Let There Be Mock.

In what is considered to be a weak draft, especially at the top, I’m predicting the Pats trade one of their first-rounders for a second-rounder and a future pick. The mock draft for the Pats below might be a lot of wishful thinking on my part, but other than DeOssie, I have the guys going pretty much where they’re projected.

1 (24th pick) David Harris, ILB, Michigan—Solid, if not spectacular; projects to be strong against the run but not as good in coverage. Pats need to address their age issues at this position.

2 (39—from Atlanta) Marcus McCauley, CB, Fresno State—Played like a star in 2005, but suffered a concussion and was inconsistent in 2006. Belichick gets the thumbs up thanks to his connection with Fresno State coach Pat Hill (that worked out pretty well with the Mankins pick in 2005). McCauley could be a steal here.

3 (91) Buster Davis, ILB, Florida State—Undersized, but very active. Being short didn’t limit Sam Mills. . . .

4 (127) Rhema McKnight, WR, Notre Dame—Charlie Weis whispers sweet nothings about McKnight into Belichick’s ear, and the coach can’t resist. Projects to be another David Givens, right down to the alma mater: nice size, not that fast, good route runner.

5 (171) Zak DeOssie, ILB, Brown—Son of Steve won’t drop this far, but then again . . . strange things happen in the NFL draft. Could be the next Larry Izzo.

6 (180) Matt Trannon, WR/TE, Michigan State—Raw, but big, athletic, and intriguing. Was a regular on the Spartans basketball team.

6 (202) Justin Vincent, RB, LSU—A good value pick here, with the hope that he could fulfill the promise he showed as a freshman in 2003 (1,001 yards, 6.5 avg., 10 tds). Played under Belichick buddy Nick Saban for two years.

6 (208) Brian Daniels, G, Colorado—Smart and coachable. Could be Dante Scarnecchia’s next project.

6 (209) John Stocco, QB, Wisconsin—Doesn’t have Brady’s arm or good looks, but has some other similarities: he’s cool under pressure, he makes good decisions, and most importantly, he’s a winner.

7 (247) Gerald Alexander, S, Boise State—Has potential versatility to be both a corner and safety, which is appealing, as is his experience with a winning program.

MLB Players of the Week.

AL: Mark Buehrle, Chicago--His no-hitter is a promising sign for the Chisox from a guy whose ERA mysteriously jumped from 3.12 in 2005 to 4.99 last season. His was probably one of the more unlikely no-hitters in history, considering Buehrle tied for the league lead in most hits allowed last year, led the league in 2005, and was second in 2004 and 2003. In other words, he pitches to contact. I like the fact that he openly talked about the no-no during the game, saying things like, "Hey, did you guys know I have a no-hitter going?" So much for jinxes.
But did they have to waste all that beer??
NL: Bill Hall, Milwaukee--Hit .429 with 3 homers, 9 RBIs, and 9 runs. Coming off a 35-HR season, he's one of the more underrated players in the game.

The 90% Jinx?

The metaphorical ink was barely dry on my screen when . . .



Felix Leaves Game with Injury

By Geoff Baker

Seattle Times staff reporter

Mariners star pitcher Felix Hernandez left the game tonight in the first inning with an injury later described as “tightness in his right elbow.”

Hernandez, who had not allowed a run in his first two starts this season, was facing just his fifth batter.

Trainers and coaches rushed out to attend to Hernandez after he threw a ball to Twins first baseman Justin Morneau on a 2-1 pitch. Moments later, he headed to the clubhouse. The Mariners said Hernandez will be re-evaluated Thursday. The Mariners described the lifting of Hernandez as “precautionary’’ but it comes as a potentially staggering blow to a squad that leans heavily on his arm.

The 21-year-old entered the game against the Minnesota Twins at Safeco Field having tossed 17 consecutive scoreless innings in a 2-0 start to the season. His team took a 5-4 record into the game, good for a share of first place in the American League West with the Oakland Athletics.

But Hernandez wasn’t himself from the start tonight.

The crowd of 20,871, many still filing into their seats, looked on in dismay as Hernandez yielded a pair of singles, then walked Joe Mauer to load the bases with nobody out. A wild pitch scored the game’s first run and Michael Cuddyer then brought a second marker in with a groundout.

Hernandez went 3-1 in the count to Morneau, last year’s American League MVP before the Seattle bench called for time and trainers and coaches headed to the field. The crowd groaned and murmured in dismay as Hernandez walked off the field and was replaced by left-hander Jake Woods.

Minnesota scored a third run that inning — charged to Hernandez — when Woods walked Morneau, then issued a run-scoring single to Mike Redmond. The Twins had built a 5-0 lead by the fifth inning, with the Mariners doing little to muster any offense against Minnesota starter Carlos Silva.

As it turns out, the injury was a mild strain in his elbow that will cause him to miss only 1-3 weeks.
And that noise you hear is the 2.5 million residents of the Seattle metropolitan area exhaling at once. . . .

