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Rick Gosselin’s 2007 NFL Draft Rankings

DMN draft guru Rick Gosselin‘s has released his initial 2007 draft rankings. Below are the top five athletes at each major position and the top three at fullback, kicker and punter:

QUARTERBACK
Player School Ht. Wt.
1. JaMarcus Russell LSU 6-5½ 265
2. Brady Quinn Notre Dame 6-3½ 232
3. Drew Stanton Michigan State 6-3 226
4. Trent Edwards Stanford 6-4 231
5. Kevin Kolb Houston 6-3 218

HALFBACK
Player School Ht. Wt.
1. Adrian Peterson Oklahoma 6-1½ 217
2. Marshawn Lynch California 5-11 215
3. Antonio Pittman Ohio State 5-10½ 207
4. Kenny Irons Auburn 5-10½ 203
5. Brandon Jackson Nebraska 5-9½ 210

FULLBACK
Player School Ht. Wt.
1. Brian Leonard Rutgers 6-1½ 226
2. L’Ron McClain Alabama 6-0 256
3. Jason Snelling Virginia 5-11 230

WIDE RECEIVER
Player School Ht. Wt.
1. Calvin Johnson Georgia Tech 6-5 239
2. Ted Ginn Jr. Ohio State 5-11 178
3. Robert Meachem Tennessee 6-1 214
4. Dwayne Bowe LSU 6-2 221
5. Dwayne Jarrett Southern California 6-4 219

TIGHT END
Player School Ht. Wt.
1. Greg Olsen Miami 6-5½ 257
2. Zach Miller Arizona State 6-4 256
3. Scott Chandler Iowa 6-7 270
4. Martrez Milner Georgia 6-3½ 252
5. Michael Allan Whitworth 6-6 255

OFFENSIVE TACKLE
Player School Ht. Wt.
1. Joe Thomas Wisconsin 6-6½ 311
2. Levi Brown Penn State 6-5½ 323
3. Joe Staley Central Michigan 6-5½ 306
4. Tony Ugoh Arkansas 6-5 301
5. Ryan Harris Notre Dame 6-4½ 305

GUARD
Player School Ht. Wt.
1. Ben Grubbs Auburn 6-2½ 311
2. Arron Sears Tennessee 6-3 319
3. Justin Blalock Texas 6-3 320
4. Allen Barbre Missouri Southern 6-4 300
5. Andy Alleman Akron 6-4 305

CENTER
Player School Ht. Wt.
1. Ryan Kalil Southern California 6-2½ 299
2. Samson Satele Hawaii 6-2½ 300
3. Leroy Harris North Carolina State 6-2½ 302
4. Doug Datish Ohio State 6-4 302
5. Dan Mozes West Virginia 6-2½ 293

DEFENSIVE END
Player School Ht. Wt.
1. Gaines Adams Clemson 6-4½ 258
2. Jamaal Anderson Arkansas 6-5 288
3. Jarvis Moss Florida 6-6½ 250
4. Anthony Spencer Purdue 6-2½ 261
5. Adam Carriker Nebraska 6-6 296

DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Player School Ht. Wt.
1. Alan Branch Michigan 6-5½ 324
2. Amobi Okoye Louisville 6-2 302
3. Justin Harrell Tennessee 6-4 300
4. DeMarcus “Tank” Tyler North Carolina State 6-2 306
5. Claude “Turk” McBride Tennessee 6-2 277

OUTSIDE LINEBACKER
Player School Ht. Wt.
1. Lawrence Timmons Florida State 6-0½ 234
2. Jon Beason Miami 6-0 237
3. Paul Posluszny Penn State 6-1½ 238
4. Stewart Bradley Nebraska 6-3½ 254
5. Quincy Black New Mexico 6-1½ 240

INSIDE LINEBACKER
Player School Ht. Wt.
1. Patrick Willis Mississippi 6-1 242
2. David Harris Michigan 6-2 243
3. Justin Durant Hampton 6-0½ 230
4. Anthony Waters Clemson 6-2½ 245
5. James “Buster” Davis Florida State 5-9 239

CORNERBACK
Player School Ht. Wt.
1. Leon Hall Michigan 5-11 193
2. Darrelle Revis Pittsburgh 5-11½ 204
3. Aaron Ross Texas 6-0½ 193
4. Chris Houston Arkansas 5-9½ 185
5. Josh Wilson Maryland 5-9 189

