Friday Links (7 Jul 06)
Fri, Jul 7, 2006
by Geoff Young
Several folks have asked about the recent Baseball Prospectus Pizza Feed at Petco Park. This wasn’t a media event and the handful of bloggers in attendance were asked to keep stuff off the record, so there’s not a lot I can tell you beyond what Gaslamp Ball has already mentioned. They’ve pretty much covered it all anyway. Also, LynchMob has posted some killer pix of the event so you’ll want to check those out.
Honestly, the overall impression I got from hearing Sandy Alderson speak is that the guy knows what he’s doing. I mean, really knows what he’s doing. And that he’s not above learning new things, nor is he afraid to surround himself with really smart people. Basically, he has all the qualities you look for in a leader. He knows what he knows, gets help with the rest, and has an ambitious but attainable vision.
Onto the links:
- Maddux Plus Johnson Equals Young (USA Today). Reader LaMar points us to this article on Chris Young. His college baseball coach says of Young that “He has as good a mental makeup as any athlete I’ve ever been around.” Gotta love this quote from Trevor Hoffman, too: “We made fun of one of his TV interviews once. It’s not like he said anything wrong. It’s just that his English is so perfect it sounded funny.”
- As mentioned in the comments, Baseball America’s July 5 edition of Daily Dish features Lake Elsinore third baseman Chase Headley. The switch-hitter is doing much better from the left side than the right (his natural side) and is working on improving his power. The numbers aren’t jaw-dropping, but add a few points to his batting average and he compares pretty well to George Kottaras (2005) at the same age.
- Checking in on the Pacific Coast and International Leagues (Hardball Times). A little love for two Padres farmhands — Jack Cust and Paul McAnulty. It would be nice to see one or both of these guys get a shot at some point. According to Jonathan at PDX Beavers, Cust “leads all of professional baseball with 80 walks.”
- Is There Scoring After Death? (Or, the X-Rated Version of “Weekend at Bernie’s”) (Mike’s Baseball Rants). Thanks to reader Didi for the heads-up on this awkwardly titled but fascinating article about baserunner interference.
There you go. Don’t forget: Ducksnorts meetup tonight at Tony Gwynn Stadium to see the Canseco-less Surf Dawgs battle whoever the heck it is they’re playing. Be there or be, um, at the Pearl Jam concert. 
Picking up where last year's version left off, the Ducksnorts 2008 Baseball Annual provides in-depth analysis of and commentary on the San Diego Padres. Get your copy today.
July 7, 2006 at 8:04 am
Nice piece on CY, wow, wife is a Tiger too, them gonna be some smart kids. One thing about BB I love, is the mix of people from a lot of differnt cultures on every team. Imagine trevor, CY, Vinny, and CHP having a beer together. And I certainly hope that Trevor helps CY develop another pitch or two. A change up would be devestating with all his fastballs. Ok, feel good time is over, time to beat up on the Nats. Go Padres!
July 7, 2006 at 8:51 am
GY
I just got my No WAve Shirt in the mail! thanks again for making them.
July 7, 2006 at 9:15 am
Steve: Awesome! Wear it with pride.
July 7, 2006 at 10:23 am
The Mets put Pedro on the DL last night, does this mean new life for C.Y. in the All Star Game?
July 7, 2006 at 11:23 am
Will Carroll @ Baseball Prospectus had this to say today …
Barely a day goes by when a team or player doesn’t contact me about something I’ve written. On Thursday, the Padres were concerned about my report on Chris Young. My source told me that Young had dead arm and had seen the medical staff, something I interpreted as “doctors.” Young did see head trainer Todd Hutcheson, something most players do every day and certainly not worth concern. Young did have a bad outing, showing a bit less velocity than normal, but his concern over my report gives me pause. There’s a very fine line between what some call dead arm and a bad outing. I hope that Young is okay and continues his breakout season. I’m sure he won’t be offended if we say we’re watching closely.
… his whole article is free today … http://www.baseballprospectus......cleid=5282
July 7, 2006 at 11:49 am
I had no idea my offhanded Loretta comment would spark so much discussion yesterday.
I just want to clarify a couple of things. I, like most people, hated the Loretta/Mirabelli deal. I know last season was a bit of an off year for Loretta, but he is a starting second baseman, and I think the Pads could have done better.
As for how it all worked out: Sometimes, as they say, you just step in “poop.” I think that’s what happened here. Mirabelli was a dog in SD, Bard has been great, and Meredith obviously has some value.
I also think it was a good job by KT to bring the Yanks into the discussion — it drove up the price a little.
