Wizards could use some luck tomorrow

You may not be aware of this revelation, but the Washington Wizards' 2008-2009 season didn't go very well. But the regular season is in the rear-view mirror, and it's time to start preparing for next season. That start begins tomorrow night with the NBA Draft Lottery.

The Wizards, who tied for the second-worst record (19-63) in the NBA with the L.A. Clippers, won the tie-breaker a few weeks ago and possess one more ping-pong ball (and a 0.1 percent better chance!) than the Clippers. With that extra ball, the Wizards have a 17.8 percent chance to land the top pick (and a 34.8 percent chance to land the number one or number two selection). And if you're curious what 17.8 percent looks like, you should go here.

Many people are of the opinion that if the Wizards do not land the first or second pick, then they will look to trade the pick in some sort of package of young players and expiring contracts to land a solid veteran or two. Some want them to keep the pick no matter what and draft a young player. And others don't really care because they figure it's the Wizards, so something horrible is going to happen. The NBA: Where overpowering pessimism happens!

My take: If the Wizards get the number one pick, they'll select Blake Griffin. If they get the number two pick, they'll take Ricky Rubio. And if they get anything lower, they'll try as hard as possible to trade for an upgrade at shooting guard or in the frontcourt.

But I do agree with Bullets Forever's Pradamaster that it would still be wise, even if a trade is made, to remain in the first round instead of trading out of it altogether. This draft certainly looks to be top-heavy with Griffin and Rubio ahead of the pack, followed by a combination of guys like James Harden, Hasheem Thabeet, Tyreke Evans, Jordan Hill, Brandon Jennings, and Demar DeRozan, etc.

If one thing is clear, it's that the Wizards don't really have a whole lot of time to work on building a winner; this is the team that Ernie Grunfeld has built. As of this moment, Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler, and Brendan Haywood are all healthy. Antawn Jamison recently had surgery to remove a bone spur in his right ankle, but he's tough and should recover and be 100 percent in time for the season. If that group remains on the court, the Wizards will be tough to beat. Add in reinforcements like Blake Griffin/Ricky Rubio, Dominic McGuire, Nick Young, Javaris Crittenton, Darius Songaila, DeShawn Stevenson, JaVale McGee, and Andray Blatche, and the Wizards could potentially have a deep team. Of course, if a trade is made, some of the younger pieces could be moved for better overall talent.

After the lottery, the Wizards should have a much better idea of what to do. But if they aren't picking first or second, Grunfeld will be faced with a difficult decision. If that happens, there really won't be a right answer on which move to make. And with a healthy team, there won't be any more excuses left next season no matter how things unfold tomorrow night.

Harrison to skip Steelers' White House trip (again)

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker and reigning defensive player of the year James Harrison is undoubtedly happy that his team won the Super Bowl this year. But strangely enough, he won't be going with the rest of his team to visit the White House next week:

"This is how I feel -- if you want to see the Pittsburgh Steelers, invite us when we don't win the Super Bowl. As far as I'm concerned, he [Obama] would've invited Arizona if they had won," said Harrison.

There's no question that Harrison is a solid football player, but he's definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed. Then again, he is consistent: Harrison did the same thing after the Steelers' 2006 Super Bowl victory.

Greinke dominates O's; Hill to start today

With the start of the game delayed for more than two hours by rain, Royals fans had to wait a little while before seeing their ace get to pitch on Friday night. But the patient fans who stayed got just wait they paid to see.

Zack Greinke (0.60 ERA) gave up one run in seven innings to improve to 7-1 on the season as the Royals cruised to an 8-1 victory. He also walked just two Orioles batters while striking out six of them.

While Greinke was fantastic, the same can't be said for Adam Eaton (7.93 ERA), who surrendered 10 hits and seven runs, including two long home runs to Mike Jacobs and Miguel Olivo.