SAFETY
Player School Ht. Wt.
1. LaRon Landry LSU 6-0½ 213
2. Reggie Nelson Florida 5-11 198
3. Brandon Meriweather Miami 5-10½ 195
4. Michael Griffin Texas 5-11½ 202
5. Tanard Jackson Syracuse 6-0 195

KICKER
Player School Ht. Wt.
1. Mason Crosby Colorado 6-1 212
2. Nick Folk Arizona 6-1 225
3. Justin Medlock UCLA 5-11½ 201

PUNTER
Player School Ht. Wt.
1. Danny Sepulveda Baylor 6-2½ 229
2. Adam Podlesh Maryland 5-10 202
3. Brandon Fields Michigan State 6-4½ 239

KICK RETURNER
Player School Ht. Wt.
1. Ted Ginn Jr. Ohio State 5-11 178
2. Yamon Figurs Kansas State 5-11 174
3. Jacoby Jones Lane 6-2½ 210
4. Steve Breaston Michigan 6-0 193
5. Terry Richardson Arizona State 5-11½ 187

 

Cowboys To Draft Best Players Rather than Pet Cats

Some excellent news from Mac Engel of the FWST:

Bill Parcells was a cat guy. He had a big, fat pet cat at his house. And he had his pet cats at Valley Ranch, too. Especially in April.

“Pet cats” is a Parcellsism; they were the prospects whom a coach or scout adored. They are often so fond of such prospects they try to make sure their “pet cat” is drafted, regardless what the scouting consensus is.

And every coach, general manager or scout has a pet cat; 2004 second-round flop Jacob Rogers was a Parcells’ pet cat. Former quarterback Quincy Carter was a Jerry Jones pet cat.

Now Jones, the owner, is playing the part of animal control, and is trying to get rid of the felines around Cowboys headquarters.

“There won’t be that potential lobbying that you might have gotten that might have influenced that draft board that really you shouldn’t do,” Jones said. “You should put your highest-rated player by the guys that spend 100 percent of the time out here.

“I think this is going to be the purest scout-evaluation [draft] from the December grade.”

Praise be, if true. It’s simply silly to have amateurs make the call on draft day. If you don’t trust your scouts, fire ‘em. Otherwise, let ‘em do their job.

A coach may want a certain type of player — big linebackers, tall receivers, a player who fits a scheme — and he might lobby a scout to take a player who fits that role. So much so they “reach” for that player and take him a round or two earlier than he should be selected.

Glancing at those four previous drafts, Parcells’ fingerprints are all over — Bobby Carpenter, Marion Barber, Rob Petitti, Anthony Fasano, Chris Canty, Marcus Spears, Stephen Peterman to name a few.

“But you can’t manufacture these players; they all can’t fit the blueprint,” Ireland said. “It happens on every staff. You don’t want guys falling in love with players or need positions. Those are the traps; people start believing we need a receiver, and a fifth-rounder becomes a third-rounder.

Now, it seems perfectly reasonable to me for coaches and scouts to be on the same page as to the type of player that the coach is looking for the fit his style of play. Jimmy Johnson wanted top notch speed and athleticism at every position and was willing to sacrifice size and power to get it; Bill Parcells was the opposite. Both men won Super Bowls with their approaches, although Parcells didn’t do it with Dallas and Johnson didn’t do it with the Dolphins.

That said, your board is your board. If there isn’t, say, a linebacker that fits your scheme ranked near the top of your board when it’s time to pick, you don’t take a linebacker. Reaching to take a 5th round player in the 3rd round so seldom pays off that it’s simply a wasted pick. Far better to take the proverbial “best available athlete” (within the parameters of how a given team’s scheme defines that) at a position of lesser need than to take suboptimal talent at a “need” position. Doing that tends to leave the need unmet.

 

Royals Week in Review – 3/30/07

A look back at the week that was for the Kansas City Royals.

Roster Decisions

The opening day roster has been set. These are the twenty-five men Kansas City will take into battle against the Red Sox on Monday.

Rotation (5): Jorge De La Rosa, Brandon Duckworth, Zack Greinke, Gil Meche, and Odalis Perez

The great news here is that Zach Grienke came out of camp with his head screwed on straight and slotted in as the #3 Starter.

This spring, he’s been striking out over a batter an inning. My prediction is that Zach will be the #1 stopper by the end of the season. If Meche and Perez can keep their ERAs in the fours, then it gives the Royals three legitimate starters (not superstars, mind you, but quality guys).

