Friday Links (29 Jun 07)
Fri, Jun 29, 2007
by Geoff Young
First off, thanks to everyone for helping out yesterday with the overlooked players. This is subject to change, but right now based on your feedback, I’m leaning toward Mike Ivie, Ruppert Jones, and Brad Ausmus to go along with Ollie Brown.
Onto the links!
- Padres tentatively acquire OF Milton Bradley (San Diego Union-Tribune). We started talking about this last night and we’ll analyze it in greater detail once “tentatively” is removed from the equation (it’s not so long ago that he was “traded” to the Kansas City Royals), but for now I’ll just point out, as I did the other day over at Knuckle Curve, that Bradley is hitting .287/.377/.459 since the start of the 2003 season. If he can keep his head on straight and other body parts intact, not only does Bradley represent an upgrade in left field right now, he also gives the Padres a first-hand look at an intriguing center field option for 2008 and beyond. There’s always the chance he could implode, but for the price of an A-ball pitcher (probably not a top prospect), that’s a risk worth taking.
- The best unemployed GM in baseball (Hardball Times). Jacob Jackson gives Paul DePodesta some love. I think calling him “the best free agent on the market” is probably a stretch given his presence in the Padres’ front office, but it’s a nice sentiment nonetheless.
- Breaking Down The Draft’s 1st Round: Picks 21-30 (Hardball Times, via Didi in the comments). Carlos Gomez isn’t real high on recently signed left-hander Nick Schmidt.
- Letting Ichiro Leave For Nothing (U.S.S. Mariner, via Ben B. in the comments). Interesting research on the relative merits of trading a potential free agent versus letting him walk and collecting compensatory picks. I will point out, anecdotally, that there’s no way the Padres would have gotten anything close to Kellen Kulbacki and Eric Sogard for Woody Williams last summer.
- Eugene Emeralds - Opening Day 2007 (Flickr, via LynchMob in the comments). Yep, LynchMob was there and he’s got the photos to prove it. Sweet!
- Let’s ponder what a healthy Griffey would’ve done (ESPN, via Rain Delay in the comments). Scroll down a bit to see what Jonah Keri has to say about the Michael Barrett deal.
- Padres’ pick is man for all seasons (MiLB.com, via Pelotero 47 in the comments). Nice little article on draftee Mitch Canham. Among other things, he’s an accomplished rapper. Maybe he and Khalil Greene can throw down some — whatever it is rappers throw down…
- Left Coast Bias. New Padres blog. Stop by and say hey.
That’s all I’ve got. Peter, what’s up with the prospects?
by Peter Friberg
You will not see Nick Schmidt in an Arkansas uniform in 2008; he signed with the Padres on Thursday.
Also…
You will not see that “0″ in Ryan Ketchner’s win column. Ryan is a heck of a pitcher and the Padres are lucky to have him. But up until tonight, the offense did not show up on nights he pitched. Again, Ryan, congrats on your first win in the Padres organization.
AAA
Vince Sinisi: 4 AB, 1 R, 4 H, 3 RBI
Ryan Ketchner: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 SO, 1 HR
AA
Postponed…
High-A
Matt Antonelli: 5 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 1 RBI; HR, SO
Chad Huffman: 4 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 2 RBI; 2B, HR, 2 SO
Manny Ayala: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR
Low-A
Game postponed in 4th inning…
Short Season-A
Luis Durango: 5 AB, 2 R, 3 H, 1 RBI; HR
Ray Stokes: 3 AB, 3 R, 2 H, 3 RBI; 3B, BB, 3 SB
Danny Payne: 2 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI; 2 BB, 3 SB
Justin Pickett: 4 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 2 RBI; HR, BB, 2 SO
Mat Latos: 3.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR
Rookie
No game scheduled…
Commentary:
To give you an idea what kind of pitcher Ryan is, in his last three games the lefty has gone 19 IP, 16 H, 6 ER (2.84 ERA), 2 BB, 21 SO…
It’ll be interesting to see which “A-ball” pitcher the Padres gave up to get Milton Bradley. Since Kansas City was only giving up Leo Nunez to get Bradley before the trade was cancelled, I do not think it is likely that the Padres had to give up someone like Wade LeBlanc.
