Sexson to Yankees

Sexson to Yankees

Is it a bad sign when you're filling a roster spot with a guy that the worst team in baseball is willing to pay $6 million to no longer be on their roster?

Well, that was Uggla....

(Ha, get it?)

That game was both awesome and horrible at the same time but it was all kinds of entertaining. It was probably the most entertaining exhibition game of any sport I have ever watched but it was definitely a waste of everybody's time.

And don't worry Phillies fans; I'm sure Brad Lidge is real mentally strong and you will not see any residual effects from this game.

AL MVP - Dan Uggla

Billy Packer Retires!!!!

As if I need any more reasons to look forward to basketball season, I hear the great news that Billy Packer is retiring. My question is; who is going to stand up for the "little guys" like Duke and North Carolina now that Packer is gone?

Rich Harden to the Cubs

I put together a post on the Brewers getting CC Sabathia so I figure I better make a post on my favorite team answering that with Rich Harden. (By the way, I am usually opposed to guys deciding they can change their names after everyone they had gained some level of fame. If people have been calling you J.R. for years but you randomly decide you want to be referred to as Isaiah, I'm not on board. Tell us that from the beginning. However, I can get on board with CC dropping the periods perhaps only because it makes his name easier to type.)

Even after the Brewers picked up Sabathia the Cubs were still a good bet to make the playoffs. My biggest fear was front end starting pitching for the Cubs once there. Now, if healthy, I'd throw Zambrano and Harden up there with anyone in baseball. That combined with the Cubs offense and bullpen makes them a pretty scary team in the postseason.

I get the health concerns with Harden but this is definitely a reasonable roll of the dice for the Cubs. If Harden's arm had fallen off on the plane ride from Oakland to Chicago what are the Cubs out for this year? Gallagher? Well, that would hurt but Jim Hendry did a great job getting Gaudin back in the deal as well as not only bullpen help but also insurance in case of a Harden injury. (And it should be noted that even Gaudin or Harden or Gallagher the Cubs can put together a competitive rotation of Zambrano, Dempster, Lilly, Marquis, and Marshall).

The point of this deal was for October and considering the Cubs only lost one possible contributor from this year's team it is a deal that looks like it could be too good to be true (and really with Harden's health it might be).

In addition to Gallagher, Murton, Patterson, and Donaldson. Gallagher has a real promising future and is obviously the centerpiece to this deal. The Cubs wouldn't even let Murton play with Soriano out this past month (although that may have been stupid on the Cubs' part). Patterson is a guy whose bat would be good as a second baseman except he can't play there defensively. So the Cubs have been working him in the outfield where his bat is no longer very good but he sucks defensively there too. And Donaldson is a catcher of questionable defensive ability struggling to hit as a 22 year old at A ball. Like I said, this is perhaps too good to be true.

Sabathia to Milwaukee and Varitek to the All Star Game

The big news yesterday was the Brewers getting CC Sabathia. I’m a bit surprised the Indians pulled the trigger so quickly considering it looks like the only elite prospect they got was the very elite Matt LaPorta. If I’m the Indians I’m holding out a bit more to see if they can squeeze some more out of the Brewers.

Still, how does this impact the Brewers the rest of the year? Sabathia will probably replace either Dave Bush or Seth McClung. Over the course of a year Sabathia over either of those guys probably amounts to about 4-6 wins meaning a decent guess is that Sabathia probably gets them 2-3 more regular season wins. Obviously for a team on the post-season bubble those could be some huge wins.

Even more than the value of Sabathia for the regular season is Sabathia for the post-season. Do you want to face Sabathia and Ben Sheets in a short series? I know I wouldn’t.

There is one other key component to examine: health. Not only Ben Sheets is obviously injured all the time but somehow Ned Yost has managed to allow Sheets to lead all of MLB in pitcher abuse points. Seriously Ned? Ben Sheets of all guys? It will take a miracle to get him through the rest of the year. Checking out that link you’ll notice Sabathia is 5^th. True, Sabathia has been very durable for his entire career but consider last year. Sabathia threw over 240 innings in the regular season and then struggled mightily in the playoffs. Were his playoff struggles a product of tough lineups, small sample size, or a buildup of all those innings? It’s impossible to say but it’s worth noting.

