Fantasy files -- Rookie receivers part two

Reggie Brown, Philadelphia Eagles: At Georgia Reggie Brown was considered the WR2, even though he ended up being more productive than Fred Gibson, his teammate. Guess what position Brown will take with the Eagles? Donovan McNabb got a whole lot better when Terrell Owens came to town. Every fantasy owner is looking for that future number one, but when a guy like Reggie Brown fits a role that’s perfect for him, he’s going to be immediately productive, a la Keary Colbert.

Mark Bradley, Chicago Bears:
Here is proof that Mushin Muhammed, recently signed for uber-bucks by the Bears, won’t be as good this year. While the Browns have a bunch of WR2s, the Bears have a bunch of WR3s, so drafting a receiver so high was a good move.

What does this mean for Bradley? Bradley was a late-bloomer at Oklahoma. He transferred from Arkansas-Pine Bluff and was the team’s WR3 for most of 2004. He averaged more than 20 yards a catch and had seven touchdowns in 23 catches. Can the Bears wait for him to develop? If you’re a dynasty drafter, you’ll have to give Bradley a couple of years.

Roscoe Parrish, Buffalo Bills: Parrish is a must if you’re going for an all-name team. The Bills love drafting receivers lately. The selected Josh Reed in the first in 2002 and, far more successfully, plucked Lee Evans in last year’s draft. With Eric Moulds and Evans in the mix, the Bills just need Parrish to occasionally slide in as a WR3 and return some kicks. Parrish is tiny, and his upside is kind of Santana Moss-lite.

Terrence Murphy, Green Bay Packers: Colleges sure are churning out a lot of 6’1, 200-pound guys, aren’t they? Murphy is another guy who played QB in high school. His college numbers aren’t that impressive but Texas A&M isn’t that much of a passing team. What’s interesting is that he went to a team in the Packers who a) already have an
underachieving Texas A&M alum on their roster and b) seem to have three pretty solid receivers on their roster already. Murphy fails the opportunity test.

Vincent Jackson, San Diego Chargers: Now here’s an intriguing prospect. Jackson played at Division II Northern Colorado. He has Mike Williams size with a little more speed. You want production? He caught 146 passes for more than 2,800 yards and 32 yards in his last two years. If you’re going to be an early NFL draft pick from a small school you have to be highly productive. Jackson’s size and the Chargers’ lack of top receivers makes him a guy with that most dreaded of words, upside.

Courtney Roby, Tennessee Titans: Now it’s time to talk about my team. Roby has a good draft situation simply because the Titans went into the draft with two rostered receivers. He played at one of the worst 1-A programs in the country (Indiana) and put up solid numbers. Roby’s a bit smaller than the prototypical NFL receiver, but so was Derrick Mason. Mason also took a while to develop.

Chris Henry, Cincinnati Bengals: Henry was considered a possible second-rounder, so his slip into the third was a good thing for the Bengals. He was talented but struggled with maturity in college. Henry certainly has WR1 skills and size. With Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh entrenched as starters, Henry will have to wait his turn. With Peter Warrick returning, I don’t even know how much Henry will see the field this year. Oh well, they were patient with Carson Palmer.

Brandon Jones, Tennessee Titans: I said that the Titans need receivers. Jones is the third Oklahoma receiver taken in the 2004 draft. I guess they were good or something. His 27 catches, 12.8 average per catch, and three touchdowns isn’t terribly impressive. His junior numbers were better, and the Sooner had a guy named Adrian Peterson last year. He has solid size and pretty enough combine numbers. Like I said before there’s a lack of receivers in Nashville so he could break out as well as any of the other drafted receivers.

Jerome Mathis, Houston Texans: Mathis is a small-school track star. He averaged a staggering 29.8 yards per catch in his senior year at Hampton. His build is slight but he’s a genuine burner. Scouts are high on this guy. Jabar Gaffney is slowly developing, Corey Bradford re-signed but will be gone next year, and Derick Armstrong will compete for touches. Mathis looks like a good slot guy for now.

Craphonso Thorpe, Kansas City Chiefs: Want to win your league’s all-name title? Here’s your first-round pick. Thorpe is a dynasty-only selection. He might have come out after the 2003 season but he broke two bones in his right leg in a late-season game. His 2004 numbers were only OK, but the first year after major surgery can be like that. Thorpe was on the FSU track team before the injury. He’s really fast and the Chiefs are in serious need of some receivers once Eddie Kennison and Johnnie Morton retire.

Chase Lyman, New Orleans Saints: Lyman is a big, strong receiver with solid speed. He’s an injury waiting to happen, so he should get along with Donte Stallworth. He missed the 2002 season with a torn hamstring, and he tore a knee ligament four games into the 2004 season. If Stallworth fails to develop, Lyman has a spot in New Orleans. I’d say his peak is a WR2. Draft accordingly.

Fred Gibson, Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers have had decent luck with Georgia receivers. Gibson was a WR1 at Georgia who played like a WR2 at times. He’s a big guy with good but not great speed. The Steelers have plenty of receivers, so Gibson can take time to develop. The Steelers aren’t a pass-first team, so don’t expect spectacular results from Gibson any time soon.

Roydell Williams, Tennessee Titans: Did I mention that the Titans need receivers? I’m running out of material. Williams was a last-second addition to the Senior Bowl and did a solid job. He was a four-year all-conference performer in Conference USA and had 35 career touchdown catches. He has good size and speed. His consistency in school makes him the early favorite, in my book, to be the Titans’ WR3 this year.

OK, that’s through round four of the draft. I’ll pick up with Airese Currie tomorrow.

Fantasy files -- Rookie receivers part one

It used to be that rookie wide receivers were worthless in fantasy football. They took time to develop and only ate up valuable redraft space on a team's roster. Then Anquan Boldin came to town. This second-round pick (and second receiver taken) of the Arizona Cardinals forever put into question whether 40 times meant anything. Not only is he the best player named Anquan in NFL history, he had 101 catches and eight touchdowns his rookie year.

Last year's rookie WR class was a gold mine of talent. Roy Williams had eight touchdowns and made some crazy one-handed catches. Larry Fitzgerald also had eight scores despite having guys like Shaun King throw him the ball. Lee Evans averaged 17.6 yards a catch and scored nine touchdowns. The best and most consistent guy was Michael Clayton. He hauled in 80 balls, averaged almost 15 a catch, and scored seven times. Non-first-rounders like Keary Colbert, Darius Watts, and Clarence Moore made impacts.

Is this year's class even close? I'd say no way, but you can't deny that there is plenty of NFL-ready talent entering the draft. Just like Axl Rose used to say, with some of these guys you're going to need a little patience.

Braylon Edwards, Cleveland Browns: Edwards is the most talented receiver in this year's draft class. Just ask him. There's a stigma about Michigan wide receivers because some of them have been busts (hello, David Terrell). Here's the thing about Edwards. He's the best WR in Michigan history. Look over the Browns WRs and do you see any number-one wideouts? Andre Davis has promise and Antonio Bryant might live up to his hype eventually. Edwards can easily become the top guy in Cleveland. I just don't think he'll be fantastic immediately.

Troy Williamson, Minnesota Vikings: Between Nate Burleson, Marcus Robinson, Kelly Campbell, and new acquisition Travis Taylor the Vikings can cobble together a solid passing game. Williamson is a burner who played in a quasi-option offensive system at South Carolina. He's a big, tall guy who can run a sub 4.4 40. According to
CBS Sportsline's college wide receiver rankings, he was the 43rd-ranked wide receiver in college last year. So why the love? Wouldn't Mike Williams have been a better pick? Williamson had some injuries last year, but his speed and upside (dreaded word, that) made him the obvious pick for the Vikings. He is a risk for dynasty and especially redraft leagues.

Mike Williams, Detroit Lions: Here's an example of where talent has to trump opportunity. In Tennessee, Minnesota, or even Chicago Mike Williams could turn into a number one receiver. In Detroit Williams has to get in line behind two consecutive top-ten draft picks. 'Ol Brittle-bones himself Charles Rogers might not develop, but Roy Williams is a monster. Is Joey Harrington the long-term answer in town? It's hard to say, and that's why Mike Williams may be the best receiver drafted although his numbers aren't necessarily going to follow suit. He's an intriguing long-term prospect.

Matt Jones, Jacksonville Jaguars: I don't know where he fits in, considering that the Jaguars already have a quarterback... wait a second, he's going to be a receiver? The Jags drafted two receivers last year and were so impressed with them that they drafted two more this year. OK, so he's really tall, quite large, and runs about as fast as Mike Vick with a stiff wind behind him. Jones also looks like an extra from Point Break. If the Jaguars are inside the ten this year and don't run a fade to this guy, they're insane. Jones has been compared to 2004 breakout sensation Drew Bennett, and the wide receiver coach who helped develop Jones is now with the Jags (traitor). Jones is as risky a pick as hitting when you have 18 in blackjack, but you never know, you might get that three.

Mike Clayton, Baltimore Ravens: He's either the most complete wide receiver in the draft or another Ravens bust. His numbers in 2004 were significantly lower than his outstanding 2003 totals. Mark Bradley and Brandon Jones' development (both were drafted in the first three rounds) had a lot to do with it. Clayton's easily the Ravens' #2 receiver this year. That hasn't been a good player (Kevin Johnson, anyone?) for years.

Roddy White, Falcons: White led the country in yards per catch last season. He's another tall, fast receiver who might need to learn how to block downfield. It hasn't been widely reported, but the Falcons have used their number one pick on a receiver three years in a row. OK, Mike Jenkins was their second first-rounder last year, and Peerless Price was acquired for their 2003 #1 pick (still hurts), but you see where I'm going. Until Vick moves away from his one read and run philosophy, Falcons' receivers aren't worthy of rostering.

In the next edition, I'll continue with the second-rounders.

A painful loss for the Sox

Injuries have been no problem so far this year for the White Sox. The pitching has been excellent and healthy. The bats haven't been fantastic but have been good enough to keep the team ten games over .500 with only 22 played so far.

