Injury Update

Here's the walking wounded for the week....

15 Day DL - name -team -eligible return date

Apollo Henry Syracuse ( 6/17)

Dave Krause Oklahoma City (6/18)

Joe Truman New York 1 (eligible now)

Diego Diaz Nashville (eligible now)

Tony Conti Montreal (6/25)

Cesar Fernandez Montreal ( 7/10)

Victor Sparks Mexico City (6/18)

Jose Lima Jacksonville (6/19)

Greg Erickson Jacksonville (eligible now)

Ryan Smith Iowa City (eligible now)

Dutch Morgan Detroit (6/24)

Ken Houston Columbus (eligible now)

60 Day DL

Jorel Benes Washington DC (6/21)

Lariel Flores Nashville (6/24)

Pablo Machado Monterrey OUT FOR SEASON

Dave Truman Monterrey OUT FOR SEASON

Alejandro Redondo Kansas City OUT FOR SEASON

Darryl Brown Houston OUT FOR SEASON

Charles Kelly Helena (7/7)

Casey Romero Fargo OUT FOR SEASON

Alberto Aparicio Detroit OUT FOR SEASON

Don Gang Baltimore OUT FOR SEASON

You know your team sucks.....PT. 2

Monterrey - Today Hideo Kim, Monterrey's 3rd round (80th pick overall) after weeks of dancing during negotiations has stated that ice hockey is in his future and not baseball. Monterrey GM Reigny, was quoted coming out of closed door 7 hour last ditch negotiations as saying " We are disappointed. Hideo was asking 1.6 MIL and we came back with 4.5 with immediate assignment to AAA. He unfortunatly thinks that he stands a better chance of higher endorsements through pro hockey. We wish him the best and we must now move on."

Monterrey must have known this outcome was coming as they signed international prospect Ignacio Seguiginol before negotiations broke down.

Please sign on the dotted line.......

One day after the draft and the first round signings are already starting. The reknowned sports representation agency Dewey, Screwem, and Howe has been very busy trying to collect on their percentages for the signings. As reported in SI.com here is what we can verify:

1)OK City and Donatello Waner have agreed on a 4MIL signing bonus and he was immediatly shipped to their Hi-A farm club.

2)Houston and Jake Morehead are still negotiating and his agent Abdullah Woodward says that the 3.9MIL bonus while fair, is still a sticking point.

3)Monterrey and Jaime Roberts barely let the ink dry on his 3.82MIL bonus before he was shipped out to AA.

4)Honolulu and Candy Paronto agreed on a 3.72MIL signing and as of press time he's jetting off to the Lo-A franchise to begin his career.

5)Cincinnati and Babe Radinsky still in closed door discussions with inside sources saying that he's looking for a guaranteed 3.6MIL bonus plus invitation to the ML club for spring training. Louis Watson the renowned sports agent looks to be pulling out all the stops on keeping the holdout going.

6)Sam O'Shea representing James Lee and Charleston GM KoruptKings are locked into negotiations on a 3.5MIL signing bonus. O'Shea intends to use his client's DI scholarship offer as a tool in the negotiations. Inside sources at Charleston's front office have said that they can wait out any pick and the ball is in Lee's court.

7)Alex Santiago agreed to a 3.4MIL bonus and eagerly jumped on the plane to the team's RL franchise. Alex has said that he wasn't going to hold out and thinks his best course of action was to get ready for the upcoming season.

8)Johnny Black and Louisville hammered out a 3.3MIL signing bonus minutes after he was drafted. He was shipped out to the RL team and reports say he was greeted as a conquering hero.

9)Nicholas Pagnozzi and Boston agreed on a 3.2MIL contract (he was assigned to the Rookie team) and Nicholas was quoted by Baseball America as saying " I'm happy to be joining this historic franchise. To know that they thought highly of me to make me the no. 1 pick is just awesome. "

10)Mexico City and Jamie Sikorski threw a fiesta grande after he agreed to a 3.1MIL signing bonus. The major sticking point in negotiations was placement after signing and it was eventually agreed by all to start in AA.

And the Red Lantern Award goes to.....

As in the Iditarod Race we are pleased to award the coveted red lantern to this year's Mr. Irrelevant....

Duffy Jackson

Duffy is 22 years old, B/T right 5'10" 173lbs. He was born in Clayton NY and plays 2B for the Lander University baseball team.

Duffy has the distrinction of being the last pick in this year's draft which reads as

Round: 25 Pick: 813 Team: Syracuse

Calls to his agent Bing Herges provided us with the info that he's seeking a $15,000 signing bonus on top of the MILB salary of $7,650.00 which totals to $22,650.00. Calls to Syracuse GM Ewd have not been returned, but insiders say that Syracuse in all liklihood will not sign him.

Close the window, I feel a DRAFT......

The sixth annual Amateur Draft took place this morning, and we have the first ten picks listed here .

1) OK City. Donatello Waner (20/ss/Muskegon Comm. Coll.) Waner joins OK City and brings a strong arm, with accuracy and power. Slow afoot, he makes up for it in range. Powerful, compact swing, Waner should adjust to the wooden bats and launch some mammouth HRs.

