It's always drafty in Pittsburgh

Congrats to Gerrit Cole, the UCLA pitcher that the Pirates picked #1 over all.
A first overall pick by the Pirates?
Man... those are some pretty TINY shoes to fill.

If Cole can pitch well enough to overshadow his crazy wife, then he will be a better investment than 1996 #1 overall pick Kris Benson.

Pitch 7 games in a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform and you will have a greater impact in Pirates history than 2002's #1 overall pick Bryan Bullington.

Hell if he plays a single game for the Pittsburgh Pirates he will be a better pick than 1994 first rounder Mark Farris, 1998 pick Clint Johnson and 1999 pick Bobby Bradley!

What I am saying is that the Pirates have a great history and tradition, but their recent draft history isn't pretty.

But hey! Cole could be traded.

Oh dear... the season is already over for the Nationals

This picture kind of says it all, doesn't it?

The ball is on the left, the fielder is on the right... and the Washington logo shows that you are indeed watching Washington baseball.

Hey, the Nats drafted Strasburg last year... they'll have the #1 pick this Summer.

Maybe they want the #1 pick for the 2011 draft as well to have the three home grown stars to build a team around.

Hey, it makes more sense than the Mets rebuilding plan. (Denial.)

I warned the Nationals

I did! Last March I said to pass on Stephen Strasburg and spend that $50 million more wisely... like spreading it around a farm system that needs depth!

OK, so chances are it will be more like $22 million (man this recession is hitting EVERYONE) but still, spending all of that on one guy is insane.

Yeah I know Stephen Strasburg is going to be the biggest pitcher in baseball history (like we heard about Brien Taylor, Jon Peters, Todd Van Poppel and Mark Prior) but the Nats are more than one pitcher away.

AND everyone, and I mean EVERYONE knew that this was going to turn into a Scott Boras circus. 

Everyone knew the signing would be dragged on to the last possibly nanosecond with the Nats possibly sitting with bupkes and another compensation pick.

So now the clock is ticking and Boras has the independent leagues on speed dial.

And even if they DO sign him, the pressure on him will be mind numbing, and the handling of him will probably defy logic.

Remember how the Yankees couldn't decide what the hell Joba Chamberlain was until they yanked him back and forth illogically all during the 2008 season?

That will be clear headed thinking compared to the inevitable madness that will be the Nats pitch counts. 

Remember this guy is now their franchise!

Forget pitch count. He probably won't be allowed to tie his shoes without a trainer present.

Heck they'll have to have him more protected than John Travolta in the Boy in the Plastic Bubble.

All of this would be worth it for someone proven...

Roy Halladay, Johan Santana, Justin Verlander... heck even Tim Lincecum.

But dragging this out for someone who could be an ace or could be Todd Van Poppel is nuts.

I mean couldn't the Nats have drafted Dustin Ackley, Grant Green or some other highly touted amateur and moved on?

This guy had better be good...

No pressure.

Genuine Draft

So today is the Major League "Don't Call It Amateur Because Scott Boras Will Send A Kid To Play For The St. Paul Saints And Make Him A Free Agent" Draft.



I don't have a lot to say about it because we all know Stephen Strasburg is going to the Nationals at 1 and then a lot of players that chances are you never heard of will go later.



Chances are my Red Sox are going to draft a catcher and it might be Boston College star Tony Sanchez, who I wouldn't know if he came up to me and said "Hi, I'm Boston College star Tony Sanchez."



I've already written why the Draft tells us NOTHING about the players the teams are getting.



Last year I wrote about why analysis on draft day is borderline insane.



And this March I urged the Nationals to spread the Strasburg bonus money around because their farm system is more than one player away from contention.



Sit back and enjoy the draft if you watch it.



I think MLB Network should have Brien Taylor, Todd Van Poppel and David Clyde as commentators.

Looks like I picked the wrong day to rip Pirates draft picks

Today when I did my annual ripping of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, I listed all of the rancid first round draft picks that the Bucs have made since 1992.

