Statement Games
Tue, Sep 19, 2006
by Geoff Young
It’s a tired cliche, but like many of its ilk, one that contains a certain amount of truth: “That was a statement game.” We’ve all heard the phrase thrown about like so many batting practice fastballs. The phrase is intended to convey importance, but more often than not it conveys a lack of imagination on the part of the person who employs it. And yet, as we’ve acknowledged, there is truth in the phrase. Every game makes a statement. Every game tells a story, or part of a story, or part of part of a story, or…
Three games in Southern California over the past two days have made a statement:
In fact, they’ve made the exact same statement: “The season isn’t over yet; better get out there and play some ball.”
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.
September 19, 2006 at 11:07 pm
Magic Number: 12
September 19, 2006 at 11:14 pm
Nice artlicle in CNN SI about Padre pitching if we make it to the PFs.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.c.....index.html
Guess everyone has forgotten about last nights debacle.
September 19, 2006 at 11:16 pm
why does think coolstandings.com rates the Padres’ championship odds better than Baseball Prospectus?
September 19, 2006 at 11:20 pm
Ok, e hit good tonight but its a santa ana condition. Will be interesting to see if the offense continues tomorrow night with the on shore clouds due back. I’m determined to find a scientific reason te Padres don’t hit well at Petco and I think its th weather conditions. More later.
September 19, 2006 at 11:26 pm
looks like the LA series has got us some media attention.
“‘Their pitching is better [than New York's], and I’m not sure it’s that close,’ says one scout.”
It’s great that people are showing respect, but to be objective, I think people underestimate the Mets’ pitching. Our ‘pen seems to get a lot of ink, but theirs has clearly been better. How ironic, considering the coasts.
The same was true of St. Louis last year.
September 19, 2006 at 11:44 pm
This was win #79 for us. Last season, we clinched the division with our 79th win.
What a difference a year makes, huh?
September 19, 2006 at 11:45 pm
Anyone realize Clay has a 2.51 ERA as a starter since the All Star break…?
September 19, 2006 at 11:57 pm
re: 7
Yes, I did realize that about Hensley. Pretty cool.
re: 3
why does think?
I don’t think that coolstandings.com is necessarily better than BP.
September 19, 2006 at 11:57 pm
Re #2:
There’s a comment in that article about Oakland starters fading down the stretch. I looked Zito’s splits on ESPN.com (they have a feature that lets us look at 3-year splits)…
Over the last 3 years, here are Zito’s monthly splits (by ERA):
April 5.04
May 3.18
June 3.58
July 3.77
Aug. 3.12
Sept. 4.69
I’m not sold on Zito…
September 20, 2006 at 12:09 am
8
“does” is short for “do you guys” in welsh
September 20, 2006 at 12:33 am
The Padres lead the NL in SNLVAR (2nd in MLB). The Mets are 7th (10th). The Padres are 2nd in the NL in WXRL (5th). The Mets are 1st (1st).
Clear advantage in starting pitching is to the Padres. Clear advantage in relief pitching is to the Mets.
September 20, 2006 at 5:05 am
BPs standings don’t reflect last night’s games.
September 20, 2006 at 5:37 am
More Doug Mirabelli stuff. The only thing really interesting about this article is that Mirabelli refers to himself in the third person at least four times — good stuff.
http://www.boston.com/sports/b.....g_session/
In the yahoo article, it was kind of funny that DM said he’d been thinking about the KT statements all day, and it was tough to “concentrate on the game.”
From the sounds of it, that was his problem in SD as well!
September 20, 2006 at 5:41 am
Good stuff to bounce back last night.
Watching the BB Tonight guys on Sportscenter this morning while running on the treadmill. Asked to pick a winner in the NL West and why, not surprisingly both Kruk and Tino picked LA. What made me laugh out loud was Kruk, citing both starting pitching and the “stuff” in the bullpen for LA.