Of course, anybody with a rudimentary understanding of baseball statistics can tell you that the days De La Rosa and Duckworth take the mound will be long ones for the KC bullpen. How quickly the farm system can develop solid starters to fill in the back of the rotation will dictate how long it takes for the Royals to truly be a competitive team.

Bullpen (7): Ryan Braun, Octavio Dotel, Jimmy Gobble, Joel Peralta, David Riske, Joakim Soria and Todd Wellemeyer

Dotel got roughed up near the end of Spring Training, but has been throwing bullets since he got to Arizona. I think the days of him putting up a 231 ERA+ are over, but he should be a solid player at the end of games.

The rest of the pen is a mish-mash of average to better-than-okay-but-not-great guys. The wild card is Soria, who has the potential to be the next Johan Santana of Rule 5 picks.

Catcher (2): John Buck and Jason LaRue

Mediocrity took on mediocrity and in the end, it was a battle that neither could win.

The good news is that both backstops have played well enough to be named the starter. Ideally, you’d like to see the younger Buck given a chance to blossom, but if a platoon arrangement keeps both players healthy and productive, it will be hard to complain.

Infield (6): Esteban German, Alex Gordon, Mark Grudzielanek, Tony Peña Jr., Ryan Shealy and Mike Sweeney

While the younger Peña gets his chance to check out the Kansas City MILF scene, perennial underachiever Angel Berroa has finally been sent to AAA.

This quote from Joe Posnanski’s terrific blog pretty much says it all about Berroa. Joe is quoting an anonymous scout:

“He’s awful. Horrible. I wouldn’t have him as a backup. … He still can’t recognize a slider, and he’s so spooked by that he will just watch fastballs go right down the middle of the plate. He has lost about three steps too.”

Outfield (5): Emil Brown, David DeJesus, Ross Gload, Reggie Sanders and Mark Teahen

Speedster Joey Gathright is the loser here, as the Royals have been unable to find any takers for Reggie Sanders, despite a professed willingness to eat most of his contract.

I feel a little bad for Sanders, because I think he can still be a productive major league player if he stays healthy. Unfortunately, he’s just too old for a team like the Royals to justify playing him over younger guys.

A quick story about Sanders from my trip to Surprise this spring:

Mark Teahen was starting the game in centerfield, with Sanders manning right. When somebody for the Diamondbacks hit a towering fly ball to deep center, Sanders ran over and began shouting directions to Teahen.

“BACK BACK BACK… okay, come in a little bit. You got it. You got it!”

Sanders was helpful and encouraging to the very person who was taking his job away. It doesn’t say much about his ability to hit a chest-high fastball, but it says a lot about his character.

Postseason Odds

So, what does this group get us? Baseball Prospectus has published their first Postseason Odds report, based on projected stats and playing time of all major league teams. After running the simulations, the Royals Currently have a 3% chance of making the post season.

The End of Spring Training

The Royals will take on the Astros in Houston for something called the Wal-Mart Cup this weekend.

They finished Cactus League play at 11-16, though the team was second in hitting.

Ross Gload led the regulars with a 1.126 OPS. Billy Butler hit 419/514/774 and is set to terrorize pitchers in the Pacific Coast League until the outfield situation clears up.

Ryan Braun pitched his way onto the roster by only giving up 2 runs in 9.2 innings. Zach Grienke had the best ERA among starters at 3.32.

Now, it is time to put all of those numbers away and play some games that really matter. The Royals will take on the Red Sox in Kansas City at 4:10 p.m. EST on Monday, April 2nd.

Play ball!

 

Opening Night: New York at St. Louis

Let the games begin!

Baseball season returns to the scene of triumph, one of baseball’s truly great cities and its newest ballpark to open the 2007 campaign with a rematch from last season’s National League Championship Series. The New York Mets who had the best record in the National League are visiting the Cardinals, winners of the 2006 World Series.

Sunday night will be a night for the Cardinals to celebrate their Series victory one last time. The rings will be handed out and the new players joining the Cardinals roster can get a taste of the triumph from the previous autumn. The Mets will get an idea of what they missed and it will make them hungry.

Tom Glavine faces Chris Carpenter in the mound matchup. Glavine who gave the Cards fits in October will look to miss bats and keep the potent St. Louis lineup at bay. Carpenter meanwhile wants to pickup where he left off last season, shutting down batters and getting easy outs.