I included Andrew McCutchen, based only on the fact that he wasn't in the bigs yet.

Yeah I know he's a prospect. 

So was Mark Merchant.

Who?

Exactly.

Well McCutchen is in the bigs now... and singled to lead off the game against the Mets and came around to score in the first.

In all he got two hits, walked, drove in a run and scored three in the Pirates 11-6 win.

Who knows?

Maybe they DIDN'T squander a pick!

Hey Pirates... Why Even Bother?

And so it continues for the Pirates...

June has barely begun and the flag being raised isn't the Jolly Roger but the white flag of surrender.

Even though the Pirates are only 4 games under .500, the management has declared 1/3 of the season is enough... start dumping bodies.

And they did it the best way they know how:

Trade young players (like Nate McLouth) with affordable long term contracts for a bunch of young guys you've never heard of.

OK, fine I've heard of Gorkys Hernandez because he was a big prospect for the Tigers and the Braves... and no doubt in a few years he'll be a star and the Pirates will trade him for some prospects.

So it is 17 years and counting since the Pirates put even a .500 team on the field.

And I have written about how there is no excuse for this nearly 2 decade long slump.

Don't talk to me about payroll.

Teams like the A's, Twins, Marlins and last year's Rays have made the post season with rock bottom payrolls.

And none of those teams did that in a tax payer subsidized ballpark. They did it in parks either designed for football or in the case of Tampa, a Mad Max movie.

The Marlins had a winning season with a $25 million payroll!

I'm not talking about putting a World Series winner on the field... just a team that would be interesting!

And the biggest reason for this disgraceful 17 year drought has nothing to do with free agency.

It has to do with the organization and the draft.

Since Sid Bream slid across the plate to end the 1992 NLCS the Pirates have had one of the top 11 picks in the draft 13 times.

Let's look at those top 11 picks:

In 1994 they picked shortstop Mark Farris, who never made it past AA ball.

Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Varitek, Troy Glaus and Aaron Boone were available.

In 1995 they picked Chad Hermansen, who played 3 1/2 uneventful seasons with the Pirates.

Matt Morris, Roy Halladay and Sean Casey were available.

In 1996, they used the #1 pick over all on Kris Benson, who is best known for having a hot but crazy wife.

Granted it was a weak draft, but Braden Looper, Gil Meche and Jimmy Rollins were all drafted that year.

In 1997, they picked J. J. Davis, who fizzled after three uneventful seasons in Pittsburgh.

Jon Garland, Lance Berkman and Chase Utley were all there for the picking.

In 1999, they picked Bobby Bradley, a pitcher who never made it to the big leagues.

Barry Zito, Ben Sheets, Brett Myers, Alex Rios and Carl Crawford were all available.

In 2001 they picked John Van Benschoten, who has been an ineffective pitcher for the past three seasons.

David Wright, Casey Kotchman and Danny Haren were picked later.

In 2002 they had the #1 pick again and drafted Bryan Bullington, who pitched 6 games in a Pirates uniform.

B. J. Upton, Zack Greinke, Prince Fielder, Jeff Francis, Cole Hamels, Matt Cain and Scott Kazmir were all drafted later.

In 2003, they drafted Paul Maholm (Hey! A Decent pick!)

Maybe even better than Carlos Quentin, Chad Billingsley and Chad Cordero.

In 2004, they drafted catcher Neil Walker who never made it.

Jered Weaver went next... Stephen Drew, Dustin Pedroia, Yovani Gallardo and Huston Street went later.

In 2005, they drafted Andrew McCutchen, who makes his big league debut today.

Meanwhile Jay Bruce, Jacoby Ellsbury and Matt Garza have already contributed on the big league level.

In 2006, the Pirates drafted Brad Lincon... the only one of the top 7 picks to not appear in a big league game as of this writing.

