The One About Bradley
Mon, Jul 2, 2007
by Geoff Young
In case you somehow missed it, Milton Bradley is a Padre. Acquired Friday afternoon along with cash for minor-league right-hander Andrew Brown, the outfielder from Long Beach with a checkered past begins his Padres career on the disabled list due to a strained left oblique. (The Pads knew about the injury and didn’t request a physical “because if they had, they believed that Bradley likely would have been dealt to Texas.”)
So, what do we make of all this? Good question. Let’s take a closer look.
Brown, you may recall, came to the Padres in the November 2006 deal that sent Josh Barfield to Cleveland. You may also recall that Brown never appeared in a single game for the Padres.
Congratulations to Trevor Hoffman and Jake Peavy for being named to the National League All-Star team. Chris Young probably deserved to go as well, but I really have zero interest in the All-Star game, so I’ll leave the outrage to people who actually care.
Here’s to the health of Hoffman and Peavy. Let’s get a ring.
One point we identified in the Ducksnorts 2007 Baseball Annual as key to building a bullpen on the proverbial shoestring was to “give yourself plenty of options in spring to increase the odds of gambles paying off.” Specifically we identified Brown, Heath Bell, Royce Ring, and Scott Strickland as newcomers who might help, noting that “chances are slim that…all will contribute, but the likelihood that any one of them will be useful is pretty good.”
As it turns out, Bell has been more than useful and Ring has come in handy on occasion as well. Strickland has done nothing, while Brown has bided his time, waiting for an opportunity — in this case, a trade to an organization that can use him. Brown, to put it coarsely, became a bargaining chip. His ultimate use to the Padres consisted in being the piece that convinced the A’s to part with Bradley.
Ah yes, Bradley. Troubled. Enigmatic. Injury-prone. Talented. Let’s not forget talented.
Acknowledging Bradley’s on- and off-field issues, we don’t know how he’ll react to his new environment. One theory I’ve heard advanced by the pop psychologist types is that Bradley will disrupt the clubhouse and somehow negatively affect chemistry. (Oddly, these folks never seem to think that things could flow the other way, i.e., that the clubhouse will elevate Bradley. Why is that?) I’m not going to delve too deeply into this issue because I find it presumptuous to make claims about things I can’t know, but I will say that winning has a way of fixing a lot of problems.
The outlook is simple: either Bradley fits in here or he doesn’t. We’ll know soon enough, but there are reasons to be optimistic. It’s encouraging to note that one of his former coaches, Padres third-base coach Glenn Hoffman, expects good things from Bradley. In my view, a single word of endorsement from Hoffman, who has been in uniform with the guy, is worth infinitely more than every talk show caller put together.
The other reason I like Bradley’s chances here has to do with economics. Bradley is 29 years old and in the final year of his contract. As others have observed, he has every incentive to be a model citizen.
Of greater concern to me are the injuries. Bradley has managed as many as 500 plate appearances in a season just once over the first seven years of his big-league career (and he certainly won’t come anywhere near that total this season). He’s been on the disabled list — including now — four times in 2007: twice for a strained left hamstring (April 23 - May 11; May 15 - 30), once for a strained right calf (June 8 - 20), and now for the oblique.
I won’t pretend to like the fact that Bradley has played only 19 games this season. Neither will I pretend that a talent of his magnitude would have been available for a minor-league reliever with command issues if there weren’t mitigating factors. There’s always risk involved (or maybe in the case of Milton Bradley, it’s Risk), but the fact remains that when Bradley has been healthy, he’s been extremely productive. He potentially gives the Padres a potent switch-hitting bat that can slot anywhere from #1 to #6, as well as stellar defense in the outfield.
