Sixers Draft

some info on the sixers draft collected from various internet sites.

1. Rodney Carney
Birthday: 4/5/1984
NBA Postion: SG/SF
College: Memphis
Class: Senior
Ht: 6-6
Wt: 204
Int Team: N/A
Hometown: ndianapolis, IN
High School: Northwest

NBA Comparison: Richard Jefferson

Strengths: Highlight reel waiting to happen... One of the most athletic players in all of college basketball... Jump shot has improved... Big upside... Long and lean... Very versatile... Great elevation on jumper which is nearly impossible to block... Confident... Good poise... Pesky defender... Blankets defenders with his long arms and quick feet... Anticipates well and plays the passing lanes for steals... Really gets up and grabs rebounds... Excellent speed and quickness... Few in this draft can match Carney’s physical attributes... He has prototypical size and length for an NBA swingman, with a solid frame... What makes him most intriguing, though, is his incredible athletic ability... Carney has an outstanding combination of amazing quickness in the open floor, a fantastic first step, and possibly the best vertical leap in college basketball... He simply explodes off the floor from unheard of distances and glides to the basket for creative dunks... His perimeter shooting stroke is a thing of beauty, as he’s able to elevate get his shot off almost whenever he pleases, and he has deep range and picture-perfect mechanics... Defensively, Carney improved significantly this past season and features all the tools to be a lock-down defender.

Weaknesses: His biggest issue is the lack of ball-handling skills and possibly the motivation to take his man off the dribble and create high-percentage shots... While Carney improved his defense in his senior year, it still tends to fluctuate depending on his offensive production... Needs to add strength, put time in the weight room and bulk up some... Can be prone to taking bad shots at times Forces shots... Must become better at handling the ball and creating offense for himself... Settles with the outside shot instead of trying to get something easier... Lacks great vision and passing ability... Needs to shoot with more consistency... Can be too reliant on his athleticism... Needs to get a little tougher on the court... Too right hand dependent, needs to become better at handling with his left hand...

Notes: Indiana State high jump champion in high school clearing 6-feet-11 ... His mother, DeAndra Ware, was the state champion in Indiana High School track and field and held the world record in the 60-yard dash ... Brother of former Tennessee star Ron Slay


2. Bobby Jones
Birthday: 1/9/1984
NBA Postion: SG/SF
College: Washington
Class: Senior
Ht: 6-7
Wt: 211
Int Team: N/A
Hometown: Long Beach, CA
High School: Poly

NBA Comparison: Bruce Bowen

Strengths: Big, athletic guard that can really defend on and off the ball...One of the best defensive shooting guards in college basketball...Tough as nails...Excellent rebounder for his size...Led UofW in rebounding last season...Gifted athlete who runs and jumps with the best of them... Tremendous lateral quickness...Great basketball IQ "Plays within himself" and a motor that doesn't stop... Great in transition and finishes well at the rim... Rapidly improving his jump shot and outside game...Wants the ball in crunch time and hit many big shots for the Huskies...An all out hustler who plays with the kind of intangibles that coaches love.

Weaknesses: Ball handling needs to improve to play the 2 at the next level...Moving without the ball... Free-throw shooting...Often foul prone, may be because of his aggressive defensive style, but still fouls out too often...Needs to continue to improve outside shot... Not enough attempts to determine how well he really shoots from the perimeter yet and does not have NBA range at this time.

Brett Myers

a couple of people have emailed me asking for my take on myers. i've been silent because i think it's obvious that what he did was ridiculous.

from a sports standpoint, whatever mental defect he has that enables him to punch his wife in the face is the same defect that i believe will prevent him from becoming a true front line pitcher. i was as hyped as anyone to see him when he came up as a rookie, but after watching him pitch and watching him break down mentally time and time again, i just don't see stardom in his future. he's unstable at his core.

Confession

scrapplelog is on a much needed vacation at the beach. however, i do have one confession i need to make. once every four years... i watch soccer. it's strange considering how boring i usually find the sport, but i do find world cup soccer to actually be watchable -- entertaining even.

i find that getting a sport's best players together to play a tournament where nationalistic pride is involved makes just about any event compelling... even if it is soccer. too bad the US sucks, i could see this taking off if the US ever gets a decent national squad.

Lucky

ben roethlisberger may just be one of the luckiest guys around. he goes headfirst through a windshield after riding around without a helmet or a license on the fastest motorcycle in the world. forget playing football again, the dude is lucky to be alive. moron.

Me-O Will Never Change

me-o was 8 (!) hours late for his own football camp. is there any activity at all going on in his head? if you wired him to an eeg, would it register at all? jeez louise.

Terrell Owens showed up eight hours late for his own football camp on Wednesday, the Dallas Morning News reported.

The new Dallas Cowboys receiver kept 90 players at the Terrell Owens Youth Football Camp waiting until 5 p.m. before he arrived.