Huh? Go look up some stats, John boy! The Dodgers top 3 SP are good, sure, but Penny can and does blow up. After those 3, I’m not sold. I’ll take our 5 over their 5, no questions asked. The ‘pen comment was ridiculous on the surface, no need to even explain.
Anyhoo, not surprising that the Pads are underrated. We ask for that when we build around pitching and defense which aren’t sexy enough for the mass media, but dammit, the sh*t works. I love being a Padres fan at all times, but ESPECIALLY when we’re making one of these all-too-seldom underdog runs in September.
September 20, 2006 at 5:54 am
14: Saw the Baseball tonight this morning as well, and I was not surprised that they’re picking the Dodgers.
Kruk mentioned Brad Penny (along with lowe and Maddux) as pitchers who have been there and won championships. I understand Lowe and Maddux, but Penny?? The guy has completely melted down since the All Star Break.
And I’ll take our BP over theirs, especially as long as Tomko is pitching for them.
Would the Pads have gotten as much coverage if they hit 4 HRs in a row? I was thinking about that today.
GY made a good point yesterday — you would have thought the Dogs won the World Series on Monday.Would the Pads have that much coverage if they did the same thing? Maybe, maybe not.
September 20, 2006 at 6:08 am
Mirabelli has to understand:
a- he’s a scumbag.
and
b- what we got for him helped us a lot more than he ever could.
September 20, 2006 at 6:13 am
It’s all about Doug in Doug’s world
September 20, 2006 at 6:27 am
One problem I have right now is all of the rehabbing injuries. I don’t think you can expect Chan Ho Park or Ryan Klesko to take up time here in a competitive september and even at that, they shouldn’t be near the postseason roster.
September 20, 2006 at 6:30 am
Regarding the Coolstandings/Baseball Prospectus odds:
In the event of a tie, Baseball Prospectus splits the playoff spot between the tied team (for the percentages).
Coolstandings actually “plays it out” via tiebreakers.
Our chance of taking the division is higher on Coolstandings because if it comes to a tie with the Dodgers (with one of us getting the WC and one getting the division) we get the division via head to head record. On Prospectus, they simply give each team half of the division and half of the WC.
At least that’s my take.
September 20, 2006 at 7:14 am
Interesting article in this morning’s LA Times about how the Pads dealt with Monday’s loss.
Seems Boomer and Jake drove back together and “cranked up Bad Company on the car stereo and sang along spiritedly, with Peavy playing air drums and Wells jamming his bald head to the 1970s rock.”
Said Cameron: “We’ll let you guys keep talking about the ‘Instant Classic’ game [Monday] night. We’ll try to keep winning.”
Asked whether he would watch Monday’s game once it inevitably aired on ESPN Classic, Bochy said, “No, I’ve seen it, I’ve been there. I’ll probably just get some bamboo shoots and stick them in my fingernails before I’m watching that game.
Bochy also said in the UT that his wife drove home, since she wouldn’t let him drive.
September 20, 2006 at 7:34 am
BTW, Chan Ho is on the way back to work out of the bullpen.
And, ready for this?
Klesko will be activated tomorrow to be used as a PH.
I’m all for it, not a bad bat off the bench. Maybe he can hit one last “moonshot” on his way into the sunset.
September 20, 2006 at 7:35 am
Here’s how I see how Mondays loss effected both teams:
San Diego - Figured out that hey were not in 1st any more we need to start winning!
LA - Thought they won the division took the night off.
September 20, 2006 at 7:41 am
#20: Bad Company, eh? Guess what lyrics we’ll be using for tonight’s IGD (nice job, everyone, in my absence last night).
BTW, I’ve got a brief recap of the playoff games over at Knuckle Curve this morning as well as photo from last night’s contest and a few jabs at our friend Mr. Mirabelli. So glad he’s not our problem.
