Seeing as I was waiting at a hospital with nowt to do but write in my Palm, there’s a deluge of postings today… here’s my thoughts on the draft.
Who knew Weaver and Drew would drop as far down as 12 and 15? But then if you’re holding out for $5 million or whatever ludicrous amount Boras wanted lots of people won’t take you. $5 million got the Sox 1 year of 2003-vintage Ortiz, and while you could argue that there was no way of knowing he’d be as phenomenal as he was last year, there was a lot less uncertainty than with draft picks. (Sox salaries here - is Cesar Crespo even worth the $309,500?) Still seems unfair that the Angels had a pick as high as #12 though, given their World Series win.
I’m glad that they’re scrapping the alternate AL-NL picks. Given the woefulness of the Tigers last year, they deserve 1st pick. (Incidentally, did the NL get screwed by getting first pick in 2000 and 2004, two weak draft classes?)
Sox picked a lot of college relievers this year. The few SoSH posts that I glanced at had speculations that this was due to rested arms (less injury) and the idea that such pitchers can be converted to starters - ie spotting hidden value. But an additional point is that these relievers can make a quick transition to the majors (see Wagner, Ryan or Aardsma, David) and given that the owners don’t want to pay the luxury tax again and that the Sox fanbase probably wouldn’t stand for a rebuilding year, they may also be looking for prospects that will be ready for the majors quick.
And how cool is a name like Kyle Bono?