Brian Roberts and Aubrey Huff each had two-hit games for the Orioles, while Mark Teahan had three hits and Jacobs, Jose Guillen, and Alberto Callaspo each had two hits in the Royals' eight-run, 13-hit attack.

To shift gears, Rich Hill is scheduled to make his Orioles debut tonight. With the move, Mark Hendrickson moves to the bullpen, which is exactly what happened last night, as Hendrickson gave up one run in three innings after replacing Eaton. Hendrickson has been pretty bad this season -- 1-4, 6.03 ERA, 1.38 K/BB ratio -- but, to be fair, the Orioles envisioned Hendrickson as the long man out of the bullpen from the beginning. Injuries forced him into the rotation, but hopefully Hill stays healthy, pitches well, and is able to remain in the rotation for a while.

As of this moment, the Orioles still have not made a corresponding roster move to make room for Hill. Some options include: placing Adam Jones or Luke Scott on the disabled list; sending Lou Montanez or Nolan Reimold back to Norfolk; or even, though not likely, designating Felix Pie for assignment. A move should be announced soon.

Weekly Rundown: Selena Roberts, Sam Huff, Matt Millen

Weekly Rundown is a combination of links and brief comments on stories and topics that I couldn't get to during the week. If there's something important that I missed, don't hesitate to send an email or leave a comment.

I've been kind of busy lately, but here's a few quick links that I should have posted on Sunday.

• Malcolm Gladwell writes a really long article that basically comes to this conclusion: A team has a better chance to win if it presses its opponent. The piece is definitely worth a read and is intriguing, but I disagree. That strategy might be successful in women's youth basketball or work if executed properly at the right level, but basketball isn't that simple. Good ball-handling teams just don't throw the ball to the other team for no reason or struggle that mightily in breaking a press. [The New Yorker]


• Jason Whitlock isn't a fan of Selena Roberts or her journalistic ethics -- or lack thereof. [Kansas City Star]


• Bill Simmons discusses the difficulties the media currently has in getting in-depth stories and information on athletes with technology such as Twitter, Facebook, and individual blogs that allow athletes to connect directly to their fans without the middlemen. [ESPN]


• Michael Lee breaks down the risk involved when trading a top-three draft pick. [Wizards Insider]


• Sam Huff doesn't really care for Michael Vick: "I think they ought to turn him loose with the dogs. That's what I think of Michael Vick." [Charlotte Observer]


• Need a potential NFL player to root for? Here's one. [Shutdown Corner]


• So Dan Snyder might actually be a good guy? Now that's hard to believe. [Washingtonian]


• Are you a Matt Millen fan? Me neither. But it sure looks like he's going to stick around for a while:
  

  
  Former NFL player, executive and broadcaster Matt Millen is joining ESPN's football coverage as a game and studio analyst.
  
  Millen will work as a college football game analyst and will contribute to ESPN's NFL studio coverage throughout the year, appearing on "Monday Night Countdown," "NFL Live," "SportsCenter," ESPNEWS and other programs.
  
  As part of Millen's NFL studio responsibilities, he will travel to the site of each week's "Monday Night Football" game, where he will appear on "Monday Night Countdown" and the pre- and postgame editions of "SportsCenter."
  

  
  Well, that's just great. Is it too late to get Emmitt Smith back? [ESPN]

FSN Kansas City interviews Guy Fieri impostor

You probably know who Guy Fieri is, even though you may not want to. He appears in irritating TGI Fridays commercials and has his own show on the Food Network. And he has strange hair.

Well, during a Royals game the other night, Fox Sports Net's sideline reporter during the telecast, Joel Goldberg, thought that Fieri was in attendance and decided he would sit down for an interview. What followed was pretty awkward -- and very funny:



I have no idea why Goldberg thought interviewing Guy Fieri was even worth anyone's time, but it's even stranger that he didn't pick up that he wasn't talking to the real Guy after about 15 seconds. Solid work, FSN.

