Mailbag and Spring Training Update

by Geoff Young on Feb 28, 2003

Fact: If you forget to pay your bill, they’ll shut off the water. Go ahead; it really works!

Mailbag

I’m too lazy to write, so I’ll let y’all do the job for me. You guys rock!

Diggin’ the ballpark pictures. I used one of the first batch for my background at work, now I got an updated one. Just wanted to let you know your work is appreciated… Keep ‘er up. –Jeff

Half the people I know are named Jeff; if you think you wrote this, you probably did. Anyway, thanks for the love. It’s good to know you’re enjoying the pictures. I’m liking them too, because I no longer get to look at the ballpark every day. But don’t worry, I’ll get more photos; my wife still works downtown. :-)

And some kind souls pointed these out to me; I now share them with you:

  • For Canada’s Rush, immortality to die for (Globe and Mail). Rush bobblehead dolls. Oh, and they’ve been inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame. The band, not the dolls. That would be silly.

  • 2003 Peak Projections (Prospect Report). Chris Reed’s fascinating projections are back for 2003. Padre highlights:

    • Josh Barfield, .280/.315/.377
    • Jay Bay, .268/.346/.415
    • Tagg Bozied, .230/.285/.395
    • Sean Burroughs, .308/.391/.449
    • Vince Faison, .239/.309/.372
    • Jake Gautreau, .257/.322/.379
    • Khalil Greene, .287/.324/.454
    • Ben Johnson, .246/.342/.390
    • Donaldo Mendez, .210/.261/.315
    • Xavier Nady, .270/.324/.424
    • Alex Pelaez, .275/.311/.393
    • Michael Rivera, .253/.307/.453
    • Ramon Vazquez, .280/.366/.396

    Make of this what you will. I think the system vastly underestimates Bozied, Gautreau, and Nady; then again, it has only statistical output to work with, so that’ll happen sometimes. I also hold out hope that Burroughs will hit for more power than is suggested here.

    But I’m nitpicking. Chris is doing some very interesting work in this area. Check out his full report when you have a few spare moments.

Thanks, guys; keep those letters comin’…

Spring Training Update

Caught a little of the Spring Training Report on Channel 4 last night. A brief summary follows:

  • Xavier Nady is feeling good and will be ready when called. Viewers were reminded that he returned from Tommy John surgery in just 6 months (normal recovery time is 12-18 months).
  • Jaret Wright is throwing very hard and impressing staff. He is looking forward to working out of the Padre ‘pen and welcomes the challenge of closing games, should he be asked to do so.
  • Ryan Klesko has abandoned the goatee in favor of the soul patch. By most accounts, he’s still dreamy.
  • Tagg Bozied talked about his goals for the upcoming season. He said they are more process-oriented and not so much results-oriented. Bozied wants to be more consistent at the plate and in the field. Specifically, he is looking to reduce his strikeouts, increase his walks, and work deeper into counts. This is good news: knowledge is a powerful thing.

More coverage:

From Padres.com

From the U-T

  • Perez as closer intrigues Padres. I have to admit, it intrigues me too. I worry about Perez’ stamina and inefficiency. A move to the bullpen could do wonders for his career. Then again, so could 2-3 fewer pitches an inning.
  • Rockies’ Jones to close here? Tucked away toward the end of this one is this nugget: "Left-hander Eric Cyr became a hot prospect two seasons ago in Class A… But now the club appears to be phasing out the reliever."

That’s all for now. More as it happens…

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