The Padres have some serious offense in Lake Elsinore and Eugene.
Thanks, Peter. I’m not quite as enthusiastic about Ketchner as you seem to be, but we’ll see what happens. The Padres are in LA for the weekend. We’ll have Friday night’s IGD up and running by 6:30 p.m. PT or thereabouts. Go Padres!
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.
June 29, 2007 at 8:28 am
I mentioned this last nite in yesterday’s blog post, but does anybody think the Padres could/should make a run to acquire Loretta from the Astros? Is Purpurra a relatively intelligent GM, or would he settle for some mid-level propsects?
I would love the idea of Loretta back as a Padre and I think he would give us some serious depth in the bench. Just an idea.
June 29, 2007 at 8:37 am
If Bradley joins the club, how will the roster shake out? Can we send Sledge back down again? I would like to see Bocachica remain on the active roster.
June 29, 2007 at 8:48 am
I don’t think there is much doubt that Loretta would be an improvement over Blum, but I wonder if the organization wouldn’t be too worried about not having someone to back up SS.
For whatever reason Blum is seen as a shortstop(as well as 2b/3b) while Loretta can only play 2b/3b.
Given Greene’s track record of getting hurt late in the season and Robles being hurt in AAA I don’t really see it happening at this point.
June 29, 2007 at 8:52 am
What reason could you possibly have for wanting Bocachica on the roster? He’s a .630OPS guy for his career and he’s 30(not likely to start improving). Sledge looks like a better hitter at this point and with Bradley on the roster a back up CF is no longer a glaring issue.
June 29, 2007 at 9:16 am
How old is our boy Sinisi? Seems like he can play and might be able to help out the big league team.
June 29, 2007 at 9:22 am
GY - Also thanks for linking to left coast bias. It’s always good to see another Padres blog. So far I know of Ducksnorts, Gaslamp, Friar Faithful, Friar Watch and now Left Coast. As well as madfriars which is outstanding. Are there are any other Padrino blogs out there that I’m missing?
June 29, 2007 at 9:26 am
GY- Great Recap.
RE: #1- I’ve personally wanted Loretta back since the day we traded him. His numbers are good and I’d feel much better with Loretta either to start for NOG or back him up. Has Loretta ever played SS?
RE: #3- Don’t know much about Milton Bradley. But I love Monopoly!
Go Pads, Beat LA
June 29, 2007 at 9:35 am
Loretta’s been playing SS for Houston this year. Probably only want him out there when Young is pitching, maybe Peavy because Jake gets so many K’s, but that’s an upgrade. I have a feeling the Padres look at Blum like a rabbit’s foot, though.
Bradley’s a nice move.
Ketchner was a great offseason move. Buying low and betting on upside. Similar to the Barrett and Bradley trades, and the Branyan deal last year.
June 29, 2007 at 9:36 am
#4: Bocachica has experience on the infield, Sledge is a poor defender. You could make a case for either one.
#5: Sinisi is 25. Biggest problem is he’s a lefty.
#7: Loretta hasn’t played SS regularly since 2000, but he has seen some time (20 games) there this year:
http://www.baseball-reference......ma01.shtml
June 29, 2007 at 10:10 am
7: Loretta has played more innings at SS than any other position except 2B. I would love to have Loretta back, and I would love to have him start a majority of teh games, in any position. The guy can still straight hit and he hits for average which is what we need to manufacture runs.
June 29, 2007 at 10:19 am
10: It’s been a long time since Loretta had the range to be an everyday SS. His range was getting short for a second baseman with the Padres. But those things are true of Blum as well, and Loretta has the better bat.
June 29, 2007 at 10:26 am
I think if you get someone like Loretta, you could use him to spell the entire IF. You could give him spot starts anywhere in the IF and he would be an awesome pinch-hitter off the bench.
