Better Ways to Get There
Wed, Apr 18, 2007
by Geoff Young
Yeah, I’m happy that the Padres won on Tuesday (recap | box score). Actually, relieved is more like it (pun only partially intended). The bullpen coming through with nine innings of two-hit shutout baseball is huge. I still can’t believe the Mets had no use for Heath Bell.
Still, this Mike Cameron losing fly balls in the sun/lights thing is getting a little old. So is leaving 17 runners on base. A win is a win, but this game shouldn’t have been close.
Some of it was dumb luck. Beyond being irritated, there’s not much you can do about Rob Bowen lining hard to Matt Murton in right with the bases loaded to end the third, Neal Cotts pouncing on a Marcus Giles bunt to nail Bowen at third base, or Adrian Gonzalez‘ double to right in the ninth taking a fortuitous bounce to keep Cameron from scoring the go-ahead run.
| AB | BA | OBP | SLG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Padres | 119 | .252 | .328 | .345 |
| Opponents | 116 | .302 | .387 | .414 |
| Stats courtesy of ESPN. | ||||
But some of it also was emblematic of a problem the Padres have been having in the early going. With the usual caveats that apply 14 games into a season, here’s a trend I’d like to see reversed:
This team isn’t the type that can overcome a lack of execution. There isn’t a lot of firepower in the lineup. We’re proud of the guys we have, and for the most part I think that’s justified. But when you see a team that features the likes of Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, and Alfonso Soriano, it puts things into perspective.
The Padres don’t have anyone in their lineup like those guys. There is no fallback plan in case of poor execution. This team has to get the job done with runners in scoring position. The bullpen is fantastic, but at some point (preferably before we have to rely on Geoff Blum’s 14th-inning heroics) you have to score runs. One good way to do that is by converting existing baserunners into runs.
Anyway. I shouldn’t be so grouchy after a win. Yeah, I’m still happy about the outcome, but I can think of a lot better ways to get there.
by Peter Friberg
You will not see all the notable performances from the night before, but you will see the notable performances from those who are actually prospects.
AAA
Jared Wells: 3.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR
AA
Sean Thompson: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 6 BB, 4 SO, 0 HR
High-A
Matt Antonelli: 4 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 0 RBI; BB, SO, SB
Kyle Blanks: 4 AB, 1 R, 3 H, 2 RBI; 2B, HR, BB, SO, SB
Matt Bush: 4 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 1 RBI; 3B, 2 SO
Low-A
Cedric Hunter: 2 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 0 RBI; BB
Andrew Underwood: 6.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 0 HR
Commentary:
I’m beginning to think Wells topped out in Double-A… At one point I thought he could be a #3 starter. Last year I thought he might still be a shutdown set-up guy. He’s pushing that cup of coffee away from himself before he takes a sip.
Thompson faced Luke Hochevar (#1 pick in the 2006 draft) who posted the following line:
7.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 11 SO, 0 HR
The San Antonio Missions have been hitting fairly well and Hochevar shut them down — impressive.
Antonelli’s performance does not deserve mention here by itself. But since he just got back onto the playing field, he’s here.
People tell me that Kyle Blanks doesn’t have the athleticism to play anywhere but first base (which for a 260+ lbs guy doesn’t surprise me) but then he goes out and steals another base (he’s supposedly a freak of an athlete for his size) and people tell me he doesn’t hit for enough power to stay on first base (as a 19 year old in the Midwest League he hit 20 doubles and 10 home runs in 308 at-bats). Baseball America rated him as the 30th best Padres prospect. I called him #8.
In his first five games, Hunter went 1-for-19 with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts. In his last three he’s gone 3-for-8 with 3 walks and 1 strikeout. We might as well just call this, “The Cedric Hunter Report.”
There you have it. The gents return home to face Brandon Webb and the Diamondbacks on Wednesday night. Given the bullpen’s current condition, getting David Wells into the seventh inning would be real nice. Go Padres!
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April 18, 2007 at 8:58 am
Geoff, what do you think will happen with our current catching situation. The UT is reporting that both Bowen and LaForest are out of options, so a tough decision is going to be made when Bard is ready.
Any ideas? Theories? I was talking to my mom about this today, and we seem to think that they hold onto LaForest and either P-Mac or Thompson is sent back down.
April 18, 2007 at 8:58 am
As Chris Ellow said last night, AG is the only guy in the lineup right now that could be considered dangerous. When is this Padre team gonna get someone who is considered an offensive threat? Probably never. KT has rolled the dice giving up defense for offense and right now it looks like a losing hand. Oh well. Somebody check Cams eyesight, BTW. He took a nasty shot coupla year back we all remember, and it might be causing him eyesight problems now. And Boomer needs a doctor to tell him how to eat before and during a start. Type II D is tricky and old nutrition habits die hard. But, its only April.
April 18, 2007 at 9:11 am
Another trend that needs to be reversed: teams are running at will on the Padre pitchers and catchers. Mostly on the pitchers. It seems like they’re just ignoring the runner on first so even slow guys are stealing with impunity.
KT said this morning he’ll probably make a move to bring up a fresh arm. Who’s available at Portland? Or is there someone in Elsinore that can make the jump?
April 18, 2007 at 9:23 am
So far the Sledge/Cruz platoon is putting up a .438 wOBA over 61 plate appearances. To give you an idea of how good a start that is, Miguel Cabrera is hitting .436 over 59 plate appearances in a less difficult home ballpark. Will it hold up? Probably not, but 9.27 runs above replacement (6.21 above average) over 14 games is pretty damn good run regardless.