That ended on Wednesday. In separate moments the White Sox lost their starting shortstop, second baseman, and top utility infielder. Juan Uribe pulled his groin. Once the groin is mentioned, most men quietly groan and move on. Second baseman Tadahito Iguchi bruised his knee when Scott Hatteberg tried to break up a double play. Utility guy Pablo Ozuna bruised his hand when he was hit by a pitch. That left the Sox with two healthy middle infielders on the roster.

Joe Crede started at shortstop. Crede has never played shortstop in his major-league career. Never. In the ninth inning with the game tied and two men on and two outs, Crede got hit by a pitch. The umpire said he didn't try to avoid the pitch. Talk about a judgment call in a critical situation. Crede then popped out and the rally was dead. Crede and manager Ozzie Guillen were tossed arguing the call. OK, at least cooler heads could prevail. Who comes in to replace Crede at shortstop? Jermaine Dye, who last played shortstop in high school, stepped in. Dye is the team's right fielder.

Backup catcher Chris Widger started at third base. Widger has been in and out of the major leagues since 1995. How many games has he started at third? Zero. Even Paul Konerko, our first baseman who's as fleet of foot as a dead cat, has played some third base. I would start Don Zimmer at third base before I'd start Konerko there.

Losing their first series of the year isn't that much of a big deal. It was bound to happen. When you're 16-6 a one-run loss on a getaway day against a pretty good team doesn't seem like much. Minnesota's not going away.

Fantasy football and the draft -- Running back edition

Rookie running backs are the finest commodity to have in fantasy football. OK, I'll put it this way. They have the potential to be the best commodity in fantasy football. They're relatively free of wear and tear (except for the guys who had 1,000+ carries in college), they're young, and you can get them cheaply in redrafts. The AUFL is my local keeper league. In the initial draft (2001), LaDainian Tomlinson was a fourth-round pick. He's still on that team's roster.

Everyone's talking about the big three, and by that I mean the three running backs taken in the first five picks. It's like fantasy footballers were in charge of the draft this year. They are the hottest players heading into 2005 from the rookie class. Quick comments on all:

Ronnie Brown, Miami Dolphins: He has very little wear and tear since he was a backup at Auburn for most of his five years there. He's considered to be the more durable guy of the rookies, has the best hands and the best NFL body. He has relatively no competition for the starting role (Lamar Gordon is the best bet for the backup). The Dolphins' offensive line is terrible, and whoever starts at QB is going to be one of the worst starters in the NFL. Brown may not pay immediate dividends, but he'll be the franchise back for a long time.

Cedric Benson, Chicago Bears: Benson was a starter for four years at Texas, so he's taken a lot of hits. He may not have the best hands and doesn't have home-run speed but he's the best 30-carry guy out of the group. He's the guy the Bears want carrying the load when they get the ball with a three-point lead and they need to burn five minutes off the clock. Thomas Jones was pretty good as the starter last year but he's not an elite back. Jones will most likely be the third-down back so don't expect too many receptions out of Cedric. He's the perfect back for a cold-weather team that already possesses a tough, young defense.

Cadillac Williams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Caddy was the starter at Auburn for most of his four years. He had a couple of injuries so that could be a concern. He's a little slighter of frame than the other two guys. Williams excelled as a kick returner and receiver. Don't expect him to do the former in Tampa Bay. Jon Gruden likes to use a lot of running backs so watch Michael Pittman to take some carries and a lot of receptions. Williams will be the feature back although he might be gradually worked into the starting role.

Who could make it the big four? J.J. Arrington. Arrington led the nation in rushing yards last year at Cal. He was the offensive star. The Cardinals took Arrington in the second round. Since Troy Hambrick and Marcel Shipp are the 'starters', Arrington is in an excellent situation. Look for Arrington to go in the fourth slot in most dynasty rookie drafts and to be a great back to pick up after your top two RBs are taken in redrafts.

The rest:

Eric Shelton, Carolina Panthers: He's the heir apparent to Stephen Davis. If Davis can't recover from microfracture knee surgery Shelton will get a lot of carries. The Panthers can't depend on DeShaun Foster as their every-down back. He's a great dynasty prospect and a late-round flier in redrafts.

Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers: Most experts say that Gore was a reach. Gore's already had two ACL surgeries. Then again so has Willis McGahee. Kevan Barlow was handed the starting job in San Fransisco last year and faltered mightily. He didn't exactly have the best surrounding cast. Gore could have a starting gig in a couple of years. He's practically worthless in a redraft.

Vernand Morency, Houston Texans: Did I just hear the clock strike midnight on Tony Hollings? Morency's another one of those guys who played and failed at baseball and managed to get into college at age 22. He was a stud at Okie State and has a pretty good chance of getting significant touches in Houston. He's not taking Domanick Davis's job, though.

Ryan Moats, Philadelphia Eagles: Moats was a man among boys at Louisiana Tech last year. What's interesting about this selection is that Moats is a similar runner to Brian Westbrook. Is he going to take the Dorsey Levens role this year, or is this a low-cost way to eventually push Westbrook out? That makes Moats an interesting prospect and probably move valuable in fantasy terms than the previous two guys.

Maurice Clarett, Denver Broncos: It's official, Mike Shanahan hates fantasy football players. Last year he drove us bonkers with the Quentin Griffin/Tatum Bell/Rueben Droughns triumvirate. With Droughns gone and Griffin ACL'd, Bell looked like the clear-cut starter and a possible RB1. Then the Broncos went and reached for Clarett. This guy could be a Pro Bowler and he could, in the words of Shanahan, be working in a factory in two years. Other than Matt Jones, no other rookie has a higher upside and downside.

Marion Barber III, Dallas Cowboys: Now we're looking at backups at best. Julius Jones is the man in Dallas. ReShard Lee isn't the answer for the backup spot so Barber should get it. I have Julius Jones in two dynasty leagues and therefore will look to pick up Barber unless the price is too steep.

Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants: Jacobs was at Auburn for a year before realizing that he had no chance of getting significant playing time. Is he the new thunder to Tiki Barber's lightening? After last year there are no lingering questions about Barber's durability. Jacobs should be able to take the backup role. He's the tallest running back in the draft.

Ciatrick Fason, Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings drafted another running back? Before the draft I thought that Fason might be the fourth-best running back in the draft. He was a star at Florida. The reason why the Vikings keep drafting running backs is twofold. First of all you can't get enough running backs. Second, none of the backs they have are workhorse guys. Because the Vikings have a massive and talented offensive line, Fason has as good an upside as any of the second-tier backs.

Other backs include:

Alvin Pearman, Jacksonville Jaguars: Pearman might get touches because of Fred Taylor's knee problems.

Darren Sproles, San Diego Chargers: He'll excel as a kick returner. Don't expect him to take over for Tomlinson or have an every-down job as a running back.

Damien Nash, Tennessee Titans: Worth a look because Chris Brown is fragile. As a Mizzou alum, I can say that Nash isn't ready yet. He could emerge in a couple of years.

Cedric Houston, New York Jets: Pretty good running back at the new Running Back U, Tennessee. He'll battle Derrick Blaylock for scraps in New York.

Deandra Cobb, Atlanta Falcons: Possible replacement for Warrick Dunn in a couple of years. Don't get too excited.

Lionel Gates, Buffalo Bills: If Shaud Williams doesn't win the backup job in Buffalo, Gates could.

Anthony Davis, Indianapolis Colts: Ask me again in a year if Edgerrin James doesn't get a long-term deal.

Noah Herron, Pittsburgh Steelers: Jerome Bettis is one and done and Duce Staley isn't a youngster either. Keep an eye on him.

Rookie free agents who might make a roster:

Kay-Jay Harris, Miami Dolphins
Walter Reyes, Tennessee Titans
Jesse Lumsden, Seattle Seahawks
T.A. McClendon, Atlanta Falcons
Alex Haynes, Baltimore Ravens
DeCori Birmingham, New England Patriots
Ryan Grant, New York Giants
Tyler Thompson, Dallas Cowboys
Earl Charles, New England Patriots
Derrick Wimbush, Jacksonville Jaguars
Terry Jackson, Tennessee Titans
Bobby Purify, San Fransisco 49ers

Can a true White Sox fan enjoy this hot start?

You're a real White Sox fan when you look at the team's incredible 2005 start and say "so when's the bubble going to burst?" Even if all statistical evidence proves that they're indeed a worthy division leader, there's no overcoming the team's history.

Why would White Sox fans be paranoid about their hot start? I don't know, 2000, 1993, and 1983 come to mind. The 2000 team was on fire in the first half but tailed off in the second half. The 1993 team was the second-best team in the American League and lost a tough series to the eventual World Series champion Toronto Blue Jays. The 1983 team tanked in the playoffs.

And what of this team? What about their 16-4 start is all smoke and mirrors? I think this might be Jon Garland's breakout year (after all, he will be a free agent). Garland is 4-0 with a 1.8 ERA and just shut down the As last night. The starting pitching as a whole is phenomenal, and was the key to the offseason and continued success in this campaign. Considering the entire pitching staff, only Luis Vizcaino and Shingo Takatsu have ERAs higher than 4. Takatsu's four homers given up in less than six innings is especially alarming, but everything else is ridiculous.

Luis Vizcaino and Dustin Hermanson were bigger acquisitions than earlier thought. The bullpen is deep, which means no Jon Adkins (and there was much rejoicing) and less Cliff Politte. Hermanson has two saves and might take over the closer's role.

Podsednik so far has overcome his low OBP reputation. Right now he has a solid seven walks in fourteen games, along with a mind-boggling nine stolen bases. If that's the kind of leadoff hitting the Sox are going to see all season, the Twins better get used to being in second place.