Of course, I have no idea if KT has even considered reacquiring him, nor do I know what it would take to get him. However, I would feel very confident with our bench if we were to get him back.
June 29, 2007 at 10:27 am
11: I dont want him to be an everyday shortstop. But he could be a 2, or 1, out of 3 days player. He can play the entire infield and he is actually a better option to take the majority of the starts from Marcus. Did you guys forget Loretta was an All Star last year? It would be nice to have a carreer .300 hitter in the lineup nearly everyday, not just there to pinch hit. We gave up Loretta for junk, maybe we can get him back for about the same.
June 29, 2007 at 10:29 am
#12: I think Loretta called KT personally at the start of the year to ask about a job. KT told him that there wasn’t a place for Loretta in the plans.
I don’t know if that’s still the case, but I remember that it was the case at the start of the year.
June 29, 2007 at 10:32 am
14: I remember that too. When we traded Barfield, Loretta contacted the Padres. I dont think KT likes Loretta for some reason.
June 29, 2007 at 10:34 am
13: Loretta being voted in as an all-star by a huge and rabid fan base is not all that convincing. Mark Redman was an all-star last year too. But I would like to see him on the team. He’s been better than NOG this season, even though NOG started off hot.
June 29, 2007 at 10:35 am
13: I take NOG over Loretta in the field. He’ll get more XBH , too. The AS selection doesn’t mean that much to me.
June 29, 2007 at 10:36 am
14, 15: The Padres were pretty sure they’d get Marcus Giles one way or another. I have wondered if there was something personal between the front office and Loretta ever since they made that terrible trade. It was like they couldn’t wait to get him out of town. But I could be totally wrong about that. Plans have a way of changing when you’re trying to win a division.
June 29, 2007 at 10:43 am
16, 17: He was better than Marcus in 2007, 2006, and 2004. Marcus hasnt exactly seemed like an improvement in the field over Barfield either. I dont exactly think marcus will get more extra bases, but even if he does, Marcus doesnt hit enough anyway. Lorreta’s SLG and XB numbers are on par or better than Marcus’ anyway.
June 29, 2007 at 10:46 am
18: It had to be something in the Front Office, because there is no way you trade that bat for Mirabelli. They only wanted Marcus because everyone in San Diego is in love with the Giles brothers, it was a marketing move. They could had picked up a better player, but they wanted to sell more jerseys and bring a player home.
June 29, 2007 at 10:46 am
13: I think that Giles is a better option as an everyday 2B than Lorretta. I do agree with all of the points about him being a better option than Blum at this point in their respective careers.
I think that I’d prefer to have Bocachica over Sledge at this point as well. He can play any position, is a much better OF than Sledge is, and we need the RH bat more than the LH bat at this point.
June 29, 2007 at 10:49 am
I haven’t checked the metrics lately but I much rather have ‘07 NOG turning two than ‘06 Barfield. I think Giles is a smoother fielder overall. Weren’t people complaining about Loretta’s range in 2005?
Not too sound cold, because I loved me some Loretta in 2004 (and ‘03), but that was 2004.
June 29, 2007 at 10:53 am
20: Do you really think they’d sell more Marcus Giles jerseys than Mark Lorettas? Lo was the guy behind Trevor. The trade was awful – it pissed me off, too, like everyone else – but they traded Loretta because he seemed to be declining (and I say “seemed to be,” to be overly fair). He was a singles hitter in 2005 who didn’t hit .351 and losing some in the field.
June 29, 2007 at 10:58 am
Maybe I’m just a Loretta puppet, but I would LOVE to have him on our team again. Maybe KT does have something against him, but who knows. I just want to see us IMPROVE the ballclub and make a serious run for the WS. We have the pitching, we just need clutch hitting. Leaving runners on base with less than two outs, ad nauseum for discussing it so much, but we all know what I mean. This team frustrates me so much, but its like an accident, I keep looking!
