The Tampa Bay Rays have been such an awesome story this year. Their $44 million payroll this season is second-lowest in the majors and yet they have the best record in baseball.

The lowest payroll goes to the Florida Marlins at about $22 million — yes, half of what the other team in The Sunshine State is paying their club. The Fish are one game back in the tight NL East with a 42-39 record.

Your Seattle Mariners, on the other hand, have a payroll of almost $120 million, writing checks to the worst team in baseball.

It's now how much money you spend, it's how you spend it.

Here's my quick two cents on maple bats. I've been putting off the topic because I was just hoping that it would go away. Unfortunately, it's not. It seems I can't listen to MLB on XM for more than 10 minutes without hearing some sort of commentary on the maple bat controversy swirling around baseball.

The quick version: I don't care.

But, I'll get into a little more detail...

This might come across as cold blooded, but I honestly don't care that umpire Brian O'Nora had to leave the game yesterday with a mild concussion and a bloody forehead. My reasoning is that not all the blame can be attributed to the type of wood Miguel Olivo was holding. Just as much blame can be place on O'Nora, in my opinion, because he chose to wear an umpire mask that basically hasn’t changed in oh, I don’t know, about 100 years? O’Nora didn’t adapt and change with the times to wear the more-protective hockey-style mask many umpires are now wearing behind the plate. And that’s his choice – but it’s just that, a choice. He chose comfort or tradition over more protection.

Baseball can be dangerous. If umpires are all of a sudden afraid of dodging bat barrels, they can forego the $120,000 starting salary and let Mike Muchlinski have a job. Or they can choose to wear a helmet in the field. MLB had no problem with John Olerud doing it and this year the basecoaches are required to wear helmets. No biggie. But MLB shouldn’t step in over a few broken bats.

It’s not an MLB-related problem, but I think amateur players continuing to use metal bats is a much bigger issue for the game in general. Kids die from the ball coming off of those at such high speeds. Brian O’Nora got a couple days off of work and a Band-Aid.

Like everyone else, the news today came as a shock. Not that I'm complaining, I think it's the right move for the team, the timing was just a surprise for me.

Looking to the future, here's my wish list for Bavasi's replacement, in no particular order. Some of these are light on info, but that's because I just spent four hours in a painfully-long City Council meeting for work and I just wanted to get my list out there ASAP. I'll add more information later, possibly even doing a separate writeup on each of my 10 hopefuls...

• Chris Antonetti - Assistant GM for the Cleveland Indians Antonetti's the poster boy for the position over at USSMariner. I would love it if he came here but, while USSM makes a good case for why it'd be a sweet job, I'm not holding my breath.
• Paul DePodesta - Assistant GM for the San Diego Padres
DePo didn't get a fair shake in Los Angeles. But, he's worked under some of the best GMs in recent history in John Hart, Billy Beane and Kevin Towers. His MO is that his personality is better suited in an assistant's role, but I'd like to see the Mariners give him another chance.
• Ben Cherington - Director of Player Development for the Boston Red Sox
Cherington started his front-office career as an intern with the Cleveland Indians in 1998 and joined the Red Sox staff as a scout later that year. The Red Sox have a great thing going, apparently have very close relationships within the front office and Cherington grew up as a Red Sox fan, so he might be tough to lure away from Boston. Listen to an interview with Cherington here: http://www.nhpr.org/audio/audio/fp-2003-01-09.wax
• Jed Hoyer - Assistant GM for the Boston Red Sox
Another member of the Red Sox front office, I'd be calling anyone who has spent time working under Theo Epstein.
• Peter Woodfork - Assistant GM for the Arizona Diamondbacks
Noticing a theme here? Yeah, I want someone young and smart that has worked with successful teams that have a more analytical approach. Woodfork is the assistant GM in Arizona, where he followed Josh Byrnes from Boston.
• Thad Levine - Assistant GM for the Texas Rangers
Levine currently works under Jon Daniels and, before that, worked under Dan O'Dowd in Colorado. Good GM bloodlines, if you ask me.
• Logan White - Assistant GM for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Logan White differs from some of the names on this list because he comes from more of a scouting mold. But, he's masterful at what he does. Check out some of the talent the Dodgers have reeled in during White's tenure: Loney, Broxton, Martin, Billingsley, Kemp, LaRoche, DeWitt & Kershaw.
• David Forst - Assistant GM for the Oakland Athletics
Making the Mariners better while making the A's worse? Music to my ears. I have no idea how much Beane's rubbed off on Forst since he's been the assistant GM since 2000, but I'm sure he'd bring a much-needed change in philosophy this system so desperately needs.
• Bruce Manno - Assistant GM for the Atlanta Braves
I don't know a lot about Manno, but he's been in the game since before I was born. I'll do more research on the guy tomorrow. Right now, I'm wiped...
• Mike Rizzo - Assistant GM for the Washington Nationals
Like Logan White, Rizzo comes from the scouting side, but he's another one of the best in the business. Before heading out to DC, Rizzo was the scouting director for the Diamondbacks from 2000 to 2006. A lot of talent came during that period: Webb, Hairston, Tracy, Uggla, Snyder, Jackson, Quentin, Drew, Reynolds, Upton, Owings, Scherzer, Brett Anderson. Josh Byrnes has an awesome team, but the credit should go to Rizzo.

