Friday Links (10 Aug 07)
Fri, Aug 10, 2007
by Geoff Young
Before we get too crazy here, I’d just like to call my own number and let you know that a recap of my trip to Cooperstown is up at Hardball Times. To the rest of the links:
- Hairston example of Towers’ acumen (San Diego Union-Tribune). I can’t help but think of Maxwell Smart:
KT: Hi, we’d like Scott Hairston.
MS: Okay, we’d like Scott Linebrink.
[silence]
MS: Would you believe, Royce Ring.
[silence]
MS: Would you believe, Leo Rosales.
KT: Deal. - Bradley says Beane ‘used me up’ in ‘06 (San Francisco Chronicle, via Coronado Mike in the comments). Seems Milton Bradley isn’t entirely pleased with his former employer. On A’s GM Billy Beane:
Billy just has a way of thinking he’s smarter and better than everyone else, and I don’t take kindly to the better-than-you attitude. I don’t think Billy cared about how I was. He knew he could use me for cheap and get a lot out of me. … So he used me up last year and couldn’t use me up any more. He always told me, when you’re out on the field, you make me look good. I guess I wasn’t out there to make him look good enough.
I don’t like to be lied to. Tell me the truth. You tell me I’m not an everyday player, and I just have to laugh at you because there’s not a player they’ve got over there that’s better than me. It’s just a joke.
Alrighty, then.
- Jake and the Fat Man (Friar Watch). Anthony wonders about Jake Peavy’s mechanics.
- 2007 Best Tools (Baseball America). The Padres are surprisingly well represented.
Majors
- Jake Peavy - Best Pitcher (#1), Best Slider (#2)
- Trevor Hoffman - Best Changeup (#1), Best Reliever (#1)
- Greg Maddux - Best Control (#1)
- Adrian Gonzalez - Best Defensive First Baseman (#2)
- Mike Cameron - Best Defensive Outfielder (#3)
Minors
- Chase Headley, Texas League - Best Batting Prospect, Best Defensive Third Baseman
- Nick Hundley, Texas League - Best Defensive Catcher
- Matt Antonelli, California League - Best Defensive Second Baseman
- David Freese, California League - Best Defensive Third Baseman
- Wade LeBlanc, California League - Best Changeup
- Will Inman, Florida State League - Best Breaking Ball
In addition, several farmhands rank among the best at their position according to BA:
- Kyle Blanks - 1B (#8)
- Matt Antonelli - 2B (#1)
- Chase Headley - 3B (#6)
- Cedric Hunter - CF (#10)
- Will Venable - LF/RF (#10)
- Matt Bush - RP (#5)
- AL Central: The RBI Baseball king (SI.com, via Didi in the comments). Former Padre Josh Barfield is a master at old-school baseball video games. Here’s my favorite.
- Future Shock: Going Over Slot (Baseball Prospectus). Kevin Goldstein talks about this year’s draft and how new changes are affecting the game. Someone he interviews calls the process a charade, but of course, this is not a charade. (I know it’s forced, but I just had to work that in there somehow.)
- The Big Picture: Evolving the Save Rule (Baseball Propsectus, via Didi in the comments). Good stuff from David Pinto. I’ve discussed this in greater detail over at Knuckle Curve.
As always, more links can be found throughout the week at the Ducksnorts del.icio.us page. Peter, what say you?
by Peter Friberg
You will not see all the notable performances from the night before, but you will see the notable performances from those who are actually prospects.
