While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.
Literature and summer baseball. What could be bad? “To that end, I’ve been reading Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities, to be specific. It’s a gorgeous novel about love, both unrequited and not, about sacrifice and atonement. The plot of the book revolves around the French Revolution of 1848. It is not a baseball novel. Now you may ask what A Tale of Two Cities has to do with the Indians 12-5 loss to Cincinnati. As it turns out, there are a number of surprising parallels.” [Susan Petrone/It's Pronounced "Lajaway"]
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Some good stuff here on Matt LaPorta: “I believe the Indians’ opinion on LaPorta has shifted from ‘prospect’ to the decidedly less glamorous ‘organizational depth.’ A prospect tends to have an auspicious future, a belief that their ceiling has yet to be reached. With a depth player, you basically know what you’re getting. There may be hope for a breakout based on past performance or improved health, but in the majority of cases a depth player isn’t going to impress anyone for very long. As far as the Indians are concerned, LaPorta might as well be Duncan or Lopez (or maybe not, since he’s losing starts to them).” [Brian La Shier/Indians Prospect Insider]
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This nice draft post begins by comparing Jeremy Lamb and Bradley Beal, two guards rumored for the top 5/10 of the draft: “Another primary support argument for Lamb is his size, but based on combine measurements, Lamb only sports 3/4” height over Beal. His standing reach stretched 2” higher, but when combined with Beal’s advantage in leaping, the two players prove virtually equal. Lamb’s wings spanned three inches longer, but Beal packed on twenty extra pounds of muscle. Which is better? I don’t know, but a scan of the 26 drafted shooting guards with 6’ – 11” wingspan or longer in draftexpress’s database features one player named to one all-defense team. While obviously valuable, great length does not guarantee anything.” [Kevin Hetrick/Cavs: The Blog]
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That post above also mentioned Will Barton, a guard from Memphis flying up the charts, but still rumored to be a good fit for Cleveland at No. 24. This post suggests that he should be a lottery pick: “Barton is twice as productive as the average shooting guard prospect in Draft Express’s top 100 – and he’s only a sophomore! His shooting percentages are very good, though he needs work on his long range ability. He is above average nearly across the board, but what really seems to separate him from his peers is his rebounding. Barton, a small forward in college, grabbed more rebounds per 40 minutes than the average college center! It’s also important to note that Barton took pretty good care of the ball considering his age and role on the team.” [James Brocato/Wages of Wins]
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Mike Mayer at Rebuilding Since 1964 has a nice compilation of some recent NBA mock drafts. Being an A-10 guy since I just graduated from Dayton, I can tell you for certain that Andrew Nicholson would look dynamite in a Cavs uniform. The idea of him or Fab Melo at No. 24 definitely adds some credence to definitely going wing at No. 4.
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Mmmm. BBQ. This is fantastic: “Michigan coach Brady Hoke and Ohio State coach Urban Meyer have been playing up the rivalry since Meyer took the Buckeyes job in January. Hoke calls Ohio State ‘Ohio,’ Meyer makes fun of Michigan’s majors and on and on we go. But there’s apparently one thing upon which both coaches can agree and even form a short peace treaty over — good barbeque. Michael Rothstein of WolverineNation, caught the two coaches sharing some ribs during a break at the Sound Mind Sound Body camp in Southfield, Mich., on Wednesday. It’s rare to see the two men in the same room let alone sharing a meal.” [Graham Watson/Dr. Saturday]
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Finally, a quick shoutout to our ol’ friend Brendan Bowers. His dad’s bar Mullarkey’s Pub (which I wrote about 17 months ago) is having an NBA Draft Tweet-Up. Here are some of the details: “Festivities begin one hour before the Draft and will continue until its conclusion. Mullarkey’s Irish Pub in Downtown Willoughby will be providing Free Pizza and Free Appetizers throughout the Tweet-Up, in addition to Miller Light Draft’s for $1.75. Pretty solid deals.” [Brendan Bowers/Stepien Rules]