July 7, 2006 at 12:00 pm
As it’s Friday, below is a link to an article from BP on research presented at the recent SABR conference (I think you can access it w/o a subscription). Check out the section at the bottom, “Missed it by That Much.” In sum, one guy’s research shows that the best offensive catcher in history has at least one defensive skill that ranks him among the top 5 catchers of the last 50 years. Surprising - and suggests that the flack he gets for his work behind the plate needs to be tempered at least a little:
http://www.baseballprospectus......cleid=5274
And something I’ve been meaning to mention… don’t get the chance to see the Padres much these days, but about a week ago, I’m watching Channel 4, Adkins has just come in to the game, finishes his warmups, takes the ball, and puts his glove in front of his face and says something out loud to himself. And it wasn’t short, it was a fairly long speech he was giving himself, something like a Stuart Smalley affirmation perhaps. Anyway, just wondering if anyone else has noticed this. Was it a one time deal, or does he do this every time he comes into a game?
And finally, re: David’s comment about Portland - altho’ he’s right that the PCL is a hitter’s league, he’s quite mistaken about PGE Park - it’s Petco-like in suppressing overall run scoring, depressing AVG & OBP, and close to neutral in regard to SLG:
http://www.baseballthinkfactor.....2003_2005/
July 7, 2006 at 12:03 pm
Is Rickey playing with the Surf Dawgs this year?
He was in attendance at the Mets game a few nights ago, wearing some very tasteful bling (a “1406″ diamond necklace).
That guy cracks me up.
July 7, 2006 at 12:14 pm
Nick
The Lorretta deal is a touchy subject for some people on this board, I already did my ran on the subject. Check back at this post http://ducksnorts.com/blog/200.....l#comments to see the whole discussion.
July 7, 2006 at 12:14 pm
Rickey is no longer a Surf Dawg
July 7, 2006 at 12:24 pm
In fact, I heard on the Jim Rome radio show that the Surf Dawg’s are trying to “find” Rickey to see if he wants his championship ring from last year … and to see if he wants to play again this year … but I’ll bet they’ve figure’d out that 2nd part by now … unless the Canseco signing was an attempt to also lure Rickey???
July 7, 2006 at 12:29 pm
If you go to a Surf Dawg game and want some players to root for, try Scotty Goodman and Seth Pietsch … Scotty is a friend of mine’s nephew … he was drafted by the Marlins and he played with Josh Beckett in the minors, until an injury set him back … and I saw Seth play for the Oregon St Beavers a few years ago … so give him a “Go Beavers” yell when he comes up and I’ll bet you’ll get a smile from him
July 7, 2006 at 12:37 pm
Dude the Loretta thing is such a tired argument. He was/is not a 3rd baseman. They got a catcher that at that point was going to be their starter and they had Vinny at 3rd who they thought they could get some power out of. Loretta was an awesome player but I can’t say for certain he would make this team any better then it is right now. You also have to keep in mind that his numbers are totally skewed this year because he is the only guy in the Red Sox line-up that gets pitches to hit. I could probably look like a prospect if I was hitting in front of Manny and David Ortiz. If Robinson Cano wasn’t hurt would Loretta be starting anyways? We addressed two position and saved money in trading him. I like the guy but come on he wasn’t freaking A-Rod.
As much as I bitch about the Padres 3rd base situation I must say it is nice to see sharply hit balls hit to Vinny fielded at what seems like a lot better rate then Sean Burroughs ever did. I used to cringe every time something was hit to the left side of the infield (I still do) but now I see a lot of them turn into routine plays as opposed to errors. So now that Cameron seems to be picking up the bat a little more as long as Vinny can keep playing decent defense over there I don’t care about 3rd as much. Not saying it’s not a need because it obviously is but we are used to getting no offensive production and crappy defense from that position. So settling for one of the 2 until we can upgrade doesn’t seem all that bad to me right now.
July 7, 2006 at 12:57 pm
I’m not tired of the argument … there seems to be a lot to learn from the complex interactions that went on during last off-season …
re: Vinny’s D … does it seem to be dissapating too? I’ve been able to watch several games over the past 10 days and I’ve seen him make a couple of errors and a couple of plays that I’d have ruled errors … yes, he’s still a good defender … and I agree that that is why he’s still in the lineup … just saying that, as a fan who’s usually only listening to the radio and/or reading about games on the internet, what I’ve seen lately doesn’t match the things I’ve heard/read about his good defense …
re: until we can upgrade … be sure that the brass *is* working on this … they too realize full well that an upgrade is needed … something *will* happen during the next few weeks!