AAA
No games scheduled…
AA
Will Venable: 4 AB, 0 R, 1 H, 0 RBI; BB, 3 SO
High-A
Kyle Blanks: 5 AB, 1 R, 3 H, 3 RBI; 2 2B, 2 SO
Craig Cooper: 3 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 0 RBI; 2 BB
Will Garrison: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR
Low-A
Cedric Hunter: 3 AB, 2 R, 2 H, 2 RBI; HR, BB, SB
Matt Bush: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR
Aaron Breit: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR
Short Season-A
Mitch Canham: 2 AB, 2 R, 0 H, 0 RBI; 2 BB, 2 SO, SB
Jeremy Hefner: 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 SO, 0 HR
Rookie
Brad Chalk: 3 AB, 0 R, 2 H, 1 RBI; 2B, BB, 2 CS (also picked off)
Drew Cumberland: 4 AB, 0 R, 2 H, 0 RBI; SO, CS
Simon Castro: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 0 HR
Commentary:
Matt Bush left the game after pitching to one batter in the sixth to an “injured arm.” That’s scary…
Thank you, sir. The Padres head to Cincinnati for the weekend. Wil Ledezma makes his first start for San Diego in Friday’s game. We’ll kick off the IGD around 3 p.m. PT, 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.
August 10, 2007 at 7:33 am
An old Padres farm hand was the first player to test positive in the Japan League’s new drug testing program…
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/s.....TE=DEFAULT
One thing I love…not only did the player get suspended and fined, but so did the organization…
August 10, 2007 at 7:35 am
I just went back and read last night’s comments. I couldn’t bring myself to do it last night, since I wanted to forget that game as quickly as possible. Seems like everyone was feeling like I was.
Couple of thoughts that hit me, though. Does Buddy have some sort of secret about Brocail that none of the rest of us know, since even a casual observer recognizes that he sucks, regardless of heartfelt, feel good, heart stories.
It looks to me that if we press any harder, we’ll turn coal into diamonds. Have some fun out there. Baseball’s supposed to be fun, damn it.
August 10, 2007 at 8:04 am
I want to agree with you LaMar…I really do. I could not figure out why Broc made the team out of Spring Training…but his first 1/2 was more than serviceable…I certainly was surprised at how well he pitched before the break (35.2ip, 3.03 ERA, 21/12 K/BB)…
Sure, he has been abysmal in the 2nd half (16.2ip, 5.94 ERA, 7/5 K/BB), but so have many of the Padres pitchers. Cla’s numbers are almost as bad, actually worse if you combine the entire season…Bell’s ERA since the break is over 4.6…heck, Linebrink was significantly worse from the break to the trade (10.2 ip, 7.59 ERA, 9/6 K/BB)…
I would love to try to run him out, but is a good guy in the bully for lower leverage situations…sure, he is in a funk, but I don’t think we can completely discount how well he pitched in the first half, can we?
August 10, 2007 at 8:25 am
It will be cool to see Ken Griffey, always a favorite, and the antithesis of Bonds. I’ve lowered my expectations of the team and feel much better. Playoffs just aren’t in the cards for a team like this. We simply can’t hit and as a result have burned the pitching staff and bully. Its in their heads and that makes it hard. I think for 2008 KT keeps AG and possibly Kouz, but everybody else has to go. Pitching is still good, but we need hitters.
August 10, 2007 at 8:38 am
4: That’s a laughable assertion. Yes, this team is struggling to scratch out runs, but they’re doing it at the same pace they have all year. I don’t buy the “our offense has put additional pressure on our bullpen” argument because the pitching staff has had the same support all year. I also saw recently that Padres releivers have actually logged fewer innings or appearances than most teams in baseball.
Also, the idea that we’ll keep AG and Kouz and ditch everyone else is ludicrous. Who’s gonna take OG’s contract off our hands? Where are we gonna find a catcher? Who would you like to try at short?
I’m as dis-hearatened as anyone else about this series, but like you said, it’s in their heads. We all know this team is better than they are playing, and they know it. The only thing that scares me right now is the injury bug. Until the break, the Padres were relatively injury free. Over the past few days, however, the team has been ravaged by injuries.
Any idea what we could bring up after we send Cassell back down for left? Has Cheo cleared waivers yet? I know that P-Mac is currently hurt too, so I’m not sure if there are any servicable AAA options.
