Splendid Splinter

Are we strictly talking pitchers? Otherwise it should've been locked before it started. Castro hasn't had a season near as good as prior was in '03 He will and he's already come out of the system. Hopefully, but that was a pretty amazing year. I hope you are right. Castro needs a season close to something like 170 OPS+ or 7.6 WAR (fangraphs WAR)... That's gonna be one HECK of a season if Castro get close to or beat that. Castro last year was 112 OPS+ and 3.4 WAR.

You think we won't win a series for another month. Have you ever watched baseball before? Have you watched the 2012 Cubs? Didn't they go a very long time last year without winning a series? Like they finally won one in July or August... It seems like last year that it was so far into the season that I was hoping they wouldn't win a series for the season so they can go into the history books.

Hmm... if this is how it actually happened... it would be something like this: PG- Rondo SG- Mayo (Bradley backing up both G spots and getting 30 mins a game) SF- Either you go for like Gerald Wallace in FA (i think he's a FA) or draft a Terrence Jones/Harrison Barnes in the draft at #7 PF- You could go several routes here... Bring back KG or get someone like Ersan Ilyasova in FA or draft Sullinger/Perry Jones at #7 C- Here is where I think you go somewhat big and try to get Roy Hibbert (he's a RFA, but C's got cap space that Pacers "might" not be able to match it- not sure how much cap space Pacers have either) So it would look like this if I was the GM: PG- Rondo SG- Mayo SF- Jones PF- KG or Ilyasova C- Hibbert Bench- Bradley/JJJ/Stiemsma/C's draft pick/Clippers pick/42nd pick/52nd pick... That's 12 guys right there and then sign to fill out the roster with whatever $$$ is left... Will C's have any mid-level or other exception this year?

That's not a really talented team. Really? Did you really think I was talking about only the draft picks when I typed that? The wording/context could've been better, but I was also talking about Rondo, Avery Bradley, and whoever they ended up signing this summer plus the draft picks. In this situation... Celtics would've went into this summer with Rondo/Bradley/Johnson under contract plus a qualifying offer to Stiemsma, and Bass has a player option. OJ Mayo would be a restricted FA and would have a qualifying offer of 7.4 mil.

Ahhh... ok. Makes sense now. That pick would be #7 on walterfootball and it would be Jared Sullinger instead of Henson (although I would've picked Terrence Jones instead for the C's). So C's would've ended up with #7/22/24/42/52 and #22 would be in the top 20.

Ray Allen to Memphis would've been for O.J. Mayo and a draft pick. Mayo would be a restricted FA. I imagine the draft pick would've been a 2nd rounder. I'm surprised at the Pierce deal, but I can see the reasoning of it and why it's a good deal although on paper it looked horrible. If both went through, it would've been a very interesting offseason for the Celtics. C's would've had enough money to give 2- max contracts or near it. They also would've had 3- 1st round picks this year (assuming the lottery pick from the Nets was for this year) and 5 draft picks total so they could move up in the draft to get their guy if they wanted to. Plus they would've miss the playoffs this year IMO if they did the trades so their own pick this year would be better (then they would have the Clippers and Nets pick that they got from the Rockets- I'm assuming here, but that Nets pick isn't a lottery pick so it could be a different year for that pick in the Pierce trade). If I go by the NBA mock draft at walterfootball.com, the C's would have these guys... (disregard on who C's would sign with all their cap space and their need at the moment as these would change as soon as Allen/Pierce were gone) 18. John Henson, PF (Nets pick from Rockets) 22. Fab Melo, C (C's pick that would've ended up higher and possibly lottery pick) 24. John Jenkins, SG (Clippers pick) 42. Henry Sims, C 52. Ricardo Ratliffe, PF They would be an extremely young team, but really talented. The best part about it is that they most likely would be a playoff team next year with a completely new team because they got Rondo/Bradley/whoever they ended up signing.

How about Brett, Upton, AND Upton in the same OF?

Surprised Tulo wasn't mentioned... Had the best defensive season as a rookie (I think as I can't think who else would've beaten him) and probably top 10 of all time.

Dennard in the 3rd? Wow... He's definately falling then.

I thought he can be signed to whatever $$$ even if it's after July 2nd???

Isn't 80% basically Carlos Beltran holy jinkees efficient? Only 44 players in history have 80% or better (80 or more attempts since 1951 so there could be more)... 20 of those 44 are active players. Utley has the highest % ever with 89.4% (123 attempts). Beltran is 2nd with 87.5% (336 attempts).Some other notables... Tim Raines 84.7%, Ichiro 81.7%, Rickey Henderson 80.8%, Jose Reyes 79.9%, Alfonso Soriano 78.2%. BJ Upton is 120th all time at 76.1%. EDIT: BJ Upton would 62nd all time out of 189 if you go by SB% and players with 260 attempts (BJ is at 264 so far) or more. The more he steals, the smaller that list... For example, if Upton get to 400 attempts and keep his 76.1%, he'll be 37th out of 76.

Patriots select... Brandon Taylor S. It might be a reach here for him, but Pats DESPERATELY need some S help this year and he won't make it to their next pick.

Which one?

