OFF THE WALL Small-school players to be overlooked this year?

We just couldn’t let this stuff go …

Those diamonds in the rough selected in the late rounds of NFL drafts or signed as undrafted free agents are more like hidden gems this year, writes Eric Olson of The Associated Press.

Fewer schools outside the Football Bowl Subdivision hosted pro days this year, meaning college players from smaller schools with NFL hopes didn’t get the same exposure they would have otherwise from campus workouts in front of scouts.

Only three Football Championship Subdivision schools and one in Division III had pro days scheduled compared with 48 in the FCS and nine in Division II in 2019, the last year with a draft leadup unaffected by COVID-19.

“Every year we’ve had a guy shock us in the 40, a guy shock us in the 225 bench press, shock us in the broad jump. You won’t get to see that this year,” said Scorpio Horn, the Missouri Western defensive coordinator who’s the liaison to the NFL for the Division II school in St. Joseph, Mo. “The only guys from small schools that will get that opportunity are the dominant guys that are first-day or next-day guys. Everybody knows who they are. Those guys get an opportunity and the scouts see them, but it’s that one diamond in the rough that we’ll allow to come.”

There were 112 pro days this year, according to NFL.com. That compares with 171 in 2019, 196 in 2018 and 230 in 2017.

For the second straight year, NFL teams cut back on travel for scouts and personnel people as a precaution against COVID-19. With the February scouting combine in Indianapolis was canceled, the importance of pro days was heightened. Players at FCS plschools are still in season, limiting their access, as well.

Trivia question

The baseball term the “Mendoza Line” (.200) is derived from the career of Mario Mendoza, a feeble hitter for nine major league seasons, the first five of those spent with the Pittsburgh Pirates. What was Mendoza’s actual career average?

Ripe for a no-hitter?

Mendoza never played for the Cubs, but he would fit right in with this year’s team.

Chicago management has given up on the season (see Yu Darvish trade), so it seems like Cubs hitters have given up, as well.

Chicago is 5-7 on the season, quite impressive given the way Cubs hitters are not hitting.

Exactly zero of Chicago’s hitters in the lineup were hitting over .200 after Wednesday’s 7-0 loss to Milwaukee.

It went like this: Ian Happ .143; Eric Sogard .136; Anthony Rizzo .171; Joc Pederson .108; Javier Baez .200; Jason Hayward .200; David Bote .107; Austin Romine .000.

Normal starters Kris Bryant (.243), and

Willson Contreras (.226) were not in the lineup. Neither were Jake Marisnick (.250) nor

Matt Duffy (.125), who is on the disabled list.

Ildemaro Vargas is 0-for-2 since replacing Duffy on the roster.

Trivia answer

Mendoza had a .215 career average. In five of those seasons, Mendoza hit less than .200. His career high was .245 with Seattle in 1980, but the term had already been coined in 1979. His career average to that point was .201.