Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller-Cleveland bound

The Cleveland Cavaliers surprised observers for the second year in a row in the fourth slot of the draft and then followed up with a trade up to land a big man that the team badly needed and fell farther than expected.

Syracuse guard Dion Waiters had supposedly been charging up the Cleveland charts,but most thought that the fourth pick was a bit high and the Cavaliers interest in Waiters might be a smokescreen or at least a trade down possibility.
Chris Grant and the rest of the Cavalier braintrust thought differently and tabbed Waiters anyway.
Cleveland surprised the league last season with Tristan Thompson over Jonas Valanciunas and that worked with a promising rookie year by Thompson,although the long term decision is still out on the pick.

Waiters is regarded as a scorer that can put the ball on the floor,but can hit a jumper,which puts him ahead of many Cavaliers already.
Waiters is also rated as an above average defender and his coach Jim Boeheim says that Waiters is the most NBA ready guard that he has ever coached.
I disregard the worry of why Waiters never started at Syracuse,that is a coaches choice.
Waiters was among the leaders in minutes per game,so I am not concerned about that at all.
The scoring is not the worry or even the talent,I believe that is there,the bigger question is this-Do the Cavaliers know what they are getting?
Waiters did not make himself available for teams to work out or visit with him as he was reported to have a "promise" to be a lottery pick by one team if he did not do the workout circuit.
I am open minded on Waiters as I think the skills are there to make the Cleveland backcourt one of the better ones in the league,but I do think that there is risk here and Cleveland might have made a huge step back,if Waiters does not pan out.
But I do have hope-there are few pundits that I respect more than ESPN"S John Hollinger (not Don Hollinger from THAT Girl) and Hollinger's draft rater that uses statistical data project Waiters as "the best small wing prospect since Dwyane Wade".
If that comes true,look out league!

I do like the move up to get the 17th pick from Dallas,who had selected North Carolina center Tyler Zeller there.
Cleveland sent their other three picks 24,32,and 33 to Dallas for the Wladimir Klitschko look alike and I think that when you can gain a lottery level talent for those picks,you made a good deal.
The seven foot Zeller runs the floor well and hits the boards strongly and was no worse than the second best available center in the draft.
Zeller will never be a huge scorer,but I do think he will be a useful player for a long time.
A superstar? No,but a 12 and 8/10 type player and those guys are always a part of good teams and considering the cost of the trade,I am totally on board with this one.
Zeller has a nice touch from the outside,but will need to fill out more to complement his interior game,but I still think that this was a nice move....

Photo Credits
Waiters:Getty Images
Zeller:AP Photo

Wishin and hopin for the Cavaliers!

Let's start with this and no, I won't be singing any Dusty Springfield songs!
I do not watch as much college basketball as I used to, so my knowledge of the draft is far more limited than it was ten years ago.
However, I did watch a lot of the conference tournaments and NCAA games, so I have seen the players that Cleveland could be taking.

With the fourth pick, Cleveland has to get one of two players- an outside shooter or someone that can play on the wing.
Assuming the Cavaliers stay at four and they have been rumored to move up and down, one of these three players is the likely pick.

Bradley Beal fits the outside shooter part as he rates as the best shooter in the draft.
The Florida Gator is easily the best off guard in the draft and could be the fit the Cavaliers are looking for with Kyrie Irving.
The question with Beal is this -Is he more Eric Gordon or Ben Gordon?
Eric Gordon would be the ceiling for Beal-a shooter that can penetrate and play with or without the ball.
Ben Gordon would be a point scorer, but a flawed player that looks better on the scoresheet than in the game.

Harrison Barnes of North Carolina would have likely been Cleveland's pick last year at four, when they took Tristan Thompson, had Barnes entered the draft.
A super athletic forward, Barnes looks amazing when paired with a top-level point guard, which he would have in Cleveland.
My concern with Barnes is that he seems to struggle in creating his own shot and that is mandatory in the NBA.
Barnes has tremendous upside, but he might be Marvin Williams on the flip side.

Kentucky's Michael Kidd-Gilchrest has the background for meshing with Kyrie Irving as he has played on the same team as Irving in high school.
Kidd-Gilchrest has the wing ability to slash to the basket and will be an A level defender, but I worry about the jumper that needs lots of work...

Other possibilities are solid power forward Thomas Robinson of Kansas and the draft's biggest X factor in Andre Drummond of Connecticut, a center of questionable motivation.
I wager it will be one of the first three if Cleveland trades up or stays put.
If I had to choose, I lean towards Beal over Barnes by a small notch as I think he would be the best match with Irving, but this is a tough spot to sit in...