I need to make one comment on the All Star game rosters that came out yesterday. It was basically already said by Keith Law but Jason Varitek? Really? The same Varitek hitting below replacement level? The great thing about Varitek being voted in is that he was voted in by the players which just further cements what everybody already knows; everybody hates A.J. Pierzkasydnfaskski.

A Great Comment Deserves a New Post

OK, on my post on team grades I got the comment which said:

"Anonymous Anonymous said...

Regarding Knicks: Since you admit you essentially know nothing about the pick or the Knick's situation, why not offer a grade of "Inc." rather than a "D."

I have a feeling Gallinari is going to be one of the big positive surprises of the draft.

June 29, 2008 1:41 PM"

I started to respond in the comments section but it got long and I decided to make it another post.

First of all, I apologize for the poor formatting of the post (I definitely don't have this whole Internet thing down) but the grade I assigned actually comes AFTER the blurb so I gave the Knicks a C.

All I know about Gallinari is that he has the reputation of being an offensive player. One of the problems with the Knicks for years now has been they have too many guys looking out for their own stats and not enough guys willing to play defense and the role of distributor. Based on what I read about Gallinari, that is not a great fit.

Then again, you could make the argument that D'Antoni is trying to start over and Gallinari will be a better fit with the plans he has in mind. If the Knicks are going to get blown up shortly that could impact my opinion of this pick.

Further, what this illustrates is how stupid of an exercise it is to do what I did. People, myself included, like to look at draft night in a vacuum and say who had the best day and who had the worst day or even do something stupider and assign arbitrary grades for each team. This completely ignores that the draft is only a small part of an off-season and a single off-season is only a small part of putting a team together, especially for a team like the Knicks that need a lot of work.

At the same time, I love the draft and feel the need to throw some thoughts out there so just by the nature of the task you're bound to read some pretty stupid things.

Anyway, thanks for reading and I really appreciate the comment!

Draft Grades

Atlanta Hawks

It’s a shame that a team that made the playoffs for the first time since 1436 had no way to improve their team via the draft.

Grade: INC

Boston Celtics J.R. Giddens
Bill Walker
Semih Erden

The Celtics seem like a team that could be a good fit for a Giddens. He’ll have a teammate with whom he can share being stabbed while out on the town stories, so that’s something. The talent is there that he could turn into a contributor even if he was drafted too early. Speaking of the talent being there, Walker was a great pickup for them via trade in the second round. I’m thinking it’s possible he could still have been a lottery pick if he went back to Kansas State. The Celtics picked up two very talented players. Picking guys in the second round that you can leave overseas is a fine decision for a team like the Celtics.

Grade: B

Charlotte Bobcats D.J. Augustin
Alexis Ajinca
Kyle Weaver

Is it a bad thing if the pick of theirs I like the most is Weaver? I don’t think Augustin will be bad but it was a minor reach and did not fill a need. The rumors are they are shopping Raymond Felton but I figure they would be better off going another direction (big?) at 9 and hoping Felton is serviceable. Ajinca is a workout wonder that has done nothing thus far in an actual basketball career. And they traded a future first rounder for that? That’s a horrible trade. Weaver is a solid, well-rounded player and I figure he should make the team.

Grade: D

Chicago Bulls Derrick Rose
Omer Asik

Rose is a good enough talent that I cannot give the Bulls a poor grade, especially when I was figuring they would be drafting at 9. Still, when you have the first pick you should hope you end up with the best player in the draft and they failed in that regard. In the second round I would have liked to see them pick up Bill Walker or Chris Douglas-Roberts but pulling off a trade of three second rounders for Asik is not a horrible idea. I like the idea of taking a guy to leave overseas and if Asik was a guy they really liked it is worthwhile to give up second rounders for that.

Grade: B

Cleveland Cavaliers J.J. Hickson

I don’t dislike Hickson but I don’t think he’s a guy that can provide any offensive help any time soon and that is what the Cavs need best. For example, there were a lot of Kosta Koufos rumors here and although I think I like Hickson more I wonder if Koufos would have been the better fit here.

Grade: C

Dallas Mavericks Shan Foster

I suppose Foster was not a horrible gamble where the Mavs took him. He was an elite three-point shooter at Vanderbilt but there are rumors that his range does not extend to the three-point line. Those rumors make sense considering there was a fair amount of talk that he struggled with his shot in workouts. If Foster cannot extend out to that line he is not going to have any value.

