The miracle of the internet, the growth of fantasy baseball and the continuing growth of baseball in general has pulled the MLB player draft out of shadows and pulled it into the forefront. The draft starts today and, for example, the MLB Network is televising the whole thing. Overkill, maybe? Maybe not. Not for the MLB version of Mel Kiper, John Sickels. Sky Kalkman of Beyond The Boxscore was lucky enough to “sit” with him for a few minutes to discuss the draft:

BtB: Where are the biggest opportunities for improving prospect evaluation? Better prediction of injuries? Predicting development of skillsets? Mental and emotional diagnosis? Other?

John Sickels: I would say the mental side. I think finding new ways to assess a player’s mental and emotional makeup, both currently and in the future, is the “next frontier.” Some people are doing neurobiological work the “brain types” of competitive athletes, while others are taking a more psychological approach. A lot of teams use standardized personality tests, and of course scouts have been assessing and analyzing player personalities for 100 years. I think that is where the next breakthroughs in player analysis will be, though what exactly that breakthrough will involve, I don’t know.

A good read given the fun that will take place later today.

Jimmy Rollins and Raul Ibanez are now atop the NL voting leaderboard.

Still whining about it being only this year’s best players should be selected with Rollins pretty much sucking it up this year? He’s batting 0.222 with just 3 HR and 10 SB.

Manny, my horse to ride to change the rules of this selection process, remains fifth, though the Philly vote is having an impact:

Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez, suspended for 50 games on May 7 for violating baseball’s drug policy, remains a topic of conversation. The slugger remained in the fifth spot but with an edge of fewer than 6,000 votes over the Phillies’ Shane Victorino. Two weeks ago, Ramirez was in the fourth spot among outfielders on the ballot.

Remember, either keep the game an exhibition (and leave the fan vote/mandatory representation intact) or have the game count (and pick the best 32 players via a new hybrid selection process). Not both. And no one suspended for a violation of the drug policy should be eligible for selection to their next available All Star Game.

Got it?

I missed most of the games this weekend; the weather was gorgeous and we had a ton of outdoor activities to attend. I fine trade-off, if I do say so.

As a result, I missed seeing the 9th inning meltdown on Saturday and the comeback win on Sunday. I did, however, hear the cries of “disrespect” being showered down on Girardi as a result of having Mo intentionally walk Evan Longoria.

My two cents: Oh, spare me, will ya?

Yes, Mo wants to attack every hitter. But sometimes, a manager wants to play the odds. That Girardi had Mo walk Longoria intentionally is not disrespectful. It was strategy and while Mo didn’t want any part of it, those are the breaks.

Please feel free to sing along, especially if you’re old enough to remember/appreciate the Doobie Brothers:

Hate the team (if you so choose), but respect their vision and acknowledge their execution of their strategy:

The New York Yankees will become the first MLB team to have its games streamed live online within its home market, thanks to a landmark carriage deal YES Network signed with Cablevision earlier this spring.

The streamed games will begin later this season and will be available via subscription to Cablevision’s TV and broadband customers who subscribe to a tier that carries the YES Network, according to several baseball and cable industry sources.

There are many other unknowns at this point, but this could be a major breakthru in the next wave of viewing baseball in your local markets.

The fun starts around 0:50. But here’s the challenge: Fill your mouth with the beverage of your choice. Keep from spitting it all over everything and you win a prize*.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THfiHQZVSw0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1]
* You get all of my spam emails forwarded to you

PS: thanks to SI.com’s HotClicks

This time, at the sword of Bob Raissman:

Sterling’s chops are still there, his condescending delivery still tinged with pomposity. Yet now, something is different. Sterling sounds constantly befuddled (and that’s being polite). There are strange, hard to explain, lapses in memory. When he begins a home run call you hold your breath wondering how – and where – it will end.
[...]
The offensive – and ridiculous – nature (You think Bombers brass got any complaints?) of Sterling’s play-by-play here is apparent. Nonetheless, what was going through Sterling’s mind when he segued into his moronic Rodriguez HR call as Matsui circled the bases? Then again, only Sterling, or Kim Jong-il, would invoke a weapon of mass destruction for self-aggrandizing purposes.

So how on Earth does Sterling stay so comfortably seated atop the broadcast?

Sterling has also aligned himself with the powers inside the organization, such as Lonn Trost (on the air Sterling once referred to him as “the titular head of the franchise”), who have final say over all broadcast matters. The honchos put a low priority on broadcast quality and are not easily embarrassed.

