1:02 CT: We've got Pete Gammons, Steve Phillips, and Karl Ravech as our panel. They're all chilling in big comfy leather chairs with a coffee table. Certainly a different feel than the Mel Kiper monolithic desk.
1:08 CT: They just showed on the crawl at the bottom that 27th is the latest the Tigers have EVER picked.
1:09 CT: Bud Selig gets a raucous round of cheers! Then gives a patently Seligian stilted speech. He even thanks MLB.com for covering it, like they are doing baseball a favor. Bud, it's you're own website!
1:14 CT: They're showing highlights of past #1 overall picks from their high school/college days. Everyone one of them is an absolute bean-pole! Chipper Jones looks like he'd disappear if he turned sideways.
1:15 CT: Tampa Bay takes David Price. I think Chucky just officially added him to his draft board for next season.
1:21 CT: Kansas City drafts Michael Moustakas, 3B/1B/SS/P. Apparently the dude can hit 97 but his preferred position is SS and he can rake. The only film clip ESPN has is a clip of him hitting a triple in a high school game. Certainly a different feel to the baseball draft.
1:27 CT: The Cubs take Josh Vitters, 3B. Peter Gammons and Steve Phillips drop the word "polished" 4 times in 30 seconds.
1:32 CT: The Pirates select: a bust!, sorry, just a prediction based on the Pirates' Reverse Midas touch. Seriously, they take Daniel Moskos from Clemson. If Mel Kiper were here, he'd be going nuts about them taking him too early apparently.
1:39 CT: Baltimore takes "once in a decade talent" Matt Wieters, 7' 8" catcher. Apparently he's a "two way" catcher according to Steve Phillips, because he's good with pitchers, and can also hit. Funny, I thought all catchers did that.
1:42 CT: This draft definitely has the feel of the NHL draft more than the NFL draft. Nowhere near the amount of fanfare, few of the players are actually there, a bunch of grainy footage of the players. The Nats take Ross Detwiler. Thank God each team only gets 5 minutes.
1:46 CT: ESPN is a sucker for punishment. They are attempting to revise the disaster that was ESPN Mobile as part of a Verizon service.
1:48 CT: The Brew Crew take Matt LaPorta, 1B from Florida. Apparently they are expecting Prince Fielder to eat himself out of the league the way Cecil did.
1:52 CT: Apparently LaPorta is a bombshell of a pick by the Brewers. Keith Law suggests that maybe they took him with an eye towards trade bait, now that they are in "winning mode." How crazy is that? The Brewers in winning mode.
1:53 CT: The Rox take Casey Weathers. Peter Gammons just called him "cruder" than Huston Street. C'mon Peter, the best way to build a quality team is to draft a "crude" college relief pitcher!
1:59 CT: The Snakes take Jarrod Parker, a high school pitcher. "A fast track high school pitcher" according to Steve Phillips. I think every pick so far has been "fast track" according to Steve.
2:02 CT: Everyone is falling all over themselves in praise of Parker. I must admit, I'm a bit fired up to see him pitch. Who knows, maybe he'll make an appearance with the Mobile Bay Bears by the end of the year...
2:05: CT: Madison Bumgardner, SF Giant. ESPN's footage consist of warm up pitches. Gammons and Phillips seem to be struggling to talk about these guys. Keith Law loves this pick. He can be the MLB draft's Mel Kiper, I'm convinced of it.
2:09 CT: The Mariners take Phillippe Aumont and immediately send him to Triple A. Well, not really, but with the way the M's aggressively promote their players I wouldn't be surprised.
2:12 CT: The interview with Aumont was so awkward, I felt embarrassed watching it. Words cannot do it justice. It featured gems such as the question "I know you went through a lot of stuff growing up."
2:15 CT: The Marlins take Matt Dominguez. That makes 2 guys from the same high school already gone. We see some clips of him hitting in a batting cage. The word "polished" is dropped a bunch more times. It's the MLB equivalent of the NBA usage of "upside" or "long."
2:20 CT: The Indians take Idaho high schooler Beau Mills. If he's smart, he'll change his name to Bo.
2:22 CT: Apparently Beau is the son of Brad Mills, Red Sox bench coach. How the hell does his son end up going to a NAIA school in Idaho? Pete Gammons tells a fun story about Beau diving onto a concrete slab while playing in the Cape Cod league. As a Tigers fan, I already hate him (but have added him to my draft board).
2:26 CT: The Braves take Georgia high schooler Jason Heyward. Steve Phillips is effervescent in his praise.
2:29 CT: I'm trying to watch what I eat, but you know I'll be at the Sonic down the street tonight for a free root beer float. You're jealous.
2:31 CT: Reds take Devin Mesoraco from Punxatawney HS. I am suprised at the restraint of the guys at ESPN for resisting the temptation to make some sort of groundhog joke.