Sure, the team's nearly three to one strikeout to walk ratio isn't great, and the combo of Rowand and Dye aren't hitting worth a crap. That's overcome by steady defense. The lack of power hitters could lead to some slumps, but no one's seen any yet. El Duque and Contreras have injury histories, but Brandon McCarthy in AAA is ready to step in. If Takatsu can't handle it as closer Damaso Marte and Dustin Hermanson have experience in that role. Right now the future is bright for the White Sox. Forgive me if I keep looking up for the sky to fall.

Titans draft continued

Here’s a thought on Pac Man Jones. I understand that the name came from his childhood, but when you’re looking to be a member of the nearly extinct species "cornerback de shut-down", could you find a name that invokes actual speed? I’ve played Pac Man, and it’s quick only in comparison to watching grass grow. How many Sports Center anchors have already perfected their Pac Man death sound for when he gets burned in coverage?

I guess I shouldn’t worry since he’s already spent half his signing bonus on draft-day jewelry.

It’s interesting that I thought I was pushing it by predicting seven out of ten offensive players drafted. The Titans drafted eight offensive guys in eleven picks.

The Titans wanted Kyle Orton but he went to the Bears two picks before the Titans’ fourth-round pick.

Comments from draft professionals and posters at the Titanscentral message board:

Adam "Pac Man" Jones, CB West Virginia

Draft Insiders: "Has Pro Bowl cover and return abilities but must also address his tendency to be reckless at critical times."

On Michael Roos, OT Eastern Washington (the ugly side of the state):

Draft Insiders: "The best small college tackle in the past decade."

Many people thought that the Titans were crazy to pass on Khalif Barnes for this guy. Time will tell. His nickname is Big Country.

Courtney Roby, WR Indiana

Pro Football Weekly: "Likes to catch with his body, and not a natural catcher..."
Just like me!

Mark Bradley, WR Oklahoma

PFW: "Smooth strider with sneaky speed..."

Sneaky speed is better than no speed at all.

Vincent Fuller, FS Virginia Tech:

Mel Kiper, Jr.: "He still is unproven as a reliable tackler in run support"

Hello, last line of defense.

Titan53: "... he pays attention to detail, apparently his room while at Tech was spotless and the people on the Tech board seem to believe that goes along in line with how hard of a worker he is and his attention to detail."

So we should scout only players with clean rooms. This could be the next level of scouting. I need to call Mel Kiper Jr. After I slit my wrists.

David Stewart, OT Mississippi State

Draft Insiders: "Tough physical durable and battle-tested blocker with a high level of experience and development on both sides at tackle"

Your 2005 starter at right tackle?

Roydell Williams, WR Tulane

Kiper: "Extremely smooth, fluid athlete, and is one of the more polished, fundamentally sound wide-outs in the draft"

Most 'upside' of the three drafted receivers.

Damien Nash, RB Missouri

Draft Insiders: "Fine lower body strength including thick thighs that allows him to run through defenders consistently..."

Thick thighs, eh?

Nastynas_87: "He reminds me of Amos Zereoue."

When you’re looking for success, just take a gander at Amos Zereoue’s career. The Steelers handed him their starting running back job two years ago and Zereoue handed it right back.

Damien Nash is the kind of player who would come to the NFL if there was no age restriction. Nash was a redshirt junior who started less than one season at Missouri. He's not ripe yet.

Daniel Loper, OT Texas Tech

Kiper: "Has outstanding feet and was dominating in many games in pass protection"

It’s hard to say how good Loper really is since he played at Texas Tech. Tech runs the spread offense with lots of quick passes so Loper didn’t have to hold his blocks too long.

Bo Scaife, TE Texas

Draft Insiders: "His sure hands, good mobility, and surprisingly sound blocking should allow him to be an early contributor in a number of roles"

In other words, he's much better than Shad Meier. He also has two black belts, which means he can perform the chop block. Sorry, I had to do it.

Reynaldo Hill, CB Florida

The Tennessean: "He's a productive pass defender with explosive straight-line speed. He mirrors receivers' moves well and has good recovery quickness. He tends to play the ball more than the man and can be fooled by quarterback pump fakes. He does not show much route awareness in the zone."

Hill ran a 4.36 40. He was not invited to the NFL scouting combine despite being a starter for the University of Florida at cornerback.

Titans 2005 draft picks

1.6 Adam Jones CB West Virginia
2.41 Michael Roos OT Eastern Washington
3.68 Courtney Roby WR Indiana
3.96 Brandon Jones WR Oklahoma
4.108 Vincent Fuller S Virginia Tech
4.113 Dave Stewart OT Mississippi State
4.136 Roydell Williams WR Tulane
5.142 Damien Nash RB Missouri
5.150 Daniel Loper OT Texas Tech
6.179 Bo Scaife TE Texas
7.218 Reynaldo Hill CB Florida

I’ve learned to let go and enjoy the Titans draft. After everyone in the world thought that the Titans would take Antrel Rolle as the first defensive player in the draft, they took Adam “Pac Man” Jones. My wife’s been in favor of Pac Man on our team because, well, she likes the name. This is the same wife who enjoyed an hour-long massage on me because she crushed me on NFL picks last year. Am I a fraud, or have I taught her too well? Time will tell.

As for Jones, I’ll admit that I didn’t watch countless hours of film to decide whether he was better than Rolle. I know that he’s faster and could be a productive kick returner for the team. Plus he wins the “looks most like Deion Sanders when he was drafted” award.

Our draft party had fizzled out by the time the Titans drafted in the second round. They traded down four picks with the Lions, earning an extra fourth-rounder in the process. Not only that, a first-round talent in Klalif Barnes, a left-tackle prospect out of Washington, was available. Talk about draft value. Mike Munchak, offensive line coach, worked him out privately. So what did they do? They drafted an offensive tackle out of Eastern Washington. Maybe Munchak visited this guy instead and the press reported the wrong name.

With their first third-round pick the Titans selected Courtney Roby out of Indiana. I actually predicted the Titans to draft him, albeit in the fifth round. That’s three receivers on the Titans roster now.

The compensatory pick for losing Jevon Kearse was Brandon Jones, a wide receiver out of Oklahoma. Between Roby, Jones, and Roydell Williams out of Tulane taken late in the fourth round the Titans will find a third wide receiver.

Damien Nash is a very young running back. He left the Missouri program after a falling out with the coach. As a Mizzou alum I can say that Nash’s comments about the pitiful play-calling by the Tigers only upset the coaching staff because they were accurate. He’s a long-term project and this selection ensures that the Titans believe that Chris Brown is ‘the man’ in 2005.

I don’t know enough about Dave Stewart, Vincent Fuller, Daniel Loper, or Reynaldo Hill to comment. Bo Scaife will be a good blocking tight end. He’s probably better long-term than Shad Meier, but that’s not saying much.

I don’t feel terribly confident about 2005 after these picks. No draft is properly rated until at least three years after the fact, so we’ll just have to wait.

Fantasy football and the NFL draft

When it comes to the NFL draft and fantasy football, timing is everything. There are three sets of player rankings:

1. Pre-draft rankings
2. Draft results
3. The fantasy value

Before the draft everyone has player rankings. Every NFL team has what they call their ‘big board’. It’s just like the cheat sheet that every fantasy footballer puts together before their draft, except that the NFL team’s one looks nicer. They have a slightly bigger budget than you.

Something interesting happens to those rankings on draft day. It’s a lot like a bill that makes its way through Congress. By the time it gets to the President’s desk it’s unrecognizable. That’s how the draft ends up compared to everyone’s bold predictions. Yes, even Mel Kiper, who produces approximately 1,000 different mocks, will be wrong. It’s a function of divergent rankings along with trade movement and teams reaching for players or grabbing players that drop relative to their perceived value.

We can reach back to last year to see an example of the third set of rankings. Before the draft Kevin Jones and Stephen Jackson were considered the top two running backs. When it was draft time, Stephen Jackson was drafted first among the running backs. That made his fantasy value automatically number one among running backs, right?

Not so fast. Marshall Faulk was the entrenched starter in St. Louis. While it was plain to see that Stephen Jackson was the running back of the future, his value in redrafts (and for impatient dynasty owners) wasn’t so high.

The second running back selected was Chris Perry by the Cincinnati Bengals. But didn’t the Bengals already have a starting running back? They obviously have no consideration for fantasy folk. Finally the Lions moved up in the draft to snag Kevin Jones. Owners of the number one rookie pick in dynasty leagues took a deep sigh of relief. Later the Cowboys draft Julius Jones, a mid-level prospect. The Broncos take Tatum Bell to further cloud up their running back situation.

After the NFL draft Kevin Jones was the top guy for fantasy drafts, redrafts or dynasty. Julius Jones only had to beat Eddie George for a starting gig. That’s like having to beat Jessica Simpson for the last piece of pie. Tatum Bell, by virtue of the potential of the Denver running game and the departure of Clinton Portis, slid into the number three slot. Jackson and Perry dropped to later in the draft. It was a lot different than the initial player ranking, and different again from the draft order. No one said that fantasy football was going to be easy.

Last year the third quarterback (mighty Ben Roethlisberger) drafted was many times more valuable than the guys taken first and second. The fifth receiver drafted (Michael Clayton) had the All-Pro year.

What does it mean? If you’re the kind of obsessed fantasy owner who must constantly tweak player rankings, go right ahead because I’m not going to stop you. Make sure to not take stock in those rankings, because they’re going to change after draft weekend.

Let’s look at this year’s draft and compare player projections with their future situation. If the Dolphins take Ronnie Brown as expected (the Patrick Surtain trade this morning pretty much guaranteed this), he’s the early favorite for number one rookie player. Then the Bears take Cedric Benson. With Thomas Jones possibly splitting carries, at minimum playing as the team’s third-down back, Benson’s immediate value isn’t great. The same situation may present itself in Tampa Bay if the Bucs take Cadillac Williams. Jon Gruden loves a RBBC situation, and Michael Pittman is still on the roster.

What if the Cardinals draft Ciatrick Fason in the second round? He could conceivably be the second-rated rookie running back for opportunity alone. If the Seahawks or Colts trade Shaun Alexander or Edgerrin James a starting spot opens up. It’s just too confusing!

