5 4 3-24 Draftees Down The Draft, Reyes Up 1st, Digital Domain Field, Neal Heaton... and Paul Lo Duca

Draftees Moving Down The Draft:

"XMLBScou", over at perfect game shared some interesting draft info on some guys doing themselves no good lately:

OF, Levon Washington, Chipola - still waiting on explosive speed to show back up.


LHP, Jake Eliopolous, Chiplola - not throwing much harder than in 2009, and some changes in his delivery since last year. fb was 84-88, topping at 89, jugs.

3B/SS, Garin Cechini, HS-Louisiana (out 4 months ACL)

3B, Scott Woodward, Coastal Carolina

SS, Rick Hague, Rice - pressing, lacks sure fire speed, but can throw and has power in his swing when he makes solid contact.

SS, Cris Colon, CS-Fullerton - can play D, lacks plus arm strength and hitting presence and will be expensive.

RHP, Anthony Ranaudo, LSU - wary of arm woes, will be taken along slowly yet a concern among clubs - still first round presence, just not as high on the board as last fall.

RHP, Justin Grimm, Georgia - lacks killer instinct and fb very hittable topping in low 90's, breaking stuff was easy to read.

Reyes Up First:

Rotoworld went public with the Jerry-Blab from the ESPN game on Tuesday...

Mets manager Jerry Manuel said that Jose Reyes (thyroid) will likely lead off when he returns to the lineup. "I would probably see him getting a sense of comfort back in the leadoff spot right now," said Manuel. "Now you know me, I’ll change now. I’ll change on you now." Manuel had tossed around the idea of Reyes batting third with Carlos Beltran out of the lineup, but that was before his shortstop was sidelined with a thyroid condition. It's not clear how many exhibition at-bats he'll even get before the regular season begins.

I fully appreciate Manual's desire for a switch-hitter batting thrid, with the ability to rope, but Reyes does nee to start back up this season in his comfortable up first spot. He can move to the 3rd spot come May when he's both 100% and injury free.

Digital Domain Field:

From Eric Pfahler at TC Palm:

Tradition Field became Digital Domain Park on Tuesday after Digital Domain Holdings, the New York Mets and St. Lucie County finalized an agreement to grant the animation and visual effects company naming rights to the Mets’ 7,000-seat spring training home. Digital Domain Holdings Chairman John Textor saidthe company does not plan to use the stadium name in a traditional advertising setting but rather to promote partnerships with Florida State University and Indian River State College

Ya know, I have no problem with all this sponsorship stuff. I made my living selling sponsorships of sports teams. The great "non-sponsor" story of all time was Iron City Beer in Pittsburgh. Asl 100 people there in the 1980s what beet sponsored the Steelers and 99 would pump you an iron. The truth was that Stroh's Beer, out of Detroit was the in stadium sponsor. All Bill Smith, the President of Iron City Brewing did was sposor all the TV and radio games, plus sell a ton of t-shirts and stuff in the newspapers. The power of advertising.

Back to the naming of Tradition, look at it this way.  It pays for a part of Ollie's contract.

Neal Heaton:

Less we forget that there were other so-called Strassburg's out their in draft-land, Satchel Price of BTBS reminded us of one that almost became a Met... 

Heaton was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the second round of the 1981 draft after declining to sign with the New York Mets after going with the top pick in the 1979 January draft's Regular Phase. Sports Illustrated wrote a story about him after he struck out 23 batters in a game (sound familiar?) and blew away scouts with a mid-90's fastball. The Indians sent Heaton to Double-A Chattanooga after being drafted, where he struggled to miss bats. Regardless, he was promoted to Triple-A for his first full season in 1982, where he continued to struggle to miss bats but showed an improved ability to keep the ball in the park. He finished the year with a 4.33 FIP in 172.2 innings in Triple-A.He slotted into Cleveland's rotation the next year, but never quite matched his hype. He finished with nearly identical 4.37 ERA and 4.36 FIP marks for his career, as he was always held back by the lack of an out-pitch beyond his fastball. But he did manage to stick in the majors for 12 years, going to the All-Star Game as a Pittsburgh Pirate in 1990.

Paul Lo Duca:

A sad story that Ben Maller picked up on:

Veteran catcher Paul Lo Duca realizes his big league opportunity may come later than sooner. Lo Duca, in the Rockies’ camp under a Minor League contract, began attracting interest from teams seeking catching help. But a few days ago he suffered a strain beneath his right arm. He’s back on the lineup card for today’s game against the Padres at Hi Corbett Field, and will play first base if used defensively. There’s still time left in camp, but it’s possible the setback could be enough to dissuade a team from making a move for him. If that’s the case, Lo Ducca, a four-time All-Star Game participant, said he is willing to go to Triple-A Colorado Springs. Lo Duca battled injury in 2008 and did not play in 2009. “I’m OK with that,” Lo Duca said. “When you haven’t played in a year and a half, basically, you need to get back in the swing of things. To go there and get some at-bats regularly would be great. I know there are a lot of guys there that need to get at-bats, too. “I just want to keep going. I still have passion for the game. As soon as I got behind home plate, I knew that’s where I want to be still.”

IMO... Lo Duca will do anything he can to keep himself in front of the young fans... and I do mean young...