Meanwhile Tim Lincecum was available. He already has a Cy Young to polish.

It's a little too early to judge 2007 and 2008... but do you see a pattern developing here?

Either the scouts are drafting lousy players or the farm system is devoid of any decent coaches.

No matter what the answer is, it is a disgrace!

Yes Pittsburgh fans can be subdued with the fact that the Steelers are the World Champions and the Penguins are in the Finals.

But guess what? Using my "You don't start following a team day to day until you are 8 years old, then there are 25 year old Pittsburgh fans who have never seen the Pirates play .500 ball.

Some of them are having kids. You think they have ANY memories to share with their kids about Pirates ball?

What is the greatest moment in PNC Park?

I read that there is a soccer league in Italy that makes the bottom three teams go to the minor leagues and promotes the top three minor league teams to the majors.

That's a novel concept for the Pirates.

You treat the time like a minor league team? Then get you'll get sent to the farm!

Spend that $50 Million Wisely, Nationals!!!!

So Scott Boras claims that Stephen Strasburg is a once in a decade talent worth $50 million.

I'm not one of those people who thinks Scott Boras is evil. He's an agent. And it is the job of an agent to get their client as much money as possible. So why not hype Strasburg as the greatest thing since sliced bread.

He compared him to Sidd Finch. Of course Sidd Finch was a fictitious character, so why not compare him to Zeus?

But fine... he's Sidd Finch. He's the greatest pitching prospect in recent memory.

I would warn the Nationals against drafting him.

Yeah, I know the Nationals need a stud ace.

They need a LOT of things.

And if they aren't swimming in dough, then let me warn against spending 50 million tomatoes on this guy.

In my Braves Home Grown vs. Acquired post I told the story of Todd Van Poppel being the best talent in the draft and how the Braves were stuck with Chipper Jones.

In my White Sox post I recounted how neither Frank Thomas nor Robin Ventura were as coveted as Earl Cunningham nor Ty Griffin. Who? Exactly.

Plus the #1 over all pick is not a slam dunk.

Remember how awesome Kris Benson was supposed to be?

Remember Matt Anderson? Me neither.

Remember how Paul Wilson was supposed to be the next great ace?

Remember Brien Taylor's hold out?

Remember Bryan Bullington?

Even some players that did have talent could flame out to injuries like #2 pick Mark Prior.

You can find talent further down in the draft without blowing $50 mil. Tim Lincecum was the 10th overall pick. C.C. Sabathia was the 20th pick.

Randy Johnson was a second round pick. So was Greg Maddux.

If I were in charge of the Nationals, I'd take that $50 million and tell my scouts to sign 50 good players to a $1 million bonus. They need volume in that system.

Besides, Strasberg will opt out the first chance he gets!

Draft Dodging

Once again baseball goes through the strange ritual of televising and analyzing the amateur draft.

Look, I am thrilled for the high school and college kids who were drafted and what a great day this must be for them.

But seriously the analysis is the definition of meaningless.
"Here's a kid... good player... he won't see a major league game for at least 3
years and these days who knows what a team will look like in three seasons."

What they should do is cover PAST drafts.
Heck 10 years ago the first round produced 1 Cy Young winner (C. C. Sabathia) and zero MVPs.

So when I hear an analyst saying "Not sure why the team made this pick when there was a sure bet still available" I would respond

"Sure bet? Like Matt Anderson... the first overall pick of the 1997 draft who had 7 unremarkable seasons... or like the 1999 draft when 16 of the first 30 picks (more than HALF) never played a GAME in the majors.... or the next year when 8 of the first 14 picks never made the big leagues... and three of the ones that did never played a full season in the show."

It's a lottery.
Brien Taylor could bust up his pitching hand killing the first over all pick Mike Piazza could prove that he was more than a favor to Tommy Lasorda and give the Dodgers a Hall of Famer with the 1,390th pick.

Come to think of it, scouts should be asking Tommy if he has any more God Children