The MLB Draft is on ESPN. Great! Now we can listen to all those stupid communists blab about the Yankees and Red Sox even more than they already do (This just in, the Yankees are 13 games out of first place yet still have at least two games telecasted on ESPN every week). But in all seriousness, this isn't the NFL draft, or even the NBA draft for that matter. You won't find a bigger baseball fan than me, but it really doesn't matter. There are three beefs I hold against the draft.
A) Sure, I got excited a couple years ago when I saw that the Reds drafted some Texan named Homer Bailey, but it was only because he was a pitcher, not because I knew how good he was. That is the first thing that I think makes the draft irrelevant. This doesn't ALWAYS hold true, but I believe that generally all the prospects have upside and that their isn't much that separates them. Sure, there are college players and high school players, pitchers and position players, but for the most part everyone has upside and them becoming big leaguers just depends on how they are handled by their organization. Maybe that's why some teams like the Twins at the back end of the draft always have more talent coming up than a team at the front like the Pirates. They take guys who fit (college players) and groom them.
B) Foreigners with names we can't pronounce. I'm not saying they shouldn't be allowed to play, it's just that international stars such as Dice-K shouldn't have the right to sign with any team they choose. It becomes a bidding war, and leaves small market teams in the dust. I just can't see a smart, money conscious team like the Twins shelling out 50 million dollars for a guy that has never thrown a pitch in the United States and who's style is completely unknown. If Major League Baseball wants to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor they could start by forcing teams to draft all foreign prospects (Dice-K in a Reds uniform, HA!).
C) Another piece of evidence was shown Thursday on how Major League Baseball allows money to drive away small market competition. Pick after pick, teams balked at selecting a pitcher that would clearly have gone in the top 10. However, Rick Porcello fell all the way to number 27 where he was taken by big money Detroit. Reportedly, he fell because he is a Scott Boras client, and Boras has been asking for upwards of 8 million dollars. 8 million dollars! For a high school pitcher that has never proven anything! And if he gets the money, what is going to stop other players from doing it? You can get way more money and get drafted by a team at the back end of the draft (those are the good teams)! It's no wonder that some teams can't get themselves out of the cellar...
Showing posts with label twins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label twins. Show all posts
June 7, 2007
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