Grade: C

Denver Nuggets Sonny Weems
First Rounder

I think I am in favor of their trade with Charlotte although it is tough to guess when they’ll get that first round pick back. My guess is probably not until 2012 but that is still OK because it figures to be a higher pick than the Nuggets had this year. Considering I don’t know who would have been able to help the Nuggets now with that pick I think it was a good choice. Giving up a future second rounder to roll the dice on Weems was fine if they like him. It’s a low risk maneuver but I am not very high on Weems.

Grade: B

Detroit Pistons Walter Sharpe
Trent Plaisted
Deron Washington

Initially when Detroit took D.J. White I thought he sounded like a good fit with the Pistons but then they traded him for a couple of second rounders, which turned into Sharpe and Plaisted. Sharpe seemed like a bit of a reach as it is tough to know what to expect of a guy that did not play a whole lot due to problems that may be caused by his narcolepsy. Then you have Plaisted, a legitimately skilled big man that probably was a good value where they got him. Washington is a wonderful athlete but in the NBA there are lots of wonderful athletes and I’m not convinced he has the basketball skills to match. He could turn into an excellent defender though.

Grade: C+

Golden State Warriors Anthony Randolph
Richard Hendrix

I’m really not too high on Randolph although if he is going to succeed anywhere it would be in a system like Golden State’s. So, that’s good for Randolph but what’s bad for Randolph is that I’m not sure how well he and Brandon Wright can play together unless the Warriors are convinced he can play the three. I am not convinced. I hear some comparisons between Hendrix and Paul Millsap but he isn’t going to be that kind of rebounder. He could end up making the roster though.

Grade: C+

Houston Rockets Donte Greene
Joey Dorsey
Maarty Leunen
Second Rounder

I don’t know what to think of Donte Greene. I loved him when I first saw him and then liked him less and less each time I saw him thereafter. He looks like he should be great and he shows flashes but basically he turned into little more than a jump shooter, and not even a particularly good one at that. I like the possibilities of what Dorsey and Leunen can offer. With Dorsey’s strength and athleticism he should be able to contribute defensively and he knows better than to even attempt to do anything other than dunk on offense. He’s a horrible offensive player but at least he realizes his limitations. Leunen is kind of the opposite of these other two guys. Whereas Greene seems to get worse the more you see him, Leunen isn’t flashy enough to appear to be much on first glance but he looks better the more you see him. Whereas Dorsey has no offensive skills Leunen has a pretty nice offensive repertoire.

Grade: B-

Indiana Pacers Brandon Rush
Roy Hibbert
Jarrett Jack
Josh McRoberts
T.J. Ford
Rasho Nesterovic

The Pacers were busy on and before draft night. It was pretty obvious that Jermaine O’Neal was not going to play for the Pacers next year (and you could argue he didn’t really play for them last year either). Getting Ford and a first rounder out of him could be worse considering O’Neal contract and how obvious it was they were looking to deal not to mention their need for a point guard. Then the Pacers lucked into having Bayless slip to them so naturally they traded him away. I would kill them for that but they actually got a guy that is much more of a sure thing in Rush as well as another point guard in Jack. Now if only someone would take Tinsley off their hands they’d be set. Hibbert was a pretty decent pick. Any time you can get a guy that is 7-2 and can walk and chew gum at the same time that’s not a bad deal and not only can Hibbert do that but he even has some offensive skill. Keep him in a half-court game and he can be a valuable contributor.

Grade: B

Los Angeles Clippers Eric Gordon
DeAndre Jordan
Mike Taylor

Gordon scares me because he was only good for half a year. I know he was injured so I’m not holding that against him but I would have liked to see him in college another year to get more of a sense of how legit he really is. Still I think I trust his skills because the half of the year he was good he was awfully good. Jordan is an ideal second round pick. You get a young guy with top 5 potential and that’s what second round picks were made for (even if he hasn’t done anything thus far in his basketball career). Taylor is obviously the fun NBDL story from Iowa State and he’s a fantastic athlete that is trying to play point guard that is very turnover prone and more of a scorer than a distributor. I don’t know how much of his deficiencies were worsened by being in the NBDL because I don’t know much about NBDL basketball but his talent figures to be there.

