Roadkill take pitching early an often

Realizing that the projected starting rotation of Escobar, Lowry & Looper would not strike fear into opponents the Roadkill front office focused on rebuilding the staff in the 2008 draft. When they determined the "signability" factor of projected #1 pick Tim Lincecum would be challenging and selected Yovani Gallardo. Once Gallardo gets through the 'Kill's strength and conditioning program with fellow teammate Brad Lidge he will fill the #2 slot behind staff ace Kelvim Escobar.

The second round was solid for Georgia when they grabbed Dustin McGowan with the overall #18 pick and then followed with an additional pick in the round (via the Schmidt trade with MSU) taking Manny Corpas who will immediately fill the Closer role. Carlos Villanueva was selected in round #3 and Jesse Litch in #6 completed the Roadkill's pitching haul.

The projected rotation will see Escobar followed by Gallardo, McGowan, Lowry & Looper. Villanueva & Litch will spot-start as needed. With the addition of Corpas the Roadkill will allow Lidge to have a full recovery and will be in better position to challenge for Closer in '09.

Surf, Braun discuss long-term deal

Ryan Braun's agent has had preliminary talks with Surfs general manager Jim Bessinger regarding a contract for the 24-year-old.
"It's certainly something I am open to, but I honestly haven't thought about it too much yet," Braun said. "I'm definitely not opposed to considering whatever they have to say." Braun would probably want a deal similar to the six-year, $31 million pact signed by Rookie of the Year runnerup Troy Tulowitzki. However, the Surf might not be willing to go that far. There's one key difference between the two. Tulo, having been up for all of 2007, was five years away from free agency, while Braun still has six to go.

DFW shows off 'Young Arms' to media.

Today the Spurs introduced 4 new pitchers in what fans and the team hopes to inject some much needed young arms to the pitching rotation. Ian Snell who will be 26 this season was brought over in a trade with HHA for fan favorite Palcido Polanco, will join the rotation and should be the number 2 starter behind Greg Maddux who will be 42 years young this season. Next up was 1st round pick Jeremy Guthrie who will turn 29 this season, not 32 as reported by some bonehead in 'My 2 cents' article. Next was middle reliever Heath Bell. At 30 the fireballer will be called on a lot the season. Finally there was 4th round Draft pick Justin Germano who turns 26 in August will be used as a starter and reliever so he can get his feet wet. Dave Bush hopes to pick up off his 18 win season of 2007, (there's a big big chance he won't; well that's almost a given) has had some shoulder pain already.

The Spurs will have a younger starting staff this season with the exception of Maddux of course. They say goodbye Kenny 'The Gambler' Rogers who would have been 43 this season and Jason Jennings who will be 30. Now if they will keep drafting younger pitchers that average age will certainly go down. Wait one minute DFW just made their 13th round pick;....starting picher Jamie Moyer who will be 45 this season. Oh well, so much for teaching an old dog a new trick.

D. YoungGate Part 2

In a surprise move (or not depending on how cynical you are) the Illinois Chow Chows selected Dmitri Young in the 8th round. This is Young's second (or third depending on how you count) stint with the Chows.

Conspiracy theorist point out that Brad Sherlag's fascination with Young began late in the 2006 season when the Chows traded Saloman Torres to Georgia for Dmitri Young and a 6th round pick. Roadkill GM Johnny Miller recalled the trade talks saying "yes a 6th rounder was involved but the Chows were insistent that Dmitri be part of the deal."

When asked about the 2006 trade, Brad Sherlag's recollection was "we traded Torres for a 6th and let Georgia choose which player to send the Chows in return." When we told Sherlag what Mr. Miller said about the deal, Brad got a little defensive "Johnny Miller is a friend of mine and is an honest person. I would never say Johnny isn't telling the truth about this. Perhaps Johnny is misremembering our conversation." When pressed further, Sherlag said "I have never asked for Dmitri Young back in a trade."

Fast forward to the 2008 draft -- in the second round Brad Sherlag selected D. Young. There was instant uproar in Illinois and when Sherlag returned back to draft HQ after a day of leisure (while his staff was busily working the draft), he quickly claimed that he thought he was drafting Delmon. After talks with Commissioner Beard, it was decided the Chows would select Billy Butler instead of Young. But had Sherlag gotten his man all along and bowing to public pressure cooked up the D. Young mistake?

Commissioner Beard has stated that his office will launch an investigation. If Sherlag is found guilty, he could be forced to give up Young, Butler or future draft picks. Is Dmitri Young worth all this?

An angry Sherlag held a press conference and said, "Look we were just trying to get the best pinch hitter on the board in the 8th round. Plus Dmitri, his agents and his attorneys have been calling us non-stop since the draft snafu. That article in Hawaii talking of lucrative roster bonuses has Dmitri's people threatening legal action. We jus wanted the best hitter available and to avoid any litigation. I can't believe what a mess this has turned into. I'll tell you what needs to be investigated -- why can't we have first names on the draft system? This is the 21st Century do we really need to just use first initials

Knights Bring Qualls Back Into the Fold

(Special to the Daily Mirror - February 18, 2008)

NEW YORK - In an interesting turn of events, the Knights have brought reliever Chad Qualls back to New York by drafting him in the sixth round of the slow-moving 2008 NASBL draft.

Qualls was with the Knights in 2006 and 2007. After struggling in his first year in New York, the 29 year old righthander blossomed in his sophomore term, hurling 81 innings in middle relief, winning 5 games while posting a 2.55 ERA for the contending Knights. He was then surprisingly cut last month.