Check out how Bradley compares offensively over the past few seasons with other players (some of whom the Padres are believed to have coveted):
| Player | AB | BA | OBP | SLG | ISO | XB/H | AB/HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stats courtesy of David Pinto’s Day by Day Database. | |||||||
| Hideki Matsui | 2248 | .294 | .369 | .480 | .186 | .360 | 26.1 |
| Dmitri Young | 1843 | .287 | .349 | .493 | .206 | .382 | 22.5 |
| Milton Bradley | 1587 | .287 | .377 | .459 | .172 | .333 | 27.4 |
| Trot Nixon | 1585 | .282 | .372 | .462 | .180 | .365 | 27.8 |
| Cliff Floyd | 1791 | .271 | .356 | .473 | .202 | .386 | 21.1 |
| Aubrey Huff | 2547 | .284 | .344 | .481 | .197 | .368 | 22.7 |
| Aaron Rowand | 1921 | .287 | .346 | .461 | .174 | .350 | 29.1 |
The comps here that make the most sense to me are Nixon, Floyd, and Rowand — right down to the propensity for injury. For as much as people dog Scott Linebrink, would anyone honestly prefer to part with him for Rowand than move Brown for Bradley and a boatload of cash? (I mentioned that the Padres are on the hook for less than $700,000 of Bradley’s salary, right?)
It may not work — Nixon has been a disaster this season for the Indians — but even if that’s the case, what has been lost? Seriously, I hope Brown works out for the A’s, but remember that he couldn’t crack a staff in San Diego that includes two guys who almost never actually pitch.
Beyond the short-term gains, Bradley is one of the more intriguing center fielders that figure to be on the open market this coming winter. Most of the focus has been on marquee players such as Torii Hunter, Andruw Jones, and Ichiro Suzuki. The downside with them, of course, is that all will command marquee salaries to go with the spiffy brand name label.
Bradley isn’t as good as Hunter, Jones, or Suzuki, but if he’s healthy and he can fit into a team’s clubhouse, the gap isn’t as large as you might think. If only there were some way to learn these things before Bradley becomes a free agent. If only a team could bring him in for a trial run and see firsthand, in game situations, what exactly he’s capable of doing…
by Peter Friberg
You will not see Chris Young in the 2007 All Star game unless you vote early and vote often.
Let me say this, I did not think that any of the Padre hitters deserved to go to the All Star game. However, the guy I was “hoping” for was Trevor Hoffman. I was certain that Jake Peavy and Chris Young would make the team. Certain. They both had top 3 NL ERAs. The team’s pitching staff was the best in all of baseball… Furthermore, Chris demonstrated the last two years that he had staying power; this was not a random pitcher with a career 5.00 ERA having a lucky couple months…
Friday, June 29, 2007
AAA
No notable performances…
AA
Chase Headley: 4 AB, 3 R, 2 H, 2 RBI; HR, SO - G1
Will Venable: 3 AB, 0 R, 2 H, 3 RBI; 2B, BB, SO - G1
Cesar Ramos: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR - G1
Chase Headley: 2 AB, 2 R, 1 H, 0 RBI; 2B, 2 BB, SO - G2
Nick Hundley: 3 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 5 RBI; HR, SF - G2
High-A
Matt Antonelli: 4 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI; 3 SO
Chad Huffman: 4 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 1 RBI; HR
Low-A
Cedric Hunter: 4 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 1 RBI, HR, 2 SO
Nathaniel Culp: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR
Short Season-A
Danny Payne: 2 AB, 1 R, 0 H, 0 RBI; 3 BB, SO - .542 OBP
Kellen Kulbacki: 4 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 0 RBI; 3B, BB, SO
Cory Luebke: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR
Rookie
Yefri Carajal: 3 AB, 2 R, 0 H, 0 RBI; 2 BB, SO
Shawn Estes: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR - alive!
Cooper Brannan: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR
Commentary:
It’s good to see that Chase’s time in the big leagues didn’t disrupt his rhythm. I’m thinking the Texas League pitchers are not happy to see him back.
Danny Payne will not make my top-10 list (he’s a reasonable bet to be in the top 25, but probably outside the top 20) but he’s becoming one of my favorite players to look up. In 10 games, he now has 17 walks (awesome! — the 0 XBH; not so awesome).