(HT: Awful Announcing)

Francoeur not too sure about this OBP thing

Jeff Francoeur is a decent major league hitter. He's not bad, and he's not great either. In three seasons and parts of two others, including this one, Francoeur has hit at a .269/.312/.435 clip with 76 home runs.

He's not very fast; in fact, he's been caught stealing 11 times while stealing only 9 bases -- so he doesn't help in that phase of the game. In right field, he is solid and possesses a very strong arm, so that's a bonus.

But anyway, back to his performance at the plate. Francoeur is strong and can hit the ball to all fields, yet he strikes out too much and doesn't walk enough (0.27 career BB/K ratio), and both obviously contribute to his low on-base percentage.

Unfortunately for the Braves, Francoeur doesn't see anything wrong with his approach at the plate:

For Atlanta outfielder Jeff Francoeur, the search for a more disciplined approach is elusive and the source of occasional torment. Francoeur began this season with loose goals of 80 strikeouts and 50 to 60 walks. But he's always been an aggressive player, and he's wary of becoming too passive in the quest for a higher OBP.

"If on-base percentage is so important, then why don't they put it up on the scoreboard?" Francoeur says.

I'd say that someone has been getting in touch with his inner Joe Morgan.

Not that it really matters, but many stadiums actually do put on-base percentage on the scoreboard now; I've seen it up at Camden Yards and Nationals Park. But again, that's not the point. The point, though, is that getting on base is the most important thing a batter can do. And, for the most part, Francoeur still has to improve at this task.

Jerry Crasnick, who wrote the article linked above, delves into the subject of plate discipline by talking to scouts, baseball executives, and other players. Eventually he gets back to the topic of Francoeur's struggles:

Since his arrival in the majors in 2005, Francoeur has struggled to find an identity. He hit 29 homers in his first full season, but posted a .293 on-base percentage. Then he improved his OBP at the expense of his power. Last year he bulked up with an NFL-style conditioning program in an effort to hit more home runs, and everything unraveled.

One scout called him "the most confused hitter in the game" -- a label that Francoeur doesn't dispute. He's sensitive to the criticism of his free-swinging approach, and at times he's put excessive pressure on himself to remake himself as a hitter.

"People forget that I just turned 25," Francoeur says. "I've been up since I was 21, and a lot of people come up when they're 24 or 25. I have 3.5 years in the big leagues, but I'm still learning how to hit."

Yes, he is still just 25 years old, but his solution is in that first paragraph. In that second full season when Francoeur "improved his OBP at the expense of his power," he actually had the best season of his young career. He posted a career-best .338 OBP, which led to a career-best OPS of .782 (not counting his first half season). And even though he hit 10 fewer home runs (19) than the year before (29), he only lost five points on his slugging percentage because he made more contact, collected more hits, and hit more doubles. He even knocked in two more runs without those extra home runs.

And while he posted a slightly better walk-to-strikeout ratio the next season, he posted career lows in batting average, OBP, and slugging percentage, probably because he did bulk up and tried to hit for more power instead of refining his approach from the previous season.

The good news is that through 25 games so far this season, Francoeur appears to be on the right track. He's hitting .283/.305/.444 with 13 runs, 3 homers, and 17 RBI. But more importantly, he has only struck out 9 times while walking 4 times. He'll probably never be a guy who walks a ton, but if he decreases his strikeouts and makes more contact, he'll be much better at the plate.

There's nothing wrong with being selective at the plate; not everyone can be the next Vladimir Guerrero.

Isiah Thomas isn't exactly off to the best start at FIU

You remember that Florida International University hired Isiah Thomas a few weeks ago, right? Well as it turns out, Thomas might actually be making a few mistakes and angering some people at the same time -- imagine that.

In a superbly titled New York Post article, "Isiah Making Enemies In New FIU Job," Marc Berman explains the troubles that Thomas is having, even though he's been on the job for less than a month:

The former Knicks president/coach is being accused of tactless behavior in failing to personally phone three FIU recruits to inform them they were no longer wanted despite scholarship offers from the past regime.