In a prepared statement faxed to New York sports media outlets, GM Mitch Pak said "Middle relief is critical in a league like the NASBL, since starting pitchers tend to wear down quickly. It was no secret that we hated to let Chad go after the kind of year he gave us. We were surprised and pleased to see that not only was he passed up in the supplemental draft, but he was still available in the sixth round of the current draft. We are very glad to bring him back to New York."

Qualls rejoins old bullpen mates Takashi Saito, Scott Linebrink and Kevin Gregg, while also greeting rookie Manny Delcarmen.

In other Knights news, the club addressed its two most glaring problems - right field and catcher - in the early rounds of the draft. The Knights used their first pick (#8 overall) on right fielder Matt Kemp. Kemp is considered a bit of a hothead whose temperament might not be a perfect fit for the sports cauldron that is New York City, but his hitting prowess is well-known and highly-regarded. At just 23 years of age, Kemp is not a full-time player, however, and will likely platoon with veteran Xavier Nady, whom the Knights drafted in the fifth round.

As expected, the Knights released both Jason Kendall and Gerald Laird last month and started over with a clean sheet of paper at backstop. The team drafted switch-hitting phenom, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, age 22, with its second round pick. Salty, as he perfers to be called will split catching time with veteran Johnny Estrada. The Knights reportedly have already received two trade offers for Salty, but have notified the league that he will not be dealt.

The Mirror's full analysis of the Knights 2008 draft picks and season outlook will appear after the draft's completion.

Curse of the 1st Round SP Continues!

Well it didn't take long for the curse of taking a SP in the 1st rd of the NASBL Rookie Draft to rear it's ugly head once again. Just two days after holding a press conference to introduce Yovani Gallardo to the RoadKill faithful, the front office went into full damage control when they were notified late today their future ace tore knee ligaments at their Spring Training compound in Kissimmee,FL.

Team Doc James Andrews scheduled an immediate surgery and expects a full recovery in four weeks. When GM Miller was reminded that their division rivals the NJ Trash Heap had pulled the draft day surprise selecting a "healthy" Tim Lincecum he refused to comment. The ATL Journal Constitution is reporting that Miller was seen late this evening with the agents representing fellow draftees Dustin McGowan & Carlos Villanueva.

Chows Draft a new DP Combo in 1st

Illinois Gazette -- 2/17/08

The First Round

Tinkers to Evers to Chance -- a poetic threesome from the baseball annals. Illinois GM Brad Sherlag thinks the Chows first round may trump this HOF threesome. "All I can say is Tulowitzi to Johnson to Pena. We are thrilled to fill our three biggest needs in Round 1. Last year when we traded for extra 1st rounders we never dreamed we would feel this good by the end of Round 1. In no mock draft that we completed did we end up with both Tulowitski and Pena. Our line-up is much better than we expected it to be, probably at the expense of our starting pitcing."

Who did the Chows add today:

Troy Tulowitzki -- Tulo is a natural shortstop. His defense is just a notch below that of Everett who Chows fans have become accustomed to seeing in the late innings -- but Tulowitzki also excels at the plate. Last year in the Major Leagues Tulo hit .291 with 24HR and 99 RBI's. He has an outstanding arm and could win a gold glove or twoin the future. Tulowitzki is still just 23 years old and allows Ramirez to concentrate on his hitting as the Chows likely long-term DH. Hanley's days at SS are over and he will probably work on becoming an OF down the road.

Carlos Pena -- Carlos is a run producer who will man 1st base and bat in the heart of the Chows line-up. Last year in the Major Leagues he posted an MVP type season batting .282 with 46 HR and 121 RBI's. He plays a better than average 1B and compared to what Chows fans are used to (with Dunn and Willingham t 1B the last two seasons), Pena will seem like a magician with the glove. He could become the frst Chow Chow to post 100 RBI's and do it in his first season at Illinois. Pena is the oldest of the Chows first rounders and is already 29.

Kelly Johnson -- 25 year-old Johnson is penciled in at the two-hole for Illinois this season batting behind Figgins. He is an on-base guy with a little pop in his bat. Last year in Major League Baseball he had an OBP of .375 while batting .276 with 16 HR. He is patient hitter who can work the count. He is only average defensively and does not have the range we saw with Iguchi, but he should more than make up for it by getting on base.

Second Round Snafu

Chows GM Brad Sherlag made the biggest mistake of his career by clerically marking the wrong D. Youg in the NASBL's somewhat state-of-the art autodraft system. This system, which is designed to speed up the drafting process has a glaring omission in that the players first names are nowhere to be found. Sherlag selected the wrong D. Young (Dimitri instead of Delmon) by carelessly not paying attention to what team the player was being drafted from. The NASBL GM's were generous to Sherlag (probably saving his job) by allowing him to subsequently switch out the pick. Sherlag took Billy Butler a promising young hitter without a postion (don't we already have that in Hanley Ramirez?). He lost out on a great young defensive outfielder with pop.

Filling out the Team

Illinois' later picks include Carlos Marmol who will serve as the set-up man for Nathan in the Chows pen. Illinois then selected Micah Owings, a 25 year-old starting pitcher to fill in the fifth spot in the rotation. Glavine is now the Chows fourth starter since the rotation wasn't addressed until Round 4. The Chows have since added 3B/LF Josh Fields and C Kurt Suzuki -- two more young players they hope to develop.

"We really went younger in this draft than in the past. Not having part-time injured players like Schilling, Harded and Gagne has let us fill in more roster spots with youth. We are also able to go with less platoons this year giving us more flexibility to go young."