Central Scouting Releases Final Rankings

There has been a stir caused by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau. The top of their final draft rankings has changed, with Tyler Seguin passing Taylor Hall for the No. 1 position among North American skaters.

You can read more about it on FanHouse. Meanwhile, here's a look at how players from Minnesota or with local ties line up among the top-ranked players.

Duluth native Derek Forbort, a defenseman with the U.S. National Team Development Program, comes in ninth. Forbort played through his junior season at Duluth East before moving to Ann Arbor. He's a North Dakota recruit.

Blaine's Nick Bjugstad ranks 13th. Bjugstad won Mr. Hockey this year, and he will play for the Gophers next year.

Minnesota State freshman Tyler Pitlick is 18th. There are rumors Pitlick will move on to major junior, but he's still a Maverick as of this writing.

Warroad star Brock Nelson, a North Dakota recruit, fell from 17th to 25th in the final rankings. He had a very good season for the Warriors, and I thought he played well in the state tournament, where Warroad finished third.

Here are some players who have been recruited to UMD.

Two 2010 UMD recruits fell to the mid-50s in the final rankings. No. 54 Joe Basaraba (Shattuck-St. Mary's) was 39th in the midterm, and No. 56 Justin Faulk (NTDP) was 40th.

2011 Caleb Herbert, a forward from Bloomington Jefferson, is 109th. Hill-Murray defenseman Chris Casto is No. 182.

Source: Fairchild Returning to Gophers

For all but four teams in college hockey, the focus is now on next season.

Included in that focus is the stress over potential early departures.

Undoubtedly, there are cases where schools don't mind players leaving early, and usually the player in question is well aware of it.

Sometimes, the school is completely blindsided by the player's decision. That stinks, because it's likely they didn't plan for that departure. These are usually the ones that sting.

There are other times that the school -- while not happy about it -- expects the player to leave early, and has a chance to plan ahead.

Rarely, you'll get the pleasant surprise of a guy you thought would bolt that decides to stay.

It appears the University of Minnesota may have that in defenseman Cade Fairchild. I have learned from a source that Fairchild is planning on returning to school for his senior season. The former Duluth East Greyhound is a draft pick of the St. Louis Blues. He played two years with the U.S. National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich., and was on a gold-medal winning Team USA at the 2006 World Under-18 Championship.

Fairchild led all Gopher defensemen with four goals and 21 points in 2009-2010, and he has 15 goals and 69 points over 114 games as a Gopher.

As recently as January, it seemed Fairchild, a good puck-moving defenseman who has improved his physical game at Minnesota, would be a virtual lock to turn pro. He wasn't having a breakout season, but was playing some consistent hockey and getting a ton of minutes. Keeping him in college one more year is a major plus for coach Don Lucia, especially considering that the Gophers were rather thin on the blue line this season and have already lost David Fischer to graduation.

Unlike other sports, there is no deadline for a player to declare himself pro or sign a pro contract. A hockey player can sign at any time, forgoing any remaining college eligibility. While this can never be totally ruled out, it sounds as if the Gophers can build their blue line around a talented and experienced senior next season. That'll be a plus for them as they look to improve on a .500 record and seventh-place WCHA finish.

What the Donovan McNabb Trade Means For Brett Favre

Sunday's trade of quarterback Donovan McNabb from Philadelphia to Washington was a real surprise to many people.

It was surprising that the Eagles were serious about trading McNabb. He's only 33, a franchise icon, and the leader of five Philly teams that made the NFC Championship game. He's really good, in other words, and is likely the best quarterback the team has ever seen.

It was even more of a stunner that they were willing to trade him within the division. The idea that I got out of things that have been said and reported since Sunday's announcement was that McNabb preferred the Redskins to any other team that was looking at making a trade. The Raiders might have, in the end, been willing to offer more for McNabb, but McNabb didn't want to play there.

(Can you blame him?)

So give the Eagles some credit for shopping McNabb to a division team because that's what McNabb wanted. They didn't have to do that, as these aren't like hockey and baseball contracts, where even marginal players like Derek Morris can somehow procure a no-trade clause. But the Eagles, a pretty classy organization, did as right by McNabb as they could.

