was improved from the first two years on ESPN2 - better preparation, more player interviews (via satellite or phone) - lacking was some pointed, objective commentary. The show needed more questioning of picks and analysis of why players were or weren't taken. The teams will do a fine job of saying how happy they are with their choices; someone needs to balance that out with criticism.

Another nitpick: the "dignitaries" from the teams were window dressing, especially in the first round when they sat at tables and, for the most part, twiddled their thumbs. It was OK to see people like Fred McGriff and Tino Martinez announce the second-round picks, but that part of the broadcast was available only online.

Selig liked the chance to show off the MLB Network with the draft, and it wasn't his fault it fell the same night as games in the NBA and Stanley Cup Finals and while the Mets and Yankees were playing their top division rivals.

"We need to do more to boost this event," Selig said. "But this is a huge move in the right direction."

MLB Draft Missing Something: Players originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:49:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Dugout: Live Draft Results

B. Thompson Stroud — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 23:30:00 EST

Filed under: Nationals, NL East, MLB Draft, The Dugout

I am going to keep reusing this picture of Stephen Strasburg until you've lost track of which article you're reading, and everyone clicks this looking for draft coverage and we get tons of traffic. Typing typing typing, something about the "spirit of the game," blah blah. This guy is really something, though, and he's going to save the Nationals if he ever ends up pitching for them. I'm going to put him, Matt Wieters, and Jay Bruce on the Baseball Superfriends. Jose Canseco can be Solomon Grundy.

What you need to know: the Washington Nationals selected the San Diego State pitcher No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft. He once struck out 6,200 batters in one game. He looks like he should be playing bass for Incubus.

What you don't need to know: We are not qualified to cover the draft, and that tonight's Dugout is after the jump.

The Dugout

	SternLecture: with the first pick in the 2009 MLB Draft... the Washington Nationals select, Stephen Strasburg, from San Diego State.
	SternLecture: The Philadelphia 76ers are now on the clock.
	Online Host Stephen Strasburg has registered a screen name and logged on to the Washington Nationals Chatroom!
	ActaFool: All right, everyone, I want to introduce you to the man who will single-handedly save the Nationals...
	ActaFool: ...'s minor league teams until three years from now when we stuff him into a package deal and send him to the A's for a near-dead Jason Giambi...
	ActaFool: ...Stephen Strasburg!
	SteveStrasburg1: hey everybody, thanks for having me, you know, it's an honor to get to play for a great coach like Manny Acta
	GoodGasMileage: hahaha yuppp its a real honor to play for the fat part a hermans head
	SteakGrowsOnDmitri: lookin like mike scioscia ate up a dam p-balloon up in mario world 1
	DukesOfHazzard: hey yo kid, whats with yo screen name
	SteveStrasburg1: What do you mean?
	DukesOfHazzard: /clicks tongue i mean why you pick yo screen name n***a explain it to me