In conclusion, don’t let this weekend drive you crazy. Generally in the NFL, talent wins out, but opportunity sometimes trumps talent. It’s kind of like paper beating rock. Don’t try to figure it out, just accept it.

Titans dream draft

If you want draft intrigue, you might have to wait until about 2:30 p.m. Eastern time, when the draft moves into the second half of the first round. That’s where value starts to spike. I have trouble seeing anyone trading up in the first ten picks. Anything’s possible on draft day.

When I started working on my ‘dream’ Titans’ mock draft, player value was important. With Andre Dyson signing with the Seahawks two things happened. First Dyson can stop having nightmares about covering Reggie Wayne. Second the Titans have a top draft need now. It’s almost guaranteed that a rookie is going to be a starting cornerback. You can say that about no other potential draft pick. Because of that it makes a lot of sense for the Titans to draft a top CB in the first round. You could call it a slam dunk.

Or not. No team makes the Super Bowl by being locked into a certain position at any point in the draft. The Patriots keep drafting tight ends in the first round and they often use a linebacker at that position in the red zone. If Mike Williams is there at the sixth pick it would be hard for the Titans to pass, if not use him to leverage a good trade that includes a later first-round pick.

Mike Williams is nearly 6’5, 230 pounds, and is only a hair slower than Tyrone Calico, the supposed speedster on the roster. Williams scored 30 touchdowns in 26 games on a college team stocked with talent. He’s a superstar waiting to happen. Drew Bennett is the team’s number one receiver at the moment. One of the main reasons why Bennett broke out in the season’s second half was the threat of Derrick Mason. Tyrone Calico, while talented, is coming off knee surgery and has zero NFL starts.

Besides, I like the value of Mike Williams and a second-tier cornerback over the value of Antrel Rolle (the current consensus top CB prospect) and a second-tier wide receiver. The Titans might have to trade up a few slots into the end of the first round to get a Marlin Jackson or Justin Miller.

Before I make my official list, I say the following. If I’m right about one player after the third round, it will be a miracle.

1 - Mike Williams WR USC: Best playmaker available.

2 - Justin Miller CB Clemson: Recent arrest may hurt his draft status. Kick returner and solid cornerback.

3a - Adrian McPherson QB Indiana Firebirds (AFL): Upside overrides character issues. Titans have tons of film and inside knowledge of McPherson because Firebirds franchise is now the Nashville Katts.

3b - Adam Terry OT Syracuse: Could be Hopkins’ eventual replacement.

4a - Lance Mitchell LB Oklahoma: Peter Sirmon insurance.

4b - Darren Sproles RB KSU: He’s another playmaker. If he’s 5’10 instead of listed 5’6, he’s a first-rounder. You don’t think Norm Chow could figure out how to use this guy?

5a - Courtney Roby WR Indiana: Put up great numbers with a horrible surrounding cast.

5b - Scott Starks cb Wisconsin: 4.38 speed. Smaller guy but plays big.

6 - Junius Coston c NCAT: Interior OL depth is necessary here.

7 - Steve Cucci TE Houston: The Titans reached for Shad Meier in a big way in 2001. While I’d prefer the team to go UDFA for their third TE, Cucci visited the team and in the seventh round you’re not looking for a starter.

Undrafted free agents: A QB, a couple of running backs, as many wide receivers as we can carry, one or two DL bodies, one or two LB bodies, as many cornerbacks as we can carry, a safety or two, and a kicker.

When you're winning, respect is superfluous

I loved this quote from Tigers’ manager Alan Trammell:

``These guys are playing well,'' Tigers manager Alan Trammell said. ``They're in first place, but sitting here and looking at the division, Minnesota is still the team to beat.''

It’s true, they are the team to beat. Right now, though, the Sox are in first place. Their record against the ‘best’ team in the division? 4-1.

The Tigers have to be somewhat relieved that right-fielder Magglio Ordonez has a hernia. His insane 5-year, 75 million-dollar contract isn’t guaranteed if Ordonez misses extensive time due to injury. Ordonez is going to be one of those "what happened to him?" Players.

When Frank Thomas’s star started to fade, Ordonez picked up the slack. In 2001 he batted over .300 with 31 home runs and 25 stolen bases. That’s fantasy and real-life gold. After that season he stopped stealing bases as often but his power and average stayed the same. Two mysterious knee injuries sidelined him for most of 2004. The Sox smartly let him go as a free agent.

This means nothing to nobody, but Ordonez was born two days after me. Yep, I’m getting to the age when athletes start getting out of their prime. Woo hoo.

My obsession with walks continues. The Sox had three walks last night. If it’s not a season high, it’s pretty close.

I've had a love of the word 'superfluous' ever since I saw it in the SAT and had no idea what it meant.

Trying to relax and enjoy the White Sox

I want to believe that the White Sox are a legitamate playoff contender this year. They now have the second-best record in the major leagues. If you look at their pitching, they are contenders. The defense has been solid to date. The batting has been adequate and the plate discipline has been brutal. In the two-game mini-sweep over the Twins the White Sox drew zero walks. For a team that was built around small ball that’s brutal. Carl Everett actually has an on-base percentage below his batting average.

El Duque gave up ten hits in six innings and still won his a duel with Brad Radke. Luis Vizcaino proved that he’s past his six-run debacle from a couple of weeks ago. I don’t think it’s a question of when Takatsu gets replaced as closer. Now it’s a matter of who does it. It’s either Damaso Marte, who finished the game last night or Dustin Hermanson, who pitched the eighth last night and has two saves so far.

Accentuate the positive

It’s natural for friends to diss each other’s team. If you don’t diss your friend’s team, even the two-time defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, people might start to worry. So, as the guys gathered to watch the family film of the year, Sin City, one of my friends made an offhand comment about the Titans. At the time it was just one of many innocent sounding pre-draft comments. Later it started to bother me.

"Don’t expect much from the Titans this year."

Naturally trash talk is a tough nut to crack when your friend can always pull out the "Why don’t you come over and watch my Patriots Super Bowl DVDs?" The best thing we have on him is Tom Brady’s use of a man bag. Actually that one works pretty well. On the edge of every football-related comment is an edge of arrogance. And you know what, he has every right to act that way. If my team perpetually sucked and suddenly became the flagship franchise of the league I’d be even more of a bastard.

That comment, though, it went too far. What in the name of the San Diego Chargers was he thinking? There are many reasons why the NFL is so popular. It’s America’s sport. The game is perfect for television. It’s a socialist league, but the kind of socialism that Americans can respect. Everyone shares, but they’re sharing a pile of loot the size of Hawaii. The best part is any team can compete in any given year. That’s right, even the Titans.

Every mention of the Titans this offseason is about their recent salary-cap related hara-kiri. Yes, they had to let several key players go due to poor financial management. You’re darn tootin’ that it’s going to be one big stomach punch when Derrick Mason and Samari Rolle show up to the Titans’ home opener wearing the purple and black of the hated Ravens. Anyone can be negative. It’s the easiest thing in the world to do. I’m going to accentuate the positives.

What went right for the Titans in 2004:

Letting Eddie George was tough, even though deep down in our hearts we knew that he had become Ron Dayne. Behind him was an untested, injury-prone rookie who did nothing last year but did score two playoff touchdowns. Chris Brown exceeded all expectations. Sure, he only played nine second halfs all year and missed five games, including the last three. Here’s the good part. Eddie George averaged 3.3 yards a carry in 2003. Chris Brown averaged 4.9 yards a carry. That’s a 50% increase in production.

The next guy who had a breakout year is our best player from the 2001 draft. The problem is, we didn’t even draft him. Drew Bennett was a tall, lanky backup quarterback at UCLA. The Titans thought that he’d make good roster filler and they signed him. Both he and Justin McCareins broke through in 2003 and when the Titans offered both players contract extensions Bennett signed and McCareins said thanks but no thanks. McCareins was shipped off to the Jets for a second-rounder and Bennett became the Titans’ number two receiver. He did all right. In the first few games of the season he’d break free at least once a game on a deep pattern and every time he’d drop the pass. When McNair got hurt Volek came in and Bennett became a star. He caught ten touchdowns in the last eight games. My mouth was agape when he caught 12 passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns on Monday night against the Chiefs. One reason is I was winning my weekly fantasy game by 30 points and my opponent had Bennett. He won.

Jacob Bell was a fifth-round draft pick out of Miami of Ohio. While a former teammate of his got all of the well-deserved publicity, Bell, became the Titans’ rookie of the year. When Zach Pillar left the lineup due to injury Bell took over and played well. He was such a solid performer that he’s currently penciled in as the team’s starting right tackle. That’s great news, except that Bell tore his ACL in November and recently had shoulder surgery. It’s hard to be 100% positive in these reports.

Other breakthrough players from 2004:

Billy Volek threw, threw, and threw some more after taking over the QB position. Chris Brown’s injury, a decimated offensive line, and an even more decimated defense meant that the pass was in. Volek threw about ten fade patterns to Drew Bennett in the Chiefs’ game and it worked every time. It’s good to know that Volek can step in and perform at a high level.

Randy Starks was projected as a possible first-rounder when he left the University of Maryland after his junior year. Bad workouts and a questionable attitude had him drop to the third round. The Titans gladly took him and he was a standout in the defensive tackle rotation. Starks will be a starter at DT this year.

Brad Kassell played so well as a fill-in MLB that the Lions just made a $1 million contract offer to the fourth-year linebacker. The Titans have a week to match the offer.
Troy Fleming is of the new breed of fullback. He’s not much of a lead blocker but he can catch some passes out of the backfield. He’ll help on special teams, but not in a kick-returning role. Please, Jeff Fisher, don’t ever put him back to return kickoffs. Ever.

The NFL draft: overblown

It’s time to play the contrarian and write about the reasons why the NFL draft is overblown. The expanded two-hour ESPN SportsCenter draft coverage gave me plenty of ammunition.

