PATRIOTS: Lockwood going Crabbing?

The Atlantic League's Southern Maryland Blue Crabs selected Somerset Patriots center fielder Mike Lockwood in Tuesday's expansion draft.
Lockwood, 31, hit .278 with 23 home runs, 92 RBIs and 90 runs scored in 2007, the best season of his nine-year professional career.
But don't expect to see Lockwood playing in Waldorf, Md. anytime soon.
"I probably would not come back to the Atlantic League, even though I enjoyed it," Lockwood said. "If I can't get a look (from a major-league organization) with the year I had last year - not that it was a great year, but it was a good year - nothing is ever going happen with my age."
The Patriots expressed interest in retaining Lockwood, but he made it clear that he would prefer to play in either Mexico or Italy, if at all.
In my opinion, it seems as if Southern Maryland got the short end here.
Neither Lockwood nor the Patriots were contacted by the Blue Crabs to inquire about the former Athletics and Red Sox prospect's future plans, which do not include the Atlantic League.
With strict guidelines mandating that only player from each of the other seven teams can be drafted, it seems as if this was a wasted pick. The Patriots had plenty of talent this season, and there must have been an unprotected player with a better chance of returning to the league next season.
The Patriots lost right-handed pitcher Mike Johnson to the York Revolution in the 2006 expansion draft, but he never signed. Lockwood is the biggest name drafted off the roster since Lipso Nava was taken by the Camden Riversharks in 2000.