2) HOU Jack Morehead (22/2b/ Yale University) Morehead should provide adequate coverage down the middle, something Houston has been desperatly needed. Not really known for his fielding, his bat is the reason why he's no.2 in this year's draft. Showing great power against BOTH left and right hand pitchers. Look for 20-30 SB a season from him and bringing an AVG of around .290 - .300.

3) MNT Jaime Roberts (22/P/ Southeastern LA ) Roberts brins a wicked fastball that scouts have clocked at the mid 90's. Right now he's got to show he can control his accuracy and his temper needs some work, but with the right coaching and seasoning, he should become a stable 2-3 SP in the rotation.

4)HON Candy Paronto (22/LF/Campbell University). Paronto is a left fielder with some questions concerning his outfield play. Right now he might be considered more of a liability, but the Honolulu staff should be able to help him with his glove. Great batting eye combined with awesome bat strength should provide plenty of bombs for ESPN highlight reels.

5)CIN Babe Radinsky (22/ss/ Purdue) Radinsky is a true mystery in this top ten. Not ranked anywhere in the top 20 for the position, Cincinnati GM RSCaramelo believes that Radinsky has the tools to make an impact on the franchise. A quick look at Baseball America showed us that Radinsky batted .389 with 12 HRs and 45 RBI while leading the Boilermakers with a .997 fielding pct. and 18 SB.

6)CHR James Lee (18/RF/Washington HS (IA)) Lee is a definite future prospect. Coming out of HS he will need a ton of work on his fielding, but he shows great promise with the bat. His L/R ratio is above average, and his power comes from a short, compact swing. The only mark will be the fact that he goes up to the plate swinging, and with the hitting staff at CHR he should learn to sit back on pitches, and let the count work to his advantage. If signed, he's a 3-4 year player at the earliest.

7)CH1 Alex Santiago (18/P/St. John's Jesuit HS (MI)) Santiago is a 6'3" powerhouse SP. Already possessing 4 great pitches in his arsenal, his only drawback may be his control. If he signs, he probably could bypass the RL and start right in AA. Again the fact of coming out of HS might be a concern with his temper, as he showed the scouts that he can rattle easy. Comparisons have him as a younger Randy Johnson.

8)LOU Johnny Black (22/2B/U of Alabama) Another middle infielder that is a mystery to this reporter. Black seems to have jumped above some of the better rated 2B in this draft. Calls to LOU GM Bradriddell have gone unanswered. USA Today has reported that he's an average fielder, with an average bat, but his attitude makes up for his lack of talent.

9)BOS Nicholas Pagnozzi (18/P/Valley Falls HS (KS)). Pagnozzi comes to the Boston franchise with a 4 pitch arsenal, but the main concern for his managers will be the fact that he's a flyball pitcher. Almost all of his hits will see the outfield and unless he develops pinpoint accuracy in painting the corners, he might be serving up runs galore. On the plus side, his durability should insure between 150 - 200 innings per season.

10)MC Jerome Sikorski (22/P/Tenn. Tech. Univ.) Brings a five pitch arsenal to the game and his velocity has been clocked at the mid to high 90's by scouts. Not afraid to challenge hitters, and will use his fastball to set up a changeup that almost looks like slow motion. Right now lefties have a better chance against him but within 1-2 years, he's going to be a stable 2-3 slot in the ML pitching rotation.

Albatross Update.....

Timo was released by Cincinnati today.

Call it poor pitching.
Call it lack of talent.
Call it like it is...... Jessica Simpson is a curse.

This post brought to you by UHAUL.....

Boston and Detroit decided that it was time to swap some minor leaguers (possibly building for the future?).

Mike Marte joins Boston's AAA club bringing a .295 9 32 while Edgar James joins Detroit at the big league level (.277 10 55 in season 5 AA).

Meanwhile, Toronto continues to drop high priced veterans in search for younger prospects to continue the winning tradition. Leaving Toronto for Wichita ( don't pack a winter coat) is Derek Peterson (.750 1 4) joining Wichita's big club. Applying for work visas are Turner Martin (.231 2 20); Pep Leary (.380 8 21); and Pat Radlosky ( 1-3 4.98). Martin and Leary stay in AA while Radlosky moves up to AAA.

Nah nah nah nah... say goodbye...

Leaving Monterrey is SP Bobby Williams (0-2 11.25) and C/1B Alex Branson (.327 2 6).

They come and go.....

Cincinnati released pitcher Denny Leach (0-1 12.79)
Pittsburgh claimed pitcher Alex Perez (0-1 18.41) off waivers

Move 'em out......

SI.com reports that Detroit and Oklahoma City have put the finishing touches on a trade that to the naked observer looks to help Detroit right now and give O-City some help for the future. Detroit packaged Mickey Myette (0-3 6.08), Adam Wesson (.348 2 13), and Nerio Knobluach (.225 5 16) for Keith O'Neil (0-1 1.17 5 SV).

O'Neil reported to Detroit and should be available for the next game out of the bullpen.
Myette was sent to AAA, Wesson to AA, and Knoblauch to Hi-A.