There are no marquee players in this year’s draft. ESPN is trying their little hearts out to make Alex Smith and Aaron Rodgers look like Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer but it doesn’t work. Both ‘premiere’ quarterbacks have fewer than two years of major-college starting experience. Last year’s top two quarterbacks started for four years. I have a feeling that if Cal went 8-3 and Utah went 9-2 people wouldn’t be talking about these two. Utah and Cal had arguably (no argument in Utah’s case) their best season in school history. Naturally the props should go to the coach, then the quarterbacks.

I feel the same way about the ‘big three’ running backs this year. Yesterday Mel Kiper said that you might as well pick a name out of a hat. Last year the top RB, Stephen Jackson, wasn’t drafted until the 24th pick of the first round. Is he rated any lower than Ronnie Brown, Cadillac Williams, or Cedric Benson, one of whom could be taken as soon as the second pick? Plus, when the top-rated running back (Ronnie Brown) didn’t even start on his college team last year, you have to wonder.

Since most fantasy footballers have ADD, the NFL’s draft pace is torturously slow. Most live fantasy drafts give one minute per pick, and almost no one takes the entire clock. The NFL’s first round is fifteen minutes per pick. You’d think that after months of research that the pick would be obvious, but there are a lot of things to consider. When a team goes on the clock they have to:

• Check their draft board.
• Take calls from other teams offering a trade.
• Have the GM and the coach wrestle. The winner gets to draft ‘their’ guy.
• Make fun of Mel Kiper’s hair. Forget the hair, what about those bags under his eyes?
• Order Chinese food.

By the time all that’s done, there’s less than a minute to spare. Think about this. The 49ers will have their pick in the bag by the time the draft starts. If all 31 teams after them takes the entire 15 minutes to make their picks it will be almost eight hours until their next pick. How many beers could you drink in that time?

I know, NFL teams are playing with billions of dollars at stake and a really cool trophy while I play for no money and a trophy that smells like old beer that I have to give away next year like the Stanley Cup. That’s kind of nitpicking, though, isn’t it?

The team talked about the most in ESPN’s draft coverage? The Dolphins. They have to be loving that A.J. Feeley for a second-rounder trade and Lamar Gordon for a third-rounder. Lately the Dolphins have been like that guy at your draft who brings the fantasy football magazine from 2001. In the NFL, that guy gets fired. In our league, that guy gets an extra shot of some nasty liquor.

Do you think any pitcher will beat Jaret Wright’s eight runs in 5 1/3 innings for worst win of the year? Wright better be calling Leo Mazzone, and soon. He did better than Rob Bell, who gave up ten earned runs in 1 1/3 innings. I guess Lou Pinella thought he was going to turn things around. The Yanks scored thirteen runs in the second inning. Three more wins in a row and they’re at .500. Yes, I’m enjoying the next few weeks while the White Sox still have a better record than the Yanks.

Monday ramblings

Yesterday I correctly predicted that the White Sox would lose their series finale for the fourth-straight time this year. Where was my bookie when I needed him? Note to wife: I have no bookie.

ESPN’s daily NFL draft preview SportsCenter show will be two hours a day starting today. I need to be in mid-season TiVo form to get through those. How many names will Trey Wingo screw up? Will Mel Kiper’s face turn blue as he rattles off twenty draft prospects off in one long rambling take? Will I actually learn something? I must suffer for my art.

The only thing certain about this last week before the draft is that a million rumors are going to circulate, and about three will be true. No one’s showing their cards until it’s time to draft. And why would they? This year’s draft is one of the craziest in years because there isn’t a clear-cut number-one guy. There are a bunch of really good players without the sure-thing superstar. That only makes draft day that much more interesting, and Paul Tagliabue has to be loving it.

Fantasy baseball can be frustrating, especially when you play head-to-head. This week my team hit .189. These are players who collectively have been to 20 All-Star games. When your team isn’t doing well in fantasy, you have very little power to change things. If a player sucks for a game or two in football you cut bait. In baseball every player sucks for a game or two. That’s why the early part of the season is insane. Our league leader has Clint Barmes, Joe Randa, and Brian Roberts as his top performers. In football that’s like Anthony Thomas, Joey Harrington, and Koren Robinson leading the charge.

In sports news today, the Boston Red Sox are leading the Toronto Blue Jays 9-5 in the top of the fifth. Curt Schilling has ten strikeouts in five innings, yet he’s given up five runs. He’s trying to push things because his wife is running the Boston Marathon and Schilling wants to meet her at the end of the route. Toronto pitchers used so far: David Bush and Brandon League. It’s no surprise that they’ve given up nine runs in four innings.

NFL draft and poker

I’m a confirmed NFL junkie. I just read that 1.13 million hits were registered on nfl.com the day that the 2005 schedule came out. I had the schedule two hours early. Millions of fans are in fantasy leagues. I’m in four. If I join any more I might have to go into rehab. Some fans might watch some of the draft in passing. I made it into an event.

My friends joined the poker phenomenon about a year ago. Once a month someone will host on a Friday night and we’ll play for stakes so low that Carl Pohlad might even make the occasional raise. On draft day (just the first day), we’re going to combine two loves.

That’s right. We’re going to play poker on draft day. What else are we supposed to do while Chris Berman thinks of nicknames and Mel Kiper obliterates what’s left of the ozone layer with hairspray? We’re even going to bet on who gets selected for every pick until we descend into a drunken haze. If the draft starts at high noon (the Western analogy isn’t too far off), the haze might start by 12:15. Odds are high that someone will forget if a full house beats a flush.

This group represents the cream of the crop in local NFL freaks. We have the paranoid Patriot fan. Every time one of us finds a story that even suggests that Peyton Manning might be a better quarterback than Tom Brady, it’s forwarded to him and the countdown to a rant is short indeed. There’s the Pittsburgh fan who is brutally honest about his team (even predicting the Steelers’ downfall on the eve of the AFC championship) and won’t hesitate to say how the Pirates are going to turn it around one of these years. That’s a well-rounded Pittsburgh fan. And we can’t forget the St. Louis Rams fan who will probably wear his Kurt Warner jersey because it was Mr. Warner who helped beat my Titans in Super Bowl 34. There’s a Bucs fan in there, so most of these guys have seen their team hoist the Lombardi trophy in recent memory. It will be a blast, and we can all dream that one of the drafted players will be a key component to a championship run this fall.

NFL Draft noise

If you think that football fans aren’t obsessed, you aren’t checking ESPN’s schedule lately. It’s hard to believe that they’re showing anything except for Yankees/Red Sox games but it’s true.

This week ESPN started on one-hour Sportscenters focusing on next week’s draft. Some of the best NFL talking heads who only occasionally screwed up a name talked ad nauseam about the draft. The thing is, draft junkies, and I’m just talking about the kind with a small habit, already know everything that they’re saying. About 25% of the talk is about Aaron Rodgers versus Alex Smith. Both are quarterbacks, and because of that position are top draft prospects.

Rodgers led California to an 11-2 record. In their game with national champion USC, Rodgers tied an NCAA record with 23 consecutive completions. He’s a prodigy of Jeff Tedford, who taught NFL mediocrities David Carr, Akili Smith, Joey Harrington, and Trent Dilfer. Sure, none of them has done much in the league except for Dilfer’s fluky Super Bowl win with the Ravens. Any time people say that Dilfer led a team to the Super Bowl, I counter with the fact that Dilfer was released after the season. For Elvis Grbac.

Does the track record of Tedford quarterbacks mean that drafting Rodgers is a bad idea? Not really. You have to be very good to be a mediocre NFL quarterback, and leading California to eleven wins in a season makes Bill Belichick look like a wonderlic flunky in comparison.

Then there’s Alex Smith. He led Utah to a 12-0 season. To put this in perspective, the team hadn’t even won an outright conference title in half a century before last season. Smith ran a funky shotgun offense, and you’re some kind of a pariah if you don’t take a snap from center like good NFL QBs do. Here’s the answer to people who say a QB needs to be in a pro-style offense to succeed in the NFL. Aren’t quarterbacks supposed to be smart team leaders? If so they better be able absorb a playbook in a long weekend. Smith graduated in two years. The last NFL to do this was Bernie Kosar. Yes, I’m guessing. Bernie was a pretty good NFL quarterback.

I watched three hours of that programming and didn’t learn much except that there are better studio hosts than Trey Wingo. ESPN put together a small indoor field where experts took off their suit coats and showed us proper techniques. What they didn’t do is say much about more than how two or three guys could perform these techniques. When it comes down to it you could find flaws in Tom Brady’s game if you looked at enough film. I guess that’s why he was a sixth-round pick.

That’s the main problem with NFL draft coverage. The draft is seven rounds long but most people only talk about players who are to be taken in the first round. The reason why is only the first-rounders are ‘name’ players mainly from name schools. I’ll bet that half the people who filled out an NCAA bracket could put together a credible first-round NFL draft mock. Teams don’t win based on their first-round picks, but until next Saturday that’s about all that we’re going to hear about. I’ll be working on my 40 time in the duration.

Today ESPN is showing the University of South Carolina’s spring football game. If you dare to listen, and few do, South Carolina fans call themselves the original USC. Because of their signing of Steve Spurrier as coach, Gamecock football is back on the map. Can they go from being a plodding offensive team to a downfield passing team, a la Florida? I doubt it happens in a year. Spring football for college teams is like spring training for baseball. The only difference is baseball players start their regular season immediately after spring training. College football players have months of ‘voluntary’ workouts and petty crime in front of them before the first game.

White Sox update: Mark Buerhle just threw a complete game in a 2-1 win over the Mariners. How about that; the Sox have won the first two games of their series with the Mariners. I should put my life savings on the Mariners tomorrow.