I’ll be out at the game again tonight and snapping more pix. I hope to have a bunch more up at Flickr within the next couple days — I’m pretty much running on adrenaline right now, so no promises. I could totally crash at any moment.
September 20, 2006 at 7:42 am
Um, okay, obviously there are no playoff games happening right now. What I meant was games with playoff implications. Must… sleep…
Or have more coffee.
September 20, 2006 at 8:02 am
I’ve talked to a few people about Padres propensity to lose the first game of the series lately. Did anyone realize yesterday was the first post-All Star, series-opening home win?
September 20, 2006 at 8:12 am
now I did. good fact to know.
September 20, 2006 at 8:21 am
Peter, that is just unreal.
September 20, 2006 at 8:24 am
Re: Mirabelli
I have to say, and I know I am in the distinct minority here, that I think KT was totally in the wrong here. He is perfectly entitled to have his opinion and even express it to other GMs if they ask, but I think airing it out in the media (5 months after the fact) is not a classy move. Is that something Sandy Alderson would do (WWSD, lets make braclets!)? I think KT’s head is getting a tad swollen from the recent media attention, specifically as it related to the Mirabelli/Bard-Meredith trade, and is just kind of adding fuel to the fire. KT: “Yeah, we torched them on that deal…and the best part? Mirabelli was an a-hole anyway!” I just don’t see the relevance at this time, and from all accounts outside of SD, Mirabelli has been a model citizen and teammate (he and Dave Roberts are still close friends). There’s a big league way, a business like way (if you will), to handle situations like that and then there’s the way KT handled it. Just my opinion…
September 20, 2006 at 8:27 am
re: 28
you’re probably right, but man I gotta tell you the timing of that article the morning after that loss (and i know it was coincidence, KT I believe spoke to reporters before the game) was fabulous.
September 20, 2006 at 8:46 am
yeah I mean KT shouldn’t have said it but even though he did, for Mirabelli to try and defend himself is pointless. Everyone knows he was a jerk and anyone who thinks he isn’t is probably only fooling themselves.
September 20, 2006 at 8:51 am
also one reason the article could be relevant is because of how the two pieces they got for (Cla Meridith/Josh Bard) Mirabelli are helping the team reach the playoffs more than Mirabelli ever could have.
September 20, 2006 at 8:59 am
re: 22
I don’t think Tuesday’s results had anything to do with Monday night’s games.
The Padres and Dodgers are pretty good teams, not great. The Padres have won 79 games, and Tuesday’s game happened to be one of them. The Dodgers have lost 72 games, and Tuesday’s game happened to be one of them. No deep meaning or character revelation should be culled from Tuesday.
September 20, 2006 at 9:01 am
Rob Neyer called the Mirabelli for Bard/Meredith trade the worst blunder of the season (on the Red Sox part, of course). It’s a relevant story.
September 20, 2006 at 9:02 am
Re: 28–as probably the only Red Sox AND Padres fan who lurks here, I’m in 100% agreement with you. Whether it’s true or not is a lot less important to me than the fact that it shouldn’t have been said in the first place–particularly not months after the fact, and REALLY particularly when the Padres clearly made out like deliriously happy bandits in the trade.
September 20, 2006 at 9:08 am
Re: Mirabelli. This is one of the funniest things I’ve ever read on the internet. There are two parts. Part One, Dougie’s life in Boston:
http://hotpipes.blogspot.com/2.....night.html
Part Two, Dougie gets traded back to the Sawx:
http://sonsofsamhorn.net/index.....topic=5449
I personally enjoyed the Brazelton reference. Also, this includes *much* profanity, so don’t read it to your kids…
September 20, 2006 at 9:29 am
Yeah, KT’s off-the-cuff honesty is endearing, heck, I had someone who met KT and had his e-mail tell me that KT told him they were probably taking Antonelli & Leblanc in the 1st & 2nd rounds. At the time I thought the guy was nuts, turns out he was right. I think in a GM position it helps to have less of an ego. To not gloat when you have “won” a trade.