(Reports were that he wanted to go to Minnesota or Arizona, but neither team was interested.)

This leads us to one of those teams. McNabb's interest in the Vikings was reported over a week ago.

Frankly, I never took it that seriously, because the Vikings would have to have an answer from Brett Favre before they moved forward with McNabb. They weren't going to take on McNabb when he would potentially be an $11 million backup who had a near-$7 million guaranteed to him in early May.

Sunday night, Twin Cities media personality (sorry, couldn't get a better term to describe him by the censors) Patrick Reusse tweeted his feeling on what the McNabb deal meant for Favre's future.

McNabb to 'Skins makes it official: Vikings know Favre's coming back. Just waiting for last offseason session to pass before announcement.

Reusse might be right. It wouldn't surprise anyone if this was true.

However, we have no way of knowing right now. Favre apparently told LaDainian Tomlinson he had "no idea" if he was returning. If this widely-believed conspiracy theory was true, why would Favre do that, when telling the truth could mean the difference between the Vikings adding Tomlinson or missing out?

(They missed out. He signed with the Jets.)

Does McNabb going to Washington mean anything for Favre?

The answer is likely "No," though that won't stop people from trying to draw a connection between the two.

The dots just don't connect naturally.

That said, look for Favre to fly from Mississippi to Minnesota around the same time in August that he did last year, and look for the fan response to be extremely similar.

Brewers Say Talks Ongoing With Prince

Outside of the season starting and all the hoopla that comes along with it, the big story in Milwaukee is something that doesn't happen until after the 2011 season.

First baseman Prince Fielder has two years left on his current contract, but the fact that he can walk after next season already has Brewer fans nervous.

If they had their way, the big man would have been signed to an extension sometime last month. Instead, the Brewers and Fielder are still talking about the potential for a new contract. Given that Fielder is represented by super-agent Scott Boras, it just doesn't seem too terribly likely that Milwaukee will have a lot of success buying Prince out of free agency, unless they can make him a bank-breaking offer.

Any low likelihood of Prince signing won't stop the Brewers from trying. After all, the worst he can say is "No."

Well, the worst thing he could say "(Bleep) you," but that doesn't seem too likely, even from the ultra-intense Prince.

Anyway, the Brewers say talks have kicked off, and they won't be updating us regularly.

Fielder can be a free agent after the 2011 season but the Brewers are trying to tie him up with a long-term extension before he gets to that stage. Melvin and Attanasio met in Los Angeles during spring training with Fielder's agent, Scott Boras, to get the ball rolling.

"One of the things we've said is we're not going to give a moment-to-moment handicap of where things are at, so that it looks like a stock chart," Attanasio said.

"Discussions are ongoing. Most importantly, I think Prince is relaxed. I saw him in the clubhouse this morning. What we don't want is for this to be a distraction to him. One of the reasons we're not going to give day-to-day or weekly reports on this is we don't want it to distract Prince. We don't think it's a distraction now.

"We'll continue the conversations and we'll see where it goes."

Attanasio said he perfectly understood why fans are nervous about Fielder leaving via free agency.

"He's a great player," said Attanasio. "He and Ryan (Braun) have pretty much become the face of our team. He hit 46 home runs and drove in 141 runs last year. I can see why everybody is interested. Doug and I are interested, too. But it's very complex.

"When you talk about $100 million type contracts, it's nine figures. Those are complex transactions. They don't get done with a quick conversation and a handshake. Everything has to line up to make it work. Having said that, there's a mutual intent on both sides to try to make it work. We'll see if we can make it work."

Nothing too huge here, but it's news.

A lot of this hinges on how willing Prince is to commit long-term to the Brewers. Yes, Boras has a reputation for being, well, an ass, but the reality is that he works for Prince, and his job is to do what Prince wants him to do.

If Prince wants to stay with the Brewers, and their offer is in the range he's looking for, he'll sign. If he wants more than the club offers him, there's no question that he will at least test the market after the 2011 season.

If he's still a Brewer by then.