The Randomizer.

Can only fit one item into the Randomizer today . . .
Check out the batting averages of the White Sox' starting lineup in yesterday's game:
Erstad--.171
Iguchi--.194
Thome--.306
Konerko--.220
Dye--.211
Pierzynski--.189
Crede--.200
Mackowiak--.100
Cintron--.083

Oh, and their two pinch-hitters were Molina (.000) and Anderson (.125).

I know it's early and all, but . . . that's a lineup with some issues.
How do they even have five wins?

MLB Players of the Week.

This is for last week.
At some point maybe I will start posting these on a more appropriate day, like Sunday or Monday.

AL--Felix Hernandez, Seattle. Anyone who saw his performance against the Sox in the Dice-K Bowl will understand this choice. Or just look at his stats to date: 17 IP, 4 hits, 0 runs, 18 Ks, 4 BBs. Ladies and gents, meet the next superstar major league pitcher. He could be Pedro, or Clemens, or Seaver, or Gibson . . . name your favorite Hall of Fame pitcher, and this guy could be him. It should be pointed out, though, that very few pitchers who have been phenoms at such a young age (he just turned 21) end up having long and successful careers (Bob Feller and Robin Roberts were two that bucked the trend). An awful lot of those guys flame out early (Abbott), or succumb to injuries (Nolan), or just never recapture the magic of their opening act (Valenzuela). Some of them discover the joys of cocaine (Gooden). But barring an injury (or a lot of cocaine), I can't see how this guy doesn't end up winning a lot of games.
Interestingly, Hernandez was first offered a contract by the Yankees, back in 2002 when he was 16. He turned them down and soon after signed with the Mariners, mostly because Freddy Garcia was his favorite player. What, Ramiro Mendoza wasn't good enough for him?
NL--Carlos Lee, Houston. A 3-homer, 6-RBI game is a pretty good way to get some attention for Player of the Week. He leads the NL in RBI with 16.

Ah, Life in the Fenway Box Seats . . .

Bidding Him Adrew.

November 13, 1994: It's halftime of the Pats-Vikings game, and I've just turned the television off in anger (I know, it's difficult to believe). The Pats are 3-6, they've lost four in a row, and they're losing 20-0 at halftime. It's one of those situations where the score doesn't even come close to indicating how poorly the Pats are playing; they should be down 40-0. The season is collapsing before my eyes, and I just can't take it any more. There's no joy in watching them play like that, so I decide to entertain myself in a rather unusual way for a Sunday afternoon in the fall: I do something other than watch football.
It wasn't until that evening that I learned the Pats had come back to win the game 26-20 in overtime. Drew Bledsoe completed 45 of 70 passes--both NFL single-game records--for 426 yards and three TDs, including the game-winner in OT.
The Pats wouldn't lose another game in the regular season, winning seven in a row and making the playoffs as a wild card team. Two years earlier, they had been 2-14.
That day, in my opinion, was the beginning of it all--the beginning of the team that now stands as the benchmark for success in the modern-day NFL. That day was when the Patriots became the Patriots. And we have Drew Bledsoe to thank for that day.
Drew was an easy target after he left the Pats, playing for an inferior divisional rival, occasionally stumbling and fumbling around, and eventually getting replaced not only in Buffalo, but later on in Dallas, by younger guns. Meanwhile, his original team won two more Super Bowls, and all his success with the Pats was overshadowed by a guy who appeared to have come straight off the assembly line of the Acme Quarterback Factory.
Funny thing was, that guy was Drew just a few years earlier: first pick in the 1993 draft, great size, a cannon for an arm, smart, and a model citizen in the community. The perfect specimen of quarterback.
So what happened?
Well, honestly--and this seems to get easily forgotten--a lot of good things. Drew put up Marinoesque numbers, and he also won a lot of games. He led the team to the Super Bowl in '96. He was well-liked by everyone--fans, teammates, coaches. Although he regressed a bit (along with the rest of the team) at the end of the millennium, he was still a damn good player (he was a Pro Bowler as recently as 2002), and the team was competitive, even without the Tuna.
So although he's probably not leaving on the exact terms he would have liked, I don't think anyone should be feeling sorry for Drew. He has a Super Bowl ring, he has a boatload of impressive stats, he has an even bigger boatload of money, and, hopefully, he has his dignity and self-respect. He was, quite simply, a good guy, who played the game the right way. While some might remember the occasions when he suffered from brain lock or showed something less then perfect coordination, I will remember two of his many successes, the bookend performances of his Patriots career: the very last game of his rookie season, when he hit Michael Timpson in the right corner of the end zone to beat the 'fins in OT, ending the season on a four-game winning streak and planting the seedlings of what was to come; and his relief perormance in the 2001 AFC Championship Game, where he earned his ring with a performance that must have been scripted in Hollywood.
Yeah, Drew . . . you were alright.