Time to unleash a few opinions on the readership on a Sunday. And when I drive into the paint, don’t you dare flop like it’s the NBA Finals, or think you can get away with a tie like the World Cup. Got it?
It was another underwhelming MLB Draft for the state of Missouri
Mike Kickham
It’s fair to say that the 2010 MLB Draft owned the state of Missouri like a schoolyard bully, especially everyone from the Ozarks.
Sure, Missouri State and former Glendale lefthanded pitcher Mike Kickham was selected with a top-10 round pick, but being taken in the sixth round (198th overall) by the San Francisco Giants, seemed disappointing when seeing he was ranked by ESPN as high as No. 68 and as low as No. 110 by Baseball America. Kickham maintains he wants to start his pro career immediately and feels confident that the Giants will meet his monetary demands. Like any good poker player, Kickham didn’t divulge his hand — or “the number” — which is likely somewhere between $350,000 and $500,000, if you look at what type of signing bonuses second-round picks have earned recently.
Something Kickham said in his press conference struck me. He mentioned he had to turn down three or four teams that called during the draft because they weren’t interested in meeting his signing bonus demands. It’s a position where as a draft-eligible sophomore, Kickham has a ton of leverage and if he doesn’t get what he thinks he’s worth, he can return to MSU, improve and go into the draft again. I think the valuable lesson is: Make sure your child is the first to turn 16, 18 and 21 at all costs, that way in case they might be a pro pitcher someday, they’ll be old enough to have some leverage.
OK, that’s not the big lesson. That’s a joke. But seriously, the MLB Draft is a screwy thing and it seems to go this way every season, especially for those of us in the Ozarks. With the NBA and NFL, you have to declare and forego your amateur status. But in the MLB draft, once you’re eligible, you can throw your name in and then decide if you want to accept an offer.
New Jersey Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov, aka Russian Mark Cuban
With that said, I don’t like the MLB draft. Players should have to declare and teams should have to pay a predetermined amount of money. Could you imagine if John Wall set his demands at 100 million in the upcoming NBA draft. If the Washington Wizards balked, you don’t think the New Jersey Nets and their new owner, the Russian Mark Cuban, wouldn’t pony up the cash? Where’s the justice in that? Is it capitalism? There’s no doubt, but that’s not helping the worst teams secure the best talent, which is what the draft process should be about. I guess we can take solace that there is no draft lottery for the NBA.
Instead, Kickham is going to either hope the Giants meet his demands or come down to their level. If not, he’ll be back with the Bears next season. And no offense, but that’s totally lame. He’s a sixth round pick. He should be heading to play pro baseball.
As for the rest of the state, it took a while for anyone to get their name called. Mizzou catcher Bret Nicholas was Missouri’s first pick at No. 196 and quickly followed by Kickham. Here is a list of the rest of the draft picks from Missouri.
Remember all of the hype surrounding Rogersville infielder and Missouri State recruit Seth Conner? Apparently that’s all it was —hype. As has been the case in this area for the last few years, Brandon Mozley, now a scout for the Toronto Blue Jays, but formerly of the Chicago Cubs, is the only one who will invest in a local high school athlete. And looking at recent history, that pick is so low that there is no way the dollars will pry someone out of a Division I college scholarship. If you missed it, the Blue Jays selected Conner with their 41st round pick (1,236th overall). Conner urged to TAGsgf.com that he would love to start his pro career, but that was under the assumption he would be selected between rounds 10-20. The bonus money for a 40-plus round pick is hard to gauge, because it’s usually college seniors who have zero leverage. I would be shocked to see Conner sign, but if he does, expect him to get a healthy chunk of money to do it.
The Ozarks haven’t had premium high school players drafted since 2004 when the Dodgers used its first-round pick on Seneca’s Scott Elbert and the Chicago White Sox used a fourth-round pick on Ozark’s Lucas Harrell.
Again, the Ozarks got owned. And they got owned by a flawed draft system and some blown-out-of-proportion draft expectations. That hurts even worse.
What you should believe about college sports expansion
What should you believe about college sports expansion? Nothing.
At least not yet. I don’t want this to turn into an industrial rant where I take my fellow media members to task, but I need to acknowledge something and pass on some advice.
If you are reading stories that are have unnamed sources, stop paying attention. Seriously.
How many times do we have to hear inaccurate reports quoting anonymous sources before we stop absorbing it as fact? I’ll admit, I was geeked the first time I heard about the Fight Club-like reshuffling possibilities and probable implosion of the Big 12. It’s fun. There will be definitive winners and losers in what is essentially a big football popularity contest. It will alter — and possibly end — rivalries that we have spent years of building up competitive hatred toward. It’s possibly that it will create true rivalries built on true hatred. Could you imagine how much real animosity the Kansas or Kansas State fan bases could store if they are forced to join the Mountain West or Conference USA, but Colorado gets to reap Pac-10 benefits or Nebraska gets to inject millions of dollars of Big Ten money into its budget? Has this ever happened before? That’s historic.
