Prime time for the draft

Major League Baseball is trying. I’ll give it that.

But that’s all I’ll give it.

Bud Selig and Co. decided to move the First-Year Player Draft to prime time for the first time in its long history (inagural draft was in 1965) in an attempt to stir up excitement --- AKA the NFL and NBA drafts.

Problem is, that’s never gonna happen.

Fans know the guys being drafted in the NFL and NBA drafts. College football and college basketball are super popular. Practically no one cares about college baseball. Games aren’t televised until the playoffs, and even then, the focus is on MLB.

So try as they may, few people will be watching --- and even fewer will be excited --- about drafting guys they’ve never heard of.

Sure, there are some die-hard fans out there that will no the top 10-20 guys being taken, but that’s they are the minority.

Tomorrow when the draft coverage begins at 6 p.m. on the MLB Network (where the draft is taking place in Secaucus, N.J.) with the first round, few will be watching. Even fewer will be tuning in when the actual draft begins about an hour later. Why? Because people will be turning on their TVs to see their favorite teams play, not hear a bunch of guys’ names called they’ve never heard of.

On Tuesday at noon, the Draft continues with rounds 2-30. Rounds 31-50 are on Wednesday beginning at noon. Both days will be stream live on MLB.com.


DRAFT CHATTER

--The Phillies have the 27th overall pick

--The Phillies are expected to make their first pick at about 9:27 p.m.

Phillies Scouting Director Marti Wolever talked to us beforeSunday’s game. I wouldn’t go into all the details, but here is some of what he said….

“I think all of the picks are important. Sometimes we get fixated on the first-rounder, but I look back and we took Michael Bourn in the fourth round, he lad the NL in stolen bases last year and he was a big piece in us getting Brad Lidge. Michael Taylor was a fifth-rounder. Yeah, the first round is very important, there's a lot of emphasis for every organization on it in baseball, period, but I think it goes beyond that, the depth of your draft is how you do after that, the successes you have beyond the first round.”

In addressing overpaying for guys….

“We've overpaid prior and gone above a higher number than recoomended from the commissioner’s office.Taylor Bucholz was an overpayment. Ryan Madson was a little bit of an overpayment. Looking back, I think they've turned out fairly well. Some obviously haven't. But those guys… we're not going to walk away because we might be a little further apart. We'll do everything we can to make it happen.

“ It's like anything else, you have parameters and there is a point of no return, and once you get there, unfortunayel you have to walk away from the play and move on.”

On what the team’s priorities are….

“We'd like to get some catching. You look back and we had Jason Jaramillo, Lou Marson, Rob Johnson who we took who is now catching in Seattle, D'Arnaud is no longer here. That’s four guys - we took Johnson but he didn't sign – those are three big league guys. So I'd like to get some catching at some point. Left-handed pitching would be nice to get. Some infielders, middle infield, would be something else we'd like to get. We're going to take the best player available early, and as we go through the draft, if two guys are equal, we'll certinaly make that a little bit more of a priority, contingent upon the player and his ability at that time.”


AUMONT GOES DOWN

The Phillies sent starting pitcher Phillippe Aumont to Class-A Clearwater after he struggled with Double-A Reading.

In 11 starts, he was 1-6 with a 7.43 ERA. In 49 2/3 innings pitched, he walked 38 and struck out 38 (no, that’s not a typo).

Aumont is the highly-touted, 6-foot-7 right-hander acquired from Seattle in the Cliff Lee/Roy Halladay deal.

What’s new: Saturday’s 2-hour, 2-minute game pitched by Jamie Moyer was the fastest for the Phillies since 2005.

Of note: The Phillies are 1-19 when trailing after seven innings.

Stat of the day: LHP Antonio Bastardo has allowed just two hits to left-handed hitters, who are hitting .111 off him (2-for-18).

Visiting team tidbits: Tony Gwynn Jr. is one of only three players in MLB history to play for a team that his father played for.

Next game’s pitching matchup: LHP Cole Hamels (5-4, 4.20 ERA) vs. LHP Wade LeBlanc (2-4, 3.67 ERA) at 7:50 Monday night at CBP.

On the horizon (next series): The Marlins come to Philly for a three-game series starting Tuesday.

From the Morning Call