See: http://padresrundown.blogspot......d-sox.html
If you act like an ass when people have to deal with you, they won’t WANT to deal with you. Love him or hate him (and I think most of stand on the “hate” side) Mirabelli has fans out there. Pissing off those people does help KT do his job.
Baseball at its purest level is entertainment. And reading KT’s take on the behind the door stuff between he and Mirabelli was definitly entertaining, but it probably won’t help us win games - which is the best entertainment of them all.
September 20, 2006 at 9:31 am
Oops. That was supposed to read:
Pissing off those people does NOT help KT do his job.
September 20, 2006 at 9:53 am
Sorry to piss on the parade here but had just one of those four back-to-back-to-back-to-back HRs in the 9th been an out instead, the Padres lead would be 2 1/2 games presently.
September 20, 2006 at 9:58 am
that’s 3 consecutive ‘piss’ posts. now four.
September 20, 2006 at 10:27 am
BG: LOL, man. And had Lance Carter and Danys Baez not gift-wrapped one for us on April 30, our lead would be back at 1/2. Them’s the breaks.
September 20, 2006 at 10:33 am
OT - An interesting, and free, look at the Marlins … http://www.baseballprospectus......cleid=5540 … “this Marlins team” … = … “all-time overachievers”? I love overachievers!
September 20, 2006 at 10:42 am
Instead of Zito, perhaps the Padres go after yet another guy (in addition the 3B-man) from Japan … check out this guy … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....=Matsuzaka … yow!
September 20, 2006 at 10:43 am
RE:Mirabelli
Does anyone know if Towers simply answered a question he was asked? I mean, he may as well answer truthfully. And note that Mirabelli hasn’t denied anything. Not even the “I got the call to the big leagues” comment he made after learning he had been traded. (He apparently really said that). Towers probably should have kept his mouth shut, but everything would have gone away quietly if Mirabelli hadn’t kept going on and on about it.
I do feel sorry for Mirabelli - it’s not his fault that the Pads acquired Piazza on the cheap, and it’s not his fault that Bard couldn’t catch the knuckler, and it’s not his fault that he’s just a backup catcher. And at the time of the deal the Sox truly were in contentuion and SD wasn’t. But there’s no reason to be a jerk about it.
September 20, 2006 at 10:46 am
http://www.fangraphs.com/wins......eason=2006 … I’m not sure what to do with graphs like this … but it’s a perspective on a great game …
September 20, 2006 at 10:55 am
RE: Klesko and Park
Park was awesome out of the pen in the WBC. Don’t expect much, but another arm can’t hurt, especially with Brocail out for the year. As for Klesko, again, another bat can’t hurt. It’s not like these guys are taking up space that could be used for young prospects.
Ironic, though that the Padres are about to activaate 22 million dollars in talent and the best we can say about it is that “it can’t hurt”
September 20, 2006 at 10:59 am
Remembering that we lost another heartbreaker on 7/14/06 … http://www.fangraphs.com/wins......eason=2006
Onward!
September 20, 2006 at 11:06 am
I like 70s butt rock as much as the next guy but, seriously, Bad Company?!
September 20, 2006 at 11:08 am
Re: Mirabelli
Per Tim Sullivan, “I asked Kevin Towers about the schedule change that brings the Red Sox to San Diego next season instead of the Yankees. He said there would be a lot to write about, with Theo Epstein, Larry Lucchino and Doug Mirabelli returning. He then launched, essentially unprompted, into his remarks on Mirabelli.” (This from a conversation with Sons of Sam Horn poster BoSoxLady, whom I do know in person!
http://sonsofsamhorn.net/index.....&st=20 )
I have no doubt that Mirabelli made the joke about getting the call to the big leagues. I also probably couldn’t explain how different Fenway is without sounding like an ass myself! ^_^ And Mirabelli already seemed well-disliked in SD when I was there in April. I’ve got no trouble at all with the entire Padres fan base hating the guy. But for KT to say what he said just seems out of line for a GM. (Heck, Wells spent the whole offseason and a decent part of the year saying how much he wanted to be traded to SD, and I’d be appalled if Theo spoke about that the way KT did about Mirabelli.)