Cleveland has the Lakers first-rounder at the 24th slot and I just don't feel comfortable talking names when it could be one of about thirty players and the Cavaliers have two early second-rounders.
I will say this though-If the Cavaliers do not wind up with Bradley Beal, I think this is a spot for the best shooter available unless a big man falls deeper than expected.

In the second round, I look for the best big man available and with one of the two picks, I bet Cleveland takes a European player's rights.
I just do not see them carrying two second-year men (maybe three if Donald Sloan sticks around) and four rookies.
I generally groan at those picks, but this is a year that it makes sense to go that route...

Signal permitting, I'll be around from the road office to look at the new Cavaliers...

Down by the river...

A few words on my recent night in Harrisburg in an attempt to see/graph Gerrit Cole,the first pick in last years draft.

We left a bit early with a rare cameo appearance from Ryan,who graciously allowed two young graphers to accompany us on the evening.
Brandon and Terry were both very helpful on the evening and were a pleasure to have along for the ride.

I usually hit Harrisburg with my partner in crime,Bill Cover,but the aforementioned Mr.Cover is in Tennessee,so I was doing my own driving for the second time in two weeks (Bowie with the family and the Battler for Bret Hart).
Harrisburg is a very easy drive and it was not a problem finding the park at all,as Bill gave me the name of the exit and everything was familiar from my trips there with him.

Harrisburg has become a postgame town for graphing as the autograph alley is often taken for parties as it was on this day,but I still was able to get a few cards signed in the pre-game downtime.
The main pickups being Evan Chambers on a few cards and Robbie Grossman on a Florida State League prospect card.
While I worked on a few players for Altoona,Brandon and Terry worked on the home Senators and helped me out with a chunk of my purchased Harrisburg team set as well.

Gerrit Cole was the starter on this night,so we would get to see him pitch,but would have to wait until after the game for him to sign.
So of course,Cole gets line drived TWICE in the first inning,leaves the game after finishing the inning,goes to the hospital and as a result-I miss him.
Cole is a big deal to me as I try to get every Pirate first rounder on a ball and I have been able to do that dating back to Andrew McCutchen.
So,the ten bucks that I paid for an Eastern League ball was out the door for this night and the ball itself?
Well,it is racing to Binghamton New York,where the Curve is headed after this series and hopefully the ball will get there first!

The game was LONG,but the company was great with Brad Adams being with us throughout and my favorite political operative Dan Hartman arriving late in the game.
After the game,I was able to pick off a few more members of the Curve,but I really did not have many cards as the Altoona team set is not released yet and Cole was unavailable.

I left around 11;20 and there were still Harrisburg players that had not left yet,but I was tired and had to drive home.
Thanks to Ryan for coming along and spending some time with his old father and to Brandon and Terry for their help on the evening.
It was a pleasure having both of you along.

Photo Credit:J.Meric-Getty Images...

Karstens creamed in Philly

Jeff Karstens made his return from injury in Philadelphia and was promptly dismissed with seven runs in five innings as the Philadelphia Phillies cruised to a win over the Pittsburgh Pirates by an 8-3 count.
Karstens was the loser and fell to 0-2 on the season.
Jose Tabata homered for the Pirates (3) in the loss.
The series continues tonight with Erik Bedard for the Pirates facing off against the Phillies Vance Worley.

Pirate Hooks

1) Jose Tabata has one of the better throwing arms in the game,in my opinion,but he seems to get more "in between" hops on his throws than the average outfielder.
I have no statistical proof of this,but it sure seems that way and it happened last night twice as Tabata throwing errors resulted in Phillie runs.

2) Jeff Karstens looked to have nothing for this evening.
I realize that Karstens was making his first start in the show after an extended layoff,but I have a sinking feeling that the Karstens that we will see this season will be the guy that pitched before 2011 and not the person that threw well in 2011..

3) Doug Slaten tossed one of the oddest innings that I have seen in a while in mop up work from the bullpen.
Slaten allowed a leadoff single and walked the next three Phillies to allow a run to trot home.
Slaten then whiffed the next three batters to end the inning.
As Elvis Presley once mumbled in the cinematic classic "Change of Habit"- "Weirdos,Man Weirdos".

4) The Pirates continue to shuffle on the roster as the newest member will be former Ray Drew Sutton in another attempt to catch a bat in the bottle.
I'd be surprised if this worked,but when you are dealing with a budget,sometimes you have to try something at the dollar store...

5) I felt pretty bad for Michael McKenry,who smashed a ball that would have been a rare homer to left field and watched as the wind shoved the ball into the field of play and spun Juan Pierre into the ground as he caught the ball.
Seems like many times in these situations,it hits the light hitting guys the most.
Perhaps it just seems that way,but it does seem that way...