Wolfson High coach Greg Rosebrock threatened to close the door for Thomas to recruit at his Jacksonville school because of how his player, Chris Rozier, was treated.

"From Jacksonville, to Orlando to Pensacola, there's a lot of coaches in Florida not happy with him right now," Rosebrock told The Post. "He's not making friends here. I understand not wanting him but place a phone call and do it in a professional way."

As it turns out, Thomas "did not call the kids because he was under the impression he would be under NCAA violation. Thomas just took his compliance tests and thought he was not allowed to speak to high school students."

How's that for on-the-job training? Not only is Thomas breaking commitments from FIU, but he's angering several high school coaches in the very state that he's coaching and trying to recruit in.

I can't say I'm terribly shocked by this development, but apparently Thomas wasn't interested in using all of the resources at his disposal. And on that note, Eamonn Brennan of Yahoo! Sports's The Dagger has some advice for Thomas: "Caution is great, man, but FIU has a compliance department, right? Give them a visit. Sit down for a chat. Figure out what you can and can't do, and then get back out there and start building those bridges again."

Or maybe this whole thing will only snowball because, you know, Isiah Thomas is now running a college basketball program.

Weekly Rundown: Greinke, Josh Pastner, Haynesworth

Weekly Rundown is a combination of links and brief comments on stories and topics that I couldn't get to during the week. If there's something important that I missed, don't hesitate to send an email or leave a comment.

• Andy Katz takes a look at many of the draft decisions made by potential NBA prospects. I tend to agree with most of his comments, especially on Greivis Vasquez and how stacked Kansas will be next season. [ESPN]


• Zack Greinke wasn't all that thrilled about being featured on this week's Sports Illustrated cover:
  

  
  "There's a lot more interesting stuff going on right now," he said. "They should have something else on the cover. Playoff basketball or something else.
  
  "So it's a mistake. They'll probably sell their least amount of magazines in a long time -- except when NASCAR was on the cover."
  

  
  As always, good stuff from Greinke. And if you're interested, here's the cover. [Kansas City Star]


• Linebacker Cody Glenn, recently selected by the Redskins in the fifth round, was suspended by Nebraska for three games last season. Not only did he lie about the reason for the suspension (he said it was for a ticket scandal/incident), but he won't admit what actually happened. Very odd. [Redskins Insider]


• Let's just put it this way: Josh Pastner (31 years old), Memphis's new men's basketball coach, is a prodigy. [Yahoo! Sports]


• The Baltimore Sun fired three writers and a photographer in the middle of covering the Angels-Orioles game on Wednesday. If that wasn't bad enough, the journalists were fired over the phone. Peter Schmuck offered his thoughts on the matter:
  

  
  "Woke up this morning hoping the past two days were a bad dream. Many great people -- including sports columnists Rick Maese and David Steele -- were laid off as the Sun continues to suffer the effects of this horrible economic downturn. Of course, this recession is hitting home everywhere, but it was surreal to watch Rick and Dave pack up their stuff in the press box at Camden Yards during yesterday's game and head into an uncertain future." [The Guardian]
  



• Keith Law thinks it's time to end the Felix Pie experiment and give Nolan Reimold a chance (near the bottom of the chat). [ESPN]


• Think MLB attendance is down a whole bunch this season? Jayson Stark says it's not -- and has the numbers to prove it. [ESPN]


• Truth wonders, reasonably so, if Antawn Jamison would be willing to "swallow his pride, suppress any hubris, and come off the bench" next season if the Wizards bring in a defensive power forward in the offseason. [Truth About It]


• And could that power forward be Chris Bosh? Rook of Bullets Forever thinks it could work out. [Bullets Forever]


• Jason Reid provides some insightful information on the life of Albert Haynesworth. [Washington Post]