June 29, 2007 at 10:59 am
23: Yes because the the majority of people in San Diego have a love affair with the Giles brothers. So we drop Loretta who “seems to be declining” and pick up Marcus who “seems to be declining” makes total sense. But hey he is from San Diego.
June 29, 2007 at 11:03 am
20: Brian Giles isn’t all that popular in San Diego. A lot of fans think he’s a bust and blame him for the loss of Perez and Bay. His brother hadn’t played here since high school. There wasn’t much marketing behind it. NOG was a good player they could get cheap.
Who was the better 2b they could have had? It’s not Loretta. NOG was better than Loretta last year if you adjust for the ballpark and account for defense. NOG was 8.1 wins above replacement in 2005 compared to 3.2 for Loretta. 2004 was Loretta’s career year. In 2006 NOG was 4.6, Loretta 2.1. His counting numbers looked better because he played in Fenway instead of Atlanta, but Giles was the better player.
June 29, 2007 at 11:06 am
25: That’s simply not true. And it ignores the time gap of 1 year between dropping Loretta and acquiring Barfield.
San Diego fans loved Barfield a lot more than they love Marcus Giles, and the front office didn’t blink at trading him.
June 29, 2007 at 11:10 am
#20: This is a pretty bold assertion. Do you have numbers to support it?
June 29, 2007 at 11:11 am
26: Dont feed me those numbers, they mean nothing to me. Have you ever played baseball? Watching a player play is more fun to me and gives me a better assesment of the player than looking at his replacement numbers. Too many statistics in baseball these days. Marcus was not better than Loretta last year, I believe Lorettas numbers would had been the same if he played in ATL. Marcus is on the decline ever since him and his brother stopped taking roids their numbers have gone down. At least Loretta can still hit. If you havent noticed, a even a singles hitter with runners in scoring position would do wonders for our offense.
June 29, 2007 at 11:13 am
28: What numbers do I need to support that? I am sick of numbers, play the game, its more than numbers.
June 29, 2007 at 11:17 am
29: Wow. Actual measures of production mean nothing to you. So it’s not easier to hit home runs in Philadelphia than San Diego? It’s not easier to hit in Arlington than in Seattle?
Marcus was not only better than Loretta last year, he was much better than Loretta. Away from Fenway last year Loretta hit 261/313/309. Giles was the better defender, too.
There were questions about what help Loretta might have had before his 2004 season. Why do you bag on Giles for his possibly taking steroids and never repeating his early numbers when Loretta has never come close to his 2004?
Loretta has been a much better hitter than NOG so far this year. This nonsense about SD signing NOG because they wanted to sell jerseys, or that Loretta has been the better player recently, is just that, nonsense.
June 29, 2007 at 11:20 am
30: What does “play the game” have to do with your claim that marketing is why the Padres signed NOG? Most people here have played baseball, I assume. It’s just a question of when we stopped. Because somebody played in college, do you know more about how the Padre front office works?
What evidence do you have that the majority of fans love the Giles brothers and Marcus Giles in particular? What evidence do you have that the Padres acquired him for marketing reasons? They already had a better marketing tool in Barfield. Did they make a baseball trade with Barfield and then a marketing move with Giles?
June 29, 2007 at 11:22 am
31: Your last statement contradicts itself
But in my opinion, I dont think Marcus is here for many other reason except he is from San Diego and will take a San Diego discount. I am sorry you dont agree with me but thats how I feel.
June 29, 2007 at 11:26 am
Because somebody played in college, do you know more about how the Padre front office works?
No
What evidence do you have that the majority of fans love the Giles brothers and Marcus Giles in particular?
General observation, i go to a game and i see giles shirts and jerseys everywhere, even Target.
What evidence do you have that the Padres acquired him for marketing reasons?
Its my opinion
Did they make a baseball trade with Barfield and then a marketing move with Giles?
Yes
June 29, 2007 at 11:31 am
29: Oh, that’s right, Loretta is a certifiably clutch hitter.