Saturday, June 30, 2007
AAA
Tim Stauffer: 6.0 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 1 HR
AA
Chase Headley: 4 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI; BB, 2 SO
High-A
Matt Antonelli: 4 AB, 0 R, 2 H, 0 RBI; BB
Kyle Blanks: 4 AB, 2 R, 2 H, 1 RBI; HR, SO
Wade LeBlanc: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO, 0 HR
Low-A
Rayner Contreras: 3 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 7 RBI; 2B, HR, 2 BB, SO
Drew Miller: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 10 SO, 0 HR
R.J. Rodriguez: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 1 HR
Short Season-A
Danny Payne: 4 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 1 RBI; 3B, BB, SO - 1st pro XBH
John Hussey: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO, 1 HR
Rookie
Yefri Carvajal: 4 AB, 0 R, 2 H, 2 RBI
Commentary:
Wade LeBlanc still has a stellar 2.64 ERA but he has allowed 4 earned runs in three of his last four starts (4 ER in 7.1 IP, 1 ER in 4.0 IP, 4 ER in 6.0 IP, and 4 ER in 5.1 IP on Saturday).
Sunday, July 1, 2007
AAA
Vince Sinisi: 3 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 1 RBI; 2 2B - .311/.357/.477
Paul McAnulty: 5 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 2 RBI; 2B
Pete LaForest: 3 AB, 2 R, 2 H, 3 RBI; 2 HR, BB, SO
AA
Chase Headley: 2 AB, 1 R, 0 H, 0 RBI; 2 BB
High-A
Matt Antonelli: 5 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 2 RBI; CS
Chad Huffman: 5 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 3 RBI; HR, 2 SO
Low-A
Aaron Breit: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 6 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR - yikes!
Short Season-A
Danny Payne: 4 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 1 RBI; 2B, BB, SO
Kellen Kulbacki: 3 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 1 RBI; 2 BB, SO
Jeremy McBryde: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR
Rookie
Jose Martinez: 1.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 1 HR - got the “W”
Orlando Lara: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR
Commentary:
Vince Sinisi is interesting. I don’t know how good he is defensively and he’s probably more of a fourth outfielder than a starter, but his success is good to see.
Sinisi looks interesting, but I seriously hope Pete LaForest is on the 2008 roster!
Going into his July 1 contest, Chad Huffman only had 19 at-bats in the three hole. Roughly half of his 250 at-bats have been batting fifth (usually behind David Freese and Kyle Blanks). Sunday Chad batted in front of those two — I don’t think that batting order is insignificant. We’ll see if that trend continues.
Thanks, Peter. The Padres return home to host the Florida Marlins for three four games. The series opener is Monday night, first pitch 7:05 p.m. PT. You know where to be…
Picking up where last year's version left off, the Ducksnorts 2008 Baseball Annual provides in-depth analysis of and commentary on the San Diego Padres. Get your copy today.
July 2, 2007 at 8:02 am
I think you’re dead on about Bradley. Especially when it comes to the economics of this deal. Not only did we get him for next to nothing (and are paying him about as much), he has every incentive to try to impress while he’s here. Everyone in the baseball world will now amusingly glance at the Padres about once a week (it beats once a month) to see whther or not Bradley has assaulted the Friar yet. If he can play nice (I think Milton needs to pummel the FrankenFriar. That would totally get him over with the fans), then I think this deal will be yet another steal by KT.
I think that KT should keep his ears open for anything else that might be available (coughmarklorettacough), but I think that we’re probably done at this point.
And could someone please sit down with Adrian and tell him to go back to being the way he was earlier this year? This slide has been ugly (he hasn’t had an RBI is over ten games). I really thought of all the guys that should have gotten a day yesterday, Adrian was near the top of the list. Here’s hoping he can figure it out against the Marlins.
July 2, 2007 at 8:08 am
You guys probably talked about this yesterday but does anyone else have an issue with the “Who cares, we already won the series” lineup yesterday? I know all those guys need days off and the bench guys need to play but it was like Bud said “this one’s on us guys”. I have a really hard time giving Khalil a day off during an afternoon game and without being in the clubhouse it seems like if anyone needed a day off it’s Adrian because dude is scuffling bad. I’m probably just over analyzing a loss but we have so many issues scoring runs with the first team out there most of the time I just don’t see the benifit of going 2nd team all at once as opposed to mixing in a start here and there for the bench guys.
July 2, 2007 at 8:31 am
Re: 2 also you dont put in your sub-par defenders when you have a ground ball pitcher on the mound.
I dont think the pads will give Adrian a day off at this point before the all star break, I hope the 4 days off will really help him to clear his head and recharge his batteries.