The Mets bats showed signs of clicking, thumping a split squad Dodgers team yesterday but have been more pedestrian in other clashes as the spring season has worn down. New York needs their lineup to carry them. April poses significant challenges for hitters. Pitchers benefit from colder weather typically and it is easier to disrupt a hitter’s timing int he days immediately following the trip north.

For the Cardinals the hope is to get out to a quick start. Their starters have looked strikingly good this spring, and while the games don’t count, the amazing rotation of Carpenter and four other guys has produced an ERA of 1.89 in 119.3 spring innings. Those four other guys have been Kip Wells, Adam Wainwright, Braden Looper and Anthony Reyes. Wells’ sparkling 1.16 ERA is only bettered by Wainwright’s 0.98.

St. Louis has used internal promotion, crafty trades and bargain free agents to good effect. This rotation may be the best example of Walt Jockety’s work to date. Staff ace Cris Carpenter rewarded the early patience of St. Louis, who signed him to sit out a season after Tommy John surgery, four years ago. Wells was a relatively cheap signing this past November. Looper worked out of the bullpen last year, the first of a three year contract he had signed in 2005. Reyes, a home grown Cardinal, has been touted by Baseball America and other propsect watchers for the last few years. Wainwright, who may be the best of the lot, came over from Atlanta when the Cardinals dealt J.D. Drew to Atlanta in 2003. Four years in the making, this rotation has potential to be great.

Sunday’s game is the first one to mean anything since October for either team. Welcome Back Baseball.

 

Fit for Lebron

Fit for a king

LeBron James’ 35,440-square-foot house under construction in nearby Bath Township is shaping up as a castle fit for a king — with a theater, bowling alley, casino and barber shop.

Sounds like it has all the comforts of … a shopping mall. And then some.

But then he is a king.

h/t Jack’s Shack.

Crossposted at Soccer Dad.

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneer RB arrested for assaulting a pregnant woman

From the St. Petersburg Times-

Bucs running back Lionel Gates, a member of the practice squad last season, was arrested by Hillsborough County deputies overnight accused of several charges, including aggravated assault on a pregnant woman.

Gates, 25, is also accused of burglary of an occupied dwelling and criminal mischief.

Details of the arrest aren’t immediately clear, but Gates is being held at the Orient Road Jail and has not yet been granted bond.

Any assault on a pregnant woman is inexcusable. The Buccaneers should immediately release this thug.

 

ESPN – The Good, the Bad and the Boo-Yah

ESPN ombudsman George Solomon has some thoughtful reflections on what’s good and bad at his network.

Some highlights:

  • ESPN needs to better publicly define its role to its audience regarding its business relationships, including ESPN Books publishing former NBA player John Amaechi’s autobiography, “Man in the Middle,” and then over-covering on its news outlets; creating a short-lived reality show on EOE featuring Barry Bonds while trying to cover him as a news subject; and providing Texas Tech basketball coach Bob Knight, another frequent newsmaker, the opportunity for a series on walk-on tryouts. I also have problems with ESPN having a stake in the AFL that seems to have resulted in increased coverage of the league. Same goes for the increased coverage of NASCAR since ESPN landed more races. And do we need ESPN to feature stars such as Carmelo Anthony in ESPN SportsCenter ads, while allegedly covering him? These guys are not family.
  • I would suggest ESPN.com do more editing of its Page 2 columnists — some of whom seem to shoot from the hip for the sole purpose of shooting from the hip. In the same vein, ESPN commentators, including some of the network’s biggest stars on TV and radio, might be more thoughtful and less outrageous and loud in their opinions. I’ve always believed just because someone has the title of commentator or columnist, it doesn’t mean he or she should not be held to the same journalistic standards of fairness and accuracy as everyone else on the ESPN team. I also wonder why some commentators believe viewers are interested in their political views? Also, ESPN editors should be more careful of their staffers claiming exclusive stories when these stories are not always exclusive.
  • ESPN often does very well on big news stories, such as the impact Hurricane Katrina had in the Gulf Coast region regarding sports and the death of Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle in a midtown New York plane crash. However, with time and competitive pressures a factor, the network overreacts to some breaking stories, including the 2005 suspension of Terrell Owens by the Eagles and his so-called “suicide attempt” in Dallas in 2006; Bob Knight tweaking the chin of one of his Texas Tech players this season; and the brawl between the Miami and Florida International college football teams. News executives might consider occasionally slowing down the “on-air” process until more facts become available. They might also want to back off the intensity of ESPN’s coverage of Michelle Wie, the Yankees and the Red Sox.