Hasn't he usually had at least decent power numbers? About the same as Jeff Cirillo, although when Cirillo was 22 he was in the Midwest league, not the PCL. Hell, I'd take Cirillo in a heartbeat. Cirillo had a decent amount of power in his prime. I would take Cirillo as well... Pretty good hitter and he was also a great defensive 3B in the late 90s/early 00s IIRC... so Grudzielanek at 3B with average or a bit worse than average D???

You could say that for Peppers/Mario Williams and a few others very good/great DEs in the past whose work ethic and drive were questioned before they got drafted. At 19th pick, you have to take that risk because if he is motivated then he's the next Peppers/Mario or even Calais Campbell. At the 19th pick, you take Floyd over Coples imo. Floyd wasn't there in that mock draft so it's a moot point there. That would be VERY tough if both somehow were there at 19. If Emery thinks Bears can motivate Coples without a doubt then he's the pick IMO, but if he had any doubt (no matter how small it is), then Floyd should be the pick. Regardless, that's basically the ideal situation for the Bears in the 1st this year. Bears could also dangle that pick as trade bait and get a package that they can't turn down (like early 2nd/early 3rd this year and 3rd next year or late 1st/late 2nd for example).

You're close... This is Vitters 6th year in the minors. Haha

You could say that for Peppers/Mario Williams and a few others very good/great DEs in the past whose work ethic and drive were questioned before they got drafted. At 19th pick, you have to take that risk because if he is motivated then he's the next Peppers/Mario or even Calais Campbell.

So Walter Football updated his mock draft... Here are the Bears selections... http://walterfootball.com/draft2012.php 1- Quinton Coples DE 2- Jayron Hosley CB 3- Juron Criner WR 4- Senio Kelemete OG 5- Deangelo Peterson TE What do you guys think?

At this point, I think BPA is Kendall Reyes over Thompson. Not saying Thompson is a bad pick though as I like him as well and I agree with a DT would be better than a CB at this pick.

After thinking about it all day... Patriots select... Zach Brown OLB Another pick on the D. Yes, he should be going to a team that mainly plays a 4-3, but Pats have been trending that way with their defense. North Carolina did play some 3-4 and Brown was at OLB and did well at that position IMO (from the games I've seen). From what I've seen and read, Brown reminds me of a OLB who is undersized and have similar skill set IMO in Lawrence Timmons (although Timmons play ILB for the Steelers). Von Miller and Thomas Howard are other OLBs who are undersized like Brown and have succeeded in the NFL. He is raw and needs to develop, but the upside is too much to ignore here. Pats can afford to pick someone like him, put him on the bench/special teams for a year or 2, and give him the proper coaching that he needs to succeed.

I could definitely see Belichick going value here and taking either David Wilson or Lamar Miller. I could also see them going with either guy you mentioned, or even a George Iloka or Markelle Martin. A lot of possibilities. Yeah that's where I'm getting stuck. Too many possibilities because they'll draft anyone at any position (probably not TE now although it wouldn't shock me if they did). I'm waiting for a buddy of mine to let me know who he would pick (he's a HUGE Pats fan) even though his usual answer is "just trade every pick for more picks till you got every first round pick 5 years from now".

Anybody want to help me out here? I'm looking at a few guys here and not sure who to pick. Maybe a couple of you guys could help me make my decision with your thoughts of who they should pick.

Just curious... How many rounds are we going?

Patriots will select.... Devon Still http://media.lehighvalleylive.com/sports_impact/photo/devon-still-d46d37f10f71d639.jpg While there are others that I could pick here, Still was the BPA at a position of need for the Pats (DL). I kinda surprised he makes it this far. I like the 2 picks I've made for the Pats in this mock draft. 2 guys with a LOT of talent, but with some concerns (Jenkins with character and Still with injuries/inconsistent). Both fill a big position of need and it's on defense. As everybody saw how horrible the D was last year, I would have to think they're going defense-defense with their 2 picks (if they don't trade one or both). I could see them getting someone like Konz or Martin with one of those picks though as nobody has a clue what Pats/BB will do with their pick. I think they can really max out the value of their picks by going defense early and getting the need on offense (mainly interior OL or raw/developmental type WR since the corp is aging, but still be good for a couple years) later in the draft.

Wright is an elite WR minus the height. I've seen him compared to Steve Smith based on his ball skills with his ability and willingness to go get the ball in traffic and in the middle of the field. I've seen him compared to Mike Wallace because of his deep speed and ability to get up to speed quickly. I don't really like any of those comparisons, but he reminds me a lot of Wallace's teammate Antonio Brown...but more polished. He's very good at getting to the open spot and has really good hands. But he can improve as a route runner. He's good now, but could be a little sharper when making cuts. Going to be very dangerous after the catch. Honestly... to me, Wright = Percy Harvin (minus the migraines). What I like about Wright is that he's just not a downfield threat/speedster (like Stephen Hill), but he can be just as deadly at the line as scrimmage. He also WILL try to run you over if you're in his way or fight for the ball. A WR who "could" do it all as a #2 WR. He would compliment Marshall so well IMO (better than Hill). This is coming from a guy who didn't want Wright at first (for awhile) as I thought he was just a better version of Hester/Knox, but after reading/watch highlights... I'm seeing more of Percy Harvin/Steve Smith.