When Bradly (I know we could come up with nicknames for him but isnt that just a little to easy?) comes off the DL do you think the pads will outright Sledge-o-mattic? Girly mouth has come up with some clutch hits and some nice D I would not want to see him go at this point.
July 2, 2007 at 8:53 am
With his selection as an all-star, this is one of those moments during the season where I stop and marvel at how amazing Hoffman remains and how lucky we are to have him as a pillar of this franchise. Congrats to Trevor!
July 2, 2007 at 9:24 am
I hate that MLB is doing the all-star game final vote again. The player they put on the list who is in the biggest market has the inside track to win weather they deserve it or not. Why is Zambrano on the list? He has an ERA of 4.20 that’s almost twice of CY’s! but since he plays for the cubs he will get a ton of votes.
Luckily its a slow day at work and I can sit here and vote all day.
July 2, 2007 at 9:27 am
I am all for Milton taking his aggression out on the Friar.
July 2, 2007 at 9:51 am
For some reason the all-star voting system is letting you vote as many times as you want so here is your opportunity. I’ve probably already voted CY 100 times this morning and they still have not booted me!
July 2, 2007 at 9:52 am
6.
I’m all for Milton taking his aggression out on the N.L. West!
July 2, 2007 at 9:55 am
Re: 8 just make him swtich from the Swingline to the Boston and he’ll set the building on fire!
July 2, 2007 at 9:58 am
#9: Nicely done, with just the right amount of flair.
July 2, 2007 at 10:03 am
9.
Or he could just sho everyone at Petco his “OH FACE”!!! “OH” “OH” “OH”
July 2, 2007 at 10:04 am
Re: 10 people can read about baseball anywhere but they come to Ducksnorts for the attitude and the atmosphere.
July 2, 2007 at 10:08 am
I wish the “Bob’s” would come in and grill B(l)um about what it is that he actually doesfor the Padres. Go ahead and walk us through your typical day here Geoff.
July 2, 2007 at 10:12 am
RE:13
B(l)um - “well I normaly come in about 15 min late I sneak in through the LF entrance so that Black does not see me”
B(l)um - “Then I sit in my locker and space out for about 30 min”
Bob - “Space out?”
B(l)um - “Yeah Ijust stare into space, my teammates think im concentraiting on the game but im really just rembering my WS HR”
B(l)um - “On any givin week I really only hit one or two balls and they are normaly fouls on my way to a 1-2-3 strike out”
July 2, 2007 at 10:19 am
14.
That was so good!
July 2, 2007 at 10:26 am
B(l)um - “Its not only that im lazy its that I just dont care, if I bust my butt and take some BP and practice feilding I dont make another dime!”
B(l)um - “its a matter of motivation and $900K just does not get it done”
Bobs - “Now if this was a Maybe and I mean we are talking Hypothetical here, what if the padres offered you a stock sharing program would that help?”
B(l)um - “I don’t know, not with the way the padres cook thier books I’d end up paying Moores!”
July 2, 2007 at 10:39 am
Bud “Lumberg” Black - Hey Geoff, What’s happening? I noticed you made another error today… I don’t know if you got the memo but were going to need you to make that play on a more consistant basis MMmmNNkkAAyy. I’ll make sure you get another copy of that memo.
July 2, 2007 at 10:46 am
Hiram - How come no one in this country can pronounce my name right? It’s hI-Ram Bo-Ca-Chica
Milton - At least your name isn’t Milton Bradley.
Hiram - Milton Bradley, there’s nothing wrong with that name.
Milton - There was nothing wrong with it. Until I was about nine years old and that mustache wearing assclown from monopoly got popular and it’s been nothing but “do not pass GO do not collect $200″ jokes ever since!
July 2, 2007 at 10:47 am
Re: 18 Nice!
July 2, 2007 at 10:58 am
B(l)um - “Designated for assignment” what the F does that mean?
July 2, 2007 at 11:01 am
You guys are outta control. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that someone has a case of the Mondays…
July 2, 2007 at 11:02 am
OK, I can play along ….
Bud “Lumberg” Black: So, David, what’s happening? Aahh, now, are you going to go ahead and make it out of the 5th inning for us this afternoon?
D Wells: No.
Black: Ah. Yeah. So I guess we should probably go ahead and have a little talk. Hmm?
