Philosophy Makes My Head Hurt
Wed, Jun 13, 2007
by Geoff Young
My degree is in English (hey, it’s my native tongue), but I minored in philosophy. I finished six units shy of a double major. Then, just before my senior year, my head exploded.
We’re speaking in metaphors here. I’m okay, thanks for asking.
Philosophy isn’t without its uses. As a discipline, it can be a tremendous tool in developing one’s critical thinking skills, learning how to poke (and close) holes in arguments, and avoiding members of the opposite sex. It also gets pretty esoteric at times, and not in the “I can cite Kurt Bevacqua’s 1979 VORP from memory” kind of way.
That said, I learned some valuable lessons while studying philosophy. Here are a few of them:
- If you quote Hume, Kant, Leibniz, or Locke at a party, you will get slapped.
- If you find someone at a party who recognizes and understands those quotes, they will get slapped harder.
- Tropicana Field is hideous.
- Ontological arguments? Ugh, don’t go there. Seriously, I’d rather spend an eternity at Tropicana Field.
- Cla Meredith is going through a rough stretch, but he really was unlucky Tuesday night.
- He who smelteth it, dealteth it.
- The official scorer in Tampa Bay is unclear on the concept of “error” as it applies to baseball. Add one to Delmon Young and subtract two from Adrian Gonzalez if you’re scoring at home.
- If you expend enough energy and find the right audience, you can turn any position into one that seems sensible.
- Nietzsche is dead.
There you go. Maybe Peter will have something more relevant for us this morning…
by Peter Friberg
[Group exercise: Mentally insert your own preamble here (psst, no one else is reading it)]
AAA
Jared Wells: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR - first R as RP
AA
Chase Headley: 3 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 0 RBI; 2B, BB - 36th XBH
Cesar Ramos: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR - 4.13 ERA, 5.17 K/9, .263 BAA
High-A
Matt Antonelli: 5 AB, 0 R, 2 H, 1 RBI - .314/.399/.490
Jose Lobaton: 2 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 1 RBI; HR, 2 BB, SO - .258/.372/.448
Yordany Ramirez: 3 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 0 RBI; BB, SO, SB
Manny Ayala: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 0 HR - 1.86 ERA, 6.64 K/9, .236 BAA
Low-A
Cedric Hunter: 6 AB, 0 R, 3 H, 2 RBI - .285/.349/.357
Kyler Burke: 4 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 1 RBI; 2B, BB
Aaron Breit: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 0 HR - 8.00 ERA, 5.50 K/9, .332 BAA
Commentary:
I have talked about promoting Headley, but a new idea occurred to me the other day. How good would Headley be if he had Antonelli and Freese batting in the same lineup with him? I think it’s time to start thinking about Freese or Headley in the outfield.
Cedric Hunter is starting to turn it on. In his last 10 games he’s gone 15 for 43. Unfortunately, he’s not hitting for much power; one extra-base hit in those 10 games — a double.
Thanks, Peter; I knew we could count on you! Padres and Devil Rays again this evening at 4:10 p.m. PT. IGD will be in effect about an hour before first pitch. 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 13, 2007 at 8:12 am
Why does buster hate the Padres?
http://insider.espn.go.com/esp.....ney_buster
June 13, 2007 at 8:27 am
Hey Peter do you think Cumberland and Toledo will start the year in Eugene or will they wait untill rookie league?
June 13, 2007 at 8:27 am
Here is a question…
Will that sick feeling in my stomach ever go away? Everytime I see Justin Verlander chucking up 99mph fastballs, making guys look like pony league bench warmers and now no-hitters I feel physically sick.
On a sidenote…
Man I hope Rick Porcello sucks! If we passed on Justin Verlander pt. 2 as the scouts have said my life is totally going to suck!
June 13, 2007 at 8:30 am
English major too (SDSU ‘89), loved the major, not sure it prepares you for a high paying gig, but it beats History (snark).
June 13, 2007 at 8:38 am
1.