The 'other' Sox

While the Red Sox’ fans are punching outfielders, White Sox fans are enjoying the start of the 2005 season. An 8-6 loss to Cleveland puts the Sox at 6-3. They’ve won two out of three in every series so far this year. What’s impressive is that they are churning out one-run wins, the kind of wins that they’re going to need with low-power offense. Also two of their series wins were at Minnesota and Cleveland. These two teams are going to be the main rivals for the Sox all year.

Behind the numbers:

The Sox have scored 38 runs and given up 40. That never leads to long-term success.

In the season-opener against the Indians the White Sox had a sellout crowd of 38,141. In the following two games the total attendance was slightly more than 21,000. When roles were reversed the following week (Sox at Indians, home opener), fans poured through the gates to the tune of 42,461 for the opener and about 27,000 total for the final two games. I guess when you see the Sox once, you’ve seen enough.

The Sox have won the first two games of every series and dropped the finale. Willie Harris and Ross Gload were our 1-2 hitters last night, so six runs was a minor miracle.
Among starters, Carl Everett leads the team with a .367 batting average. It will be interesting to see what Guillen does with Frank Thomas comes back. Bad news: The team has 13 walks in 312 plate appearances. No one on the team has more than two walks. That’s not how to manufacture runs.

White Sox starting pitchers have an ERA of 3.52. They’re consistently getting into the 7th inning. Relievers haven’t done so well, although Takatsu gave up all three runs (on solo homers) in one game and Vizcaino gave up six earned runs in one appearance. If the starters can stay this good (one or two guys are sure to tank eventually) and the pen guys can keep the bad showings to a minimum, this team’s going to be pretty good.

I may make a couple of Titans road trips this fall. My best friend live in Phoenix and Cardinals’ tickets might be the easiest to get in the league. The Titans open in Pittsburgh and I’m overdue to visit the hometown. That will be a really tough ticket and I might have to wear camouflage (black and gold) if I do find a way to get access. One creepy thought is if I do go to Pittsburgh there’s a good chance that I’ll be flying home on September 11.

Titans 2005-6 schedule

Your 2005 Titans schedule:

September 11: at Pittsburgh
September 18: Baltimore
September 25: at St. Louis
October 2: Indy
October 9: at Houston
October 16: Cincinnati
October 23: at Arizona
October 30: Oakland
November 6: at Cleveland
November 13: bye
November 20: Jacksonville
November 27: San Fran
December 4: at Indy
December 11: Houston
December 18: Seattle
December 24 (Saturday): at Miami
January 1: at Jacksonville

I wonder how the college bowl games will stack up on New Year’s Day. They might start at 8 a.m. There are no prime-time games for the Titans, but that’s OK, they’ll have a few next year.

Kill shot

Last night I went to play racquetball. I fortified my game by buying goggles. The last time I played I matched up with a decent player and came away with a couple of victories. Considering that I hadn’t played since the 90s and that my racquet is in its second decade, I had a mild case of overconfidence.

It was around 8 p.m., which is the peak time for any gym. All courts were reserved except for the challenge courts. Was I up for the challenge? Naturally. At first it seemed like I’d never get on so I did some leg exercises. One of the guys waiting told me that the players were A or B players. Your player rating is like a grade in school. OK, maybe it’s like the grading system at Harvard. A, B, C, and incomplete. I instantly knew that I wanted nothing to do with an A player, but at the same time I was looking for a challenge and mildly cocky. After all, I had new goggles.
One strange thing about watching racquetball last night was that two players wore their goggles but kept them on their forehead. Maybe they’re just fashion accessories. I finally got my shot against a guy I hadn’t seen lose yet. He introduced himself as Alan. I noticed that he didn’t wear a racquetball glove. He also was a lefty, and naturally I didn’t adjust my game at all because of it. He graciously let me serve first. I scored to take a 1-0 lead. These A guys got nothin’, I thought.

Approximately five minutes later it was 13-1, bad guy. All Alan did was hit that lollipop serve to my backhand and he waited for me to screw up. There are two basic serves in racquetball. There’s the hard low serve that hopefully dies in the corner, and the lollipop lob serve that generally ends up going high to your backhand, and sometimes hugs the wall, making a return almost impossible. My goal with the return was to get Alan off the server’s line, where he could hit a kill shot that would bounce about four times before I could get to it. I was rarely successful at that.

I didn’t make a total fool of myself. He was surprised when I made a miraculous save with a skin-burning dive to my right. I managed to get up and win the point. I got it as close as 13-7 before he woke up and decided to put me away.

Next time I’m bringing a new headband. That will intimidate him.

History witnessed at Turner Field

I think of myself as someone who’s rarely in the epicenter of history. Last night I could not avoid a collision course with destiny. Sure, empty seats are par for the course on a weeknight in April. This was fan apathy at its finest. Last night’s attendance for the Braves’ first matchup with the Washington Nationals was around 16,000, the smallest crowd in Turner Field history. I thought I was in the South Side of Chicago.

Turner Field was built to host events for the Olympics, and because of that, the stadium was built a bit large. Because of that it’s been hard to fill on a regular basis. It’s well known that the stadium doesn’t even regularly sell out for opening playoff rounds. They have gone to the playoffs 13 straight years, and have won one playoff series in the last five.

Yankee fans were moaning about the Red Sox receiving their World Series rings in front of them. Every Boston sports celebrity was invited. Rick Pitino's invitation was lost in the mail. As Bobby Bacala said to Tony Soprano "To the victor, belongs the spoils."

It’s time to get serious about NFL draft preparation. It’s probably not too late for me to order my Mel Kiper hair piece for our first annual NFL draft watching/poker tournament at my stately condo in sunny Buckhead. Yes, that’s the same Buckhead where Ray Lewis had that minor issue with the law so many years ago. There’s a lot of talk about the Titans trading down from the number six pick, and I’m all for it. They have ten draft picks so far, and more would not be unwelcome. If Andre Dyson re-signs with the team there is no position of critical need. There are a few that are close to critical, though.

The Titans recently signed former Cardinal Kyle Vanden Bosch. Wow, the Titans actually signed someone! OK, he’s far from an impact player, but a veteran DE is a good thing in a very young defensive line. At best he’ll put up comparable stats to Kevin Carter’s last couple of years. At worst he’ll provide depth. I barely remember what that word means in regards to the Titans’ roster.

Off weekend

I know it probably disappointed my audience of three, but I took the weekend off. I was in sunny Gatlinburg, Tennessee. If the Gulf Coast is known as the Redneck Riviera, Gatlinburg is its inland cousin. I fought the urge to visit the Salt and Pepper Shaker and the Dukes of Hazzard Museums. I did partake in another popular sport.

I heard on both of Atlanta’s sports radio stations this morning that Tiger Wood’s chip in on the 16th at the Master’s is going to be remembered as one of the greatest clutch shots in the history of golf. How can you be clutch when there’s no crowd noise? Also, my second shot on the 16th hole of the Pig course of the Old McDonald miniature golf course was just as impressive. OK, my shot lipped out. What are you going to do?

I gathered with a large number of my wife’s friends, many of whom are cursed with working in the TV industry. It’s quite a feat to get so many former colleagues to gather for a couple of days. At 31 I was the second-oldest guy in the bunch. I have to look into any federal legislation as to when you have to give up drinking cheap beer. The Miller Lite went down like Miller Lite. I would have felt like a snob with my Newcastle (best beer I can generally afford), but at least I could taste it.

On Sunday night I witnessed an event as rare as a solar eclipse. The White Sox were featured on Sunday night baseball. Yeah, we got waxed by Johan Santana, but we’re 4-2 after a week. Winning two out of three in the Twinkie Dome is an accomplishment. What I don’t get about the broadcasts is they’re trying to make them like Monday Night football. There was this sidebar on an alternative band that had Bowling in their name. I never heard of the band. They interviewed a member of the group who was wearing about a 6XL-sized Bad News Bears jersey. I want that jersey (a smaller version). Is this some kind of X-Games inspired crap? They play a song by the band and interview a member who never played organized sports past high school, while also showing Sox/Twins highlights. I started to develop a twitch.

I did like how they connected Santana, the first Venezuelan pitcher to win the Cy Young, with Ozzie Guillen, the Sox manager who’s also the first Venezuelan manager in the majors. Santana was dominant and all you can do is tip your cap.

Tonight I’m going to the Braves/Nationals game tonight. I missed a good one when John Smoltz and Pedro Martinez dueled yesterday. There were something like 85 strikeouts in that game. I’ll report from the game for tomorrow’s installment. I know, it’s hard to believe that I’m passing up the opportunity to go to the Atlanta Hawks/Charlotte Bobcats game. I’d rather go to the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum, honestly.

Sox lose

Anyone who believes in fate, or maybe karma, knows that yesterday’s White Sox/Indians result was inevitable. I stopped paying attention when it was 5-1 good guys in the 7th. Silly me.

It’s the top of the ninth and here comes the easy save opportunity. This has not been the week for protecting three-run leads, at least in the South Side. U.S. Cellular Field lived up to its launching-pad reputation. Shingo Takatsu, our closer who throws slower than my grandma but somehow is effective in late-inning situations, threw up three tater balls in the ninth. I can see how in the ninth inning of a series finale that batters would go for the gopher ball, seeing as Shingo throws 86 with the wind behind his back, the stadium is made for the home run, and the longer the Indians played, the less time they had to spend in Detroit, their next destination.

What might be even more painful is Luis Vizcaino, the reliever who came in after Shingo and at least got the game into extra innings, was left out to dry. Ozzie Guillen used up his bullpen like it was game seven of the World Series. Three pitchers went a third of an inning. So, when Vizcaino started giving up runs in bunches in the 11th, there was no one left. Now his confidence is shot for a while and we get the lovely taste of defeat heading into an important series at Minnesota.

Yesterday I thought we weren’t quite 2-0 material. Today, 2-1 seems about right.

White Sox at 2-0

The White Sox opened their season at home against the Cleveland Indians. That’s all well and good, but this is the first time in fourteen years that the White Sox opened at home. Are you serious?