D Wells: Not right now, Bud, I’m kinda busy. In fact, look, I’m gonna have to ask you to just go ahead and come back another time.
July 2, 2007 at 11:19 am
More like
Bud Black: So, David, what’s happening? Aahh, now, are you going to go ahead and make it out of the 5th inning for us this afternoon?
D Wells: No.
Bud Black: Oh, okay. So Maddux, umm…do you think…I should pull Wells at about the…6th or 7th inning if he…shows any struggles.
Maddux: Yes, Buddy. Don’t leave us old guys in past the 6th. No-brainer.
3 hours later - top of the 7th at Petco, Fish break up the shutout with a 3 run double after Wells loads the bases.
Bud Black: I just don’t get it. What am I to do about Wells?
Meanwhile, on the bench -
Maddux: You see, young Padawan, this is what we call bad managing. He should have pulled Wells after the 6th.
Peavy: Yes, Jedi master.
July 2, 2007 at 11:22 am
Oh and as a nit-picking aside - it’s a four game set against the Marlins. Hopefully they’ll play like the .463 team they are.
July 2, 2007 at 11:26 am
Re: 24 tonight is the only game that makes me nervious, Mitre is a good pitcher and Wells has been inconsistent. but the res of the matchups look like this:
Olsen vs Maddux
Johnson vs Young
Kim vs Peavy
July 2, 2007 at 11:27 am
B(l)um - So I’m standing in the on deck cirlce today and I realized that ever since I started playing for the Padres, every single AB has been worse than the AB before it. So it means that every single AB you’ve seen, that’s the worst AB of my life.
Padres Therapist - What about today? Was today the worse AB of your life?
B(l)um - Yeah.
Padres Therapist - Oh, that’s bad.
B(l)um - Is there any way that you, you could just zonk me out so there’s no way that I’ll know I’m playing? Can I just come home and think I’ve been fishing all day or something?
Padres Therapist - That’s really not what I do Geoff.
July 2, 2007 at 11:34 am
After the allstar break will Milton “Swingline” Bradley be the every day LF or will he still have to platoon with cruz?
July 2, 2007 at 11:37 am
#27: A healthy Bradley represents a significant upgrade over Cruz, who will make a fine fourth outfielder.
July 2, 2007 at 11:37 am
27.
I sure hope so. I don’t think they got him for a platoon. I’m sure he will probably get a lot of days off if his health is still an issue but I doubt it will be a real platoon situation.
July 2, 2007 at 11:39 am
There is no way they carry 6.5 OF (Manyan being the .5) so whos the odd man out?
July 2, 2007 at 11:39 am
I got nothing to add except Great Job.
I got my hopes up when I saw Blum and Designated for Assignment in the same post, but quickly realized it was part of the running gag.
July 2, 2007 at 11:40 am
Re: 31 yeah it was just wishful thinking on my part
July 2, 2007 at 11:41 am
Sledge or Bocachica I would assume. They may still have options on Sledge or he could go on the DL.
July 2, 2007 at 11:44 am
I believe they do have options on him but what’s the point he is ok against righties but he is terrible in the field.
July 2, 2007 at 11:47 am
Chris Young’s snub is the worst for a Padre since 1991, when an old Eddie Murray was picked over first-year Padre Fred McGriff; that would have been the Crime Dog’s first AS selection, IIRC, and the game was in Toronto, his team until 1990. I was one irate 14-year-old. And it still bothers me a little as I write this.
July 2, 2007 at 11:50 am
It will be interesting in B(l)um does make it past Aug 1st, the pads waited until after the all star break to cut Castilla and Young last year, B(l)ums kind of in the same boat this year as E.Y. was in last year, minus being a fan favorite.
July 2, 2007 at 12:10 pm
36: EY couldnt play SS though
July 2, 2007 at 12:19 pm
37.
So what is the difference between EY and B(l)um?
July 2, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Best. Thread. Ever. Nice work, Office Space cadets.
Meanwhile, heading to my 4th game of the year tonight (including one at Wrigley). Lo and behold DW is on the mound for the 4th time. I figure the odds of that are about 625:1. I guess I’m just lucky that way. (Next game for me is 7/21, hopefully the streak will continue…)
July 2, 2007 at 12:55 pm
38: Burn.