That Buster Olney piece seemed a little inaccurate to me. He said that Verlander was the consensus #1 in 2004 and that he had signability issues and as I remember that wasn’t the case at all. I think Drew and Weaver were viewed as the #1’s and I think right behind those 2 was Jeff Nieman right? They all 3 were signability concerns so we passed on them. Verlander was signed for less money than Bush. I don’t remember anyone saying he was a signability risk or the #1 prospect. Am I right or was I just not paying attention?
June 13, 2007 at 8:56 am
#5: From BA Prospect Handbook 2004:
Top college prospects:
1. Jeff Niemann
2. Justin Verlander
3. Jered Weaver
4. Jeff Larish
5. Stephen Drew
11. Huston Street
25. J.P. Howell
32. Josh Fields
41. Dustin Pedroia
49. Glen Perkins
51. Taylor Tankersley
62. Adam Lind
Top high school prospects:
1. Nick Adenhart
2. Matt Bush
3. Greg Golson
4. Homer Bailey
5. Michael Taylor
11. Phil Hughes
44. Brad Chalk
54. Billy Killian
78. Danny Payne
82. David Price
June 13, 2007 at 9:06 am
Can we cheer things up and talk about the 06 Darft?
I agree with Peter its time to pull all the LE guys up to SA, I dont think they have much more to prove in the Cal League.
Also do you think Headly will be a Sept call up?
June 13, 2007 at 9:07 am
Buster’s taking some liberties with the truth. When the draft actually happened (as opposed to when BA started looking at that year’s class, which is when they put the handbook together), Verlander was not at all the consensus #1 talent. He didn’t have a very good junior year.
The Padres had settled on Drew as the best available player, then gacked. Moores gacked on the money, Towers gacked on his ability to communicate Drew’s value to Moores. In early June Verlander might have been the consensus #6 talent, behind Drew, Weaver, Pelfrey, and the Rice pitchers.
That doesn’t mean we didn’t blow that pick as completely as it could have been blown. The actual mechanics are just different from what Buster’s reporting.
June 13, 2007 at 9:10 am
Verlander or Weaver would have been nice but the padres really needed Feilds or Drew out of that draft.
June 13, 2007 at 9:14 am
9: Another #1 - #2 starter under control for less than a million per for several years would be just fine. That’s a dominant team, not just a good one.
Still, you really couldn’t have gone wrong with any of those players.
June 13, 2007 at 9:15 am
9: Let me clarify.
The Padres needed anyone other than Matt Bush out of that draft.
June 13, 2007 at 9:21 am
10 & 11 what I meant was yes it would be nice to have control over Verlander but the padres lead the league in all things pitching this year. It would have been really nice to have Feilds in left this year and heae sledge in portland.
June 13, 2007 at 9:32 am
#8: Further to your point, here are the top 10 prospects from BA’s preview issue:
1. Jered Weaver
2. Jeff Niemann
3. Stephen Drew
4. Chris Nelson
5. Philip Humber
6. Homer Bailey
7. Justin Verlander
8. Matt Bush
9. Wade Townsend
10. Jeremy Sowers
The BA projection had us taking Weaver, Reds taking Bush at #7, Orioles taking Verlander at #8. So not only was Verlander not a consensus #1 overall, it wasn’t even assured that he would be drafted ahead of Bush.
June 13, 2007 at 9:35 am
12: Part of that’s the park, though. The jump from German/Hensley/Maddux/Wells to Verlander/Weaver is a big one.
Verlander’s been almost as good as Peavy this year, better than Young.
June 13, 2007 at 9:38 am
Re: 14 I agree with you 100% my point is that the Pads pitching if fine they NEED a bat more than anything.
June 13, 2007 at 9:43 am
13: I love it when GY furthers my point.
Buster had some details wrong, but he and Brian are right in the big picture. We could have drawn almost any first-rounder from a hat and come out better than we did. Panic is not conducive to good decision-making. I think we’re still biased towards not making draft mistakes under Sandy Alderson, rather than taking chances on elite talent, but I’m pretty sure the organization won’t panic under his watch.
