Lance Berkman
Rumors

Buster Olney's latest column has plenty of free agent and trade rumors to discuss.

• The Astros payroll is hampered by the large contract of Carlos Lee, Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt and they will only be able to make minor moves this off season.
• The Rangers inquired with the Rays about BJ Upton, but nothing very serious was discussed.
• Ryan Doumit was available at the trade deadline last year and the Pirates are still looking to move him.
• The Marlins are trying to shop Dan Uggla as a third baseman, but other teams are not buying it.

Dan Uggla is rumored to be available from the Marlins

Jason Churchill of espn.com compared the 1996 Draft against the 1997 Draft. Unlike last week when he compared the 1994 and 1995 drafts and determined 1995 to be better, Jason doesn't give us his opinion on these two drafts. That means it is up to us. Tell us what do you think.

1996 Draft

No 1 Pick: Kris Benson hasn't been what any team would want out of a #1 draft pick and certainly did not produce for the Pirates. In 2000, Benson had a 3.85 ERA with 184Ks in 217.1 IP but missed all of 2001 with Tommy John surgery.

Best Pick, 1st Round: Gil Meche, #22 Seattle Mariners

Value Pick, Any Round: Roy Oswalt, 23rd round, #684 overall, Houston Astros; Travis Hafner, 31st round, #923 overall, Texas Rangers; Orlando Hudson, 33rd round, #969 overall, Toronto Blue Jays.

Notable Pick: Jimmy Rollins, 2nd round, #46 overall, Philadelphia Phillies

Worst Pick, First Round: Chad Green, #8 Milwaukee Brewers - "In eight minor league seasons, Green hit .252/.310/.389 with 166 stolen bases."

1997 Draft

No 1 Pick: Matt Anderson reached 100 on the radar a number of times over seven major league seasons for the Tigers, but ultimately his production and career was cut short by injuries.

Best Pick, 1st Round: Lance Berkman, #16 Houston Astros

Value Pick, Any Round: Tim Hudson, 6th round, #185 overall, Oakland Athletics; JC Romero, 22nd round, #633 overall, Minnesota Twins; Scot Shields, 38th round, #1,137 overall, Anaheim Angels.

Notable Pick: Chase Utley, 2nd round, Los Angeles Dodgers. Utley went to college instead of signing with the Dodgers and was drafted by the Phillies in 2000 and teamed with Rollins to form the core of the Phillies 2008 championship run.

Worst Pick, First Round: Matt Anderson, #1 Detroit Tigers: When JD Drew, Troy Glaus and Vernon Wells are available, this is a bad pick.

There has been plenty of reaction to the news that Manny Ramirez tested positive for a performance enhancing drug yesterday:

• Gerry Callahan of the Boston Herald writes that Manny's stupidity got him caught.
• John Harper of the New York Daily News thinks Ramirez should not get into the Hall of Fame.
• George Vecsey of the New York Times notes that upcoming Hall of Fame ceremonies will lack cache without big stars like Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez in them.
• Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times points out that Ramirez will lose $7.7M because of the suspension.
• Tim Sullivan of the San Diego Union-Tribune wonders if the Dodgers now have enough money to trade for Jake Peavy after the money they save on Ramirez suspension.
• Bill Plaschke of the LA Times thinks that the Dodgers should cut Manny.
• TJ Simers of the LA Times believes Ramirez has some 'splainin' to do.
• Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post does not believe Ramirez.
• Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle says we shouldn't over look the other bad guys in the Ramirez case.
• Randy Youngman of the Orange County Register does not think anyone should be surprised by the suspension. Lance Berkman wasn't surprised.
• Eric Neal of espn.com thinks that Dodgers fans will get angry with Manny in the coming days.
• Peter Gammons of espn.com points out the danger any future employer of Ramirez takes on because Manny is one failed drug test away from missing 2/3 of the season.