2006 Draft Underway

Liriano Heads to the Gateway City
The St. Louis Cardinals began the 2006 Molson Baseball League draft by selecting 21 year-old southpaw Francisco Liriano with the first overall selection, surprising some owners that felt the Redbirds would opt for a more-proven commodity. St. Louis owner Chuck Engle, however, was not concerned by the questions, even though the Redbirds have an unbalanced rotation.

"Screw those guys," Engle said through his interpreter, Bob Biermann. "I don't care if I do already have Mark Mulder, Brandon Claussen, and Bruce Chen. Jimmy Gobble is still on my roster, for Christ's sake."

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays, formerly known as the Detroit Tigers, then made their first selection in franchise history, choosing firstbaseman Prince Fielder. Fielder will serve 2006 under the tutelage of Tino Martinez and crank pill spokesman Rafael Palmeiro. Ironically, Palmeiro once told Congress that he had never taken performance-enhancing drugs.