According to my calculations, I should be somewhere between Albuquerque and Oklahoma City when you read this. Good times…
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51: Branyan this year has a VORP of 3.2. That’s good for 9th among players listed as PH and 24th among those listed at 3B.
Speaking of 08 this is what the lineup looks like so far
C Bard
1B A-Gon
2B ?
3B Kouz
SS Greene
RF Giles
CF ?
LF ?
Im not se3eing much more O out of next years team than this years.
45: Wow, that’s a lot of compensation picks. I’d imagine that we’ll offer arbitration to Linebrink, Cameron, Barrett, Bradley, and maybe Wells. Looks like another flood of supplemental picks.
46: I agree that Sledge probably doesn’t stay on this team past the deadline. I was a little surprised that he got a roster spot over LittleMouth. You’re just wrong about Branyan. He’s the kind of bench player that this team needs (versatile defensively, game changing power).
53: That all depends on who fills those holes. Also, expect Kouz to hit better next year after a full year in the bigs. I also wouldn’t expect Adrian to slump like this again next year.
Branyan a good hitter at .202 while striking out once every 4 at bats ? No speed. Not a particularly good glove man. I appreciate your loyalty to mediocrity. A “good” hitter doesn’t find himself on the verge of being out of the majors, as Russell may be shortly.
Wait until the Pads bats get a bench /platoon player that hits .250 -.260, with some power and the ability to hit behind runners or shorten up and play some ‘little ball’ when necessary, someone like a Jeff Conine or Wes Helms. Then you will really appreciate what a pennant winning quality bench looks like.
53: I’m excited to watch Kouz get a fresh start next year. His numbers are going to be really good. We’re not in that poor of shape for next year. Assuming a little reboudn by Adrian and that Kouz can consolidate his progress this year, we’ve got our leadoff hitter (Giles) and a decent 3/4 or 4/5 with Kouz and Gonzalez. Khalil is a really solid number 6 or 7 hitter. We’ve just got to ramp our expectations for him as a number 4/5 hitter down. He’s not that guy, and I doubt that he’ll ever hit with enough average to turn into that guy.
56: According to WARP1, Branyan has been more valuable this season than Helms, despite having half as many at bats. Discussion over.
Re: 55 CF is an intresting position to fill I really see the Pads going after Rowand, not being able to sign him and falling back on Byrenes.
Kouz and Adrian are good hitters but they will not be able to carry this lineup on thier own.
Giles RF
Byrens CF
A-Gon 1B
Kouz 3B
Greene SS
Bard C
Headly LF(Sledge and P-Mac are the other options)
Giles 2B (what other options are out there)
I still see an inconsistant O
60: Yeah…that’s not terribly inspiring. The only exciting things are the addition of Headley and the possibility of an upgrade in CF. I don’t think that Byrnes is an upgrade over Cameron.
It’d be nice to see this team do what it could in the offseason to get a legitimate star bat. I think that we’re starting to develop the prospect depth to think about a run at a big time hitter.
There is no way the pads wll pay top dollar for a big bat in the offseason. Look for maybe a trade but there is no way they give a player a 5 year high dollar deal.
Unfortunately, the case is not closed because the Padres still have Branyan on their roster and probably will throughout the season.Not sure what WARP1 is but a quick study of Branyan’s numbers versus Wes Helm’s number’s makes my exact point . The Padres don’t need yet another Branyan type player on this roster with inflated OPS numbers, but hitting .202.
I will give you this though – Branyan stepped his game up last season (2006) when he joined the Pads–he cut down on his strikeouts and even shortened up his swing and stopped being a 100% guess hitter and was a crucial part of the Padres amazing last quarter of the season….I thought he might actually have a few decent years in San Diego but he has gone back to being Russell Branyan… .200 -.205 hitter with a dozen homeruns or so homeruns in 250-300 at bats and a K every four at bats and has anyone noticed, very few rbi’s for his power. He has a 188 lifetime homeruns and only 293 rbi’s in 1800+ at bats.
Dont count Bradley out for next year in LF again or possibly CF. If he stays healthy, he’s a quality outfielder
63: Based on those RBI numbers, I would say hitters in front of Branyan need to do a better job getting on base.
Batting average just doesn’t matter that much, particularly for guys that draw walks and hit for power. Branyan does both. Branyan is a great guy to have on the bench for trailing in the late innings because not making outs and having the power to go deep is so important then. Granted, he’s not the guy you want at the plate with a runner on third and one out in a tie ball game.
Your 2008 Opening Day lineup …
CF Giles
LF Headley
1B Gonzo
3B Kouz (splitting Gonzo and Jenkins, two LH’s)
RF Jenkins
SS Greene
C Bard
2B Rodriguez (unless Antonelli goes nuts in ST)
SP Peavy
#51@Richard: Where’s Branyan at ? The Padre’s were wrong to let him go ….