I didn’t even realize until I got home that I had TiVo’d the White Sox/Indians game. It’s hard to watch a sporting event after the fact when you know how it ended. This game ended well.
Let’s talk about attendance first. The White Sox sold out their home opener. From the looks of the crowd at game number two, the team didn’t tell people that it was an afternoon start. There was nobody at the game.

The announcers are Darin Jackson and Hawk Harrleson. Harrleson is known for his trademark sayings like "He gawn" for a strikeout and "can of corn" for an easy play in the outfield. DJ, on the other hand, is bland, and from this broadcast, wrong a lot.

I fast forwarded to the ninth inning, because that was all I needed to see. Ron Belliard, the Indians’ ninth-place hitter, gets on with a single. DJ immediately says that Belliard is not a base-stealer. He eventually steals second. The White Sox put Damaso Marte in, and the announcers have nothing but praise for him. Travis Hafner hits a double off Marte, scoring Belliard. The score is now 3-0. The White Sox have scored one run in 16 innings of ball so far. Marte finishes the inning and it’s the bottom of the ninth.

The cameraman shows pictures of people with babies when play resumes. I guess it was single-mom day at the park. Side note: there is a sports radio station in Atlanta that has single-mom night at Braves games. Bob Wickman comes in. Many years ago he was a White Sox prospect. He’s now the Indians closer. Wickman missed last year with an arm injury. As he’s warming up DJ mentions that Wickman doesn’t give up home runs. Duly noted.

Carl Everett leads off the inning. The first pitch looks outside but it’s called a strike. Everett calls the ump a dinosaur. What I notice about Everett’s leg kick is when he does it his right knee ends up in the center of the strike zone. How does anyone pitch inside anymore? The second pitch is ripped into right field for a single.

Paul Konerko, aka Kong comes up. He takes one inside (ah hah). The second pitch is over the plate and Konerko cranks it over the left-field fence. People have to run about five rows back into unoccupied seats to get the ball. It’s 3-2. Hawk’s trademark "You can put it on the board! Yes!" Call is quite welcome.

Bob Wickman is a jelly doughnut kind of pitcher. That must be what he was sweating at the moment. Jermaine Dye comes up and swings so hard at the first pitch that he might have dislocated his elbow. Strike one. Catcher Victor Martinez called the sinker that doesn’t sink next, and Dye deposits that into the left-field bleachers. Yes, it was dress up like an empty seat day. There is no action in the Indians’ bullpen.

Aaron Rowand is up next. He takes the first pitch. Ball one. For the fourth consecutive time, the second pitch is a solid offering. He hits it over center fielder Coco Crisp’s head for a double. Wickman’s throwing batting practice. Still there’s no action in the bullpen.

The Indians walk A.J. Pierzynski. Bobby Howry is warming up in the pen.

Willie Harris, our backup second baseman, comes in and it’s obvious that he’s going to bunt. With men on first and second and no outs, it’s a solid move. Harris bunts the first pitch. Howry leans down to field it, fumbles the ball, and it’s bases loaded, no outs, with the score 3-3.

At this point my TiVo recording runs out. TiVo likes to record time slots, which sometimes makes sporting events hard to gauge. When I TiVo Monday Night Football I always add an extra 30 minutes just in case. I didn’t do this yesterday. What I do know is Juan Uribe was up next. He hits the first pitch deep into right field. It was caught and Rowand jogged in for the Sox victory. That’s four runs in a third of an inning (ERA of 108 for Wickman). At least I know that the Sox can hit off a guy with a big fork in his back.

Why I'm a Titans fan

How does a native Pittsburgher go over the edge and not follow the black and gold? Quick aside: I love how every professional sports team in Pittsburgh has the same color scheme. Buy one shirt and you’re set.

I grew up in Pittsburgh during the greatest football decade the city had ever known. It’s really hard to compare with any other decade since they completely sucked until the 1970s. Before the Steelers went 11-3 in 1972 their best record ever was 9-5 in 1962. The team started as the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1933. So, as you can see, four championships in eight seasons was pretty much ridiculous.

I’ve always been a bit of a pain-in-the-butt contrarian so when I was the age of reason (when my dad first had me watch football) the Steelers were on top of the world. That seemed too easy to me, so I picked another team. I chose the Miami Dolphins. Why? I liked their colors. That hurts to write. The Fins were pretty good in the late 70s so I picked them when they played the Steelers in the divisional playoffs in 1979. The Steelers killed them. Still I stuck with the teal and orange through the playoff runs of the 80s and early 90s. It helped that a tall, gangly kid who lived down the street from my family before I was born took over the team in 1983. Dan Marino was my first favorite player, and it stayed that way until he retired after the 1999 season.

Once Marino left, so did I. I loved Jimmy Johnson when he coached the Miami Hurricanes. Heck, I cheered for them starting with their 1983 Orange Bowl upset over Nebraska. Johnson’s ego was about ten sizes larger when he took over after Don Shula was pushed out. Johnson was unable to draft enough talent, especially at running back, to help get Marino over the hump. Once they picked up criminal Cecil Collins the writing was on the wall. I had no one to root for. The 62-7 pasting to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 1999 playoffs was the last straw.

Coincidentally that was the same time that the Tennessee Titans started to make some noise. My parents moved to Nashville in 1993. Nashville stole the Houston Oilers a couple of years later. The transitional years from 1996 through 1998 were tough. In 1996 they were a lame-duck squad. In 1997 the franchise made the terrible decision to play all home games in Memphis. Memphis really didn’t want to host a team that wasn’t going to be ultimately theirs. Besides, the name Tennessee Oilers made about as much sense as the L.A. Lakers or the Utah Jazz. The team played home games at Vanderbilt in 1998. There wasn’t going to be much of a winning tradition there. When the team finally moved into (then) Aldelphia Coliseum, my parents bought season tickets. It was a good time to suddenly go 13-3.

While looking at their seats while the stadium was still under construction, my mom didn’t like the view from the upper deck. They moved seats to the South end zone, although the Titans made them buy an extra seat. The first season, when the Steelers came to town, approximately 15 relatives came to town for the game. Everyone wore black and gold except for my parents, who officially announced their change in loyalty. I was still in the loyal-until-death camp. I was lucky enough to bail on the Dolphins before Dave Wannestedt took over.

The official turning point was January 8, 2000. It was the day of my cousin’s wedding (oddly enough, in Houston). I was hung over and depressed after being dumped one week earlier. When I finally felt human enough to walk to my parents room it was late in the fourth quarter. The Titans were ahead but Rob Johnson (!) led the Buffalo Bills to an apparent game-winning field goal. The Titans played the game so conservatively that they could have punted on first down. The season was going to end, but the team finally had a home and there was hope for the future.

One crazy screaming improbable special teams play later, later called the Music City Miracle, changed everything. The play was shown about twenty times while the official reviewed the lateral to see whether it was forward or legal. To this day I’m not sure. That play allowed the Titans to escape with a 22-16 win. They beat the Colts and Jags to get to the Super Bowl. If Jeff Fisher hadn’t trotted out his Buffalo Bills offensive plan in the first half against the Rams they might have won the Super Bowl. I decided after that game to officially change my allegiance for the following season.

Now I own a ridiculous amount of Titans merchandise. I even have an old McFarlane figure of Eddie George that ironically keeps falling down. I am a fan of the Titans like I was never a fan of the Dolphins. If me writing about them in April is any indication, I might need professional help. My wife sure thinks so. She also has a McNair jersey hanging in the closet.

When I recently bought a throwback Dan Marino jersey, it was from the University of Pittsburgh. What Dolphins?

Behind the box score

Heckuva start for the Braves. John Smoltz, who was quickly becoming everyone’s comeback darling, gave up seven runs (six earned) in 1 2/3 innings pitched. Smoltz gave up a grand slam in the first inning to Juan Encarnacion. Recently acquired Jorge Sosa pitched the most innings, going 2 1/3 innings and not giving up any runs. Josh Beckett looked strong for the Marlins.
The Red Sox found a way to get to Mariano Rivera again yesterday. Jason Varitek hit a ninth-inning homer off Rivera to tie the game. The Yankees were not to be denied their opening-series vengeance, though, as Derek Jeter hit a homer off Keith Foulke in the bottom of the ninth for the 4-3 win.

Jorge Cantu bats fifth for the Devil Rays. I can’t imagine this team getting out of the AL East basement this season.

Worst line of the day? Seth McClung of the Devil Rays, with five runs given up in a third of an inning. That’s an ERA of 135.

I already dropped Miguel Batista in one league and he has two saves in two games.
Barry Bonds was the Giants’ number three hitter last year. Right now it’s J.T. Snow. The OBP difference is only about a billion.

Maybe I should have just said "The Giants are 1-0 with J.T. Snow as their number three hitter."

Day of the Heel

I actually watched some of the NCAA title game last night. It was a pretty easy pattern. UNC -- pass the ball to Sean May. May scores or is hacked by one of Illinois’ many tall skinny white guys. Illinois passes the ball 35 times and fires a three. Rinse and repeat. If Illinois could have made one of the threes they attempted in the final minute, that game’s going to OT. Congrats to Roy Williams. Williams has been killed in the press since he had not won a title before last night. It’s time for the media apology. Then again, he did coach the most talented (Illinois probably had the best team) team to the title. Isn’t that what he’s supposed to do?
TiVo has spoiled me. I watched the game live and the commercial breaks were tortuous. At least I know that I’m not missing anything by skipping commercials. The next good car commercial will be the first.

Here’s the best news from yesterday’s wild opening day for baseball. The Chicago White Sox won. Much has been made about how ‘The Cell’ (corporate names are so lame) is a launching pad for home runs. It’s like the stadium is the only structure in Chicago that somehow is 5000 feet above sea level. The final score? 1-0, good guys. The Indians jettisoned Omar Vizquel over the offseason, and what do you know, his successor, Jhonny Peralta, booted a ball that allowed Paul Konerko to score the only run of the game. Mark Buehrle, our opening-day pitcher, cemented his number one starter status with a solid eight innings. The Indians only had 28 players bat.