The former Eagle threw passes to the campers and asked whether they had ever seen a better quarterback.

"Donovan McNabb," said one camper, giggling.

Phillies Draft

baseball draft started today. the phils picked up:

Kyle Drabek...............SS................Woodlands HS
Adrian Cardenas........SS...............Monsignor Edward Pace HS
Andrew Carpenter....RHP............Long Beach State
Jason Donald..............SS...............Arizona

holy shortstops, batman! guess you can't have too many of them... also drabek is listed as a SS but it seems like most people are projecting him as a pitcher.

here are the scouting reports from baseball america:

12. Kyle Drabek, rhp/ss
School: The Woodlands HS. Class: Sr.
Hometown: The Woodlands, Texas
B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-1. Wt.: 190. Birthdate: 12/8/87.
Scouting Report: There may not be a more gifted player than Drabek in this draft, but he also comes with makeup concerns. On the mound, he shows better stuff than his father, former Cy Young Award winner Doug. Though he's 5-foot-11, he has the arm speed to deliver 94-95 mph fastballs and top out at 97. His best pitch may be his 78-82 mph spike curveball, which is all but unhittable. The lone knock on the pitch is that he relies on it too much. "He has as good an arm as anyone," an American League scouting director said. "When his fastball and curve are on, he has the best two-pitch combination in the draft." Drabek has a decent slider and feel for a changeup, though he rarely needs to use either at this point. He finishes a bit upright in his delivery, but his mechanics are otherwise sound and the ball comes out of his hand easily. He could also make a case for being the best high school position player in the draft, as he's a comparable hitter to New Jersey's Bill Rowell and would have a better shot at playing shortstop as a pro. Yet some teams are backing away from Drabek. He's high-strung on the field, and there are off-field issues as well, but he'll still go in the middle of the first round.

62. Adrian Cardenas, 2b
School: Monsignor Pace HS. Class: Sr.
Hometown: Miami Lakes, Fla.
B-T: L-R. Ht.: 6-0. Wt.: 190. Birthdate: 10/10/87.
Scouting Report: No player in Florida took a bigger leap forward this spring than Cardenas, a hard-nosed throwback player with good makeup and feel for the game. He's savvy and bright, and he even plays the piano. He made the most of hitting in front of Chris Marrero in his high school lineup by putting together one of the most impressive high school seasons in South Florida in years. He hit safely in 29 of his first 37 at-bats with eight home runs, broke a Dade County record for home runs and was batting .630-17-56. Cardenas has good strength and a short, compact lefthanded swing. He allows balls to get deep in the hitting zone before driving them to all fields. He should hit 10-15 home runs annually in the big leagues with a .275-.295 average. He won't make it there as a shortstop, however, which hinders his value. He's a fringe-average runner, and his lower half has some stiffness. Most scouts believe he profiles at second base fine, though others insist he'll wind up in left field. His hands are average, as is his arm at second base.

98. Andrew Carpenter, rhp
School: Long Beach State. Class: Jr.
Hometown: Vacaville, Calif.
B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-3. Wt.: 225. Birthdate: 5/18/85.
Scouting Report: Carpenter is on his third school in three seasons. He went 7-2 with four saves at Division II Chico (Calif.) State in 2004, then spent 2005 at Sacramento City College, one of the nation's top junior college programs. He went from there to Long Beach State and became the team's best starter. While teammate Jered Hughes pitches on Fridays and has more pro potential, Carpenter has a knack for pitching and throwing strikes that rivals anyone in the draft. His fastball is fringe-average at 87-89 mph (though he's touched up to 94), but pitching coach Troy Buckley has improved his mechanics, giving him more of a downward angle and more balance in his delivery. He has above-average control of all his pitches, but Carpenter throws too many, using at times a split-finger fastball as well as slider, curveball and changeup, with the splitter his out pitch. He'll need to pick one breaking ball and should settle in as a four-pitch, strike-throwing righty who profiles as a back-of-the-rotation starter.

150. Jason Donald, ss
School: Arizona. Class: Jr.
Hometown: Clovis, Calif.
B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-1. Wt.: 200. Birthdate: 9/4/85.
Scouting Report: Donald turned down a significant bonus out of high school, though the size of the bonus has grown as the tale has spread through the scouting grapevine. It was south of the $1 million some have speculated about. Whatever the bonus offer was, however, Donald will be hard-pressed to match it after failing to significantly improve his pro profile in college. He helped Arizona to the 2004 College World Series and hit .272 in the Cape Cod League in 2005, and scouts praise Donald's makeup. He's a gamer with one above-average tool, his plus throwing arm. Otherwise, his tools grade out average or below (speed), and his swing can get long and slow. He probably lacks the range to be an everyday shortstop in pro ball, though his smarts and hands could allow him to get by. Overall, Donald has a utilityman's skills and tools with an everyday pricetag and Scott Boras as an adviser. Position scarcity still could result in Donald being drafted in the first five rounds.

more on drabek:

Less than 24 hours later, the 6-foot-1, 190-pounder is standing on the mound before a rowdy crowd at Kelly Field in Carrollton, taking on Newman Smith High, the top Dallas-area team this year. Earlier in the game, fans chanted "overrated" after he struck out in an at-bat.