No Sunglasses On Opening Day: Corey Hart Benched For Jim Edmonds

Monday is Opening Day around baseball, which is always a good thing. For a sports fan, this basically guarantees that there will be something watchable on television every day from now through the summer.

Hockey will end in two months, as will the NBA season, and NASCAR only shows up on weekends (when they aren't taking weekends off). Baseball is every day.

The Milwaukee Brewers have high expectations for their offense again this season. They should. It was really good last year, despite the issues they had with consistency. The pitching staff doomed them, frankly, and that probably won't happen again. The thought is that if this team can hit a little bit, they're going to have a chance to be really good.

Every preview you could find that projected the Brewers' Opening Day lineup had Corey Hart in right field. And why not? He was a bit down last year, but everyone figured he would bounce back.

Of course, he responded to all those expectations by hitting a blistering .172 in spring training, showing fans all the attributes of Bad Corey that infuriated them last season. He flailed at bad pitches, was a statue as good ones went by, and was a general non-factor in the offense.

Hart's at-bats seemed to improve as the spring wore on, but it wasn't enough to save his Opening Day start.

Instead, it will be veteran Jim Edmonds starting for the Brewers Monday against Colorado.

Edmonds was 3 for 5 vs. Rockies right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez with two doubles and a triple and Hart was 1 for 6. Manager Ken Macha has said for days he hadn't decided who would start in right and it appears Hart's poor spring cost him his chance.

Wow.

Edmonds was a non-roster invitee to spring training, and while I wasn't surprised that he made the club as a reserve outfielder (the bench needed another left-handed hitter), this news floored me.

Good for Edmonds, but what does this say about Hart? Macha might preach that the matchup dictated this move, but those are insanely small sample sizes, and could at best have only been used as a tiebreaker.

The reality is that Hart put himself in this position by having a terrible spring. If he hadn't hit .172 in March, he could be wearing his sunglasses in the daytime on a beautiful afternoon at Miller Park.

It doesn't help that Hart did that after taking his team to an arbitration hearing and winning a higher salary for this season.

Go earn it, kid ... with or without the sunglasses.

It's A Bronx World: 2010 Major League Baseball Predictions

Somehow, I pulled it off, despite my best efforts!

Anyway, we got all six divisions picked. But it's not just about the division races.

Here are all my (wrong) predictions for the upcoming (already started, I guess) baseball season.

If you weren't paying attention last year, the Yankees won it all last year, and they have a very good team returning this year. Sunday's loss to the Red Sox showed that they're not appreciably deep in the bullpen, but Joe Girardi made it work last year. No reason why they can't make it happen again.

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST
1. N.Y. Yankees
2. Tampa Bay
3. Boston
4. Baltimore
5. Toronto

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL
1. Minnesota
2. Chicago White Sox
3. Kansas City
4. Detroit
5. Cleveland

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST
1. L.A. Angels
2. Seattle
3. Texas
4. Oakland

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST
1. Philadelphia
2. Atlanta
3. Florida
4. N.Y. Mets
5. Washington

NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL
1. Chicago Cubs
2. St. Louis
3. Milwaukee
4. Cincinnati
5. Houston
6. Pittsburgh

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST
1. Colorado
2. San Francisco
3. L.A. Dodgers
4. Arizona
5. San Diego

WILD CARDS
Tampa Bay (American)
Atlanta (National)

DIVISION SERIES
American
Angels over Rays
Twins over Yankees
National
Rockies over Braves
Phillies over Cubs

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
American
Angels over Twins
National
Rockies over Phillies

WORLD SERIES
Angels over Rockies

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
AMERICAN LEAGUE
MVP: Kendry Morales, 1B, L.A. Angels
Cy Young: Jake Peavy, Chicago White Sox
Rookie of the Year: Austin Jackson, OF, Detroit
Manager: Don Wakamatsu, Seattle

NATIONAL LEAGUE
MVP: Prince Fielder, 1B, Milwaukee
Cy Young: Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs
Rookie of the Year: Alcides Escobar, SS, Milwaukee
Manager: Bobby Cox, Atlanta

Mile High Pennant: 2010 National League West Preview

There are two easy scenarios here.

