Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Diamond in the rough?

If the Washington Wizards want to find immediate help Thursday night, they can forget it. Unless, that is, they package their draft pick and either move up or acquire a veteran player.
With the 18th pick, the best Washington can hope for is to find someone capable of being a good player — in two or three years.
And with Caron Butler, Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison capable of playing at an All-Star level, the need to win is now.
“They really want help now to try to get them to the top,” said NBA consultant and scout Chris Ekstrand. “That probably points to them investigating a trade. They have a team that’s close with those three players. They can’t wait until Antawn Jamison is 35.”
Ekstrand’s best solution: package the pick to find a veteran who can take the load off the three stars and pick up the slack when they get hurt. Or they could move up several spots and take Kansas’ Brandon Rush
“He could be a sixth man today,” Ekstrand said. “His skills are solid across the board.”
The hard part for Washington, he said, is that to find that veteran help they would have to give up something good in return. He said the player teams would want is guard Nick Young.
“If you’re the Wizards, you just drafted him and you were right [about him],” he said. “He oozes scoring potential. Do you want to give that up right away? That’s tough to do.”
If they stay at 18, Kansas power forward Darrell Arthur and Georgetown center Roy Hibbert likely will be available. But the Wizards aren’t high on Hibbert and Ekstrand isn’t thrilled with Arthur, saying the sophomore can play but could have used another year of developing in college. Nevada center JaVale McGee and Texas A&M center DeAndre Jordan are other possibilities.
However, both big men would require two to three years of development.
“What they need is a young P.J. Brown,” Ekstrand said.


Phillips suggests to bet on the Rays, but not the Marlins

The Marlins have closed fast on the Phillies. But don’t expect that to last long. Which is why there won’t be an all-Florida World Series — but not because of a Tampa Bay slide.
“The Marlins starting pitching has an ERA over 5,” ESPN baseball analyst and former Mets GM Steve Phillips said. “I don’t know how they do it. Their offense is good and maybe they have young guys who will get better in the second half. When you have five young guys in the rotation, who do you protect? They’ll run out of gas.”
He doesn’t see anyone in the NL Central challenging Chicago, nor does he see the Dodgers making a move against Arizona in the West. As for the American League, he likes the Rays’ staying power.
“I see the Rays in it until the end,” he said. “They play great defense, have a good bullpen and a good starting rotation.”
The Angels will remain in control in the West as he sees Oakland fading. And in the Central, preseason favorites Detroit and Cleveland don’t figure to make a run at Chicago.
“I can’t see how the Tigers stay in it,” he said. “To make a run you have to get consistent starting pitching. They don’t have it. The Indians don’t score enough runs. The White Sox will be there because of their pitching.”


Sherrill shines as the ‘default’ closer

Orioles closer George Sherrill knows exactly how he fits into the team’s plans: “as soon as the tying run is on deck, I am in.”
The 30-year-old relief pitcher entered the season as the Orioles’ closer-by-default, with incumbents Chris Ray and Danys Baez missing the year with Tommy John surgery.
So far, he hasn’t disappointed, converting 25-of-28 save opportunities — the second most in the majors — to go with a 2-2 record and a 3.21 ERA.
Sherrill has appeared in 36 games for the Orioles (38-36), walking just 18 batters and striking out 32. The player known for his straight-brimmed cap has anchored the Orioles’ bullpen, a strength this season after posting a 5.71 ERA last year.
He aggressively attacks hitters.
“I don’t get nervous or anything out there,” Sherrill said to reporters after his most recent save this weekend in Milwaukee. “I was able to buckle down and make some pitches and let the defense work.”


COLUMN INCHES

Opinions from around the nation on the hottest topics in sports:

» Some mornings, he spends hours in bed waiting for his body to unlock, for the pain to fade. Those Sundays when he would fly down the field throwing his body around like a missile are gone for good. His life is lived an inch at a time. ... He’s 26 years old and still adjusting to all of this.
— Richard Justice on the recovery of former Buffalo Bills receiver Kevin Everett.
(Houston Chronicle)

» Once more they appear headed for high-80s territory, albeit in a division so devoid of quality rivals that 85 might get it done. They have fallen from 13 games over .500 to 42-35. To accomplish Jimmy Rollins’ 2008 prediction of 100 victories, they need to go — take a deep breath — 58-27.
— Bill Conlin discussing the suddenly cold Philadelphia Phillies. (Philadelphia Daily News)

» [Gary] Bettman is claiming that, with a three-quarters vote of the Board to discipline [Jim] Dolan that would follow a hearing, he not only has the power to remove Dolan and sell the team, but essentially has the authority to do whatever he pleases with the Rangers franchise. ...  Where does Bettman think the Rangers will play if he strips Dolan and the Garden of ownership?
— Larry Brooks writing about a major rift between NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and Rangers owner Jim Dolan that could have grand ramifications. (New York Post)

» The one fact that matters regarding [Michael] Beasley is he grades out higher than last year’s No. 2 pick, Kevin Durant, according to this scout. So the real question shouldn’t be about Beasley’s game or character. It should be if Chicago leaves you with Rose or Beasley. You’d take either. But Beasley is the best fit for the Heat.
— Dave Hyde on why the Miami Heat would be fortunate if Michael Beasley is available with the second pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft. (Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)


ON THE RECORD

“When you have as many outstanding players as we do — to select a group of 12 is going to leave out some outstanding people.”

— Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball managing director, on selecting the team to send to the Beijing Olympics.

“Everybody makes mistakes. But when [Kevin] Harvick comes up to me and runs his mouth last weekend … he sort of stuck it right back in his mouth this weekend.”

— NASCAR driver Kyle Busch on savoring his victory last weekend in Sonoma, Calif., and his rival, Harvick, wrecking.


BY THE NUMBERS

2 » Women to dunk in a WNBA game, most recently No. 1 overall draft pick Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks, who threw down two of her 10 points in a 77-63 win over Indiana.

13 » Years since ESPN NHL analyst Barry Melrose coached in the league. Melrose is scheduled to be introduced as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning today.