A win would move The Woodlands to the state regional semifinals. A loss would force a decisive third game against Newman Smith the next day. With a flock of scouts in the stands raising radar guns for every pitch, Drabek put on an effort already being hailed as one of the finest in the history of Texas prep baseball.

His fastball sizzling at 97 mph and his 87 mph slider dropping like Enron stock, Drabek struck out the side in five of seven innings on his way to a no-hitter in a 2-0 victory. He recorded 19 strikeouts, breaking the school's previous single-game record of 17.

"It was the best high school performance I've ever seen by a pitcher, and I've been one-hit by Kerry Wood too," Newman Smith coach J.T. Blair says. "It was dominating. We couldn't bunt. We could barely foul the ball off. It was ridiculous."

Not only does Drabek possess a rocket right arm with a smoking fastball and a wicked curveball, but he is also a stellar shortstop with a powerful, compact swing. A standout wide receiver who caught 53 passes for 1,094 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior, he also has 4.5-second speed in the 40.

McNabb Quote

a flurry of articles about donovan since he's out and about publicizing a fundraiser for his foundation. i think one quote in this article by bob brookover is particularly important coming into the season:

"I'd watch my footwork and my decision making," he said. "There were times when I could have run the ball and picked up yards, but I wasn't able to do that with the injury. I look at the film and say, 'OK, right here I could have done this.' I think it makes me mentally stronger going into the following year."

first, i think it finally gives us visibility into donovan's mindset, that he does recognize the value that his mobility adds.

second, it makes me wonder how long that sports hernia was actually bothering him. he's not one to complain about injuries and he's been noticeably slower for at least 2 seasons. i suspect that the hernia (or some sort of precursor to the hernia) has been bothering him for a while and got to the point of being intolerable last season. there were several articles about new sports hernia procedures that could have him up and running in a just a couple of weeks. when asked about those procedures, both the eagles and mcnabb seemed to indicate that he was not a candidate for those procedures... seems possible the injury got too severe from playing through it for too long.

Ben's Proposal for Willis

from ben schuchardt:

The Yankees need a left-handed outfield bat. The Marlins need to bank money and stockpile for the future. The Phillies need pitching and personality. This trade is fair and helps all three teams. Why not?

Phillies give:
Bobby Abreu (to Yankees)
AND
Scott Mathieson (P) OR Gio Gonzalez (P) OR Daniel Haigwood (P) (to Marlins)

Phillies get:
Dontrelle Willis

Yankees give:
Philip Hughes (P) (to Florida)
Eric Duncan (1B/3B) (to Florida)
AND
Shelley Duncan (1B) OR Kevin Thompson (3B) (to Florida)

Yankees get:
Bobby Abreu

Marlins give:
Dontrelle Willis

Marlins get:
Scott Mathieson (P) OR Gio Gonzalez (P) OR Daniel Haigwood (P) (from Phillies)
Philip Hughes (P) (from Yankees)
Eric Duncan (1B/3B) (from Yankees)
Shelley Duncan (1B) OR Kevin Thompson (3B) (from Yankees)

i don't know enough about any of the minor leaguers to know whether the yankees or the marlins would go for it, but from the phils perspective it would clearly be a huge win for them.

baseball america lists hughes and eric duncan as the top two prospects in the yankees farm system (rated 17th best in organizational talent):

PHILIP HUGHES, rhp Born: June 24, 1986 B-T: R-R Ht: 6-5 Wt: 220
Drafted: HS—Santa Ana., Calif., 2004 (1st round) Signed by: Jeff Patterson

Background: Hughes is a California guy but grew up a Red Sox fan, as his father hails from New England and he had a grandmother who lived in Rhode Island. As a boy, Hughes took trips to visit her in the summer and went to games at Fenway Park regularly. Hughes was one of the nation’s top high school arms when the 2004 draft rolled around, but slipped to the Yankees with the 23rd overall pick as teams focused on college players. Signed for $1.4 million, Hughes worked just five innings in his pro debut before he stubbed his toe in his hotel room. Being ultra-cautious and fearing a fracture, New York shut him down. Hughes’ first full season also ended early because of a pair of stints on the disabled list, one with shoulder tendinitis and another with a tired arm.