	SteakGrowsOnDmitri: yee i aint get it
	SteveStrasburg1: well, uh, there isn't really a lot to explain... my name is Steve Strasburg, and I was drafted #1 overall in the draft... so... SteveStrasburg1?
	SteakGrowsOnDmitri: do what
	GoodGasMileage: nah i still dont get it
	ActaFool: Now be nice, guys... you should see Stephen pitch! He once struck out 23 batters in a single game!
	DukesOfHazzard: against who
	SteveStrasburg1: The University of Utah!
	DukesOfHazzard: dis n*a say "university a utah," like thas spost to be some sh
	SteakGrowsOnDmitri: that team named after a joke from my cousin vinny, who you take us for
	GoodGasMileage: ay anybody else think this boy look like the devil
	SteveStrasburg1: oh come on, I'm like the heroin addicted Brandon Webb!
	GoodGasMileage: ah ah, lookin like that zombie off dawn of the dead that got the top of his head chop off by the helicopter blade
	DukesOfHazzard: lol neva seen a head so flat, like somebody drop a anvil on jack swagga
	SteakGrowsOnDmitri: imma eat skittles off ya head
	SteveStrasburg1: Sorry, my mother gave birth to me while crotch-first to a brick wall. If having a boring handle is the only thing keeping you from accepting me, what should I call myself?
	DukesOfHazzard: mebbe instead of "SteveStrasburg1" you call yourself "ToddVanPoppel2"
	SteakGrowsOnDmitri: ha, todd van poppel, i loved that mufu**a
	GoodGasMileage: what, why
	SteakGrowsOnDmitri: the man fit into his own pouch to make a fun ball for me
	GoodGasMileage: hmmm a screen name... strasburg... stras... burg... hmmm
	DukesOfHazzard: how about "hidenburg"
	SteveStrasburg1: Yeah! Because I'm "about to blow up!"
	DukesOfHazzard: because every time i look at your face i say oh the humanity
	GoodGasMileage: lol hindenburn
	SteveStrasburg1: You guys don't have great screen names, I don't even understand them. SteakGrowsOnDmitri? What does that even mean
	DukesOfHazzard: what, you think because we are african-american criminals who can't win at baseball that somehow makes us stupid
	DukesOfHazzard: the washington natinals is a clever crew, dawg, i ain't even bullsh***in
	GoodGasMileage: puns, muh n***a, puns! yee yee
	SteakGrowsOnDmitri: you gotta say da namez outloud, rook, you cain just skim an look fa cuss words, there is a technique cuz, a flow
	SteveStrasburg1: but meat doesn't grow on trees, what the hell is wrong with you
	SteakGrowsOnDmitri: how bou you make ya screen name "strasburg grows on dmitri's nerves an gets got"
	SteveStrasburg1: the only one I understand is Elijah's, and that's just because it's the name of a television show
	DukesOfHazzard: yeah but it works on multiple levels, because
	Online Host DukesOfHazzard wants to directly connect. Online Host DukesOfHazzard is now directly connected.
	DukesOfHazzard: /
	SteveStrasburg1: oh is that how it's gonna be, well
	SteveStrasburg1: /
	SteakGrowsOnDmitri: huh
	SteakGrowsOnDmitri: ay yo duke, i like his better
	GoodGasMileage: yee, me too duke
	DukesOfHazzard: maaaaaan /clicks tongue
	Online Host Several minutes later
	SteveStrasburg1: /licks pieces of Star Crunch off of plastic wrapper
	SteveStrasburg1: so who do you think the Mariners are going to pick
	SteakGrowsOnDmitri: big dog glenn robinson
	SteveStrasburg1: The basketball player? From the 90s? This is the 2009 MLB draft
	SteakGrowsOnDmitri: it dont matter, none a this sh** ever make sense