June 13, 2007 at 9:44 am
re: 2007 draft … many players have signed …
http://www.baseballamerica.com.....hp?team=SD
… but highest is 4th rounder Lance Zawadzki.
June 13, 2007 at 9:48 am
#16: I think you are right about our bias. That said, if it’s a question of “either/or,” I’ll take the process in place now over the one in place for the ‘04 draft every time.
#17: That’s good to hear. Zawadzki used to play at SDSU. Speaking of local guys, we’re looking at Brady Clark:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/.....notes.html
June 13, 2007 at 9:50 am
Okay cool. I was pretty positive that Verlander was never “The Guy” in that draft. Seems kinda weird that Olney is trying to stretch it that way but whatever. That 2004 draft might sting forever.
One more question…
What type of pitcher does Bush project to be? Is he a potential starter or will the Padres follow the SS turned Closer mold with him?
June 13, 2007 at 10:03 am
19: If I was betting, it’d be a reliever. He hasn’t thrown to build a base of strength and stamina for starting.
15: Bats are easier to find than #1 pitchers.
June 13, 2007 at 10:31 am
Re: 20 not for KT
June 13, 2007 at 10:50 am
GY, I believe anteaters stick their tongues into the ant hole and then remove the ants once the tongue is back inside their mouths. I could be wrong, you might want to check it out. Don’t mean to spoil your KC piece regarding the CWS, but thought you’d like to know.
Good news; Your (adopted) team doesn’t suck, it licks? ;>)
June 13, 2007 at 10:56 am
Since when is a bad hop not considered an error? Why would you take the 2 errors away from Gonzo? Just because we rarely see the guy miss a chance doesnt mean he cant make a mistake. It was a bad hop, oh well, you take the error. It’s not an easy field to play on. I agree Delmon Young should had gotten the error as well.
June 13, 2007 at 11:05 am
20: KT’s found one #1 pitcher the last 10 years. There are maybe 12 legitimate #1 starters in the game. That’s simple math.
22: Did GY adopt UC Irvine? Zot! We had a bunch of baseball players in my dorm freshman year (86-87) and they were a long way from CWS-worthy back then.
June 13, 2007 at 11:07 am
Re: 24 but he has drafted 0 great hitters
June 13, 2007 at 11:09 am
23: I think we’re seeing a halo effect around AGon from fans. If anybody else had struck out at his recent pace, many people would be calling for him to get some time off. AGon can do no wrong in the eyes of many. He’s not just trying too hard because the rest of the lineup isn’t good, he’s missing hittable pitches.
It’s weird that the Tampa scorer last night did the opposite of what most scorers do. Usually they’ll take any opportunity to give the hometown team a hit and hang earned runs on the visitors.
June 13, 2007 at 11:13 am
Rough game last nite. My family noticed on Saturday that Adrian seems to be using a different glove than usual (my parents are like 12 rows back from first, so they see a lot of him). He had a misplayed ball on Saturday nite (that probably should have gone for an error) and then two yesterday. Does anyone think this could just be an adjustment period for the glove?
Also, good to see our hitters putting up some runs. I know that 4 runs is nothing to go crazy over, but that’s some consistent production for the Padres. Nice to see Khalil rip that double, but it makes me very sad that Mike Cameron got picked off before that rally started.
June 13, 2007 at 11:13 am
25: Towers doesn’t draft anybody. Gayton handled the drafts before, Fuson’s in charge now.
Towers has found plenty of good position players in trades. Fields or Drew would have been better than Bush, but neither of them will have the impact on a team that a stud pitcher will.
June 13, 2007 at 11:36 am
I think that what this exercise has taught us, more than anything else, is that the baseball draft is about the easiest thing ever to Monday morning quarterback.
You see countless articles year after year — particularly when a guy who gets passed over by a team does well — screaming about how a certain guy could have been had.