April 18, 2007 at 9:26 am
They might want to bring Brown up, but he threw 2+ innings last night. He’s out of options too, so you’re just shuffling the roster problem a few weeks into the future. Ring seems like too much of a LOOGY to really help the pen. Strickland last threw on the 16th, so he could give them some innings, but I think there’s a reassignment problem there too. Sean Thompson would have been an option but he pitched yesterday.
I like PF’s comment on Wells. No thanks, that coffee’s just too hot.
April 18, 2007 at 9:26 am
Also, has anyone noticed that Marcus Giles has been our most valuable hitter outside of the left field platoon?
April 18, 2007 at 9:36 am
RE: 3 he is proably talking about Germano or Brown both have pitched well in AAA to this point.
who do they send down though?
April 18, 2007 at 9:50 am
7: It almost has to be McAnulty who gets sent down. Everybody else lacks options or has been good.
April 18, 2007 at 10:12 am
and have 13 pitchers and 4 bench players?
April 18, 2007 at 10:20 am
Not saying it’s a good idea, just that they don’t have many good options. They’ve got a short-term burnout in the pitching staff. The other decision would be to DL a pitcher, probably Hensley.
April 18, 2007 at 10:44 am
Is Hensley still having that blister problem? He’s been pretty awful, there has to be something up with him.
OT: did anyone see this pizza-throwing incident at Fenway a few days ago? The incident and the accompanying analysis of it are pretty funny.
http://deadspin.com/sports/bas.....252856.php
April 18, 2007 at 11:42 am
11: watched it live (on TV). It was falling out of my chair. didn’t know the backstory on why the pizza had been thrown - not sure if it’s funnier knowing or not. as a random act of pizza-violence, it was pretty funny.
April 18, 2007 at 12:47 pm
I thought Thompson was the clear choice to get send down, but what do I know?
April 18, 2007 at 1:00 pm
13: I’d like Thompson to be the one, but I think the Padres want him around. They don’t seem likely to subtract pitchers when the pitching is thin.
April 18, 2007 at 1:34 pm
I just can’t believe their roster move would leave them with 13 pitchers
April 18, 2007 at 1:44 pm
Recent comments asked about Todd Greene … Corey Brock offers his view in a Q&A posted at mlb.com …
With catcher Josh Bard on the 15-day disabled list, we see the importance of Todd Greene. Do you have an update on Greene and when he may be available to return to the team?
– Leonard K., Crown Point, Calif.
Greene doesn’t figure in the Padres’ immediate plans, as he’s still rehabilitating his right shoulder, the one he dislocated the first week of Spring Training during drills. Greene traveled on his own to San Francisco for the opening series of the season, but he is back at the team’s Spring Training facility in Arizona continuing to get his shoulder into shape. Bard will return by the end of the month, and Rob Bowen will resume backup duties. I don’t see where Greene would fit on the 25-man roster if he was healthy. San Diego certainly doesn’t need to carry three catchers on the roster.
http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com.....mp;c_id=sd
April 18, 2007 at 3:07 pm
16: I love the idea of trading for Jonny Gomes from that mailbag. He fulfills that need for a righty bat and has quite a bit of pop and patience.
April 18, 2007 at 3:11 pm
16: Corey Brock leaps ahead of the former Padre MLB reporter.
15: And yet that seems to be what’s happened. PMac down because he has options, a currently unnamed reliever up.
April 18, 2007 at 3:12 pm
17: I should have read that mailbag. Gomes is a good idea. I’d look at Eduardo Perez too, even though he’s no longer an OF.
April 18, 2007 at 3:17 pm
Okay, first 5 PAs…
3-4 HR BB 3R 4RBI
750/800/1500
OPS = 2300
Good for you, Jon Knott. Keep it up.
April 18, 2007 at 3:25 pm
D-backs have posted their pregame notes already … http://presspass.mlb.com/pp_viewer.asp?d=33119
20 - I had heard that Knott got called up by the O’s … didn’t notice what he’d done … thanks for the news … Knott is another of the former-Padre-farmhands that I just gotta root for …
April 18, 2007 at 3:30 pm
I’m getting worried about the faith that Bud Black has in Kouz so far. Last night taking him out for Blum in a key situation with runners on shows that they dont have much confidence in him. Its still early, but I am nervous about Kouz myself, when does it become late enough to start really worrying?
April 18, 2007 at 3:33 pm
Not yet. Not for at least a couple weeks yet.
April 18, 2007 at 4:02 pm
23 … agree … remember how long they gave Vinny? And he had no chance of getting “better” … KK is still learning and growing and getting better … patience …
April 18, 2007 at 4:21 pm
For those with time and a radio, I recommend catching the Padres BP on 1090 right now. This is the third time this year that Phil Nevin has been on and the first two times I have listened, he has either told a story or talked a little about hitting/pitching that was very interesting or fun to listen to as a Pads fan.
April 18, 2007 at 4:58 pm
Padre pre-game note are now available @ mlb.com … http://presspass.mlb.com/pp_viewer.asp?d=33122 … every time I re-discover these game notes I re-fall in love …
April 18, 2007 at 5:03 pm
Cedric now up to .233 … http://www.minorleaguebaseball.....x_ftwafx_1
April 18, 2007 at 5:49 pm
22: At least 200 plate appearances before we know anything with any level of certainty (and that level is still pretty low). I didn’t like pinch-hitting with Blum because I hate Blum, but it wasn’t necessarily wrong to pinch-hit for Kouzy because he’s already pressing and that kind of extra pressure probably wouldn’t help. At least his fielding is far, far better than advertised. I suspect he’ll come around sooner rather than later offensively.
April 18, 2007 at 7:06 pm
Agreed on Kouz. Andy Marte .194, 1 HR…Josh Barfield .162, 1 HR.