26: Dont feed me those numbers, they mean nothing to me. Have you ever played baseball? Watching a player play is more fun to me and gives me a better assesment of the player than looking at his replacement numbers. Too many statistics in baseball these days.
Except for the stats that you use to support your arguments, eh? RISP?
June 29, 2007 at 11:32 am
Since we’re not using statistics today…
How does everyone FEEL about picking up Bradley? I love it as a low-cost, high-upside move, but I’m a little disappointed that we couldn’t get one of the big sluggers. I guess that we’ve got a month to see how Bradley does and we can always make a deal later if needed.
June 29, 2007 at 11:37 am
36: This was a good deal to make a month before the trade deadline. It gives us a little boost, but I would still like to see a move made for the right player if we need it at the deadline. We have a good clubhouse and a small market, taking these “problem players” might be good for us because they may now have the same problems in a small market and a club house not filled with huge egos.
June 29, 2007 at 11:37 am
I think this is one of the most heated discussions I’ve seen at Ducksnorts, a couple of observations:
-According to Baseball Prospectus Giles has been a better player then Loretta every year since 2004.
-Giles makes 3.5M this year, Loretta makes 2.5. If the Padres were really making decisions based on marketing, not winning, why not bring back Loretta who is at least as popular as Marcus Giles for 1M or more less then what they are current paying?
-I’ll acknowledge that there can be some debate over who is more marketable in San Diego, but I haven’t seen any banners around downtown, or tv commercials with Marcus Giles in them….Loretta was featured while he was a Padre.
-Loretta would have LOVED to stay in San Diego, he has said so public ally many times and he would have taken much less to stay here.
-It seems that some people strongly disagree with the front office decision to sign Giles instead of Loretta, but I fail to see some evil plot to make the team worse off in order to sell more tickets
June 29, 2007 at 11:39 am
29: I love that you refuse to listen to numbers with regards to Loretta and Giles, but EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Linebrink’s name comes up you mention that he’s given up more homeruns than every other Padres reliever. I don’t want to get into the Linebrink debate again, because frankly he’s sucked of late and thinking about it depresses me, but I just had to point out the absolute ridiculousness of you suddenly (oh so conveniently) eschewing the numbers game.
June 29, 2007 at 11:39 am
The NCT’s esteemed Steve Scholfield complained in his latest joke of a column today that the Padres are last in runs scored (hey, we’re 12th!!!) and he harped on the team’s poor batting average while failing to note – probably because it would never occur to him – that the team is first in run differential.
…..
June 29, 2007 at 11:40 am
33: You need to learn the definition of contradiction. When the Padres signed Giles, he was coming off two seasons of being better than Loretta. How were they to know that Loretta would bounce back like this? They could only base their decision on what had happened, they can’t know the future. And what they knew, because they bothered to look, was that Giles had been a much better player than Loretta for two straight years. He was younger. He’d been a better hitter and a much better defender. Why would anyone look at that body of evidence and decide to sign Loretta instead?
34A: If playing baseball doesn’t give you that insight, why tell GY that he needs to play the game before he can ask you for evidence of why the Padres signed NOG?
34b: Your general observation based on how many jerseys you see? Not convincing. Every day you can hear passionate fans calling 1090 and suggesting that OG is toast. Lots of Ducksnorters are disappointed in him. many people at the Sign on San Diego forum despise him. And if the Padres wanted a marketing boost, why would they choose NOG over Loretta? Everybody really did love Loretta and were sad to see him go, let alone for what we got back.
June 29, 2007 at 11:41 am
Bradley on the field is a perfect fit, high OBP ( much needed I might add) and very good outfield defense which will help in Petco.
It could be a very interesting clubhouse with Wells, Bradley and Barrett.
Bard is handling everything very well it seems, which says a lot I think about how the team treats its players…..maybe some hope for Bradley making it through the final 3 months of the season without a significant blowup.
June 29, 2007 at 11:41 am
36: Paul, are you going to feel the truth at me?
I feel great about the Bradley move.