Buehrle injured his foot a couple of weeks ago shagging fly balls during batting practice. Initially it was thought that his foot was broken and he was going to miss six weeks. There would have been panic in the streets if the media covered it. Actually the injury was covered, but when it turned into a sprain everyone forgot. Besides, Buehrle is so hard to spell. Up until opening day I saw stories about not drafting Buehrle early in fantasy leagues because of his injury. Yes, I have him in both of mine.

Sure, one win doesn’t mean much, but it’s a nice start.

How many crazies picked up Dmitri Young in their fantasy leagues after his three-tater opening game? By the way, he hit two of them off Jose Lima. Homers off Lima should only count for half a run. I lived in Kansas City for a while in the early 90s. Those were good days. The Chiefs were on their way to many years of playoff frustration and the Royals had Bo Jackson. Now the Chiefs have no defense and the Royals are just another bad team that develops two or three good players every five years and lets them go for peanuts. The Beltran deal wasn’t bad because Mark Teahen and John Buck will be contributors. At least they got players with a pulse.
According to Yahoo, the top players available after day one are Brady Clark (two stolen bases) and Xavier Nady (two homers while filling in for Dave Roberts). The top pitcher is Glendon Rusch, with his big W and 7.71 ERA. It’s natural that a Cubs pitcher would be overrated in Yahoo.

The last guy to hit three homers on opening day? Tuffy Rhodes for the (ack) Cubs. It’s kind of funny that he ended up with eight homers that year and thirteen for his career. Young at least has 129 career home runs. He was a valuable fantasy commodity when he had 3B, 1B, and OF eligibility. Now he’s waiver-wire fodder. It’s too bad that waiver guys don’t come with retroactive stats.

It was a bad day for closers. Braden Looper of the Mets gave up three runs without recording an out. An ERA of infinity isn’t a good start. Trevor Hoffman gave up a two-out home run to rookie Clint Barmes to finish a blown save. That’s four runs in 2/3 of an inning for an ERA of 54. That’s the ERA equivalent of three McGriddles.

There are 30 teams in major league baseball. How many only have one style of cap? Look for the answer at the end of today’s column.

Ten teams have three different caps. Do the Colorado Rockies really sell that much merchandise?

I guess it doesn’t matter, because when I went shopping for my White Sox green St. Patrick’s Day cap, I saw that you can get a White Sox cap in pink, camouflage, and pretty much any color imaginable. Heck, most casual baseball fans think that the White Sox are a made-up team.

A minor annoyance: I get as bored as the average American trying to watch a baseball game. I thought that the interviews during last night’s game were extremely annoying. The ‘interview girl’ would ask the Brian Cashman, the Yankees GM, if the steroid suspension was ten days or ten games while the ball was in play. While it’s funny that a high-level baseball executive doesn’t know the answer to that simple question, who really cares?

Alex Sanchez was the first major-leaguer to be suspended for steroids. It’s interesting that he was the guy since he has four home runs in 1351 career at-bats. Imagine how his power numbers would look off the juice? Predictably, Sanchez declared that he only used over-the-counter vitamin supplements. That’s the standard line used by NFLers when suspended. And guess what, the suspension always holds up. The first NFL suspension is four games (1/4 of the season) as opposed to the ten-game suspension in MLB (about 1/18th of the season).

I played racquetball for the first time in many many years this Saturday. My gym has multiple locations (no plugs) so I decided to go to one with racquetball courts. After hitting the ball against the wall for a few minutes a challenger arrived. Here I was with my old racquet featuring a disintegrating handle overgrip, football gloves, and no goggles. I said sure. The game came back to me quickly. It’s a fun, fast game. It’s hard to get a ball by your opponent because if you hit it too hard the ball comes off the back wall. What was really cool about the experience is that my game instincts came back. I mixed my serve up between hard shots and lobs, and remembered that the ceiling shot is your friend when you’re getting tired. I won both games, and vowed to get some updated equipment. Ebay is great (OK, I’ll plug them) for that sort of thing and more.

In a sign that we’ll all be wearing plaid pants soon, Loreal put adverts for a male moisturizer in ESPN the Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and during the broadcast of last night’s Yankees/Red Sox game. I think they should go with the hot female models for the ads, though. The message of ‘compromise your manhood and this is the kind of woman you’ll date soon’ should be effective.

Trivia question answer: Eight major league teams (Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles, Milwaukee Brewers, San Francisco Giants, Florida Marlins, Seattle Mariners)

The AUBL draft

I bought a 550-milliliter bottle of Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale (best beer ever) for our Yahoo draft tonight. This league is a motley assortment of relatives, friends, and general miscreants. To show how skewed the league is, four owners are Pirates fans. Considering that, Jason Bay never had a chance.

Quick fantasy 101 lesson. Most redrafts (leagues that start from scratch) draft in a serpentine order. That means the first pick in the first round gets the last pick in the second round, and so on. It’s supposed to level the playing field. In a league like this, where half the teams drafted a guy they’ve never heard of, no real advantage exists.

Why is the league called the AUBL? The fantasy football league is called the AUFL (Avondale Unlimited Football League), so I just substituted one letter. I'm lazy.

This league is head-to-head, which pits two owners together for a week. Scoring is based on the six (each) offensive and defensive categories. Offense is runs, RBI, HR, stolen bases, batting average and on-base percentage. Pitching categories include ERA, WHIP (walks + hits divided by innings pitched), wins, strikeouts, saves, and innings pitched. There are ten offensive starters (two utility players) and nine pitching starters, along with four bench slots.
Since it’s Yahoo the draft order is set up 30 minutes before the draft begins. I got the number one pick, which isn’t bad. Good thing about the first pick (besides it being the first pick): All of the rest of my picks would be at the ‘turn’, so I got to pick twice in a row. Bad thing about that: I would have to wait a long time between picks. That meant my Samuel Smith’s was toast pretty early. I had a few moments of serious contemplation before taking Alex Rodriguez at number one. I wish it was last year because he had two-position eligibility. Oh well, he sold his soul and the opportunity to be the best shortstop ever.

The number two pick went to Derek Jeter. Yes, that was a Yankee fan, and yes, I had to tell her today that the Chicago White Sox are in the American League. Maybe she thought they were AAA.

Just to be snobbish, I’m going to list my picks. Later on I’ll comment on some of the wacky picks and players who dropped extraordinarily low.
1.01: A-Rod, 3b New York Yankees. The most hated baseball player who isn’t suspected of using steroids. He puts up ridiculous numbers. After that cute slap in last year’s ALCS, how could I not draft him?

2.12: Eric Chavez, 3b Oakland A’s. OK, that makes it two third basemen in a row. This league has two utility slots, so I felt I could take the ‘best available’ guy. He even looks good in the hideous yellow A’s jerseys.

3.01: Victor Martinez, C Cleveland Indians. He’s the best catcher available, and while this was a bit of a reach my next pick wasn’t for 24 slots. How many professional baseball players are named Victor, anyway?

4.12: Brad Lidge, cl Houston Astros. In my opinion the best closer in the majors. 157 strikeouts from a closer? Come on. I felt free to ignore closers for a long time.

5.01: Marcus Giles, 2b Atlanta Braves. Now, if he can just keep from running into other guys, he’ll be my leadoff guy.

6.12: Adam Dunn, of Cincinnati Reds. 50 home run power, and capable of 200 strikeouts. Feel the love.

7.01: Roy Halladay, sp Toronto Blue Jays. 2003 Cy Young winner. Meet my ace. Also I can pay him in Canadian dollars.

8.12: Corey Patterson, of Chicago Cubs. Sure, he plays for the hated Cubs, but we’re talking 30/30 potential here. Another bonus is he never walks. From what I hear, Dusty Baker hates walks.

9.01: Rich Harden, sp Oakland A’s. He better live up to the hype. He’s the A’s top pitcher.

10.12: Paul Konerko, 1b Chicago White Sox. 40 home runs. Not much else.

11.01: Justin Morneau, 1b Minnesota Twins. Another hype-meister. There’s my second utility spot. He has the flu or something.

12.12: Freddy Garcia, sp Chicago White Sox. He has the most upside of any White Sox starter. I know, that’s like saying that the latest version of the Bachelor has the best chance of ending in a wedding.

13.01: Kelvim Escobar, sp Anaheim Angels. He’ll put up great numbers as the number two guy in LA/Anaheim.

14.12: Mark Buehrle, sp Chicago White Sox. What a surprise, my spell check thinks that name is misspelled. Contrary to published reports, Buehrle does not have a broken foot. He’ll be OK. AL leader in innings pitched last year.

15.01: Lew Ford, of Minnesota Twins. I know, two straight White Sox followed by Twins. I like to follow the Central. Ford is one of many 20/20 guys out there.

16.12: Bobby Crosby, ss Oakland A’s. His possible broken wrist is just a bruise. In round 16 he’s a steal.

17.01: Brandon Inge, c/3b/of Detroit Tigers. I love multi-position guys. Inge is eligible at catcher and probably won’t play a game there this year.

18.12: Julio Lugo ss/2b Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Here comes my shortstop backup. Second base eligibility clinches it.

19.01: Mike Adams, rp Milwaukee Brewers. He’s the closer. At least I hope so.

20.12: Eric Byrnes, of Oakland A’s. For anyone who’s still reading, Byrnes is one of many potential 20/20 guys.

21.01: Kevin Millwood, sp Cleveland Indians. I have no patience, so if he gets rocked in his first start I’ll probably dump him.

22.12: Jeremy Reed, of Seattle Mariners. He was a major prospect for the White Sox who was traded in the Freddy Garcia deal. He’ll be pretty darn good in the number two hole in the lineup.
23.01: Yhency Brazoban, rp LA Dodgers. I hear that Gagne has some knee problems. Brazoban is another candidate for my first released player. Plus he’s named Yhency.