July 7, 2006 at 12:59 pm
Yeah, the argument is a lot more tired than seeing Vinny’s sub-600 OPS at 3b all the time.
Loretta has played 171 games at 3b. Smells like experience to me.
Loretta’s numbers are right in line with his career, except for his great seasons with us. How is that totally skewed?
If Loretta is the only one getting pitches to hit, how do Ortiz and Ramirez have 50 HR between them?
If you can’t say for certain that Loretta would make this team better than Castilla, then you need to see a doctor. Quickly. Loretta has not been great this year. Castilla has given new meaning to the word “bad.” He’d honestly help us more by either getting hurt or going to the plate with no intention of swinging. He’d at least draw a walk or two that way and see more than 2 pitches per at-bat.
Loretta isn’t Arod. He just looks like Arod standing next to Castilla.
July 7, 2006 at 1:03 pm
I’m not saying the guy is Brooks Robinson and I’m not saying I even like him as a player a whole lot I’m just saying that I like seeing him make a lot more routine plays with a lot more consistancy than Burroughs last year.
When I got the chance to talk to Sandy Alderson last year right after the Joe Randa trade he told me that Randa was “a dog” and that getting a 3rb baseman was a main priority. So I’m pretty confident that that they are still looking to do something there.
July 7, 2006 at 1:04 pm
LynchMob is dead on. Everything coming out of the front office suggests they’re frantically looking for a 3b. Now that the Brewers have climbed back into a winnable Central, Koskie may be off the table, but they’re scouring the earth for someone other than Castilla. They know how bad it’s been. They know we could be looking at the NL West in our rearview mirror if ABV (Anyone But Vinny) had played there. Well, AABV (Almost Anyone But Vinny).
LM, are you the one who was talking about a seeming disconnect between what Alderson/Towers wants and what they can make Bochy do? Alderson says he’d like to see Bellhorn get an extended run, Bochy plays Vinny. Towers says he’d like to see Nady get a shot at 3b, Bochy says no.
July 7, 2006 at 1:14 pm
It’s too bad Sandy didn’t go ahead and actually MAKE third base a priority. A year after we got Randa and we’ve still got a dog at 3b.
July 7, 2006 at 1:31 pm
Yo Buck Merrill chill out. First off can you name 5 better power hitting guys in the game that are better at what they do then Manny or Ortiz?… Probably not and that’s why they have 50HR’s between them. Nobody pitches to Pujols either and he seems to get his numbers. If you’re making the argument that Loretta is on line with his career numbers in that line-up I would say he’s probably having a below average year then.
I really don’t like Vinny at 3rd but what I’m saying was that at the time the trade was made is that it made sense. If you want to dig up old trades that made sense at the time but kinda suck now we could do it all day long (especially with the Padres past) but it doesn’t do any good.
Castillia is “bad” yeah I got it but you’re on Tom Waits type drugs if you think Loretta was going to walk over to the other side of the infield and start taking ground balls so that some unproven rookie could get a shot at making the team without causeing a fuss. Proven all-star caliber vets don’t just do that and team chemistry seems like one of the Pad’s biggest assets so I wonder if that may have had something to do with it also.
Bottom line is at the time of the trade it made a lot more sense then it does now but I’d probably rather have Jason Bay and Oliver Perez then Brian Giles too but it’s a lot easier to look back isn’t it.
July 7, 2006 at 1:54 pm
Actually let’s go way back. I’m more pissed at Bochy than anything for refusing to play Nady at 3rd last year. I don’t know what the hell was going through that big ass head of his but even with KT asking to get X some time Bochy still wouldn’t make it happen.
July 7, 2006 at 2:13 pm
The trade didn’t make sense at the time. That’s the only way to evaluate it and I’ve consistently said so. If the team felt like it had to trade Loretta to make room for Barfield, then you trade him for something worthwhile, not a dime-a-dozen backup catcher.
Loretta had moved all over the diamond in his career without raising a fuss. Have you even looked at his player card?
160 games at 1b.
670 games at 2b.
171 games at 3b.
328 games at SS.
Snap! And no history of complaining. The only “evidence” that he didn’t want to move to 3b over the winter is heresay.
Proven all-star vets have moved many, many times without complaining. Who’s that guy playing 3b for the Yankees now? He’s still a better SS than Jeter and doesn’t say anything. Players move all the time. They rarely make a fuss. I suppose an entire career of being a class act was just an illusion and Loretta was going to go Terrell Owens on us.
The Giles trade did make sense at the time and I don’t regret it.
July 7, 2006 at 2:16 pm
Smells like a contradiction. Veteran Joe Randa would just move out of the way for Nady without causing a fuss, but Loretta would have torn the team apart. Even though Loretta would have been a starter and not lost playing time.