June 29, 2007 at 11:44 am
40: If you boiled Schofield and Canepa down and saved the good parts, you might come up with a halfway decent columnist. I guarantee we could find a Schofield column talking about how “pitching, pitching, pitching” is the way to go. Adjusted for the home park, our offense isn’t that bad. It does need to improve.
June 29, 2007 at 11:46 am
38: I know Loretta would have loved to stay here. Most of us would had loved him to stay here as well. You havent seen the countless commercials with those “Crazy Gile’s Brothers” not to mention the billboards and the “BroBI” As far as the front office, I dont think it was an evil plan to make us worse, but I dont think KT really liked Loretta that much.
39: Talking about homeruns is quite different than bringing in replacement numbers and stats like that.
June 29, 2007 at 11:47 am
43: I was just teasing. Things were getting heated…
June 29, 2007 at 11:50 am
Dude, Loretta was traded because the FO believe in Josh Barfield, and there was a need for catching.
Giles is here because he was let go by the Braves and Barfield was traded by the FO to get Kouzmanoff, and Giles is a good player.
Loretta at this point of his career is a backup IF. He’s better than Blum with his bat with about the same fielding ability. I love Loretta when he was here but I won’t love him if he starts for the Padres. Why ruin that nice memory of Loretta from back then?
36: What big sluggers are available? I like the Milton Bradley move if it happens. Like you said, low-risk big-upside. I’m just worried about his injury. He hasn’t played a full season other than that one season with the Dodgers in his career. When healthy, he’s a terrific player. Remember that robbery he pulled at Petco and the HR he hit right after?
Other perk of signing Bradley to the team, the collection of ‘B’ players in the roster widens.
June 29, 2007 at 11:51 am
41: 34A: I wasnt telling GY to play the game, I meant, watch the game, let the game be played without needing crazy numbers for everything. I love baseball, I love watching good players play. I dont like how there is some new statistic every day. Thats my opinion, its ok for me to think that I believe.
June 29, 2007 at 11:52 am
#30: Any numbers (or other facts) that might support your assertion would be fine. If picking up NOG was purely a marketing-driven move, then there should be some evidence of this.
June 29, 2007 at 11:52 am
SDSU…
I don’t know what your deal is with the ANTI-Giles brothers thing you seem to have going. Maybe you recieved an unwanted “Padre-Hug” from Brian on a Petco Park tour or maybe your girlfriend hooked up with Marcus at a party or something but your bias is starting to severely affect your posts. I like NOG, not nearly as much as I liked Loretta or Barfield when they were here but he is clearly a better defender than Loretta and argueably Barf too. Asking us to ignore the numbers is… well ignorant and I suspect you will be recieving some sort of cease and desist order from San Diego State to stop defaming the character of the University with your terribly uninformed rants!
I think the fact that Marcus was signed to a 1 year contract with a club option for next year is more than enough evidence that he fit the teams plan more than pretty much any other 2nd availible. Yes I’m sure his brother being here and he being a San Diego guy had something to do with it as well but I think getting a potential leadoff hitting 2nd baseman who is a former all star with decent pop on a 1 year commitment without having to make a trade to get him probably had more to do with it.
June 29, 2007 at 11:52 am
I think that there are guys that we’ve talked about before (Glaus, Rios, Dunn, Griffey, Bay, Dye, etc) who might be available. I also think that these guys might be avaialable later as well. Let’s see how he does this month.
I love the pickup, but I do have concerns about his injury history. It’s been so long since he played a full season. He is a dynamic player when healthy.
June 29, 2007 at 11:54 am
45: Lots of Padres have been in commercials without being particularly popular. George Arias, “It’s as smooth as hitting a home run,” for some car dealer. Ryan Klesko was vehemently hated by many fans the last three years and Boot World still ran his spots. You can try to market anybody, but the Padres had two more popular options than Giles (Barfield, Loretta) and went with the better player.