Strengths: One Yankees official has called Hughes “Mark Prior light” since he joined the organization, and the similarities are striking. He has a sturdy, strong body and relatively effortless delivery, and the ball comes out of his hand easy. His fastball settled into the 92-94 mph range last season and he has more velocity when he needs it. As with Prior, the striking feature of Hughes’ fastball is his control and command of it. He throws it for strikes consistently and is honing his ability to put it in just the right spot. He has a hard, late-biting slider that the Yankees wouldn’t let him throw in last year, but he likes it better than his curveball and has the go-ahead to use it again in 2006. His curve progressed significantly and is now an above-average pitch. New York officials believe he has the poise and intangibles to go with his front-of-the-rotation stuff.

Weaknesses: Like Prior, Hughes has not been durable the last two years. He has pitched for three teams as a pro and has ended each stint on the disabled list. Besides the stubbed toe, he also had a mild case of elbow tendinitis in 2004. Hughes hasn’t needed surgery, and the Yankees insist the biggest hurdle he must overcome with regard to his health is getting to know his body better. All pitchers get sore, but Hughes has to learn what soreness is to be expected over the course of a season and what’s unusual. At times he throws his curve in the low 70s just to get it over, and he needs to throw it in the 78-80 mph range for it to be a plus pitch. He did that as the year progressed but will have to maintain that feel when he reintroduces his slider. His changeup is his fourth pitch, but he has the feel and arm speed for it to be at least average.

The Future: The wraps come off Hughes in 2006. The Yankees will start him at high Class A Tampa, and he shouldn’t be there long. As he reintroduces his slider, he should become a starter with well-above-average control and above-average command who throws three plus pitches for strikes. In a different organization, a healthy Hughes could reach the major leagues in 2006. Instead, he should be in the mix for a rotation spot in New York in 2007—as long as he stays off the disabled list.

ERIC DUNCAN, 3b/1b Born: December 7, 1984 B-T: L-R Ht: 6-3 Wt: 195
Drafted: West Orange, N.J., 2003 (1st round) Signed by: Cesar Presbott

Background: One of the youngest players in the Double-A Eastern League last year, Duncan survived a poor start and trade rumors. Then he got beaned in the head by a pitch by Akron’s Victor Kleine on Aug. 14 and wasn’t right the rest of the season. He bounced back to win the Arizona Fall League’s MVP award.

Strengths:
Duncan has above-average lefthanded power with enough bat speed to turn on quality fastballs, and he has easy opposite-field power as well. A solid athlete, he also has excellent makeup. He’s coachable and willing to make adjustments.

Weaknesses:
Once EL pitchers realized Duncan had trouble with quality breaking balls, they fed him a steady diet of them and rarely gave him fastballs in the strike zone. He needs to trust his hands more on offspeed pitches. He led the EL with 27 errors at third base, mostly due to a fringy arm.


The Future:
With Alex Rodriguez in front of him at third base, Duncan should move to first base sooner than later and began the process in the AFL. The position switch and his modest 2005 season likely will prompt his return to Trenton in 2006.

in passing, i heard someone on the radio this weekend saying that when all is said and done, bobby abreau will go down as the second greatest offensive force in phillies history (behind on only schmitty) and that he actually has a chance at the top spot. even if this is remotely true, doesn't it seem like more people should be a fan of this guy? are we too tough on him? there seems to be a similarity in the way phillies fans view abreau and yankees fans view a-rod. are either/both appropriate? sometimes i think abreau gets a bad rap (from me included).

that said, if gillick can pull this trade off, i'll volunteer to carry bobby's bags to new york for him.

Nowitzki... Ugh

more reminders of the larry beelzebrown era. dirk nowitzki hits for 50 last night and completely takes over a playoff game. could have/should have been a sixer, lest anyone forget.

1998 draft:

8.....Philadelphia..................Larry Hughes
9.....Milwaukee traded to Dallas....Dirk Nowitzki
10....Boston........................Paul Pierce

to make matters worse, hughes finally develops into a serviceable player after the sixers trade him away. check this out:

hughes + bruce bowen --> toni kukoc
toni kukoc + picks --> glenn robinson
glenn robinson --> jamal mashburn + rodney rogers
mashburn + rogers --> zip

the devil's inspired work to select hughes ahead of pierce and nowitzki amplified by the genius efforts of billy king means that we essentially traded dirk nowitzki + picks for literally nothing. nice work guys!

Referrals

as if you needed more proof that the internet exists primarily as a medium for the exchange of pornography, an analysis of the referring sites shows that my brief mention of stacy keibler has generated more site traffic on this sports related blog than any other single topic. a full 5 out of the last twenty referring links were from yahoo and google searches associated with ms. keibler -- "stacy keibler", "stacy keibler hot", and "stacy keibler porn". the next most popular was "sixers trade rumors" with 3. the rest were tied at 1 apiece -- my favorite in this category was "christy canyon" from my brief attempt to manipulate the google ads.