But back to the reporting side. I’ll admit that I love trade talk. I enjoy it in every sport, especially baseball and basketball. But how much of it is unfounded speculation? Most of it. How much of it comes to actual fruition? Very little. I see this as the same, and it’s mostly irresponsible. I understand that many of these sources would be crazy to put their actual names in speculative stories, in fear of being a rat and potentially putting their jobs in danger. But when did OrangeBloods.com — a site that is similar to MoSports.com — get on par with ESPN.com? They’re not, but every time ESPN.com or any other respected media outlet reports with unnamed sources or even give OrangeBloods.com credit, they look the same.
My advice, speculate all you want, but don’t put much merit into any sources with unnamed sources. Why? Did any of them have Colorado leaving the Big 12 first? No. They’ve been on Nebraska and Mizzou since the beginning, and little has happened. Instead, while everyone agrees that the traditional newspaper business model is failing, most of their reporting isn’t. Stick with places like the Columbia Tribune, the Lincoln Journal-Star, the Omaha World-Herald or the Austin American-Statesman, local papers who aren’t allowed to use unnamed sources. Why aren’t they? Because once someone’s name is on the quote, it’s 100 percent accountable.
Is realignment talk fun? Yes. Am I sick of it every day on sports talk radio? Absolutely. Once everything is officially reported, we can all talk about it responsibly.
No, Daily Young returning home isn’t a sign of weakness
Daily Young
I spoke to former Coastal Carolina and Hillcrest golfer Daily Young on the phone recently and we discussed his decision to come back home and play the rest of his college career at Missouri State.
I knew what everyone would think. After winning a Class 4 state championship in 2007, having success on the AJGA Tour and winning a match in the 2007 US Junior Amateur, Young cashed in and went to one of the best golf schools in the country. Many didn’t think he could cut it and he’d be back.
On the surface, they look right. But if you dig deeper, he says it’s for other reasons.
As a college freshman, he went to school with a broken hand. He tried to play after being out for 3-4 months and couldn’t find his groove. Not long after he finally got healthy, he found out he had a stress fracture in his foot. All of a sudden, he was at a top-notch golf school and wasn’t allowed to hit balls, only putt and chip.
“It hurt my confidence,” Young said.
In all, Young was only able to play during his second year, which ended up being his redshirt freshman year. At the beginning of the season, his putting game lagged so much, he switched to righthanded putting. Although he bombs drives off the tee righthanded, he has putted with his left for years. It worked somewhat, but it was still a foreign concept.
Instead, Young felt like he needed some technical advice. He needed Rick Grayson, the renowned golf instructor.
“I was putting in a lot of effort, but it wasn’t pointed in one direction,” Young said. “I’m familiar with (Grayson) and I knew he could help me.”
And after he came home for the summer and worked with Grayson, the results immediately came. Young shot a 3-under-par 69 at Hickory Hills Country Club to finish second at the Missouri Amateur local qualifier, earning a spot in the tournament on June 22 at Twin Oaks Country Club.
Young, the public-school underdog, could be saving his best for the same area that watched him bud into a star. And he’s not running from anything, he says.
“I felt tons of pressure because of what I was able to accomplish (in high school),” Young said. “I got away from just playing. The experience out there, you can’t replace. It will be tough to beat the school, the atmosphere, but I needed to come home.”
Other thoughts
I’ll admit, I’m not a fan of soccer. Still, at the behest of fellow TAGsgf.com’s resident soccer hooligan, Chris DeRosier, I watched some of Saturday’s US-England matchup. It wasn’t the most riveting TV I’ve watched, but I’ll say this: I love my country and I love watching people make hideous mistakes. And when the England goalkeeper flubbed the US’ only goal, I was entertained. But, just as quickly as the buzz came, any game ending in a tie drives me nuts. And that goes for NFL ties, NHL ties, etc. Will I watch Match No. 2 on Friday? Maybe. … Dear John Mozeliak, please don’t sign any more castaways from the St. Louis Cardinals‘ World Series team. I hope the Jeff Suppan signing works out, but I’m not holding my breath. I understand P.J. Walters and Adam Ottavino aren’t the answer, and you feel Lance Lynn is a year away, but Suppan and his 7.78 ERA? … Speaking of future STL Cardinals pitchers, no Cardinal minor league pitcher is having a better season than RHP David Kopp. He has won four starts in a row and is 8-1 overall, with a 2.61 ERA in 69 innings, striking out 45. A second-round pick in 2007, Kopp came to SGF last season with high expectations, but got hurt and never recovered. Now, he is pounding the strike zone and coming away with results. … Remember, keep Kickapoo High School girls’ basketball coach Stephanie Phillips in your thoughts and prayers. … And also don’t forget, be good.
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