Felix the Great and Questionable Draft Declarations

Much to my chagrin, my $103 million Japanese import got outdeuled tonight in an overhyped prime time showcase against the Mariners by Felix Hernandez. Hernandez almost no-hit my beloved Red Sox (only 11 days before the 14 year anniversary of the immortal Chris Bosio's no hitter of the BoSox).

If you have not seen Hernandez pitch, please do so soon. He's 21, hits high 90s constantly with his two seam fastball (note: for anyone without a modicum of pitching knowledge, your four seam fastball is where you get the most velocity and the two seamer the most movement - so two seamer in high 90s is absurd), has a hard biting slider, an outstanding curve, and throws about as hard in the 9th as he does on the first pitch. When he's on, he keeps his pitches down in the zone, and his stuff is so electric that he can get away with being a bit off the mark. So why I am telling you this? Because even though the season is only a little over a week old, this kid could be working on a special season. So far: 17 IP, 0 R, 18 K, 4 BB, 4 H, 5 balls hit out of the infield! He's obviously not going to keep this up, but he just turned 21 and has the best pure stuff of anyone this young since Candyman Doc Gooden....actually probably better. Hopefully he doesn't punch his fiance in the face and end up in the clink like Dr. K.

As for my boy Dice, respectable outing, but pretty much in line with what RJ hoped - slightly above mediocre, which is significantly below what everyone in Boston is expecting for $103 million. If you want some enjoyable reading, check out the Boston Globe or Boston Herald sports section tomorrow and see how the sky is falling in Boston. I'm sure RJ is really, really upset about this. I hope Nate Robertson pulls a Brian Griese in his driveway tonight.

Regarding the NBA, we'll have much more on the NBA Draft as it gets closer, but I wanted to quickly note what I think were two at-best questionable decisions in declaring for the NBA draft by Aaron Affalo and Julian Wright. There are bigger head scratchers than these two (like Dominic McGuire), but these two are at least worth writing about.

First, Affalo - the easier player to question for declaring. He just came off his second poor Final Four performance (shut down again by Corey Brewer), which is causing scouts to focus more on his lack of quickness and athleticism than production, and he's leaving a UCLA team that returns virtually every key clog from a repeating Final Four team (Darren Collison, Josh Shipp, Mbah a Moute) that's going to add Kevin Love. I understand that he was a First Team All American, but why leave when your team will be the consensus pick to win it all next year (only UNC coming close on talent)? He's not going to be a high draft pick in a loaded class (Chad Ford has someone like J.R. Reynolds ranked higher than him as a SG prospect and a predicted second round pick). Why waste a chance to win a national title and get scouts to forget about Brewer hassling you for two years? Beyond me.

Second, as for Wright, I understand this decision from a financial and practical point of view - his stock will probably never be higher, coming back to college will give scouts a chance to poke holes in his game, etc. The problem with Wright is that he has no jump shot and has the Jeff Green "unselfish to a fault" label. This won't prevent him from a high draft pick - but another year on a team that could be loaded (even if Brandon Rush does declare) could do well for his game. Then again, if I had millions available, my response would be "I'll practice my 15 footer when I'm playing for the Bobcats." Fair enough - I'd probably want him on my team if I didn't have a shot at Durant or Oden.

Back later this week. Sanjaya.