Points well taken. ESPN has some terrific programming but sometimes over-emphasizes the “E” at the expense of the “SP.”

via Romenesco

 

Angels, Shields Agree To $14.6M Extension

Good news for the Angels bullpen as they lock up rubber-armed setup man Scot Shields through 2010.

Los Angeles Angels reliever Scot Shields agreed Thursday to a $14.6 million, three-year contract extension through 2010.

Shields, the Angels’ setup man, had agreed last month to a $3.4 million, one-year contract. The new deal adds salaries of $4.25 million in 2008, $5 million in 2009 and $5.35 million in 2010.

 

2007 AL Central Stat Projections

AL Central Predictions

1. Cleveland Indians
2. Minnesota Twins
3. Detroit Tigers
4. Chicago White Sox
5. Kansas City Royals

Indians

Projected Stats
Projected Lineup AVG HR RBI SB R
1. Grady Sizemore CF .303 – 31 – 91 – 23 – 136
2. Casey Blake RF .273 – 24 – 71 – 6 – 76
3. Travis Hafner DH .316 – 44 – 128 – 0 – 108
4. Victor Martinez C .308 – 19 – 98 – 0 – 86
5. Ryan Garko 1B .285 – 13 – 58 – 0 – 41
6. David Delluci LF .265 – 14 – 57 – 3 – 65
7. Jhonny Peralta SS .277 – 18 – 72 – 0 – 79
8. Andy Marte 3B .254 – 14 – 55 – 1 – 46
9. Josh Barfield 2B .286 – 15 – 64 – 20 – 82

Bench
Trot Nixon COF .274 – 9 – 53 – 1 – 57
Hector Luna INF .272 – 5 – 35 – 8 – 39

Rotation W- L ERA SO
1. C.C. Sabathia 16-10 3.40 170
2. Jake Westbrook 14-10 3.90 117
3. Cliff Lee 11- 8 3.61 149 (DL)
4. Jeremy Sowers 14- 9 3.51 93
5. Paul Byrd 11-10 4.48 96
6. Fausto Carmona 3- 5 4.60 55
7. Adam Miller 4- 3 3.61 43

Bullpen W- L ERA SO SV-SVO
CL Scott Borowski 3-4 3.62 65 31-35
RP Ro. Hernandez 2-2 3.44 47 1-
RP Matt Miller 2-1 3.06 33 -
RP Rafael Betancourt 3-3 3.29 51 -

Prospect who can impact the 2007 season
1. Adam Miller SP
2. Sin Soo Choo OF

Twins

Projected Stats
Projected Lineup AVG HR RBI SB R
1. Luis Castillo 2B .301 – 4 – 46 – 24 – 90
2. Nick Punto 3B .278 – 3 – 48 – 16 – 69
3. Joe Mauer C .329 – 16 – 97 – 10 – 98
4. Mike Cuddyer RF .290 – 26 – 112 – 7 – 100
5. Justin Morneau 1B .294 – 36 – 119 – 1 – 94
6. Torri Hunter CF .272 – 28 – 96 – 15 – 86
7. Rondell White LF .261 – 10 – 54 – 1 – 47
8. Jason Kubel DH .278 – 9 – 52 – 3 – 48
9. Jason Bartlett SS .287 – 7 – 56 – 18 – 76

Bench
Lew Ford OF .268 – 9 – 40 – 9 – 56 (DL)
Matt LeCroy 1B/DH .270 – 9 – 34 – 0 – 29
Jeff Cirillo INF .296 – 3 – 31 – 2 – 36
Mike Redmond C/DH .297 – 1 – 22 – 0 – 18

Rotation W- L ERA SO
1. Johna Santana 18- 8 2.81 247
2. Boof Bonser 13-11 4.28 160
3. Carlos Silva 10-11 4.48 74
4. Ramon Ortiz 4- 9 4.86 82
5. Sidney Ponson 5- 8 5.10 59
6. Matt Garza 11- 7 3.56 124
7. Glen Perkins 4- 3 3.93 53