A few weeks ago, I was thinking about the baseball slang term "golden sombrero" and how it came about. So, in honor of Willie Bloomquist accomplishing the feat tonight, here is a rundown of my thought process...

I was driving at the time, so I couldn't click over to Wikipedia and learn about the origin, but I didn't need to. I had come up with a perfect solution for how the term was derived. If you don't know, in baseball, when a player strikes out four times in a game, he gets the proverbial "golden sombrero." I thought about the term literally — what would a golden sombrero be like in real life, I thought. It would certainly be a nice gift for a guy that just whiffed four times in a game. Is he supposed to wear it? What would that be like? Ooh ... that's it! It would be so heavy, he would hang his head in shame, like he's supposed to after striking out four times in one game! BINGO!

When I did look up the term, I was not satisfied with the result.

"The golden sombrero comes from hockey's hat trick, three goals in a game. More grand than a hat would be a sombrero that is gold. It is awarded to any player who strikes out four times in a game."

I like my answer better.

This is going to be short, because I'm tired and still have some work to finish up, but I'm not too jazzed about how the M's draft went down. Here is who they picked on the first day and who I would have preferred. This will be fun to look back upon in a few years...

Round 1 (20)
M's picked: Josh Fields - RP - Georgia
My choice: Reese Havens - SS - South Carolina (22-Mets)

Round 2 (66)
M's picked: Dennis Raben - OF - Miami
My choice: Tim Melville - SP - Holt HS (MO) (115 - Royals)

Round 3 (98)
M's picked: Aaron Pribanic - SP - Nebraska
My choice: Eric Thames - OF - Pepperdine (Not drafted on first day)

Round 4 (132)
M's picked: Steven Hensley - SP - Elon
My choice: Adrian Nieto - C - American Heritage HS (FL) (151 - Nationals)

Round 5 (162)
M's picked: Brett Lorin - RP - Long Beach St.
My choice: Chris Dominguez - 3B - Louisville (167 - Rockies)

Round 6 (192)
M's picked: Jarrett Burgess - OF - Florida Christian HS
My choice: Anthony Shawler - SP - Old Dominion (Not drafted on first day)

Hopefully tomorrow will be better. As you may have noticed, some of my favorite hitters are still up for grabs. I still want to do a list of my 10 favorite pitchers, but it won't go up Friday and probably won't go up this weekend — we'll see...

The few weeks leading up to the draft is one of my favorite times of the year. Every year my enthusiasm for the event grows and now that the draft is actually getting more attention and is televised, MLB draft day is challenging Christmas for my favorite day of the year. So, like I did last year, here is a list of 10 of my favorite draft-eligible hitters. Not all of my favorites made the list. I love Pedro Alvarez, but he got left off in favor of more “under-the-radar” guys. I’m going to try to get a list of my favorite pitchers up before the draft begins tomorrow, but we’ll see…

Cody Overbeck • 3B • Ole Miss • R/R • 6-1 / 195
While his teammates, pitchers Cody Satterwhite, Lance Lynn and Scott Bittle are getting all the press, junior Cody Overbeck has been powering the Rebel offense with a .355/.428/.616 line. The numbers are even more impressive when you consider that Mississippi’s home park, Swayze Field, is one of the top pitchers’ parks in the country. Thursday should be a great day for Overbeck, as he’ll be drafted sometime on the first day … which also happens to be his birthday.
UPDATE: Drafted in Round 9 by the Phillies.

Luke Murton • OF • Georgia Tech • R/R • 6-4 / 235
Matt’s little brother chose to follow in his footsteps at Georgia Tech. In 2006, Luke tore it up as a freshman, hitting .339/.433/.503 with 10 doubles and six home runs. 2007, however, was not the same story as Murton experienced the collegiate version of a sophomore slump, hitting just .239/.368/.471. As a draft-eligible sophomore, the Yankees selected Murton in the 40th round last year, but he decided to remain a Yellow Jackets. This year, Murton found his groove again, hitting .332/.402/.621 with 12 home runs — similar to Matt’s .301 with 12 home runs in 2003 that led to him being a supplemental first-round pick by the Red Sox.
UPDATE: Drafted in Round 33 by the Diamondbacks.

Eric Hosmer • 1B • American Heritage HS (FL) • L/L • 6-4 / 210
It’s rare for a high-school first baseman to be such a hot commodity leading up the draft. How many major league first basemen can you name that were drafted at the position out of high school? Prince Fielder, Casey Kotchman and James Loney come to mind, but that’s about it. If you haven’t already seen the YouTube videos I’ve posted for Hosmer, do yourself a favor and check them out (there’s a bunch) and you’ll see why he’ll be a top-10 pick on Thursday. Some teams are apparently scared off because Hosmer’s represented by Scott Boras and is making some big demands, but he’ll be worth it. He’s the best hitter in the draft.
UPDATE: Drafted in Round 1 (3rd pick) by the Royals.