September 20, 2006 at 11:17 am
re: 44
It’s like we’re Yankee fans all of a sudden
September 20, 2006 at 11:20 am
I don’t think anyone in San Diego would argue that the atmosphere in Boston(and New York for that matter) is much more intense then San Diego.
What can be humorous is when some fans/players can’t understand why other people would rather play in San Diego then back east.
Also it might be worth it to point out that Mirabelli doesn’t want to win any worse then any the Padres/Dodgers/Angels players simply because he likes playing in Boston better then San Diego.
September 20, 2006 at 11:37 am
Check this out Cedric Hunter front and center on Baseball America
http://www.baseballamerica.com.....62458.html
September 20, 2006 at 11:48 am
One other angle about the Mirabelli thing…how does this figure into potential free agent signings? If you know the front office is willing to blast you, do you want to play (at a likely discount) for that front office?
September 20, 2006 at 11:58 am
I don’t think KT making one comment about Mirabelli changes the general perception of KT/Bochy who are universally well liked by almost all players.
I’m sure it is a non issue
September 20, 2006 at 12:06 pm
I think it’s just KT being KT.
September 20, 2006 at 12:10 pm
This isn’t the first time Towers has done it, and it doesn’t look like its hurt us with free agents. He’s blasted Nevin, Klesko, and more. Going back he blasted Joey Hamilton and Ruben Rivera.
What might be most important for free agents is that the criticism isn’t directed at a player’s heart or desire, or if it is, like with Rivera, that it’s obviously true and concerning a player nobody likes. Most of the time Towers has targeted a player for being too emotional, which is better than saying he’s just cashing his checks.
Didn’t Theo take some shots at Nomar’s desire before trading him? It’s not that uncommon, which doesn’t make it right but does level the playing field for free agents. Money and playing time are always going to be the most important things to most FAs.
September 20, 2006 at 12:21 pm
I should know better than to get excited about rookie league stats, but look at Hunter’s K-BB rate. Damn.
September 20, 2006 at 12:33 pm
Re: 54
The Boston press, primarily the reprehensible Dan Shaughnessy, took shots at Nomar’s desire. Theo didn’t express more than concern about how much Nomar was going to play and how healthy he’d be over the last months of the season given that Pokey Reese was already on the DL. Lucchino was the one more at odds with Nomar about how much he wanted to play in Boston.
September 20, 2006 at 12:47 pm
Anyone else read that thing today about Luis Gonzalez saying he wants to play here next season? Kinda interesting I guess. No clue where he would play or what role he would want but it’d be sorta nice to have him off the bench as 4th outfielder or back up 1st base or something. Probably just way to many bodies at this point to bring in another outfielder though and I don’t want ANYONE taking time away from A-Gone.
September 20, 2006 at 12:51 pm
TW,
You know anything about Hunter’s speed or glove? Potential lead off guy in the future? I heard he had a 49 game hit or on base streak or something like that earlier this year. I try not to get excited either but that dude sounds exciting.
September 20, 2006 at 1:18 pm
58:
BA says none of his other tools are above average, but he’s very coachable apparently. He has a very advanced approach at the plate.
He was on base 45 out of the 53 games.
September 20, 2006 at 1:20 pm
He had a 23 game hitting streak. Quote from the manager:
“I had Alex Rodriguez when he first signed, and Cedric is right up there with A-Rod in terms of his aptitude,” Padres manager Carlos Lezcano said, “He learns very, very quickly. He wasn’t just all about BP. He learned to run the bases better, take leads, throw to the right bases. He was very coachable.”