Bullpen W- L ERA SO SV-SVO
CL Joe Nathan 5-2 2.19 92 40-43
RP Jesse Crain 5-3 3.09 57 2-
RP Juan Rincon 4-3 3.06 68 -
RP Pat Nesheck 4-2 2.26 73 2-
RP Jesse Crain 2-3 3.80 46 –

Prospect who can impact the 2007 season
1. Matt Garza SP
2. Glen Perkins SP
3. Kevin Slowley SP

Tigers

Projected Stats
Projected Lineup AVG HR RBI SB R
1. Curtis Granderson CF .280 – 22 – 74 – 14 – 98
2. Placido Polanco 2B .292 – 8 – 59 – 3 – 84
3. Gary Sheffield DH .288 – 29 – 107 – 9 – 101
4. Magglio Ordonez RF .302 – 23 – 99 – 2 – 83
5. Carlos Guillen SS .300 – 17 – 80 – 14 – 91
6. Sean Casey 1B .287 – 11 – 66 – 1 – 69
7. Ivan Rodriguez C .289 – 15 – 67 – 7 – 72
8. Craig Monroe LF .261 – 24 – 81 – 3 – 73
9. Brandon Inge 3B .257 – 25 – 78 – 6 – 80

Bench
Marcus Thames 1B/OF .246 – 19 – 56 – 0 – 52
Omar Infante Util .267 – 6 – 32 – 5 – 39

Rotation W- L ERA SO
1. Jeremy Bonderman 13- 9 4.32 188
2. Kenny Rogers 13-10 3.98 91 (DL)
3. Justin Verlander 14-10 3.72 141
4. Nate Robertson 12-13 4.42 132
5. Mike Maroth 9-13 4.48 89
6. J.D. Durbin 2-3 4.64 29

Bullpen W- L ERA SO SV-SVO
CL Todd Jones 3-4 3.77 37 34-39
RP Joel Zumya 5-3 2.62 93 4-
RP Fernando Rodney 4-3 3.65 61 5-
RP Jose Mesa 2-4 4.08 34 -
RP Jason Grilli 3-4 4.28 38 -

Prospect who can impact the 2007 season
1. Jordan Tata RP

White Sox
Projected Stats
Projected Lineup AVG HR RBI SB R
1. Scott Podsednik LF .278 – 4 – 35 – 36 – 69 (DL)
2. Tadahito Iguchi 2B .284 – 17 – 73 – 12 – 93
3. Jim Thome DH .286 – 39 – 104 – 0 – 98
4. Paul Konerko 1B .296 – 37 – 113 – 0 – 94
5. Jermaine Dye RF .281 – 32 – 101 – 6 – 89
6. A.J. Pierzynski C .290 – 16 – 69 – 0 – 63
7. Joe Crede 3B .275 – 26 – 81 – 1 – 73
8. Juan Uribe SS .249 – 16 – 67 – 2 – 59
9. Darin Erstad CF .277 – 5 – 31 – 8 – 46

Bench
Pablo Ozuna Util .301 – 1 – 19 – 10 – 33
Toby Hall C .281 – 4 – 29 – 0 – 24
Brian Anderson OF .252 – 5 – 26 – 6 – 35
Josh Fields 3B/COF .276 – 13 – 56 – 14 – 61

Rotation W- L ERA SO
1. Jose Contreras 12-13 4.46 148
2. Mark Buehrle 13-12 3.90 123
3. Jon Garland 15-11 4.22 110
4. Javier Vazquez 12-13 4.46 186
5. Jon Danks 8-10 4.54 103
6. Charlie Haeger 4- 5 4.26 48

Bullpen W- L ERA SO SV-SVO
CL Bobby Jenks 3-5 4.25 78 32-38
RP Mike MacDougal 3-2 3.12 54 8-
RP Matt Thornton 3-4 3.83 51 2-
RP David Aardsma 2-2 4.30 46 1-
RP Andrew Sisco 2-3 4.28 47 -

Prospect who can impact the 2007 season
1. Jon Danks SP
2. Jerry Owens OF

Royals

Projected Stats
Projected Lineup AVG HR RBI SB R
1. David DeJesus CF .307 – 13 – 67 – 10 – 89
2. M. Grudzielanek 2B .287 – 7 – 50 – 4 – 76 (DL)
3. Mark Teahen RF .293 – 24 – 91 – 12 – 94
4. Mike Sweeney DH .296 – 12 – 52 – 0 – 44
5. Ryan Shealy 1B .282 – 19 – 83 – 2 – 76
6. Emil Brown LF .276 – 14 – 76 – 9 – 72
7. Alex Gordon 3B .289 – 18 – 77 – 14 – 71
8. John Buck 2B .250 – 13 – 46 – 1 – 42
9. Tony Pena Jr. SS .249 – 4 – 38 – 16 – 56