July 7, 2006 at 2:39 pm
1. Okay good point. Loretta did play all over the diamond as a fringe player trying to stick in the leauge but how many positions has he played since becoming an everyday player and all-star?
2. I like Barfield and Loretta a lot but would never compare either to Derek Jeter and A-Rod. 2 totally different situations. A-Rod agreed to play 3rd and be traded to NY because he wanted to win a championship. It’s not like someone told A-Rod “Hey all-star, you’re going to play 3rd now because we have a rookie that MIGHT be able to make the team at your position”.
3. Randa wouldn’t have moved for X to play he would have been benched. He was a nobody on that team and would have had to deal with it. He wasn’t a “fan favorite” like Loretta, he was a 2 month rental.
4. Totally agree with you on Giles. The Giles trade made sense in my mind too and I don’t regret it either but if you ask me who I’d rather have…
Bay vs. Giles = Bay
Loretta vs. Vinny = Loretta
July 7, 2006 at 3:16 pm
re: disconnect between what Alderson/Towers wants and what they can make Bochy do … that wasn’t me talking about it, but I was at the same BP Pizza Feed where Alderson’s comments (and some things he *didn’t* say) certainly gave me/us this impression. So, whassup with that??? Bochy must be a pretty strong/powerful person … which has pro’s & con’s, don’t it!
Also, I don’t think the issue was Nady vs Randa as much as it was Nady vs Burroughs … if they’d play’d Nady @ 3B when the decision to cut bait on Burroughs was made, then we’d not have traded Randa (and hence still have another arm in the farm, iirc).
July 7, 2006 at 3:19 pm
1. Loretta was never a fringe player trying to stick in the league. He was a good player for Milwaukee who played where he was needed. He played almost everyday from 97 to 99, then he got hurt and played less, but he wasn’t fringe. He was average, with most of his value concentrated in his OBP skills.
2. How many examples of All-Star players moving do you want? Just give me a number. Chipper Jones. Stan Musial. Cal Ripken. Rod Carew. Yastrzemski. Jose Offerman. Pete Rose. Reggie Jackson, demoted from RF to LF to DH. George Brett. Ernie Banks.
3. You’re still contradicting yourself. On one hand you claim that the negative clubhouse impact of a dissatisfied Loretta would have crushed the 2006 team. A 2006 team that retained about half of its 2005 roster, so there was a lot less built-in loyalty. But on the other hand you say that the veteran 2005 team would have been fine with benching Randa, who, like him or not, is a respected veteran player. The way players move around, there were Padres last year who had played with Randa before. They can’t both be true.
July 7, 2006 at 3:23 pm
Still have 2 arms on the farm. Chick just got traded to Seattle for Eddie G, Germano hasn’t done much. I don’t mind that either is gone, we had to do something about 3b last year. It just didn’t work out.
If you don’t have any input on the daily decisions, then you have to make sure your roster doesn’t contain any attractive flaws.
July 7, 2006 at 3:42 pm
TW - bingo! … “attractive flaws” … what an oxymoron … ‘cept the concept does appear to something that afflicts Bochy
July 7, 2006 at 4:43 pm
LM and Tom — totally agree with both of you. I am just glad that this whole Loretta thing has worked out to some extent. I really would have been sick to my stomach if Mirabelli was still here.
Re: Loretta switching positions. I remember him partially attributing his more consistent offensive numbers to being penciled in every day exclusively at 2b.
I wonder if this is where people are getting that he “would have had problem” moving to 3b. Because there’s nothing else to suggest that would have been the issue.
July 8, 2006 at 8:29 pm
I remember watching Loretta play third (and short) with the Brewers, and he struggled. Weak arm. He’s a great player though.
Earlier in this discussion somebody defended the trade for Vinny as “making sense at the time” or something like that. I beg to differ. If you read the press at the time, Towers said that he traded for Vinny because “he always seesm to do well against us,” which is such an absurd logic on so many levels that I can’t even get into it.
Bochy appears to have a case of Dusty Baker-itis about Vinny; i.e: He’s a veteran who makes a lot of money, so he must play every day. It’s a shame. If the Pads lose the West it will be because of offense, and it will be because they got absolutely zero production from the third baseman.
And have any of you Vinny defenders/apologists watched him play this season? He’s pathetic. He can’t field anymore, because his reaction time is slow, and his bat has slowed down to the point that all he can hit are middling fastballs. I am surprised people are still wondering why he’s so bad. Watch ten minutes of a Padres game and you’ll see why.