Photos link to player info. (Photo Credit: Getty Images) WordUpThome.com

The Dugout: Live Draft Results originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Tue, 09 Jun 2009 23:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MLB Draft 2009: Results Tracker

Andrew Johnson — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:50:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Draft

San Diego State phenom Stephen Strasburg is the consensus No. 1 pick in the 2009 MLB Draft, but after that, things could go any number of directions. Luckily, the MLB FanHouse team will be on top of all the action Tuesday evening and beyond.

After the jump, find the results of the first round of the draft, and keep coming back to check the signing status of each of the top 32 picks in this year's class.

Complete Coverage of MLB Draft

MLB Draft 2009: First-Round Tracker
No.	Team	Player	Pos.	School
1.	Nationals	Stephen Strasburg	RHP	San Diego State
Status: Agreed Aug. 17 to $15.67M deal. Assignment unknown at this time
2.	Mariners	Dustin Ackley	OF	North Carolina
Status: Signed Aug. 17 to $9.5M deal. Assignment unknown at this time
3.	Padres	Donovan Tate	CF	Carterville HS (Ga.)
Status: Agreed Aug. 17 to $6.25M deal. Assignment unknown at this time.
4.	Pirates	Tony Sanchez	C	Boston College
Status: Signed June 12 for $2.5M. Assigned to Single-A West Virginia.
5.	Orioles	Matt Hobgood	RHP	Norco HS (Calif.)
Status: Signed June 27 to $2.42M deal. Assigned to Rookie-Ball Bluefield
6.	Giants	Zach Wheeler	RHP	E. Paulding HS (Ga.)
Status: Signed Aug. 17 to $3.3M deal. Assignment unknown at this time
7.	Braves	Mike Minor	LHP	Vanderbilt
Status: Signed Aug. 6 for undisclosed amount. Assigned to Single-A Rome
8.	Reds	Mike Leake	RHP	Arizona State
Status: Agreed Aug. 15 to $2.27M deal. Assignment unknown at this time
9.	Tigers	Jacob Turner	RHP	W'minster Acad. (Mo.)
Status: Agreed Aug. 17 to $5.5M deal. Assignment unknown at this time
10.	Nationals	Drew Storen	RHP	Stanford
Status: Signed June 10 for $1.6M. Assigned to Single-A Hagerstown
11.	Rockies	Tyler Matzek	LHP	Capist. Vall. HS (Calif.)
Status: Agreed Aug. 17 to $3.9M deal. Assignment unknown at this time
12.	Royals	Aaron Crow	RHP	Fort Worth Cats
Status: Unsigned; Crow is not subject to Aug. 17 deadline
13.	Athletics	Grant Green	SS	Southern Cal
Status: Signed Aug. 17 to undisclosed deal. Assignment unknown at this time
14.	Rangers	Matt Purke	LHP	Klein HS (Texas)
Status: Did not sign
15.	Indians	Alex White	RHP	North Carolina
Status: Signed Aug. 17 to $2.25M deal. Assignment unknown at this time
16.	Diamondbacks	Bobby Borchering	3B	Bishop Verot HS (Fla.)
Status: Signed Aug. 14 to $1.8M deal. Assigned to Rookie-Ball Missoula
17.	Diamondbacks	A.J. Pollock	OF	Notre Dame
Status: Agreed June 19 to $1.4M deal. Assigned to Single-A South Bend
18.	Marlins	Chad James	LHP	Yukon HS (Okla.)
Status: Agreed Aug. 15 to $1.7M deal. Assignment unknown at this time
19.	Cardinals	Shelby Miller	RHP	B'wood HS (Texas)
Status: Agreed Aug. 17 to $2.9M deal. Assignment unknown at this time
20.	Blue Jays	Stephen Jenkins	RHP	Kennesaw State
Status: Agreed Aug. 12 to $1.36M deal. Assignment unknown at this time
21.	Astros	Jiovanni Mier	SS	Bonita HS (Calif.)
Status: Signed June 26 to $1.35M deal. Assigned to Rookie-Ball Greeneville
22.	Twins	Kyle Gibson	RHP	Missouri
Status: Signed Aug. 17 to $1.3M deal. Assignment unknown at this time
23.	White Sox	Jared Mitchell	CF	LSU
Status: Agreed July 8 to undisclosed deal. Assigned to Single-A Kannapolis
24.	Angels	Randal Grichuk	LF	L. Cons HS (Texas)
Status: Signed June 21 to $1.2M deal. Assigned to Rookie-Ball AZL Angels
25.	Angels	Mike Trout	CF	Milville Sr. HS (N.J.)
Status: Signed June 30 to $1.21M deal. Assigned to Rookie-Ball AZL Angels
26.	Brewers	Eric Arnett	RHP	Indiana
Status: Agreed June 12 to $1.2M deal. Assigned to Rookie-Ball Helena
27.	Mariners	Nick Franklin	SS	L. Brantley HS (Fla.)
Status: Signed Aug. 16 to $1.2M deal. Assigned to Rookie-Ball Peoria
28.	Red Sox	Reymond Fuentes	CF	F. Callejo HS (Calif.)
Status: Signed July 1 to $1.13M deal. Assigned to Rookie-Ball GCL Red Sox
29.	Yankees	Slade Heathcott	CF	Texas HS (Ariz.)
Status: Signed Aug. 17 to $2.2M deal. Assignment unknown at this time
30.	Rays	LeVon Washington	2B	Buchholz HS (Fla.)
Status: Did not sign
31.	Cubs	Brett Jackson	CF	California
Status: Agreed June 23 to undisclosed deal. Assigned to Single-A Boise.
32.	Rockies	Tim Wheeler	OF	Sacramento State
Status: Agreed June 16 to undisclosed deal. Assigned to Single-A Tri-City.

Draft Information: MLB Tracker (Rounds 2-50) | Rules, Procedures

MLB Draft 2009: Results Tracker originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nationals Select Strasburg No. 1 Overall

Andrew Johnson — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:17:00 EST

Filed under: Nationals, MLB Draft

WASHINGTON - To the surprise of absolutely no one, the Washington Nationals selected San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft.