Different teams obviously employ different philosophies (bats versus arms, college players versus high school players, signability versus gambles, etc.), and have different methods of extrapolation for viewing a guy six, eight, ten years down the road. It happens.
It reminds me of a story Kevin Kennedy told about the Dodgers where they broke guys down into different prospect levels, and talked about “organizational guys”. They were told to go get rid of those organizational guys and get more prospects, and it changed their philosophy of running an organization. If you take a look at Portland right now, particularly, there are a ton of “organizational guys”, and some of it is flotsam left from the previous regime. You need those guys, but you also need prospects, and building that level of depth takes time and a clairvoyance that hasn’t been in existence in San Diego in quite some time. Let’s hope it’s starting to resurface.
June 13, 2007 at 11:41 am
Peter: How much longer before Sean Thompson is officially no longer a prospect? He’s going to be 25 in October, and is three games under at San Antonio. The fact that he’s lefthanded obviously keeps him in the discussion, but a bad K/BB ratio and apparent lack of any “plus” stuff is troublesome.
I saw him pitch last year for Mobile, and he fared okay through the lineup the first time, but the Diamondbacks’ trio of Carlos Gonzalez, Jerry Gil (since dealt) and Jamie D’Antona made him pay on the second time around. I know there were somewhat high hopes for him at one time, but seeing all these “pitchability” lefties that are basically better versions of him being drafted has to make one wonder.
June 13, 2007 at 11:42 am
#22: Ah, thank you. My knowledge of anteater physiology is lacking.
#23: Main point was that Delmon’s chance appeared to be much easier than either of Adrian’s. If the official scorer truly believed that the ball Delmon dropped was a hit, then there’s no way that Adrian committed an error.
#27: Khalil’s double was nice; Cameron also had some good at-bats, although the pickoff stunk.
June 13, 2007 at 11:43 am
24: TW, you were an Anteaters? Far out, I was class of ‘92.
That was some poor baseball being played then in front of very sparse students. The new ballfield is so much better. Have you gone to see any game there?
June 13, 2007 at 11:54 am
31: I suppose, but there was no doubt in my mind that both those plays by Adrian were errors. He is gold glove caliber, he can make those plays. I think #26 is right, he needs some time off. he hasnt looked like “Adrian” at the plate recently either.
June 13, 2007 at 11:57 am
I’d be ok with starting Branyan at first for a day to give Adrian a rest. Put Girly Mouth in left (assuming he’s health), Cruz in right, and let P-Mac DH.
Do not, for any reason, DH Blum again. 3 ugly looking Ks last nite. I would have rather let Maddux bat in that situation.
June 13, 2007 at 12:04 pm
32: BAs (English and History, take that, slacker GY!) in 1990. Terminal MA in American History, 1991.
My dorm was the closest to the ball field and I still never saw a game. I haven’t seen the new field, the last time I visited UCI I couldn’t see anything except new parking structures everywhere.
June 13, 2007 at 12:12 pm
29: That’s always going to happen. If you have a good process in place, it’ll happen less. My personal jury is still out on whether the Padre process is good enough. But at least it’s there, we shouldn’t see any more seat-of-the-pants decisions. And we should never have the #1 pick again, either.
I’m not convinced that we’d have picked a Verlander, Weaver, or Drew under the new regime. Verlander would be the most likely, but he wasn’t an easy sign, he and the Tigers took 4+ months to get a deal done. There’s some chance we would have ended up with a signability guy like Sowers, who still would have been better than Bush, but not really what a team dedicated to building through the farm would do.
June 13, 2007 at 12:33 pm
Man ESPN just killing the padres today:
Dan (Grand Rapids, Michigan): How about Justin Verlander last night. He was on fire. Do you think Rick Porcello will sign with the Tigers or go to college?
