FanHouse LoganWhite

Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman has the inside scoop on the Dodgers front office today, or what amounts to an inside scoop insofar as Ned Colletti, the GM, isn't blamed for any of the Dodgers' woes, and owner Frank McCourt and assistant GM Logan White get all the attention. Still: inside politics. Awesome.

The Dodgers are diving into the middle of a lot of trade talks, but skepticism remains steep about whether they'll actually pull anything off. "They're a mess,'' one NL executive says, flatly. Several baseball people say there was a deal for the Dodgers either "in place'' for CC Sabathia -- or close to it -- when they suddenly pulled the plug, apparently at the behest of over-involved owner Frank McCourt. [...]

Logan White, who drafted much of the young Dodgers talent, is said by some to have unusual say-so for a recently-promoted assistant GM. Meanwhile, McCourt is telling confidants that he is displeased by the team's attendance and revenues, calling into question whether he'd even OK player expenditures.

Aw. Somebody feels undermined. Could that somebody possibly be named Ned? Could his last name rhyme with spaghetti? Could he have signed Juan Pierre to a $44 million deal? OK, maybe that, but surely he wouldn't feed Heyman such tasty info at the risk of embarrassing his organization, though, would he? Never.

A look at the first round selections in today's MLB draft by the five teams of the NL West division. For a full recap of the first round, you can always read the live-blog we kept of it.

Colorado Rockies (8) Casey Weathers, RHP, Vanderbilt (Scouting report courtesy of Purple Row):

Entering the 2007 season, Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin named Weathers the closer for the team. He did nothing to disappoint anyone this past season as you can see from his stats above. His fastball normally sits around 96 MPH and his slider touches 84-86 MPH on most occasions. He should be a guy who moves quickly through the Rockies system once he signs his contract. The Rockies need more than a reliever to fix their problems and there were several high upside guys available at the #8 pick. But this pick may be an indication that [Brian] Fuentes [pictured] will be traded if not before the July trade deadline then probably during the off-season.

Arizona Diamondbacks (9) Jarrod Parker, RHP, Norwell (IN) HS: (Scouting report courtesy Baseball America via Diamondbacks Bullpen)

Parker pitched for Team USA's junior national squad that won a silver medal in the World Junior Championship in Cuba last September. He has blown away scouts and hitters all spring, warming up for his initial start at 93-94 mph and hitting 97 with his first official pitch of the season. He touched 98 in that game and has continued to do so since, often working at 95-96. Just 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds, Parker generates his exceptional velocity with an unbelievably quick arm.

San Francisco Giants (10) Madison Bumgarner, LHP, South Caldwell (NC) HS: (Scouting report courtesy Giants Official Site)

Bumgarner, 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, possesses a fastball that has been clocked as high as 95 mph. With that effective a pitch, he's still working on developing his curveball and changeup. He was 11-2 with one save and a 1.05 ERA for South Caldwell this year. In 86 1/3 innings, Bumgarner struck out 145, allowed 45 hits and walked 11. With his size, the 17-year-old has inspired comparisons to Mark Mulder and Andy Pettitte.