First off is the repeat. In 2007, the Colorado Rockies went on an improbable late-season run to earn the National League Wild Card. They swept through the Phillies and Diamondbacks on their way to the World Series, where Boston finally put an end to this silliness.

With expectations at an all-time high in 2008, the Rockies fizzled badly, finishing under .500 and leaving people wondering exactly how the hell they did what they did in 2007.

Last year, they fired manager Clint Hurdle, and the change to Jim Tracy -- an abject failure as a manager in Pittsburgh -- worked perfectly. Colorado got hot again, went 74-42 under Tracy, and they found a way to win the Wild Card.

Once again, expectations are at an all-time high. So will the Rockies repeat 2008, or carve out a new path for themselves?

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST
1. Colorado
2. San Francisco
3. L.A. Dodgers
4. Arizona
5. San Diego

The emerging power. The Rockies have built a franchise the right way, using shrewd drafting, smart trades, and a few key signings to make themselves into a major contender. Now, the franchise once a laughingstock because of their poor pitching and perennial slugfest games at Coors Field has some top-notch pitching. And they can still hit. Look at their staff. Guys like Ubaldo Jimenez, Aaron Cook, Jorge de la Rosa, and Jeff Francis (when healthy) can throw, and they have Franklin Morales and Huston Street (when healthy) to anchor a strong bullpen. The bats will be led by veteran Todd Helton, emerging star Troy Tulowitzki, and an impressive outfield of Brad Hawpe, Dexter Fowler, and Carlos Gonzalez. No reason to think this team won't be very good, as long as they don't sour on Tracy like they did Hurdle.

All-pitch, no-hit. Well, that's too simple. Maybe not. Outside of Pablo "Kung Fu Panda" Sandoval and maybe Aubrey Huff, there isn't a lot to talk about with the hitting on this team. Veterans Aaron Rowand, Mark DeRosa, and Edgar Renteria might help a little, but the ceilings aren't high. Walk machine Benjie Molina is only holding the catching position until the team has no excuse to leave Buster Posey in the minors any longer. The story of the Giants will be the pitching. Two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum leads the staff, but Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, and Barry Zito make for what could be the game's best rotation. Todd Wellemeyer isn't a bad option for a fifth starter. Brian Wilson serves as the closer. The Giants won't give up a lot of runs, but they won't score many, either. How the offense develops is the key to this team's success, because the margin for error is quite low, even with their pitching.

The rest. Reality is that the McCourts' highly-publicized divorce hampered the team's offseason spending. How do we know? Because their biggest signing was probably Jamey Carroll, while they lost pitchers Randy Wolf and Jon Garland. Vincente Padilla is the Opening Day starter. The unimpressive Ronnie Belliard should be an everyday player. This could be a rough year for a team that won 95 a year ago. Arizona has Brandon Webb and Dan Haren atop the rotation, and 3TO throwback Mark Reynolds hitting home runs and striking out a lot. There is some good young talent like Stephen Drew and Justin Upton, but probably not enough to get the Diamondbacks over .500. The Adrian Gonzalez drama still hangs over San Diego like an ugly cloud. He has two years left on his contract, but all the talk is that he could be moved during the season. The Padres won't hit much outside of Gonzalez, which means he'll see a ton of walks, and there will be a ton of pressure on Garland, Chris Young, and Kevin Correia to pitch well every game.

The Genius vs. The Curse: 2010 National League Central Preview

This isn't meant to belittle the Milwaukee Brewers. I think they have a shot at the playoffs this year, but they need a lot of things to happen -- especially with the starting rotation -- that didn't go right last year.

In all likelihood, this division battle is down to two major factors.

The Genius is Tony LaRussa, St. Louis' egomaniac of a manager who thinks way too highly of himself, but does so with good reason because he's truly one of the best.

The Curse? Well, you know what that is. So does every Chicago Cub fan around, and there are a lot of them. No one wants to talk about it, but it's around until someone breaks it.

NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL
1. Chicago Cubs
2. St. Louis
3. Milwaukee
4. Cincinnati
5. Houston
6. Pittsburgh

The curse. The players can say they don't think about it. The manager can say it doesn't matter. But the fans think about it, and they're tired of it. It's been 100-plus years since the Cubs ... blah, blah, blah. This team is solid. Carlos Zambrano will bounce back, and it's not like he was bad last year. Rich Harden is gone, so there should be a lot less strain on the bullpen. Carlos Marmol should only get better as the closer. Guys like Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez can still mash, and you know Lou Pinella can still get them ready. As long as the pressure isn't too great, and the health is good, the Cubs are a contender.

The genius leads the consistent. LaRussa might be full of himself (might be?), but he's a hell of a manager. Not only that, but the consistency and stability he and his staff offer are a huge reason why St. Louis has been so good. The other reason? Talent. They have Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday to lead the offense, with help from guys like Skip Schumaker and Ryan Ludwick. Their bullpen is always solid, and Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright top the rotation, giving the Cardinals two of the best pitchers in the National League. What's the hole? The Cardinals don't have a lot of depth anywhere, so they're vulnerable to the injuries they avoided all of last season. Also, they benefited greatly last year from the Cubs being banged up and not performing to expectations. That isn't bound to happen again.

The rest. The Brewers could be a contender, depending on the ability of guys like Randy Wolf and Doug Davis to help the starting rotation not be terrible. Milwaukee has a lethal offense, especially if Rickie Weeks stays healthy and Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder keep growing up. Their bullpen will be very good, anchored by LaTroy Hawkins and Trevor Hoffman. Cincinnati is building a strong team, and they could crack the top three of the division if someone falters. Joey Votto is a very good young hitter, and watch for Aroldis Chapman to earn a spot in their starting rotation after a quick stint in the minors. Houston should be better, but they won't be. Lance Berkman will start the season on the DL, and the Astros lack any semblance of depth. As for the Pirates, the futility will continue, but there are signs of hope, thanks to young players like Andrew McCutchen, Garrett Jones, Lastings Milledge, and prospect Pedro Alvarez.

The Overwhelming Favorites: 2010 National League East Preview

If the pundits are to be believed, the NL East might as well cancel the season. The Atlanta Braves might have a nice team, but they can't hold a candle to the mighty Philadelphia Phillies. Neither can the Marlins, Mets, or Nationals.

That might sound extreme, but it's not that far off the map. The Phillies are a very good team, one that is capable of dominating this division, no matter how improved it is.

The big question surrounding the Phils is whether or not they can continue to avoid being crippled by injuries. This year, it seems that the injury bug is starting out on their bullpen, but they were a really good team last year despite having a shaky bullpen. Now, that shaky bullpen isn't healthy. Should be interesting to see how it plays out.

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST
1. Philadelphia
2. Atlanta
3. Florida
4. N.Y. Mets
5. Washington

The juggernaut: Yeah, the Phils have some issues in their bullpen, but it can't be much worse than it was last year, when closer Brad Lidge had a 7.21 ERA and allowed 72 hits in less than 59 innings. Still, Philadelphia won 93 games and made the World Series. The rotation is bolstered by the addition of Roy Halladay (Cliff Lee threw a ton of innings last year, and it's probably a good thing Philly moved on). Cole Hamels is due for a huge bounceback year, while J.A. Happ and Jamie Moyer are just fine at the bottom of the rotation once Joe Blanton is off the DL. Ryan Madson and Chad Durbin will have to fill some huge shoes in the bullpen, but they're capable. The lineup is lethal, led by Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Raul Ibanez. This is a 90-win team, even if they aren't much better in the bullpen.

The swan song: Bobby Cox has carved out a legend for himself in Atlanta. He has won nearly 2,500 games (87 wins this season will move him to that mark) and will be done after this season. The team he has should be good enough to contend for a playoff spot, even though they lost pitcher Javier Vasquez and didn't get much from the Yankees in return. Derek Lowe will anchor the rotation, and veteran Tim Hudson should hold down a spot. Youngsters Tommy Hanson and Jair Jurrjens should play huge roles. The signing of Billy Wagner comes with some risk, as Wagner's career has been wrought with arm problems in recent years. Look for rookie Jason Heyward to have an up-and-down season, but the Braves should get solid offense from Brian McCann, Matt Diaz, and Yunel Escobar. They'll be fine.