Ryan Flaherty • SS • Vanderbilt • L/R • 6-3 / 210
In a draft thin on middle-of-the-diamond guys, Flaherty will most likely be selected in the first few rounds. Although there are concerns about whether or not he’ll stick at shortstop, all he’s done since coming to Vanderbilt is hit. He raked as a freshman: .339/.421/.458, improved to .381/.438/.531 as a sophomore and put up another impressive line of .324/.411/.543 this year, leading the Commodores with 14 home runs and he also stole 10 bases.
UPDATE: Drafted in Round 1 Supplemental by the Cubs.

Conor Gillaspie • 3B • Wichita State • L/R • 6-1 / 200
It’s pretty much impossible for me to not like another Conor … especially when they even spell it the right way! It doesn’t hurt that Gillaspie can play a little, either. The Wichita State third baseman really opened eyes on the Cape last year when he led the league in hitting with a .345 average with seven home runs. He followed up his impressive summer with a fantastic season for the Shockers, hitting .425/.510/.706. Most reports indicate he won’t hit for power at the next level and he’ll end up as more of a gap hitter, but Gillaspie’s bat has improved every year and only time will tell.
UPDATE: Drafted in Round 1 Supplemental by the Giants.

Robbie Grossman • OF • Cypress-Fairbanks HS (TX) • S/L • 6-1 / 195
Grossman is a switch-hitting outfielder out of a high school in Texas. I’ve only seen limited video on him, and although his swing looks a little noisy, he has a nice, compact stroke from both sides of the plate and produces good bat speed. He’s only been switch-hitting for two years now, but hit .415 with nine home runs last year while leading Cypress-Fairbanks to a 5-A Texas State Championship. To top it off, Grossman then played for Team USA last summer where he led the team in hitting with a .450 average. This year, reports indicate he lost a step on the bases, and he could be a tough sign as the lost step will push the Texas recruit out of the first round.
UPDATE: Drafted in Round 6 by the Pirates.

Collin Cowgill • OF • Kentucky • R/R • 5-9 / 195
One thing that always creeps into the back of my head when looking at college statistics is this: Guess who hit .394/.495/.646 for a very respectable program in 1999? None other than Willie Bloomquist. Stats don’t tell the whole story. Like Bloomquist, Cowgill is putting up some impressive numbers as an undersized player. Cowgill was a 29th-round selection by the A’s last year as a draft-eligible sophomore and was an all-star in the Cape Cod League where he hit .290/.388/.420. This season, the University of Kentucky outfielder hit .361/.483/.687 with 19 home runs and 23 stolen bases. I’ve only seen limited clips of Cowgill on video and he drops his back leg a little, resulting in a bit of an uppercut, but I really like his bat speed. Already 22 after missing last year with a broken hamate bone, Cowgill will need to be on a pretty fast track to the show.
UPDATE: Drafted in Round 5 by the Diamondbacks.

Chris Shehan • OF • Georgia Southern • R/R • 6-0 / 205
Georgia Southern isn’t known as a baseball powerhouse, but despite playing in the Southern Conference, Shehan put up some absolutely ridiculous numbers this season. Over 224 at-bats, he hit .438/.557/.835. When he wasn’t rounding the bases with his 17 doubles, three triples or 22 home runs, he was stealing them, as he added to his jaw-dropping line with 22 steals in 24 attempts.
UPDATE: Drafted in Round 30 by the Braves.

Devin Shepherd • OF • College of Southern Nevada • 6-4 / 240
Devin Shepherd is a physical specimen — the guy’s a beast. A first-round talent heading into the 2006 draft, the Oxnard, Calif. native slipped to the fifth-round, where the Twins picked him. The Twins weren’t able to sign him, however, and he spent his freshman season at the University of Oklahoma, but struggled, hitting just .235/.348/.287 over 115 at-bats. This year, Shepherd transferred to the College of Southern Nevada. While his statistics weren’t eye-popping, especially for a smaller school, Shepherd hit a respectable .343/.453/.429 for the CCSN Coyotes this year. With just one home run, the power outage is a bit concerning, but you have to take into consideration the fact that CCSN uses wood bats and Shepherd still has the tools that made him the 2005 Aflac All-American game MVP. It will be interesting to see if/when he’s selected this time around.
UPDATE: Drafted in Round 11 by the Cardinals.

Chris Dominguez • 3B • Louisville • R/R • 6-4 / 240
Like Shepherd, Dominguez is another guy that really passes the eye test. With a muscular, 6-4, 240-pound physique, he looks good in a uniform. The Rangers drafted Dominguez out of high school in the 17th round of the 2005 draft, but he went to college instead. Now manning the hot corner as a draft-eligible sophomore for the Louisville Cardinals, Dominguez hit .365/.427/.687 this year with 21 bombs and 11 stolen bases. Baseball America also ranked his arm as the best of any college player’s in the draft.
UPDATE: Drafted in Round 5 by the Rockies.

Up next: My 10 favorite pitchers!