Robles and Stansberry can play SS as well as Blum. Not all that well, but well enough for a short time. They might hit better than Blum, they might not. Anything can happen when you get 5-6 at-bats a week. Blum’s had weeks, even a month or two, when he’s been a good hitter. Then he turns into Geoff Blum again, but still, randomness happens.
Stansberry’s a natural RH hitter with speed. Robles seems to be a pest at the plate, especially compared to Blum’s frequent “I’m swinging at this pitch no matter what” approach. Again, though, they could all have Kouzmanoff-ish months and be less productive than Blum. It’s possible, scary as that may be.
Is whatever chance of his replacement hitting better worth the hit in the clubhouse? The team might be better off dumping a pitcher, keeping a position player who would otherwise be lost when Bradley comes off the DL (or trading for a Loretta), and then having Alderson and Towers tell Black in no uncertain terms that Blum is now the low man on the pinch-hitting totem pole. Tell him he’s the foundation if that eases the sting.
July 2, 2007 at 1:11 pm
Regarding this Geoff Blum discussion:
What does anyone think about Marlon Anderson? Can he play IF? The Dodgers just released him, and he played very well for them down the stretch. Would he be a better option?
July 2, 2007 at 1:38 pm
Re: 40 would it really be that big of a ht to the club house, I would imagine that the team knows he’s not pulling his weight and they would have a better shot at the WS without him.
July 2, 2007 at 1:49 pm
41: I don’t think Marlon Anderson plays SS, so I don’t think that he’s a replacement for Blum.
The Office Space stuff is incredible! Man, that’s a good movie. The best scene is when they take the fax machine out into the field and beat it with the baseball bat while gangsta rap is playing,…good times.
35: I remember the McGriff snub from my teen years as well. Man, that was a bummer. I forgot that I was so upset about that until you mentioned it. Now I’m all fired up again. McGriff is an underrated Padre IMHO.
July 2, 2007 at 2:01 pm
Is lorreta on the block and would the astros take a package of a Minor League pitcher and B(l)um?
July 2, 2007 at 2:03 pm
43: Stupid Lou Piniella. Overrated. (His Reds won WS in ‘90, so he’d have been the mgr.)
July 2, 2007 at 2:08 pm
42: I don’t know how big of a hit it might be, but we’re not replacing Blum with Derek Jeter or even Jeff Blauser. There’s a real chance that Robles or Stansberry would hit worse than Blum has so far, plus whatever political damage is caused by dropping Blum. If we can swing a Loretta then it’s probably not a problem at all. Better hitter and a respected veteran.
The players had to know Vinny Castilla wasn’t pulling his weight last year and they were still pissed when he was released.
43: I believe that was a printer.
July 2, 2007 at 2:24 pm
Re: 46 castilla was considered a team leader when he was cut, I dont really think you can hold B(l)ums club house presence in the same regard as castillas.
July 2, 2007 at 2:39 pm
Wow, do other team blogs have the great nicknames we have?
NOG
OG
Girlsmile
Silent L
What are the others?
July 2, 2007 at 2:52 pm
47: Blum’s been on the team for 3 years now. That puts him ahead of 18 other Padres in seniority, and his teammates generally have positive things to say about him.
It wouldn’t be irrecoverable. The team did get over losing Castilla and EY, but we also replaced those two with better players. It just took a little longer than it should have to grab Branyan instead of Walker. But over the second half, how much better would Stansberry or Robles be, versus how much grumbling Blum’s buddies would do? They might come in and go 3-4 their first night and we’re golden, nobody says a word about Blum the rest of the season. But if they go 1-10 and boot a DP grounder…
Let’s just get Loretta and be done with it.
July 2, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Re: 49 I agree about Loretta
July 2, 2007 at 3:05 pm
48- Well as far as the Braves are concerned we have :
1. Heap (Brian McCann)
2. Frenchy (Jeff Francouer)
3. Scooter (Kelly Johnson)
4. Rent (Edgar Renteria)
5. Salty (Jarrod Saltalamacchia)
6. Larry (Chipper Jones)
Thats the ones I can think of off the top of my head.
July 2, 2007 at 3:10 pm
48: See the glossary on the sidebar
July 2, 2007 at 3:11 pm
48: Ah.. you were asking about other teams, my bad!