The rest: Florida should be better, but they're still a low-budget team as they await their new Little Havana ballpark. Their fight against the high-brow Mets should be fun to watch, as New York aims to rebound from an unmitigated disaster that turned the opening of their new ballpark into a season-long hell. A healthy Johan Santana should help a great deal, but the Mets need the rest of their pitching staff to produce better, and they need more out of star third baseman David Wright, who hit just ten home runs last year. Citi Field took the brunt of the blame for that, even though it wasn't like Wright did anything on the road, either. Florida leans on ace pitcher Josh Johnson and shortstop Hanley Ramirez, but they have some intriguing young talent, too. Washington won't be bad enough to lose 100 games, but unless Stephen Strasburg arrives quickly, becomes a star, and multiplies himself, the pitching isn't good enough. Adam Dunn can mash, and Nyjer Morgan is a good table-setter atop the order.

Angels Wannabes in Seattle: 2010 American League West Preview

If you can't beat them, try to be like them.

Why not? The Seattle Mariners appear headed in that direction, choosing to chart a course similar to that of the perennial division champion Los Angeles Angels. While the Angels are still favored to win the AL West this year, the Mariners took a big chunk out of their lead over the rest of the West last year, and Seattle looks primed for a run at the playoffs this year.

Following the Angels' way, they're going to do it with less power and more speed and defense than they have had in the past. Manager Don Wakamatsu and general manager Jack Zduriencik are a hard-working group, with Wakamatsu having experience in the Angels organization and looking like the type of manager who wants to be aggressive and play a similar style.

Now, they're starting to build up the personnel to contend. Should be a neat year in the Pacific Northwest.

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST
1. Los Angeles Angels
2. Seattle
3. Texas
4. Oakland

The consistent. The Angels have eight winning seasons and six trips to the playoffs under manager Mike Scioscia. That's not changing anytime soon. This team is built to contend again, thanks to a lineup that can hit, get on base, and has enough power. Last year's team was first in batting average, third in on-base percentage, and fifth in slugging percentage. They struggled a little bit on the mound, and that's where they need to improve this year. Losing John Lackey to Boston won't help at all, but the Angels still believe they have a solid rotation, led by Jered Weaver, Joe Saunders, and Scott Kazmir, who appeared to find himself again after being traded by Tampa Bay. As long as the Angels have Bobby Abreu, Kendry Morales, and Torii Hunter in the lineup, they'll hit. They hope to get a good year out of Hideki Matsui, who will DH and hopefully keep his knees healthy by staying away from the outfield. The bullpen got Fernando Rodney to help set up Brian Fuentes, but the latter needs to work on keeping people off the bases to reach maximum efficiency.

The rising. We already mentioned Seattle, which stole Chone Figgins from the Angels and will use him with Ichiro at the top of the order. The Mariners also added Cliff Lee from Philadelphia and have a strong one-two punch atop their rotation with Lee and Felix Hernandez. That's a strong team, one that should contend for the playoffs. Texas could be right there if they can get more consistent offensive play. The Rangers are improved along the pitching staff, thanks to 17-game winner Scott Feldman and the addition of former A's and Cubs star Rich Harden. While Harden's health is always a question, his ability is not. If he can keep the arm intact, Harden will be a big part of this staff. The Rangers also need a bounceback year from Josh Hamilton, who struggled with injuries a year ago, while guys like Nelson Cruz and David Murphy will continue to grow as major-league hitters.

The youthful. No question that Oakland is not in a contending position, at least on paper. While the A's have some real nice pieces on their pitching staff, they don't appear to have much offense. Ben Sheets leads a rotation that should include the likes of Dallas Braden and Brett Anderson, and the bullpen is strong with closer Andrew Bailey and guys like Michael Wuertz and Craig Breslow in front of him. However, the bats have to produce. That means big years for the likes of Mark Ellis and Ryan Sweeney, while veteran Coco Crisp sets the table effectively and Eric Chavez finds some health. Probably too much to ask for in one season, and that's why Oakland is destined to sit far behind the rest of the West.