Grade: B+

Los Angeles Lakers Joe Crawford

I don’t see the any skills that stand out to me enough with Crawford to suggest he’ll stick in the league although he’s pretty solid all around. I can’t hold anything against the Lakers even if I doubt he’ll make the team. It’s hard to expect much when your only pick is that late.

Grade: B-

Memphis Grizzlies O.J. Mayo
Darrell Arthur
Marko Jaric
Antoine Walker
Greg Buckner

I have to give the Grizzlies a reasonably positive grade because I really like Mayo and I really like Arthur. I think things could have been better. It sounds like they likely could have had Michael Beasley if they were willing to give up Mike Conley and if so they should have done that. Instead I’m not sure how this backcourt is going to work out. Arthur is a very good player though, and looked like maybe the best player in the talent rich national title game.

Grade: C+

Miami Heat Michael Beasley
Mario Chalmers
Darnell Jackson

This was a wonderful draft for the Heat. They ended up with the best player in Beasley and they ended up with Chalmers too, who may be able to start in the backcourt with Dwyane Wade. I’m not convinced that Jackson is good enough to stick but Beasley and Chalmers make this draft fantastic on their own.

Grade: A+

Milwaukee Bucks Joe Alexander
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
Richard Jefferson

I included the Jefferson on here even though no draft picks were included in this deal. That was a great trade for the Bucks as Jefferson provides a real quality player to play on the wing with Michael Redd. With Jefferson there you can also slowly bring in Alexander, which is great for him. I’m really high on Alexander and I actually do not think he is as raw as most seem to suggest but giving him a safety net is not such a bad thing. I assume the Bucks like Mbah a Moute’s potential as a defender but there were a number of other players around then that could have provided better help.

Grade: B+

Minnesota Timberwolves Kevin Love
Nikola Pekovic
Mike Miller
Brian Cardinal
Jason Collins
Second Rounder
Second Rounder
Cash

I hear some people say they like the trade because Minnesota was able to get the man they really liked in Love but also get Miller along with that. That’s fine and true and all, but Miller doesn’t really make sense on the Timberwolves (I guess he didn’t make a ton of sense for Memphis either). Minnesota is clearly going nowhere anytime soon and Miller is good enough to be a valuable piece for a good team. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him get dealt again. I like Love but I don’t consider him a great fit to play alongside Al Jefferson. Neither are great defenders although both are pretty good rebounders. It could work out offensively as Love has the ability to step outside and pull his defender away from Jefferson, opening up room for him to work. I’d like to wait to give a grade on this until I see what they end up doing with Miller, if anything but overall this could have been worse.

Grade: B-

New Jersey Nets Brook Lopez
Ryan Anderson
Chris Douglas-Roberts
Yi Jianlian
Bobby Simmons

The Nets seem to be giving up on doing anything this year. The Jefferson trade was a clear loss for the Nets unless you assume they were just trying to clear up money for a move at LeBron, which doesn’t sound too bad. They should look to deal Vince Carter. Still they did end up getting a potentially interesting prospect in Yi. I was not a big Lopez guy at 3 where he was rumored for a while, but at 10 that was a great value. I am awfully intrigued by Anderson’s offensive ability in the second half of the second round. Those two guys should go well with the post players the Nets already have. Also, the Douglas-Roberts pick was fantastic and a steal. They had to be thrilled he slid as he did and he should be a pretty nice contributor soon.

Grade: A

New Orleans Hornets

I am kind of disappointed they got rid of their pick because they could use some more bodies. I’m not sure what money they have available for free agents (or who would be a target) but you would think this would be a place people would want to play.

Grade: D

New York Knicks Danilo Gallinari

What can I say other than I don’t know. I don’t that they took a guy that has a reputation for being a good offensive player. This is not the greatest team for that because there are too many guys interested in getting their own points. It’s tough to say what will happen with this because I don’t know what the Knicks will be able to do with their roster.

Grade: C

Orlando Magic Courtney Lee

Lee is a very good shooting guard and fills a huge need for the Magic. I’ll give them a solid grade for this even if all they did was avoid messing up the obvious.

