Mock Draft

What happens when beat writers from MLB.com get together? Mayhem, complete mayhem...and a mock MLB draft.

   Team         Beat Writer          Pick
--------------- ------------------- -----------------
1  Diamondbacks Doug Miller         Justin Upton
2  Royals       Dick Kaegel         Alex Gordon
3  Mariners     Jim street          Troy Tulowitzki
4  Nationals    Bill Ladson         Ryan Zimmerman
5  Brewers      Adam McCalvy        Cameron Maybin
6  Blue Jays    Spencer Fordhman    Ricky Romero
7  Rockies      Thomas Harding      Luke Hochevar
8  Devil Rays   Bill Chastain       Wade Townsend
9  Mets         Marty Noble         Craig Hansen
10 Tigers       Jim Molony          Mike Pelfrey
11 Pirates      Ed Eagle            Andrew McCutchen
12 Reds         Anthony Castrovince Jacoby Ellsbury
13 Orioles      Gary Washburn       Jay Bruce
14 Indians      Justice Hill        Ryan Braun
15 White Sox    Scott Merkin        Brian Bogusevic
16 Marlins      Joe Frisaro         Jeff Clement
17 Yankees      Mark Feinsand       Mark Pawelek
18 Padres       Lyle Spencer        Trevor Crowe
19 Rangers      Jesse Sanchez       Mark McCormick
20 Cubs         Carrie Muskat       Tyler Greene
21 Athletics    Micharl Irving      Travis Buck
22 Marlins      Joe Presaro         Cesar Carrillo
23 Red Sox      Ian Browne          Matthew Torra
24 Astros       Jim Molony          Jacob Marceaux
25 Twins        Mark Sheldon        Brandon Snyder
26 Red Sox      Ian Browne          Taylor Teagarden
27 Braves       Mark Bowman         Chaz Roe
28 Cards        Matthew Weeks       John Mayberry Jr.
29 Marlins      Joe Frisaro         Colby Rassmus
30 Cards        Matthew Weeks       Cesar Ramos

All was rolling along fine until Anthony Castrovince broke the format and instead of going with what the rumblings are for the Reds pick, he picked who he thought the Reds should pick in Jacoby Ellsbury. Then it was a free for all and the Marlins landed Jeff Clement who has a snowballs chance in hell in falling that far after his breakout season in what was already a possibly top ten pick career from his first two years in college. It is hard to pick the second half of the first round with accuracy, but one through eleven look pretty solid. Of course this all means absolutely nothing, but it is interesting anyway.

* * *

Two different worlds.

Willie Randolph was amused to see Jeff Wilpon, the Mets' chief operating officer, frantically dialing his cell phone as sprinklers soaked the infield in the first inning. Randolph knows how his former Yankees boss, George Steinbrenner, would have reacted. "George would have fired the whole staff," Randolph said.

And people want to be Yankees?

Should the Mets see if they can take a flier Carlos Pena?

If Pena leaves the Tigers, some team will take a chance on him. He's still only 26, but nowhere near worth the $2.575 million he's getting this season.

I say yes.

Billy Beane's magic is wearing off. Dotel may be out of baseball for two years, so Beane cannot get anything for him at the trading deadline, Calero is injured, Juan Cruz is not good at all, Danny Haren is a decent pitcher, but probably is a mid to back end starter, and now his hopes of making the trades with Mulder and Hudson good lie on Dan Meyer and Daric Barton being good. Either way, things do not look too good.

Any team looking for a discounted rate on Carl Pavano for the next three seasons? You think he curls up in a ball and cries while wishing he was back in the NL East? His .314/.347/.514 line hitters are putting up against him is ugly. The good thing is that he only has given up one walk per start, but he has give up more homers than walks. At least Javy made it through the first half as an All-Star. If the Yankees simply consulted me I could of told them Pavano was not worth it and that Clement is much, much better.

It's getting silly how Beltran has not homered in a non-Pedro start. Newsday has the numbers.

Beltran in Pedro's starts vs. non Pedro Starts:

Pedro        Non-Pedro
 39  At-bats   141
  7   Runs      18
 17   Hits      36
  7  Homers      0
 17   RBI       10
.436 Average  .255

Koo to the DL and Ring is back in. Now Willie has another guy to bury in blowouts and games in which they are behind by a few runs.

Cammy's play last night in right field was on of my all-time favorite catches.

"As I was slipping I could see a little blur. It was a little blur and I stuck my glove right there," said Cameron, a two-time Gold Glove outfielder. "I looked up and everybody was screaming. ... It was a lot of luck and a whole lot of glove."

"Come on, boys," he implores them. "Two big naked men. Let's get ready to rumble."- Pedro Martinez

Pedro is flat out nasty. He may not win 20 games this year, but it won't be his fault. He is 6-1 with a 2.62 ERA and a .159 BAA, 0.71 WHIP, and a 10.48 K/9. In his last three starts after the cortisone shot, he is 2-0 with a 0.78 ERA, .202 BAA, 25/1 K/BB ratio, and has a 9.78 K/9.

Minor update:

• When is Yusmeiro Petit coming back? I have no idea, but the B-Mets need him. They lost 12-9 to Akron and Mike Jacobs went 4 for 4 with two homers, two runs scored, and six RBIs. He's up to .316 with nine homers, and thirty six RBIs.
  
• Lakewood beat Hagerstown and nothing special happened.
  
• St. Lucie got rained out.