Jim Callis: I’m sure somewhere Greg Smith is smiling–signing Verlander was his last act as Tigers scouting director. I also bet the Padres weren’t smiling if they thought about how they could have taken Verlander over Matt Bush in 2004. As for Porcello, the reported asking price is Josh Beckett money ($7 million in 1999) plus inflation (with Scott Boras calculating the inflation). I’ve talked to a lot of clubs who kicked the tires on Porcello and think he may be impossible to sign away from a North Carolina scholarship, that his asking price is firm. I like Detroit’s gamble to pop Porcello at No. 27, but the vibes about him signing aren’t great.
http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/.....t_id=16182
June 13, 2007 at 12:35 pm
Having been a catcher in little league (I know, a long time ago), I’ve always closely followed the Padres’ catchers. I firmly believe that it takes a certain amount of grit to catch and I’ve always felt an affinity for backstops.
That said, I’m not entirely pleased with our current catching situation. Bard is great (on the road) but he’s got no arm. I think Bowen is the better defensive catcher, but with our hitting woes, I’m not sure that a Brad Ausmus (all glove, no bat) style catcher is the answer.
With Lo Duca being a potential FA next year (if the Mets don’t pick up his option), do any of you think it would be in the Padres’ interest to pursue him? I know that we don’t have much in the organization (I, like Peter, am a fan of LaForest and wish he’d get a shot) and I’m not aware of many other FA catchers next year (Pudge will be if the Tigers dont pick up his option, but he’ll easily be out of our price range). We’ve discussed the Saltalamachia option, but it would probably take a hefty price to secure his services.
Does anyone have any thoughts about the catching situation of the Padres for the future? This might be something that only I think about, but I’d be curious to get people’s opinions on this.
June 13, 2007 at 12:39 pm
38: What, you’re not on fire about Colt Morton and Matt Lauderdale?
The Friars drafted Mitch Canham in the sandwich round this year from Oregon State, and he’s a decent enough catch-and-throw guy with a good bat. They also have Nick Hundley in the organization, but who knows what his future holds.
I have a firm belief that a good organization has good catching depth. The Braves have demonstrated that with McCann, Saltalamacchia, Clint Sammons, Max Ramirez (who was traded for Wickman), et al, and several other teams have done well on this model (see also: Oakland Athletics).
I would imagine that a guy like a Kelly Shoppach might be a decent guy to look at, but you wonder how much of a price he would cost with the possibility still looming that Victor Martinez becomes a first baseman down the road.
June 13, 2007 at 12:42 pm
38: Bowen is terrible behind the dish. Bard may not have the arm, but Bowen can barely catch the ball. It seems he has a passed ball every game.
34: I agree. Lets put Branyan at first for a game here. I’d like to see Bocachica (which actually is small mouth not girly mouth haha) play more. He’s got speed, something we lack big time. He can take a base and score easliy from 2nd. He has also gotten alot of his hits for us so far in the clutch. I also like what ive seen from him in the field.
June 13, 2007 at 12:43 pm
Wilmer,
I have Sean Thompson @ #24 preseason…
http://padresrundown.blogspot......ayers.html
June 13, 2007 at 12:54 pm
Re: 38 Lo Duca will be a padre at some point. Lo Duca has always followed Piazza, both came up in LA, were traded to FLA, then traded to the Mets, therefore his next stop with the Padres (j/k).
June 13, 2007 at 12:56 pm
re: 39 Is Colt Morton even in baseball anymore?
June 13, 2007 at 1:03 pm
43: He’s not in the minors anywhere, so I’m guessing he’s playing independent ball somewhere or is overseas.
I saw him play a couple of times and was never overly impressed. I had to throw the name in there for old times, though.
June 13, 2007 at 1:08 pm
Food for thought (stats as of today):
Lo Duca:
.300/.350/.375 for an OPS of .725
9 xBH
13 Caught Stealing
Bard:
.253/.331/.353 for an OPS of .684
11 xBH
6 Caught Stealing
Bowen:
.233/.337/.356 for an OPS of .693
7 xBH
3 Caught Stealing
June 13, 2007 at 1:08 pm
Its kind of sad that San Diego can boast selecting the biggest busts in both the NFL and MLB drafts.