Bench
Joey Gathright OF .277 – 1 – 36 – 28 – 51
Esteban German Util .302 – 5 – 38 – 12 – 59
Reggie Sanders COF .256 – 14 – 52 – 6 – 46
Ross Gload 1B/COF .289 – 8 – 46 – 3 – 33

Rotation W- L ERA SO
1. Gil Meche 12-11 4.31 153
2. Odalis Perez 8-12 4.49 110
3. Zack Grienke 8- 9 4.24 91
4. Jorge dela Rosa 7- 9 4.65 101
5. Brandon Duckworth 4- 7 4.68 69
6. Luke Hudson 8-10 4.46 77 (DL)
7. Brian Bannister 4- 6 4.44 44

Bullpen W- L ERA SO SV-SVO
CL Octavio Dotel 2-4 3.61 69 22-31
RP David Riske 4-2 3.26 51 6-
RP Joe Nelson 1-2 4.20 39 4-
RP T. Wellemeyer 2-3 4.12 52 -
RP Joe Peralta 2-3 4.16 54

Prospect who can impact the 2007 season
1. Alex Gordon 3B
2. Billy Butler DH/OF
3. Justin Huber 1B

 

Kings GM Lombardi Plays Cap Games

According to Bob McKenzie at Tsn.ca, Los Angeles Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi is ruffling feathers among his fellow GMs after his signing of free-agent defenceman Joe Piskula from the University of Wisconsin.

As part of Piskula’s contract, there are games played bonuses of $25,000 for playing one game, three games and five games. In other words, he gets $75,000 guaranteed for playing just five NHL games with the Kings, which will likely happen by the weekend.

The NHL believes this bonus structure violates the CBA clause on guaranteed monies for entry-level players and, therefore, rejected the contract when the Kings submitted it. But the NHL Players’ Association filed a grievance over that rejection and so Piskula’s contract will stand until such time that an arbitrator rules on it.

And Lombardi’s managerial brethren are fuming at what they think is a blatant attempt to dress up a bogus games played bonus as an extra signing bonus, as signing bonuses are capped at $85,000 per year. They think Lombardi is setting a bad precedent of guaranteeing money to entry-level players without them earning it and that larger-market teams with cash to throw around will have a big advantage in the college free-agent sweepstakes.

Some of them are still angry at Lombardi over Owen Nolan’s lockout protection contract and previous contract controversies involving Kelly Miller and Craig Simpson. Lombardi and the Kings, meanwhile, maintain they are simply playing by the rules, and that Piskula’s total compensation falls within the $850,000 entry level limit.

Some of this strikes as an “I’m mad because I didn’t think of it first” reaction. Of course this isn’t the first time Lombardi has tested the limits of the new CBA. Earlier in the season the Kings were not able to call up the #3 goalie on the depth chart because he would of had to clear waivers and there was a 99.9% chance he would of been claimed. Sitting in 2nd to last place in the NHL at the time, Lombardi brokered a deal with Philadelphia (who holds last place) to trade a low round draft pick to the Kings for the goalie. Phildelphia would then turn around and send him to the minors, requiring him to pass through waivers allowing the Kings to claim him and assign him to the NHL Club because they would of had first rights to anyone on the waiver wire. The NHL also vetoed that deal.

I can’t fault Lombardi for two reasons: (1) I’m a Kings fan and (2) I can’t fault any GM for pushing the limits to make their team better, thats what they are supposed to do. Of course from pervious statements Lombardi made during one of many “Breakfasts with the GM”, he has laid out his severe dislike of of salary caps (so much so he let Ron Hextall take the mic and answer cap related questions to avoid “ripping the league”) covering how the salary cap has ruined the NBA, gives young players too much money too fast, hinders player development, doesn’t allow teams to reward veteran players, and inhibits the ability for teams to fix mistakes or fill holes in the line up.

Only time will tell if this deal holds up, but I give Dean full support to keep pushing the limits. 40 years and 1 Stanley Cup Finals appearance just isn’t cutting it.

 
 


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