July 2, 2007 at 3:12 pm
why do you call Chipper Larry?
July 2, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Re: 54 n/m its his real name
July 2, 2007 at 3:26 pm
I know the Padres players call Bud “Harry”.
July 2, 2007 at 3:32 pm
re 51-I don’t think shortening someone’s name is really considered a nickname. Salty and Rent should be eliminated off the top and last I checked calling someone by the name their mother intended doesn’t count either.
I’ll give the Braves blog credit for 2.5 nicknames, unless we think a good nickname for Milton Bradley would be Brad……or a good nickname for Michael Barrett would be…….Mike?
July 2, 2007 at 3:35 pm
Oh and before I forget, time to call the Cardinals and see what they want for Anthony Reyes. They demoted him again and I’m sure he’d make an adequate 5th starter going forward next season.
July 2, 2007 at 3:43 pm
57: im all for calling Milton “No Salt” or “Swingline” Bradly
July 2, 2007 at 3:44 pm
43: Tom, I’ve called questioned you on this forum before, but never about such an important issue. I’m pretty sure that it was a fax machine. Somebody who’s not at work put the movie in and settle this dispute before things get out of hand
51, 57: Larry certainly does not count as a nickname for Chipper Jones. Lousy Braves fans…
July 2, 2007 at 3:48 pm
It’s a printer. At work but pretty darn sure.
July 2, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Re: 60 I think it is a fax machine although I have gotten the dreaded PC load letter several times on out copy machine.
July 2, 2007 at 3:49 pm
So, normally the callers on 1090 make pretty inane suggestions (present company excluded of course) but today I heard a caller mention a Khalil Greene + Sledge + prospect (Peter and I thought maybe Ramos) for X. Nady and Jack Wilson. The Pirates would get a SS who plays great defense who might hit 25-30 HR’s a year in the NL Central and they’d get rid of a contract that they regret (Wilson’s 3/20 thru 2009). The Padres would retain defensive excellence at SS (probably even an upgrade), get long term security at SS (since the front office doesn’t seem to think that Khalil is the answer) and get a guy who can spot start at all of the corner positions and provides a power RH bat. I think spot starting Nady with Bradley, Giles, and Kouzmanoff helps our offense, gives us a great bat off the bench no matter who starts, and gives us a starting DH for World Series games 3, 4, and 5 (Go NL!!)
Is it possible?
July 2, 2007 at 3:50 pm
Re: 61 Micheal is trying to feed a document into the machine it has to be a fax or a small copier.
July 2, 2007 at 3:52 pm
64: Sweet vindication!
Thanks Steve.
July 2, 2007 at 3:55 pm
Re: 63 no way the Pirates make that deal,Nady is haveing a better year than Bay at the plate and make less money. The Pirates wont give up Nady unless it is for a desent pitching prospect. Also why would the Pirates want a poor defensive corner OF who can’t hit lefties?
July 2, 2007 at 3:56 pm
I could see a Clay Hensley for X-Nady deal working out.
July 2, 2007 at 4:00 pm
Wikipedia references both a printer and a fax machine being beaten. IMDB says its a printer.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151804/trivia
He could be trying to load a sheet of paper manually, because the error message is PC Load Letter.
Pirate Deal: That deal doesn’t make us better. Wilson is an offensive hole and Nady is a platoon hitter. Cruz and Bradley are both better hitters and defenders than Nady, they’re here, and we don’t have to suffer Jack Wilson.
July 2, 2007 at 4:05 pm
64, 65: Not so fast. I’ve got sources. The PC Load Letter error is a common printer code, and you can manually feed pages into printers.
July 2, 2007 at 4:07 pm
#59: I still prefer “Jenga” myself.
#63: Pass on Royce Clayton, er I mean Jack Wilson.
July 2, 2007 at 4:17 pm
68: I can see your reasons for not doing the deal, and I was remembering the 2004 version of Jack Wilson, I had forgotten how steep his decline was. However, you really think that Jose Cruz is a better hitter than Nady?
July 2, 2007 at 4:18 pm
60- Yeah we’re all lousy and stuff. The thing with Larry is that No One not even his mother and father call him that. And it started with the Mets fans, and to show it didn’t bother anyone we call him the same thing or use his full name when it applies. Larry Wayne Jones, Junior. Or “Hooters Boy” works well in a bind.