June 13, 2007 at 1:09 pm
Further food for thought…
According the MLB Trade Rumors, these are the 2008 FA catchers:
Jorge Posada (36)
Ivan Rodriguez (36) - $13MM club option for ‘08
Paul Lo Duca (36)
Michael Barrett (31)
Jason Kendall (34)
I don’t have the energy right now to get the stats for them, but does anyone see a clear cut favorite in this group (read: NOT Jason Kendall)?
June 13, 2007 at 1:14 pm
45: Go look at Lo Duca’s second half splits for his career.
There’s a pretty precipitous dropoff — nay, freefall — after the ASB.
For the money, I’d rather have a Barrett than a Lo Duca.
June 13, 2007 at 1:15 pm
Re: 47 none of the above, I would rather stick with Bard than sign any of those guys to a long-term deal.
June 13, 2007 at 1:22 pm
44: Morton was put on the minor league DL in April.
http://www.baseballamerica.com.....cts/?p=144
June 13, 2007 at 1:39 pm
35: The ballfield back then was nothing to talk about. Lots of chain link fences and concrete seats/bench and one vendor on wheels. The new one is still at the same spot right behind the parking structure next to Brent Event Center where the basketball teams play. About as nice as the Tony Gwynn Stadium with better scoreboard. I guess part of getting the baseball program back after a 10-year hiatus was getting the new ballfield. It’s a great place to watch a baseball game.
47: No Lo Duca, please. I’ll take Barrett but he’ll probably will want a longer term deal. Why not try Pete LaForest next season? I thought Luke Carlin was going to be a pretty good backup to Bard. His OBP in AAA is not bad with a decent LD%.
June 13, 2007 at 1:39 pm
49: I was particularly suprised with how Bowen’s OPS stacks up against Bard’s. Given that Bowen has just under half as many ABs as Bard (73 to 150), he would appear to project better on the long run (more xBH). You’d also have to guess that he’d throw out more runners than Bard since several of Bowen’s ABs have come as PH.
June 13, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Ex-Padres:
Chris Oxspring, an old favorite from Lake Elsinore, is doing well. I hope he gets to the Show.
http://tinyurl.com/2kgpmt
Remember when Travis Chick was going to be great?
http://tinyurl.com/2upw5k
June 13, 2007 at 1:53 pm
51: I walked past the ball field a lot, I could see it from my dorm window. But the team wasn’t good and I lacked school spirit. Which is strange, because I’m the only person I know who picked Irvine instead of using it as a fallback because I didn’t get into UCLA or UCSD.
June 13, 2007 at 2:00 pm
Worth noting with Bard is that his BABIP is about .030 lower than we’d expect it to be based on his line drive %. If you add those hits back into his line, he’d be matching or exceeding Lo Duca’s production.
June 13, 2007 at 2:14 pm
Bard OPS monthly splits:
April - .731
May - .586
June - .871
Bard has not been that bad he just had poor may when he got back from the groin injury.
June 13, 2007 at 2:49 pm
Branyan DHing tonight
P-mac & Sledge are the corner OF
June 13, 2007 at 3:15 pm
Woohoo, the Padres have an actual Hitter Designated.
Go PMac!
Bocachica is still under the weather then?
Go Padres!
June 13, 2007 at 3:23 pm
54: Their English program was excellent from the national ranking, right? I only found out they have a baseball team since we used to play tennis/pick-up basketball close by.
June 13, 2007 at 3:35 pm
59: Their writing program was top-notch. Michael Chabon is the best known graduate. Regular English Lit, regular Humanities anything, was not so much then. Don’t know what it’s like now.
They did lure the philosopher Derrida to give that side of campus someone to compete with the scientists, but I always thought that was a French guy taking a huge sum of money to have an excuse to travel to someplace sunny every so often.