The big thing those “crazy” stats do is account for three things that regular stats don’t:
1. The ballparks a hitter plays in. The NL West has 3 pitcher’s parks in SD, LA, and SF.
2. The competition. Beating up on the Kansas City Royals staff is different than facing Boston. A guy could hit 330 if he played KC everyday, another guy might hit only 280 against the Red Sox, but the second player could easily be the better hitter.
3. Defense. Loretta’s defense isn’t as good as Giles.
June 29, 2007 at 11:55 am
#48: I do watch the games. I also analyze them. And I enjoy both very much.
On a more general note, let’s try to stay on topic and keep the personal stuff out of the discussion. Thanks.
June 29, 2007 at 11:57 am
To be clear, my comment about “personal stuff” in #53 wasn’t directed to any one person or comment. (I just re-read it and saw that it might be misinterpreted.)
June 29, 2007 at 11:58 am
46: I was going for the Colbert Report reference.
June 29, 2007 at 11:58 am
50: Way to get personal… thats not ignorant?
June 29, 2007 at 12:00 pm
BTW, I like the idea of re-acquiring Loretta. If he can play a passable shortstop, he’d be a serious upgrade over Blum.
June 29, 2007 at 12:00 pm
53: I know you do, that comment wasnt directed specifically at you. I just think sometimes there are so many numbers in this game it takes away from the beauty of it.
June 29, 2007 at 12:01 pm
48: You were responding to GY’s request for information about the marketing angle. he wasn’t throwing EQA or VORP or WARP at you, he was asking you for facts to support the claim that the Padres signed Giles for marketing reasons. Then you replied with “What numbers do I need to support that? I am sick of numbers, play the game, its more than numbers.”
June 29, 2007 at 12:02 pm
#58: Or adds to the beauty (and understanding) of it, depending on your perspective.
June 29, 2007 at 12:05 pm
59: Obviously i dont have fact, I dont work in the front office. I based my opinion on assumptions from what I have seen so far this season. I didnt say Marcus was the worst player out there, I just believe his Marketability in the area along with the marketability of the Brothers together, played a large part in the decision.
June 29, 2007 at 12:09 pm
60: Yes, exactly. Well maybe not the beauty, but numbers can make the game more interesting and fun for some people. They dont do so for me. I like going out and playing baseball as much as I like watching it and for me it isnt so I can look at the numbers later. People think baseball is boring, but I can sit and watch games all day. There is not much better to me than watching a great pitcher throw a nasty slider or a great hitter take the ball the other way.
June 29, 2007 at 12:10 pm
56.
Aww dude I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings and stuff!
BTW
Milton Bradley thing is official and he was traded for Andrew Brown.
June 29, 2007 at 12:12 pm
Sorry I came in and stirred the pot here. I’ll try to keep negitive opinions of players and the FO to myself. Except for Linebrink of course…
June 29, 2007 at 12:12 pm
#61: Thank you for the clarification. Knowing that this is “an assumption” makes a big difference.
#62: One of the beautiful things about baseball is that it can be enjoyed on many levels. Best sport in the world.
June 29, 2007 at 12:13 pm
Andrew Brown is the minor-league pitcher.
June 29, 2007 at 12:13 pm
63: It didnt hurt my feelings, I just felt it was funny you called me ignorant and then attacked me personally on the internet to defend your argument hahaha
June 29, 2007 at 12:15 pm
66: Thats interesting. I kind of thought he would find his command and bring the heat to Petco, but he’s not really a key to our farm system, just a throw-in for Barfield. Knowing it was Brown makes the trade better.
June 29, 2007 at 12:18 pm
64: I’m suspicious of the front office on financial matters, and as for me, you don’t need to apologize for stirring the pot. That’s why pots are there. Sometimes they need to be stirred, sometimes they need to be kicked over.
It’s just when somebody point-blank denies that analyzing the game can be helpful, well, I’m not gonna watch that go by.
Brown’s a more than acceptable price to pay for Bradley. I wonder how the flowchart for SD-Oakland trades would look right now? Are we each going to have to trade a player for himself to get things balanced out?
