FanHouse BenJohnson

The Preakness will be run in about six hours, and there are two big stories: Big Brown's status as the overwhelming favorite, and the death of Eight Belles raising renewed questions about the safety of racehorses.

Those two stories have come together in the last few days as Big Brown's trainer, Rick Dutrow, has come under increased scrutiny for using steroids on all of his horses. Last month Dutrow told the New York Daily News that he regularly gives the steroid stanozolol, which is sold under the brand name Winstrol, to his horses.

We can all rattle off the list of Matt Millen's biggest draft blunders over the years -- Charles Rogers, Mike Williams, Shaun Rogers -- but what does it take to ruin an entire draft? Look at the crop Millen plucked in 2003. The numbers:

11 - players selected by Detroit; 7 - players currently out of the league; 3 - players who did at least something positive in the NFL, though not necessarily for the Lions; 1 - player who's still a Lion.

Those are awful results. Cory Redding (#66 overall) is the only player remaining, and the best of the crop overall, and it's not like he's been an impact player himself.

Charles Rogers (#2) is obviously the pick that hurts the most. The other six no longer active are tackle Ben Johnson (#216), receiver David Kircus (#175), linebacker James Davis (#144), receiver Travis Anglin (#260), fullback Brandon Drumm (#236), and cornerback Blue Adams (#220).

Boss Bailey (#34) has been bust-ish himself, but at least he and Terrence Holt (#137) have made plays. Kircus and running back Artose Pinner (#99) haven't done anything worth noting, but at least they convinced more than one team to employ them, which is ... um ... notable, I guess.

So, yeah -- you're 2003 Detroit Lions draft class. A testament to incompetence.

First it was Moises Alou's quad and knee, which isn't quite healed yet. Then, it was Shawn Green fouling a ball off of his foot and breaking a small bone in his foot. Those are both of Carlos Beltran's flanks in the outfield, so who can blame him if he started to feel a little nervous for his own health, especially with his recent admission that he's played the last month with a little tendinitis (Beltran hit .234 in May after a .356 average in April).

Last night, Beltran was involved in a collision with Giants first baseman Rich Aurilia, and after testing his knee in the dugout unsuccessfully, Beltran left the game with a knee contusion, and is undergoing an MRI today in New York. Beltran admits that he's indeed a little nervous.

"If I feel good tomorrow, I will be there," he said after the Mets' 4-2 win last night, with "there" meaning the lineup. But he acknowledged that he was "scared" because he felt pain in the front and back of his knee after he crossed the base. Later, standing at his locker, he said the pain had gone away, especially in the back. The front felt sore, he said, adding that the knee felt weak.

Beltran, as noted here before, had injury issues in '05, tried to play through them, and had a terrible season. If tendinitis is causing him to bat .234, and if the MRI shows anything close to a DL worthy injury, then maybe it's time to learn from what happened in 2005 and rest him for a couple of weeks. Sure, having an outfield with guys like Endy Chavez, David Newhan, Carlos Gomez, Ben Johnson, Damion Easley, and perhaps Jose Valentin who's currently on a rehab stint in the minors, is going to hurt for 7-14 days. But better to have no Beltran for two weeks in June than have a so-so Beltran for the whole year.

Previously on The Fanhouse:
The Injuries Mount for Moises Alou

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)