Grade: A

Philadelphia 76ers Marreese Speights

I see what Philadelphia is doing here and I don’t disagree with the thought process but I disagree with the outcome. I don’t see Speights really sticking in the league because I don’t think I can trust him to play with any level of consistency.

Grade: C-

Phoenix Suns Robin Lopez
Goran Dragic

I like the Lopez pick here and I will be interested to see what he can do offensively without his brother around. I think he might have some more ability that might still come out but in the meantime he can help as a solid defensive big. I guess I have to respond the same way to the Dragic trade that I responded to the Bulls taking Asik by saying you have second rounders to make sure you get the guys you want. Assuming they had some reason to believe he would be taken in the couple of picks before he got to the Suns I don’t have a problem with that pick or trade.

Grade: B

Portland Trailblazers Jerryd Bayless
Nicolas Batum
Ike Diogu
Second Rounder
Second Rounder
Second Rounder
Second Rounder

The Trailblazers love trading and they’re going to continue to have that opportunity as they will have a bunch of second rounders in the future. For this year they somehow managed to end up with Bayless, a talent some thought could go as early as fourth. The trade for Batum was a very good value even if I am unsure of how much he will contribute for Portland. Overall, as has been the case the last couple years, this was a terrific night for Portland.

Grade: A

Sacramento Kings Jason Thompson
Sean Singletary
Patrick Ewing Jr.

I really like Thompson but as pretty much everyone has said, this was a pretty large reach. If they really wanted him they probably could have traded down for assets and still gotten their man. In the second round they took two guys that would have been pretty intriguing prospects as undrafted free agents.

Grade: D+

San Antonio Spurs George Hill
Malik Hairston
James Gist
Second Rounder
Cash

I’ll be curious to see if the Spurs find the roster spots for all three of these guys. They are all quality players but I don’t see much contributing too soon with the roster the Spurs still figure to return in 2008-09. The pick of Hill was probably a reach but I’m pretty high on him even if I’m not completely convinced he has point guard skills. Hairston is talented enough to be a great value as a second rounder and the trade they pulled off with Phoenix was very nice to get an extra pick and cash in the deal. I kind of think there are tons of guys with comparable talent to Gist that have failed to stick but it is possible he could become a solid defensive big man.

Grade: B

Seattle Supersonics Russell Westbrook
Serge Ibaka
D.J. White
DeVon Hardin
Sasha Kaun

I’m not sold on Westbrook and I’m not sold of his point guard abilities but I don’t see it being a reach of a pick like many others have said. The top three were kind of obvious but after that I think there were a number of different reasonable directions Seattle could have gone and Westbrook was one of them. He should be a pretty good defender pretty much right away even if I think he could be a liability on offense. I don’t like the Ibaka pick for a team that can’t gamble like that on first rounders. That would be a fine gamble in the second round but Seattle needs to take safer picks. That’s why their White trade was solid. White should be able to contribute and it is much better to have him versus two second rounders. Hardin is an example of a good second round pick as he has that first round upside that he is unlikely to meet. I have a hard time seeing them offering Kaun enough money to keep him out of Russia.

Grade: B-

Toronto Raptors Nathan Jawai
Jermaine O’Neal

This was a huge gamble for Toronto. If it pays off they will look pretty smart as O’Neal and Bosh could be a great combo. Plus, they might not miss Ford too much because Jose Calderon plays such a good point. The upside is pretty high but I think it’s unlikely to be met and if I had to guess I would guess they’ll regret this trade by the end of the year. Even if Jawai ever makes it to the NBA it is not going to happen any time soon. That’s OK for Toronto in the second round though.

Grade: C-

Utah Jazz Kosta Koufos
Ante Tomic
Tadila Dragicevic

There were some concerns that Koufos might end up going to Greece where he might have been able to make more money but it looks like he’ll be in Utah next year. Obviously that’s critical news for the Jazz. Still, right now he looks like he might be a bigger, longer version of Mehmet Okur. That description is actually a very good player but it ignores some of the defensive deficiencies that were problematic for the Jazz this past year. Their picks in the second round showed a pretty obviously preference to gain control over some guys overseas without having to pay them or use a roster spot.

Grade: B+

Washington Wizards JaVale McGee
Cash

I am certainly not on my own when I say that I think McGee is likely to be a bust. Eighteen was just too early for a guy with such a high likelihood of lack of success.

Grade: D