June 29, 2007 at 12:20 pm
69: Since we supposedly get a player to be named later, maybe it will be Cust haha
I didnt deny that it can be helpful, i said it is not what I like about the game of baseball
June 29, 2007 at 12:21 pm
67.
I didn’t think I was attacking you personally but whatever as for the ignorant thing I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in that thought.
June 29, 2007 at 12:22 pm
64: I don’t think anyone has a problem with you criticizing certain players as long as you provide good evidence for your hatred and listen to what others say as well. Which I’m not necessarily saying you have/haven’t done - I just hate the “okay fine, I’ll only say what the popular kids say from now one” approach. Everyone here is willing to listen to a new angle if you can present it clearly.
June 29, 2007 at 12:23 pm
70.
There is no PTBNL for Cust we took cash.
June 29, 2007 at 12:24 pm
71: haha sure dude
June 29, 2007 at 12:25 pm
73: My bad i thought it was both cash and player to be named later not either or.
June 29, 2007 at 12:27 pm
75: It was originally.
71: Ha.
June 29, 2007 at 12:28 pm
#64, 72: Thanks, guys; you saved me a lot of typing.
Org tree updated:
http://ducksnorts.com/blog/san.....ional-tree
Apparently Sean Thompson has been DFA’d to make room for Bradley on the 40-man:
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_6262239
No word on 25-man that I can find. Anyone?
June 29, 2007 at 12:29 pm
72: Since I dont analyze the numbers of game too intensely, I guess I have just never enjoyed watching either of the Giles play. I loved watching Loretta hit, and just plain loved watching Barfield play. Brian has always been boring to me and Marcus isnt much different except for his huge swing that at time is Andruw Jone-esque.
June 29, 2007 at 12:32 pm
Is Brian Giles starting tonight? Is Bradley joining the team tonight, possibly starting? Anyone else going to a game this weekend at the Ravine?
June 29, 2007 at 12:35 pm
#78: Thanks, this helps me understand where you’re coming from. I totally get the Barfield thing. I first saw him at Elsinore and he quickly became a favorite. That home run he hit against Brian Fuentes last September is one of my fondest Padres memories. I watched the game in excruciating detail several times (it ended up as a chapter in the 2007 Annual), and it just killed me when the Padres traded him — even though the move made total sense from a baseball perspective.
June 29, 2007 at 12:36 pm
Strange to see that about Thompson
June 29, 2007 at 12:37 pm
79: Bradley won’t join the team until Sunday.
Regarding the whole Loretta/NOB/Barfield situation:
I think that NOG has played very well for us thus far this year. He is without a doubt a much better defender than Barfield and his arm is a huge upgrade. Although he is slumping now, he started off hot and was a big reason we succeeded early on.
Barfield was just caught in an interesting situation. He replaced a truly loved and respected player and he started to generate his own respect. The rug was yanked out from under him for potentially more (which is now Barfield for Kouz and Bradley, which is a steal). I liked Josh, but I think NOG is better.
Mark Loretta was a true Padre in my mind. He played the game right, had a great attitude, and truly embodied the spirit of the team. I would love to bring him back, but as a back-up. No way do I advocate him as a starter unless someone is hurt. I think Loretta would be invaulable and I would love to see us pick him up.
June 29, 2007 at 12:39 pm
Not a great time to be a Padres fan if you don’t like Giles approach…he is much the prototype of what they are looking for offensively, well they’d like the power he left in Pittsburgh before the knee injury.
June 29, 2007 at 12:40 pm
Scanlan on 1090 right now……HATES, HATES, HATES Bradley being on the team
June 29, 2007 at 12:43 pm
I’ll throw my two cents in:
Bradley: Love the move. He’s had his problems but from things I’ve read in the the past he does seem to realize that he needs to change his behavior. Remember, Dave Roberts had a similar injury history when he joined the Padres but the outstanding medical staff kept him healthy. Perhaps they can do the same for Bradley.
M. Giles: Let’s be honest, t