July 2, 2007 at 4:19 pm
69:
from Wikipedia’s Office Space site:
“# The Fax Machine — In the movie, this appliance’s unreliability finally prompts Peter, Samir and Michael to take baseball bats to the device in an open field as “Still” by the Geto Boys plays, in a scene visually referencing a violent episode in Casino. The term Office Space-style, or “Going Office Space on” is used to refer to this type of destruction.[2]”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_Space
July 2, 2007 at 4:23 pm
69/73: If you’d like to verify for yourself, you can look on youtube at the following site:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....mp;search=
I’m not an expert office supply person, but I’m sure that someone will be able to identify the appliance in question.
**Be careful of explicit lyrics if you’re at work or with kids.
July 2, 2007 at 4:43 pm
Jack Wilson, seriously? Am I missing something here? Do we really need to add a .675 OPS shortstop, although his .315 OBP would be a big improvement over Greene.
Greene is a tough guy to move, unless he brings back a legit all star because he is loved by both the fans and other players.
By VORP courtesy of my subscription to Baseball Prospectus:
Jack Wilson:0.2
Greene:8.2
A little perspective about Wilson, that puts him squarely between John McDonald and Enrique Cruz. Blah!
July 2, 2007 at 4:50 pm
75: I guess I was thinking more about the upgrade of Nady and the long-term security of LF. However, as I said, I was thinking of the 2004 Wilson, not the current vintage. Check out his ‘04: .308 and more than 65 extra base hits. He’s not anywhere near that player anymore. Oddly, some people rejected the deal because the Pirates wouldn’t do it, and some saw it as a loss for the Padres. I’d guess that it’s probably pretty fair–but that doesn’t mean that it’s a deal that would help us this year.
July 2, 2007 at 4:53 pm
71: Yes, because Cruz isn’t useless against RHP the way Nady is. Cruz is less of a lefty-killer but against RHP, the dominant species, Nady barely cracks a 700 OPS. That’s not even adjusted for parks, and Cruz has played in tough ones. In an ideal world Cruz is a 4th OF who platoons, but at least he gives you a chance from both sides of the plate. Both he and Bradley are much better defenders, a little better speed.
73: The same wikipedia article states “PC Load Letter — an actual HP laser printer error message indicating that the printer needs letter-sized paper, but more generally a catch-all for any nonsensical error message. The “PC” in the phrase stands for “Paper Cassette”, a paper reservoir for many printers. This error is more common in Europe when printing US documents on printers loaded with size A4 paper.”
July 2, 2007 at 4:57 pm
76: The people who think the Pirates wouldn’t do that deal underestimate how badly they’d like to get out from under Wilson’s contract. I bet they’d gladly move Nady if that was what it took to save 14M the next 3 years.
From the Padres standpoint, there’s no way we do it. Don’t need Nady, really don’t need Wilson.
July 2, 2007 at 4:58 pm
Well I can think of one giant reason the Pirates would jump at the opportunity, money.
They don’t want to pay Wilson 6M a year, for good reason.
Also, I don’t think Nady is an improvement over Bradley and next off season there should be plenty of guys available to fill that spot.
Ruining shortstop in order to fix left field when shortstop is a much more difficult position doesn’t seem like a smart plan, especially when you’re paying an extra 7M a year for the privilege.
July 2, 2007 at 5:11 pm
79: I agree-after seeing who the real Jack Wilson is-I don’t think it makes sense for the Padres either.
July 2, 2007 at 5:31 pm
Manny Ayala has been called up from Storm to AA San Antonio and is pitching tonight …
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.....pid=499382
… 2 runs given up in 1st …
July 2, 2007 at 6:32 pm
Another Bradley risk: See Ken Rosenthal’s extensive article at Foxsports, ” Padres Taking a Chance on Bradley” —”Some scouts believe that his ability is declining due to his continued physical problems” He’s not exactly been a big bat with 4 2B & 2 HR in 65 AB in 07, but an improvement over Bocachica’s 4 2B & 2 HR in 71 AB. Since his mid 05 “mystery injury” he has only managed 19 big bat HRs.
July 2, 2007 at 10:13 pm