Sigh. Computers are just plain evil. Yesterday I was trying to get my CD writer to work (it’s been giving me trouble ever since I switched to SuSE) when a very bad thing happened. Long story short, I can no longer boot. So I fired up my little P-II notebook and did a little research. Turns out there are known problems with my machine’s BIOS and SuSE. And now, in hindsight, I’m betting that my problems with Windows on that machine were a result of the BIOS, too. (I had considered this at the time but had hoped a fresh OS would fix everything; apparently some things aren’t Microsoft’s fault after all.)

So I’m without a usable home computer again. Sure, I’ve got the P-II, and I’ve still got a P-I lying around with an old version of Red Hat on it, but it’s pretty much just a Mah-Jongg server these days. The great irony of it all is that I was working on the CD writer so I could back up my hard drive. The good news is, I believe the drive is still good. The bad news is, I cannot access data on it.

On to brighter things. How ’bout those Padres? Hmmm, maybe that’s not such a good thing to talk about either. Okay, how about those Padre prospects? Khalil Greene is torrid at Elsinore, hitting .293/.316/.500. He played his first game at second base Friday night but has been back at shortstop the past couple games. The one trouble spot for him thus far is 17 strikeouts against just 3 walks in 92 at-bats. Let’s hope that’s a small-sample abnormality and not an indication of what’s to come.

Right-hander Josh Reynolds, acquired in the Steve Reed trade, was hammered in his Cal League debut, allowing 7 runs on 10 hits over 3 1/3 innings. He’s not a hard thrower, so expect this from time to time.

Mark Phillips continues to fight his control, and it’s not looking like he’ll make it to Double-A this season. He’s been a real mixed bag this year. On the one hand, he’s been extremely tough to hit (.225 BA); on the other, 6.6 walks per 9 innings is way too many. If Phillips can cut that number down to around 4 or 5, he’ll be tough. The thing is, he’s not a guy who misses badly all or even most of the time; when I’ve seen him pitch, his biggest problems are that he tries to be too fine and that he’ll have an occasional spell when he has no idea where the plate is. But that usually only lasts about two or three batters, and then he’s back to business. Phillips still has significant upside. It will be interesting to see what Darren Balsley can do with him next year at Mobile, assuming both of them are there.

The other minor-leaguer to come over in the Reed deal, outfielder Jason Bay, is hitting .200/.385/.400 in his first three games at Mobile. Bay has drawn comparisons to current Padre Bubba Trammell.

Also at Mobile, Tagg Bozied is heating up in a big way. He’s hitting .221/.303/.360 in 125 at-bats, which isn’t particularly impressive in and of itself. But after a slow start at Double-A, he’s put up solid numbers the past few weeks (including a .367 BA over the past 13 games). Also encouraging are the extra base hits and command of the strike zone. It’s looking like the early struggles were more of an adjustment than any change in approach.

Baseball America has released its "Best Tools" for Class-A. The Padres are reasonably well represented. In the Cal League, Marcus Nettles was named the best baserunner and the fastest baserunner. Oliver Perez was cited as the best pitching prospect. Down at Ft. Wayne, Pedro de los Santos was named the fastest baserunner, while Rusty Tucker was identified as the best reliever.

That’s all for now. I’ll try to keep posting updates regularly, but if I miss a few days here and there, it’s probably just me fighting with my computer(s) again.