Everyone loves a good mock draft but the record-breaking first round we just had shows how pointless they really can be. Especially with the Eagles rivaled only by the Patriots as the masters of the draft day trade, it is more interesting to try to look at which positions are felt to be justifiable for the Eagles to draft. So here is a position-by-position breakdown of not only what the Eagles need, but which of those needs should be filled tomorrow.

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The number a player chooses to wear often shows something about their Caracter character.  The players who take it seriously offer a window into their true selves.  Gilbert Arenas, often referred to as 'Agent Zero', chose his number because,  "Zero is the number of minutes people predicted I would play my freshman year at Arizona," "I decided to go with it because I love proving people wrong".  Our own Pau Gasol has worn the number 16 ever since he started in Spain.  The number was given to him because he was the new guy, the kid (4-15 go to established players).  He says he keeps the number due to good mojo but I feel the main reason is to remind him of where he came from. 

When a player changes his number, it is even more significant because it signifies a change in that player and the number has even thought put into it.  The two best players in basketball have changed their number somewhat recently, Kobe Bryant before the 2006-2007 season, and LeBron James before the 2010-2011 season.  Their new numbers show the difference between the two players.

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Chris Bosh, the number 3 free agent this year was the key complimentary piece to the big 2.  The Chicago Bulls wanted him to help create a ridiculously talented roster that included LeBron James.  Bosh really wanted to play with LeBron, but LeBron's loyalty to Cleveland doomed the pairing.

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I don't know about you guys, but I am pretty excited for the beginning of free agency this year.  We have probably the best group of free agents we have ever seen and the NBA next year will most likely look radically different than it did last year.

I think it would be interesting to see what everyone's predictions are for where they think everyone will end up.  It will make July 1 come quicker and the winner can get some kind of title for his sig or something along those lines.....I'll let C.A, Sav, etc. decide on the extra but anyone can put in suggestions for the winners title. 

So let's take a look:

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As Laker fans, we know what it's like to have an injured center.  It is something we would not wish even on our worst enemies.  But that is exactly what happened.  Here is to wishing luck to Kendrick Perkins in his recovery from his strained MCL and PCL.

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We all know that a big part of the reason that the Lakers lost the 2008 NBA finals is that they were not tough enough.  Pau Gasol was seen as the key perpetrator when he got dominated by the Celtics big men.

One game later and everyone is claiming that everything is different.  But is it really or was 2008 an over-reaction to Gasol's softness and this year an over-reaction to his toughness?  Let's take a look.

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Lakers-Celtics, Celtics-Lakers...even if you aren't an avid basketball fan you are excited for this matchup. 

The Los Angeles Lakers have been to the most Finals, going 15-16 while the Boston Celtics have the most Championships with 17 in 20 tries.  These teams have met 11 times in the Finals with the Celtics winning 9 of them. 

These finals mean so much more than just another shot at a championship to the players and organizations involved.  Lets look at how.

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 Lakers-Celtics, Celtics-Lakers...even if you aren't an avid basketball fan you are excited for this matchup. 

The Los Angeles Lakers have been to the most Finals, going 15-16 while the Boston Celtics have the most Championships with 17 in 20 tries.  These teams have met 11 times in the Finals with the Celtics winning 9 of them. 

These finals mean so much more than just another shot at a championship to the players and organizations involved.  Lets look at how.

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After seeing Eckstein on SportsCenter I was wondering about how former Angels were doing across the league.  It is pretty well documented that the Angels are comfortable cutting ties too soon as opposed to too late.  Tex isn't included because he was just a rental.

Starters:

C: Bengie Molina

.366 obp/ .378 slg/ .744 ops/ 2 hr/ 10 rbi

current salary:$4,500,000

1b: Casey Kotchman

.287 obp/ .333 slg/ .620 ops/ 3 hr/ 18 rbi

current salary:$3,517,500 

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First of all the Angels have some decisions to make of their own with their free agents.

Lackey: He must be resigned, he is our ace and no one on the team is ready to step up in that role. (Kazmir did well in his short time with us during the regular season but the post season shows he isn't an ace. Weaver isn't there for two reasons: he has to figure out his to pitch on the road (Sosh pushed him back to game 3 instead of having him pitch in a much more important game 2) and he could regress like he did after his rookie season.)

Vlad: I have been a little down on him and still think he is way past what we was but I think they should resign him but only if Sosh can pull his head out of his butt and take him out of the cleanup spot.

Abreu: With the uncertainty of Vlad and GMJ and of course with his positive influence, I think they should and will resign him (and probably overpay him just a bit too).

Figgins: He has been a favorite of mine since I was a quick utility infielder when I played plus hearing my mother chant "Let's go Chone" (pronounced how its spelled, not how it's actually said) makes it all the harder to say I think his time here should and will be done. I was borderline before the playoffs, and it was actually Aybar's play that pushed Figgins off the edge for me.

Escobar: I still think fondly on 2007 but who knows what he will be like once he's back. If Lackey walks and no deal for Arroyo comes about then there is a slight possibility he could be coming back.

Oliver: He has been way too good to let go especially since 2 All Star break's ago. The type A designation makes it tempting to let him walk, but in our bp we need him, plus he has a little unfinished busines (note: Tex 3 run double).

