I like ESPN's Peter Gammons, but let's face it, the guy is the King of Hyperbole. He says some off the wall and bizarre things when gushing about players, especially young up and coming guys. He's like the Larry King of Sports Announcers. Well, this spring I kept track of some of his goofy remarks from espn.com, and if you have a player on your team in which I have a "Gammonism", it is included under your team, in BLUE, with a PG in front, to indicate it's from this Hall-of-Fame writer......
PITTSBURGH O's:
With The #1 overall pick, the Big O's trying to repeat history and have Albert Pujols lead them to victory. Will the four Pirates help or hurt the cause? With the DL pick of Livan Hernandez, the O's have three D-Back hurlers on the squad. The Randy Johnson selection in round 13 could be a heist if the Big Unit is healthy and happy back in the state of Arizona.
PG: "Pujols is the best player in the game and maybe in this generation."
KOOPERSTOWN KIDS:
I went heavier on one league than any other team. Got 18 of the 27 (1-DL) from the American League. Among them are three Boston hurlers, 2 SP's and the Closer. The Dice-K pick in round 2 was jeered as "too early" but then again, I don't think I would have seen him 18 picks later. A Jap battery in Matsuzaka and Johjima.
PG: "Howie Kendrick is a given."
PG: "If you live in NewEngland, you'll need a mute button for the over-analysis of Dice-K."
PG: "Harden has the ability to win a Cy Young."
69'ERS:
As a relative newcomer, Piffy had over looked starting pitching in past drafts, but not this year. SP's were taken in rounds 4, 5, 7 and 8. Feelin it for the Phils.... Three starters from that team, including the DL replacement pick of Adam Eaton. Another oddity is that the Niners have the 1st, 2nd and 3rd basemen of Colorado. Go Rockies!! When the passing on pick # 3 started, Piffster jumped on it and took a player he had targeted in Soriano. And speaking of possible steals, the DL'ed Bartolo Colon in ROUND 26!!! He is expected back by May 1. Good call by the Niners.
PG: "Brandon McCarthy is Jack McDowell II".
PG: "Cleveland is an ideal place for Josh Barfield's enthusiasm and skills."
PG: " I can't wait to see Barry Zito in the uniform Carl Hubbell once wore."
PG: "Bobby Crosby is an MVP-type player when healthy."
THE BIG TRAIN:
With only one Pirate taken, Bob left Big O out there hanging by himself this year! Although the Train has the most Nationals (2), and ya gotta like Ryan Zimmerman even though I don't have a Gammons quote on him. Bob saw the Twins in live Spring Training action earlier this month, and promptly drafted three Twinkie players. The pitching staff has two top of the rotation studs in Tigers Bonderman and Velander, and it's Phillies in the Outfield with Rowand and Pat the Bat.
The Train is still trying to sort out that Felipe Lopez shortstop - 2nd base thing..
PG: "Boof Bonser will battle you on the mound."
PG: "Rowand is a winner. Period."
PG: "Few pitchers have successfully come back from more physical ailments than Izzy (Jason Isringhausen), and those 240 saves in seven full seasons as a closer are as much a testament to fortitude, as to the stuff that once made him the wunderkind of Flushing Meadows."
OWLS:
Let's sing it...... "I want to be a part of it.... New York, New York....." Ok, Frank Sinatra I'm not, but you get the idea.... John, who is now living in small market Erie, PA goes to the big market teams to fill the Owls Nest. 5 Yankees were the final total. Everyone around the diamond except Cano at 2nd. But lost in this Yankee love-fest was the fact that the Owls also drafted three from the Big City Los Angeles Dodgers. The Kendall pick always brings out the cat calls, and John has two big DH types at 1st base. His 2nd basemen were relatively unknown at this time last year in Dan Uggla and "let me tell you about a man named Mark DeRooosa." The Bronx Owls have without question the top pair of closers coming out of the draft. Since there's not much else to do in Erie, I imagine John will be managing the heck out of these guys this year.
PG: "Tim Hudson is not trying to throw the ball out of his shirt, as he was doing last year."