September 20, 2006 at 1:25 pm
58 and 59: Right now BA says he’s a stretch in CF, but defensive worries can disappear when a player keeps hitting. Not uncommon to see a player who “won’t stick at the hot corner” hit 300/390/500 the next year and suddenly “be at least average at the hot corner.”
He and Venable both have questions about their power in a corner OF position, but big OBPs make up for some pop.
September 20, 2006 at 1:46 pm
58, 59, & 61… close… Hunter is perfectly fine defensively in CF, the concern is that as his body grows he’ll lose speed/range and thus not be able to handle CF…
“He was on base 45 out of the 53 games.” I knew someone would misread that… He was on base 49 straight games to open the season and 52 of 53 overall. He HIT safely in 45 of 53 games.
I’m revealing my Padres top 25 minor leaguers shortly. I could be ready in a few days, but I may just wait until playoffs are over so as not to take away any focus on the big league goings-on…
September 20, 2006 at 1:48 pm
My bad, missed that. Thanks for the clarification PF.
That’s pretty awesome. Isn’t the kid only like 19?
September 20, 2006 at 1:56 pm
Hunter’s not 19 until March.
Waiting with bated breath to see if Matt Bush makes Peter’s list AGAIN.
September 20, 2006 at 2:05 pm
After having the chance to evaluate 40+ players (including Bush) he will not…
September 20, 2006 at 2:10 pm
Just curious Peter… What do you see happening with Matt Bush? We’ve all heard pitching is a possibility or do you think he gets another year in the field? At this point do you think the kid has been written off?
September 20, 2006 at 2:16 pm
65:
In a June game in Lake Elsinore, a 14 year old took part in the bat-spin contest in the 6th inning. His rapid spinning showed impressive core strength, and one scout clocked him at 2.2 seconds between dropping his bat and reaching the two Storm cheerleaders who formed the finish line. This raw athleticism, combined with a frame that could add 20-30 pounds of muscle as he enters later adolescence, earns this anonymous Padre-related individual the last spot on the prospect list.
September 20, 2006 at 2:32 pm
LOL @ TW…
Check my blog, I just posted a couple thoughts from the BA chat (and a teaser quote from my upcoming top 25)…
September 20, 2006 at 2:54 pm
Just listened to SA on XX. Count on Branyan for next year. SA said, essentially, “When we got him this year, it was just as important that we had an option for him for next year. I can see him being a valuable bench player or competing for the job at 3rd next year.”
He also had good things to say about Blummer. He said he felt that Blum had opened people’s eyes by showing he could be more than just a utility guy. When pressed further about Blummer playing everyday, it got tempered a little, “Well, he’s shown that he can handle the job for a period of time, rather than just for a few days while you look for someone else.”
September 20, 2006 at 3:12 pm
69 - not surprising, but that’s good thing
September 20, 2006 at 4:46 pm
Branyan was a nice addition, good to hear he should be around next year.
Last night at the game the ticket taker says to me “Who plays third for the Padres?”. “Branyan?” I said. No, the other guy. Walker? No, the other guy. Castilla? No. Blum? No, the name sounds like Barfield. Uh… Burroughs? No, he made those errors the other night… Bellhorn? Yeah, that’s the guy. Pretty funny that I had totally blanked out on Bellhorn.
Afterwards I was kicking myself for blowing the one chance I’ll ever get to launch into the “Who’s on first” routine.
September 20, 2006 at 5:11 pm
Re: 69 if blum is an every day player for the pads next year we are in trouble!
September 20, 2006 at 6:18 pm
I like Blum enough as a utility guy, but San Diego really needs to get an experienced backup who can play short if they’re going to continue to tely on Greene’s health. That, or they should consider moving Greene to 3rd - his arm is strong enough and it would save wear and tear on him a lot. Of course, then there’s a huge hole at short…
but that’s all for the offseason, which I hope is still a long way away.