Free Agents: This class is bad. There is no 2 ways around it. There is a little talent at the top but not too much else besides bench players here. I think they will get Bay (with Holliday going back to the Cards) and pay A LOT to do so after having big chunks of money by cheaply resigning Vlad and letting Escobar walk. Personally I like Beltre if they decide Wood isn't ready yet but I think his time is now.

Starting Lineup:

SS: Aybar
RF:Abreu
CF:Hunter
LF:Bay
1B:Morales
DH:Vlad
3B:Wood
C:Napoli
2B:Kendrick

While I would personally like Kendrick before Wood, Sosh likes having someone to turn the lineup over and I think Kendrick steps into that role with Aybar taking Figgins' role.

Rotation:
Lackey
Weaver
Kazmir
Saunders
Santana

BP:
Fuentes
Jepsen
Bulger
Arredondo
Palmer
Oliver
Shields

Having Rivera and GMJ on the bench would be a lot but I see a trade involving Rivera if they are able to land Bay. Personally I would love to see him get packaged with Fuentes and maybe even Napoli to bring in a big arm (Papelbon (mostly sarcastic, I realize it wouldn't happen, but it's just an idea) anyone??). Wood replacing Figgins adds a lot more pop to the lineup and Bay over Rivera makes the lineup stronger while hopefully Rivera can be sent off to make our bullpen and/or pitching staff better. You add in a healthy Vlad and this teams loooks like it has the complete package.

Well completely getting our asses kicked tonight felt like shit for me as I'm sure it did for all of you.  It's amazing how many Yankees fans I found around here that weren't around yesterday, but I digress.

In games five and six we will be facing Burnett, and Pettitte respectively.  Both of them pitched solid games against us and I expect no less in the next few days.  While the umps haven't helped us out, we have not played like the best team in the American League.  Just going down the lineup, Figgins and Abreu have not been setting the table, Hunter has not played anywhere near the level we need him to, and apart from game 3, Vlad has looked like a has-been for the majority of the time.  I could continue down the line-up, but the only people who seem to be hitting reasonably are two of the major scapegoats from last year (Kendrick and Aybar) and Mendoza Mathis (who I have been saying all year is not horrible at home (.258 average).  We have not played Angels' defense and the pitching has been good but C.C. has made our guys look like chumps.  Apart from 1 boneheaded pitch that cost us a game (that might not have even been that pitcher's fault he was in that situation) and our "Yankee killer", the staff has pitched pretty well.  So far we have just run into 2 players who are better than anyone on our team and they have dominated.

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AL

East

Yankees: 97-65

Red Sox: 96-66

Rays: 88-74

Blue Jays: 71-91

Orioles: 69-93

Central

Tigers: 89-73

White Sox: 85-77
Twins: 80-82

Royals: 67-95

Indians: 65-97

West

Angels: 98-64

Rangers: 91-71

Mariners: 83-79

Athletics: 67-95

AL

East

Phillies: 97-65

Marlins: 85-77

Braves: 79-83

Mets: 79-83

Nationals: 53-109

Central

Cardinals: 92-70

Cubs: 91-71

Astros: 85-77

Brewers: 79-83

Reds: 70-92

Pirates: 67-95

West

Dodgers: 101-61

Giants: 90-72

Rockies: 82-80

Diamondbacks: 71-91

Padres: 63-99

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Is there a book or a website or anything that gives a good breakdown on all of the sabremetric statistics?  I  need to be able to read one of ETA's posts and actually have an idea of what he's talking about.  Thanks to anyone who replies for the help.

Sorry, I know this isn't exactly a good fanpost but you guys know your stuff and I didn't know where else to ask.

After tonight's poor start by Saunders, I started thinking about possible explanations.  Of course a huge difference between this year and last year is the run production.  This year it seems like they score 7 or 8 runs in about 75% of their games, while last year it seemed like it was 1 or 2 runs in that same 75%.  I would think expecting that extra run support would make the starters a little looser while last year they knew they had to be on the top of their game almost every game.  I realize there has been plenty of injuries and then of course the tragedy but I don't think you can put all the blame for the slip in production on those things.

So what do you guys think, do the Angels' starters relax a little bit knowing that the offense has their back so much more than in the past?

Excluding the sacrifice (and intentional walk) which isn't something that Speier deserves credit for, he has allowed 11 straight hitters to reach base over a span of 4 games and hasn't recorded an out in 3 straight games.  Having him as one of our primary set up guys to get the ball to Fuentes is unacceptable.  Hooray he had a great June, but his previous 4 months before that (going back to last season) all had ERA's of over 5.  I would tell you what his ERA is in July but I'm not sure he has recorded an out.  A year ago i would have probablu said he didnt deserve a spot on the team but outside of bulger and oliver i feel even worse about the rest of these guys.  It would be a huge mistake to not get some bullpen help before the deadline.  For some reason Sosh won't insert Oliver as the 8th inning guy even tho he has been phenomenal for the past year and a half, especially the second half of last year. 

I realize thatthe bullpen will be fine once Escobar and Arredondo come back and pitch like they can.  But who knows when that will be?  The way things are going this year, they probably won't happen at all.  It's debateable if Halliday is needed or not, but it should be obvious he doesn't need to be out #1 priority.  GET BULLPEN HELP or kiss any chance at success in October goodbye.