Photo Credit:AP Photo

Catching up and snappin' some claws!

Been a bit lazy lately on here as I have been having some issues getting online at work.
I'll just comment on a few things and then get things back to normal...

Finally,Interleague play is over and I can enjoy baseball again.
I know I am screaming at the wind and telling it to stop blowing,but I really cannot stand it...

Finally starting to kick things in a bit for the upcoming fantasy football season.
Believe or not,I grabbed titles in both leagues that I played in,including another IFL title,which is the flagship for all the fantasy leagues that we (Ryan,Corey and I) run.
Beginning to get revved up for that special week in August,which will this year feature the New York/Penn league All-Star game,Browns training camp,the IFL Draft and my annual cookout,which is always a great time!

I must admit that I was not picking Josesito Lopez to beat Victor Ortiz,but as I watched the tape on Sunday morning with the lovely Cherie,I did see the possible result after a few rounds and told of the possibility.
Ortiz has a history of bowing out when the going gets tough and he did so yet again in his corner against Lopez at the end of round nine with a broken jaw.
The loss for Ortiz scuttled a PPV bout against 154 pound champ Canelo Alvarez and Ortiz and has left the promoter for Alvarez (Golden Boy) scrambling for a suitable replacement....

I don't buy PPV fights,but I might make an exception for the true Middleweight champ Sergio Martinez as he attempts to get his WBC belt back after being unfairly stripped from him to almost hand to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
I always pulled for Chavez Sr,but rooting for Martinez on the 15th of September.
Anyone that wants to see the card,LMK as I will have to ask off work for the evening....

Looking forward to Thursday's NBA draft with the Cavaliers holding the fourth and twenty fourth picks in the first round.
Two rumors that I have heard have Cleveland moving up ( trading the two picks to Charlotte for the second pick) and down (shipping the fourth to Portland for the sixth and eleventh).
Of the two,if both are legitimate offers,I prefer Cleveland taking the latter deal,which would give the Cavaliers 6,11 and 24 plus two second rounders that might be able to swing more deals.
I hope to have a look Wednesday at the draft...

I have opinions on LeBron James,but they will wait for a later post!!!

Devils select Stefan Matteau

The New Jersey Devils selected a name that haunted Devils fans for years in the first round of the NHL Draft as the team picked left winger Stefan Matteau from the U.S. Developmental team.
Matteau is the son of former Rangers winger Stephane Matteau,who ended the Devils season in 1994 with the overtime goal in game seven of the Eastern Conference finals.

The 6'1 winger will be playing in the Quebec Junior League this season for a team that features his father as an assistant.
The Hockey News ranked Matteau as the 30th player in the draft and scouts had this to say about the winger-"He has all the tools to be a "power forward"and as a "energetic and edgy" player.

I don't claim to be an expert of the non-pro prospect scene,so I have little to go on,but the description makes me think of a bigger David Clarkson type.

I skipped the Pirates last night to watch the draft with Rachel,but I did see the blasting of the Twins on Thursday night.
The Buccos added another interleague win with a Friday victory over Detroit....

Bucs lose,Gerrit Cole makes AA debut

Josh Willingham drilled a Jason Grilli offering over the wall for a tie breaking homer to give the Minnesota Twins a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh.
The Pirates had just tied the game in the previous inning on a Rod Barajas sac fly that almost broke the game wide open had Denard Span not made a spectacular catch.
Grilli dropped to 1-2 on the season.
The set against the Twins concludes with James McDonald for the Bucs against Minnesota's Liam Hendricks....

Pirate Hooks

1) Nice outing by Erik Bedard,who has struggled in the month of June.
Bedard allowed a first inning run,but no further damage in his best start of the month.

2) Josh Willingham's homer might have been the winning number of the scoreboard,but the Denard Span catch of Rod Barajas' flyball was the real difference.
If that ball gets down,the Pirates score two runs instead of one...

3) The game was not loaded with notes,so we will go to the minors with the big news being Gerrit Cole's first AA start in Altoona.
Cole allowed two runs and fanned six in five innings as the Curve cruised past New Britain...

4) The rumors are flying that the Pirates will be leaving State College as the home of their New York-Penn league team,but the latest has them moving the team to Morgantown WV.
Not sure that the team will draw any better there than in State College and the location is not quite ideal,but it would not surprise if this happened...

5) Outfield prospect Wes Freeman retired from low A Wesr Virginia.
Freeman looked to have turned his career around last season at State College and skipped straight to High A this season,but was recently demoted to the SAL after amassing a huge number of strikeouts in Bradenton.
Freeman was given a 150,000 bonus in the 2008 draft to be bought out of his commitment to Florida...