Well, that explains a lot, doesn’t it? You’d figure that after the luxury seat snafus, Sterling’s excessive calls, the pricing, the blocked-views in the bleachers, the links to organized crime, the Stadium Ops errors, the HR’s, the moat, the access during BP, the gluttony –and that’s just THIS season’s “stuff”– that Yanks leadership just might be concerned with their image. Guess again.

Now shut up and buy more stuff, and thanks for watching and listening.

Another FOTB, Jay from FackYouk, had the good fortune of being given a ticket to the Legends seats by a friend and her financial institution (TARP funds at work, baby! Maybe I should call it “TARP fun”). His account of gluttony, luxury and a lack of watching the game despite being up front is an absolute must read.

I worked my way around, hitting up the most carnivorous options, so as to ensure I got my money’s worth (or rather, her company’s money’s worth). She went with the grilled prawns and lobster ravioli and our two other friends sampled even more deliciousness. I caught Johnny Damon’s first run homer on one of the many giant flat screens as I was waiting for my suckling pig to be carved.
[...]
We just kept ordering, without worrying if it would be eaten. Lobster rolls, zucchini and potato chips with Gorgonzola cheese, crab and shrimp salad, truffle fries, nachos, ice cream sandwiches, cheesecake on a stick. Yeah, cheesecake on a f*cking stick. It was like a Ben & Jerry’s Peace Pop, except impossibly, even less healthy. We ordered a few $9 Coronas but I was mostly just drunk off of the food.

Awesome. Especially if you didn’t have to buy the tickets (at least directly. Check your next tax bill, by the way)

The First-Year Player Draft begins June 9 at 6 p.m. ET and lasts 3 days. The MLB Network will cover every mind-numbing minute of it.

Not that I don’t love the draft. I LOVE all drafts, any draft, but the players are not there in person and we won’t likely see them for years, save a few. Sure, we might see Strasburg if he, Boras and the Nots can somehow agree to a record-setting deal before the deadline. Doubtful, I know.

Because, I 1) focus on the Yanks and 2) I am not a draftnik like Keith Law or Jonathan Mayo, I have to trust the projections and reports. I got an interesting email last night from a trusted source who claims to have “an uber-inside source [on] the Yankees”. The source confirms what several mock drafts have projected: the Yanks are hoping to select Cal-Berkley CF Brett Jackson.

My guy mentioned to me: “Yankees sent him to the optometrist today where he tested for 20/10 vision. If Jackson is on the board they are going to take him, but the Yanks are hearing that the Twins, Astros, Nationals, (all ahead of the Yanks are very interested).“

Additionally: The Giants have had him over twice for batting practice in the last week and are considering taking him 6th overall, which many think is a major reach. The Giants indicated there is 1 other player they could take at 6th overall and think its 50/50 he will still be on the board. If that player is gone, they’ll take Jackson who they like because he is local and a safe bet to produce. They are talking numbers with his agent.

Mock drafts to check out:

• MLB.com
• Yankees.com
• ESPN.com (draft philosophies)
• ESPN.com (Keith Law’s Top 100)
• ESPN.com (scouting reports)
• The Sporting News
• MyMLBDraft
• MLBDraftSite

Jeff Pearlman, a friend of the blog (FOTB), has been among the most supportive friends of Brian Hickey, the journalist who was nearly killed in a hit and run in December 2008.

Today, Hickey shares his story. It’s a long read but as amazing, compelling, stunning a story as you will read. The subtitle of his story:

Local journalist Brian Hickey was lost to the world for a month after being left for dead on a South Jersey street by a hit-and-run driver. He reports his own story of what happened and his miraculous recovery.

Just read it. And be thankful it wasn’t you.

Is it me, or this totally out of whack?

Both benches were warned Tuesday after Burnett knocked Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz to the ground with a fastball in the fifth inning — one inning after Rangers starter Vicente Padilla hit Mark Teixeira for the second time in the game.
[...]
Padilla was not suspended for his role in Tuesday’s game, but was fined an undisclosed amount.

“That’s interesting,” Burnett said of the discrepancy. “But that’s their decision.”

That Padilla was place on waivers afterwards is immaterial. He should have been suspended, too.

I, like most with a blog/website, have a statcounter to track hits, visits, etc., by you guys. I don’t often check the ISPs that people are on, but I happened to check today.

To the visitor from the New York Yankees ISP in Tampa: please email me. I’m serious. Would love to interview you, ask you a few questions.

It’s a mere formality at this point, but Sammy Sosa is retired. So many thoughts about Sammy (and how could any Sammy discussion not have McGwire along side?)…