PG: "Willis (Dontrelle) is fun to watch and he can be very good."
BULLDOGS
Ok, Bob didn't do it, but the Dogs followed Big O's lead and took three Pirate players, and all of them hitters. If Paulino is for real, that's a nice pick in round 20. The T&E boys also have four New York Metropolitians on the team, even though Pedro may be out until late summer. They have an Oriole DP combo in Tejada and Roberts. Nice draft again from the Guru Twin team, and Tony said Eddie had studied for it like it was the SAT's... But why was Harv on these guys all night?? After all, Harv and Eddie are family, through some cousin married to a sister-in-law or something like that (I think?)
PG: "Don't be surprised if Cain doesn't jump into the Cy Young race, especially with Zito and Matt Morris as mentors."
PG: "Sheff is a foxhole guy."
PG: "Pedro will come back at some point this year, maybe stronger than he has been in four years."
PG: "Pavano needs to wipe the slate clean."
PG: "Blalock is ready to re-emerge."
ROCK CATS:
John has the talent spread out this year. 26 players from 21 teams, the most from any one team is two. The Cats need a healthy and productive Derrek Lee this year. They didn't have that from him in 2006. With Jose Reyes and Carl Crawford, this could be your team leader in the stolen base category. Good looking all-round talent, the Cat should be Back in '07.
PG: "The Twins have the best living pitcher on the planet in Johan Santana."
PG: "The injury took this superstar (Derrek Lee) from 46 to 8 homers, 101 to 17 extra-base hits. Now he has thunder around him."
H-BOMBS:
How 'bout this trophy winner!!! Big D defends his title with four Chi-Sox leading the way, including the right side of the infield. Big Daddy followed his 2006 script by loading up on quality starting pitching early and often, taking SP's in rounds 2, 3, 4, 5. And the guy can do a draft while flirting with a hot chick in a wheelchair. The drinking bet was lost, as B.D. says the only way he can be around Harv is by staying drunk!
PG: "Gil Meche was 92-95, and filthy."
PG: "Garret Anderson is looking like the real Garret Anderson again."
PG: "It was a good move by the Phils to acquire a horse like Freddy Garcia."
PG: "With Delmon Young, the plate discipline will come. The bat and arm are scary."
ALABAMA SLAMMERS:
It's now for real..... The "Alabama Slammer Watch" is officially on... Or as Tony said... "Game On." It's a Championship or Bust in 2007 for Al. Will this be his swan song? Or will he pull a Bill Cowher and win the big one after so many years of success, but having the ring (or trophy in our case) elude him? Will the brothers Drew help achieve this goal? Time will tell, it should be an interesting summer in Slammerville.
PG: "Bedard was throwing 91-95 for the Orioles - Electric."
PG: "Igawa's style is that of a Jamie Moyer wannabe. But what's wrong with wanting to be like a 216-game winner?"
PG: "Adam Wainwright proved his heart in October."
LOCKHORNS:
First off.... Thanks to Harv for hosting us for the draft at Windsor Place, even though the residents were running wild and out of control in those wheelchairs!!!! After some unusual shuffling on the draft selection order, the Horns ended up with the wrap around pick at the back end. 17 NL'ers lead the way but from the AL is a Texas DP combo of Kinsler and Young. And taking perhaps the biggest "high risk - high reward pick" of the draft, the Lockhorns for the 2nd consecutive season say the name Oliver Perez on draft night. Harv selects Jose Valverde as a closer in round 20 and then when I get home I read that he slammed his pitching finger in a car door!! But not to fret.... He's Day-to-Day.... But, aren't we all......
PG: "Rich Hill is Barry Zito II."
PG: "Conditioning, maturity and familiarity all come into play here, but there are few greater talents than Felix Hernandez."
PG: "Kevin Kouzmanoff has one of the coolest new nicknames in baseball right now. The Crushin' Russian."
Two additional posts regarding the 2007 draft after this one.... Enjoy the start of the season!
And to the BMC guys....... Once again our thanks to Bryan for a job well done with the draft board. You can see he knows what he is doing.......