"We are thrilled to select someone with the special talents Stephen possesses," acting Washington general manager Mike Rizzo said in a statement. "Those talents have long been on our radar, and Stephen's domination at San Diego State and vast experiences gained with Team USA last summer have done nothing to change our thougts about his abilities."

About an hour before the Nationals made their pick, heavy showers began to fall on Washington. Was it one last sign that one of the most downtrodden franchises in baseball is headed for a new dawn?

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Perhaps, but the Strasburg saga is only beginning in Washington. The flame-throwing right-hander, who is capable of hitting triple digits on the radar gun with regularity, is being advised by superagent Scott Boras, and he is certainly going to be looking for a record payday.

Strasburg has been called the best college pitcher ever in some corners, and negotiations between Boras and the Nationals are likely to go down to the wire on Aug. 17, the deadline for teams to sign 2009 draft picks.

"It's now in Washington's hands," commissioner Bud Selig said from Secaucus, N.J., where the draft was being televised. "They know what draft choices have gotten. Everybody knows. So they're on their own."

Rizzo, who dueled with Boras in 2004 when he was Diamondbacks scouting director and drafted shortstop Stephen Drew first overall, did not seem intimidated by the prospect of a contentious back and forth.

"We weren't going to pass on the best player in the draft," Rizzo said.

"We don't negotiate through the media, so I'm not going to do that here," he said of the potentially nail-biting negotiations, "but we spoke to Scott Boras. ... We also had a detailed call with Stephen Strasburg and he was elated to be drafted by the Nationals and picked first overall."

How quickly he does sign could impact when he gets to the major leagues, and in what role.

"It's all about timing and when we sign him," Rizzo said.

The organization would be hesitant to thrust him into a starting role if he took the full two months to sign, Rizzo said, citing the need to build his arm strength back up if he sits out that long while a contract is worked out. That would make it unlikely that he reaches the majors as a starter this year, though the team could still bring him up in September as a reliever.

Beyond the question of if he will sign with the Nationals -- and for all the bluster coming from the Boras camp about $50 million bonuses, it seems like he ultimately will -- there is the question of if he can possibly live up to all the hype. From Ben McDonald to Mark Prior, draft history is littered with pitchers who were taken first overall and ultimately flamed out.

Strasburg's college coach, Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, is confident that he can live up to the enormous pressure and expectations that will be placed on him by fans in Washington.

"Everybody from the end of last season to today thought he would be in the position he's in today, and he wasn't fazed by it. He kept his nose to the grindstone and here he is," Gwynn said.

And what about the ugly history of pitchers taken first overall?

"Maybe the right guy hasn't been in that situation [before]," he said. "Stephen's a guy who can handle it."

Despite the hype and the talent, Gwynn insisted that he isn't major league ready, but he did concede that he could compete at the top level because of his "baseball savvy."

"This is a great day in Nationals history," Rizzo said. "We couldn't have been pleased any more."

Maybe so, but in many ways, the intrigue is only just beginning. Now it becomes a matter of if, when and can.

If the Nationals sign Strasburg, when will he be ready and can he possibly live up to the hype?

All that anticipation for draft day, and the waiting game is only just beginning.

Nationals Select Strasburg No. 1 Overall originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:17:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MLB Draft 2009: Tuesday Night Live Chat

FanHouse Newswire — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Draft, MLB Live Blogging

MLB Draft day is officially here (follow the results with our MLB Draft Tracker), and while baseball's first-year player selection process hardly elicits the same excitement, hype or drama as its cousins in the NBA and NFL, it's still an enormously important day for every franchise.

Don't believe us? Just ask the Rays, who ascended all the way to the World Series last year in part thanks to their shrewd drafting. Or the Pirates and their fans, who have watched the team sink further and further with a series of poor picks.

With such a momentous day upon us, the MLB FanHouse team will be covering the draft (first round broadcast live on the MLB Network at 6 PM ET) from every angle. Ed Price will be on site in Secaucus, N.J., Andrew Johnson will be at Nationals Park in Washington, where Nationals brass will make the No. 1 and No. 10 overall selections, and the rest of the team, along with a special guest or two, will be live chatting during the proceedings.

After the jump read a wrapup of the first-round chat.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;task=viewaltcast&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;altcast_code=e4384bcbf7" &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;MLB Draft 2009 Live Chat&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

MLB Draft 2009: Tuesday Night Live Chat originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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