2:36 CT: Let me just say, Keith Law is great. I demand he become the Mel Kiper of the MLB Draft. I DEMAND IT!
2:37 CT: Toronto takes Kevin Ahrens, Houston HS third baseman. Man there've been a lot of third basemen taken. This is getting monotonous. Tigers are still 10 picks away....
2:42 CT: Texas takes Blake Beavan, the 42nd high school pitcher who hits 97 on the gun and is 6' 7" tall taken so far in this draft.
2:45 CT: ESPN woke up Jim Callis to talk about the draft so far. He's gotten me excited again by saying that Rick Porcello, high school pitcher from New Jersey is possibly the best pitcher in the draft and he's still sitting there due to Scott Boras related concerns. No doubt he hits 97 on the gun and is 6'7" tall. C'mon, drop to the Tigers!
2:47 CT: Cards takes Pete Kozma, Oklahoma high school SS. Karl makes the obligatory Eckstein reference. Keith Law doesn't like this pick. He's like Mel Kiper without the gallon of coffee and gallon of hair lacquer.
2:53 CT: Phillies take Joe Savery, leftie from Rice. Ho hum.
2:58 CT: Just saw a shot of Tommy Lasorda. I can't look at him without thinking of this. Dodgers take Chris Withrow, Texas high school righthand pitcher.
3:04 CT: Toronto takes Tennessee catcher JP Arencibia. Seems like every catcher drafted, there is doubt about whether they can stay behind the plate. Toronto has a thing for guys who go by JP.
3:09 CT: Another 6'7" high school pitcher! I'm not even kidding! The Gints take Tim Alderson from Horizon High School in Scottsdale, AZ. Did you know Scottsdale, AZ has 226,000 people?!?
3:14 CT: Pods take Nick Schmidt. When the analyst describe your pick as "inning eater" with "no out pitch" who "might be a #3 starter" I guess you made a conservative pick.
3:18 CT: I just figured out that Jim Callis reminds me of Rivers Cuomo of Weezer, check it out (sorry for the small pic, it was the only one I could find of Callis):
3:19 CT: Rangers take Mike Main, Florida high school pitcher. He's not 6'7" but he does hit 97 on the gun. Seriously.3:25 CT: White Sox take Aaron Poreda, college pitcher from San Fran. He's 6'6" (c'mon, couldn't have generously given him an extra inch) and, you guess it, hits 97 on the gun. This is like the twilight zone. By the way I just realized ESPN gave up on the grainy highlight footage a while ago.
3:30 CT: The A's take someone from college. Of course. James Simmons from UC Riverside. Gammons likes the pick, having seen him in the Cape Cod league. Tigers are on the clock! C'mon Rick Porcello!
3:35 CT: I am legitimately worried about who the Tigers are gonna pick.
3:35 CT: Tigres take.... Rick Porcello! Steve Phillips says he's the best high school pitcher since Josh Beckett, I'm giddy. "A franchise arm." Put a Tigers hat on this guy:
3:38 CT: "Draft day is turning into Christmas for the Tigers." from Keith Law. I am exultant. Someone throw some water on me.3:39 CT: Jim Callis says that there is a lot of muttering about how the Tigers sign over slot money. Apparently they're the Yankees of the drafting process.
3:41 CT: Twins take Ben Revere, short outfielder from a Lexington high school. The first player that ESPN didn't even have a picture of!
3:43 CT: I am still pumped about the pick of Porcello. Imagine this rotation: Jeremy Bonderman, Justin Verlander, Andrew Miller, Rick Porcello, Nate Robertson. That is just sick. By the way, the Tigers called up Miller today to start on Sunday.
3:46 CT: Giants take Wendell Fairley, another guy without a picture, yet ESPN has some footage of him. The Yanks are on the clock. There's a lot of love for this pick among the analysts. Keith Law says he's a top 10 talent, and Peter Gammons compares him to Carl Crawford. I have to keep reminding myself that a lot of these guys won't pan out.
3:51 CT: Just noticed Curt Schilling has a no hitter through 5 innings, time to fire up the old MLB.tv.
3:52 CT: The Yankees draft Roger Clemens. Actually, they take Andrew Brackman from NC State. Dude is 6'10" and can crank it up to 99! Unfortunately there are concerns about his elbow. Looks like it could be a decent gamble. That ends the first round. A lot of love for this pick, apparently they aren't scared about possible Tommy John surgery. We'll see.
3:57 CT: The first interview with a GM. We're talking to Andrew Friedman. Man, the picture quality is awful on this interview, it looks like they are pointing the camera a projection screen with Friedman on it. I hate Friedman for sending down one of my binkies, Jonny Gomes.
4:04 CT: Well, I guess I missed a pick or two so I guess I'll pack this in. Schilling still has the no-no through 6. He would have had a perfect game going but one guy reached on an error.
Matt Adams, signing off.
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