I’m not ready to give up on this team. If you are, that’s fine. But we’re still only in second place to a team that has gotten much luckier than us this year. Of course, you’d hope that will eventually balance out, and perhaps it will. We’ve scalded the ball the last few days, but just right at people. I think that our team is playoff caliber and I think we’ll be in it to the end.
We’re also still leading in the Wild Card, so it’s not time yet to start putting pistols in our mouths.
August 10, 2007 at 8:43 am
I noticed no one commented on the ball that Ankiel hit for a homer. It was a good pitch - outside and low curve ball; Ankiel went down and out on his front foot and yanked it out. Sometime you do have to tip your cap, and this time was one of them.
I still don’t like Brocail in relatively high leverage situations, but he did make a good pitch.
August 10, 2007 at 8:49 am
5: I’m trying to deal with the frustration of a hitting draught that started mid June. Your points are all valid and good, but I contend, but have no proof, that a stuggling offense puts pressure on the pitching staff. They feel like they have to give up no runs for a win. Mad dog hasn’t won since mid June but has pitched pretty well at times. Hell, Wells might still be on the team if he got a little more support. We are an out of balance team, like the washer in your garage banging itself to peices. The real question is how do we get the bad hitting mojo out of their heads?
August 10, 2007 at 8:50 am
4.
As much as I almost totally agree with you I’m pretty sure right now that we can expect to see OG and KG back in 2008 for sure. Kouz is probably not going anywhere except to maybe left field. I think outside of a few wild cards in Headley and Antonelli or depending on what you make of Moores recent comments about needing a star player to fill the seats the team is going to look fairly similar. I’m not saying the same players but the same skill set types. I expect Blum will probably be back maybe Bradley and I’m sure there will be a few well travelled bench role player types like this year but I take a believe it when I see it approach to the Padres doing anything when it comes to Free Agency.
I know this is grasping out at straws and almost for sure wouldn’t happen but if these offensive short somings but if we still are not scoring runs by the time rosters expand wouldn’t you want to see some of the kids get a shot? I think I would. I don’t like the idea of starting their clocks for a few weeks at the end of the season but Headley’s has already started and Antonelli is looking more and more like a viable option for 2008 anyways. These kids are a couple of years into the system the Padres preach about plate disipline and could hopefully come up and get real MLB AB’s that they don’t always get in spring training. I think it could be a positive if we are still dragging this much ass then as we are now.
August 10, 2007 at 8:52 am
Quick quiz: who has a better offense, the Padres or D-Backs?
Answer: the Padres. The D-Backs have scored a whopping two more runs, but they play in a nice hitters’ park, while the Padres play in the best pitchers’ park in the majors. Nobody seems to question the D-Backs’ ability to make the playoffs despite their pathetic offense.
August 10, 2007 at 9:06 am
Is Brocail really that bad ? His numbers are average but not bad for a guy who is really on the staff mainly to soak up innings.
He still throws in the low nineties and has pitched well at times in some key situations (that wacky Sunday game in Houston when he was the only middle relief guy to shut down the Astros).
August 10, 2007 at 9:15 am
GY-
Any link to Kentucky Fried Movie is good link. Much appreciated!
August 10, 2007 at 9:28 am
#11: Not a problem. I went to high school with a kid who had a bit part in the movie, which is probably the most pathetic bit of name dropping ever…
August 10, 2007 at 9:33 am
6: That’s good to know. Still, Brocail probably wasn’t the guy that we want in that situation. Good for Ankiel to hit that out, I’d just rather he did it to other teams’ pitchers.
Of course, it’d be nice if the hitters would stop treating the mediocre pitchers as such and not like aces. This is why the saying that good pitching beats good hitting is around, it’s because bad pitching sometimes wins too.
Has anybody figured out why Scott Hairston was going for two yesterday?
NOG is just clueless right now. He’s more than just struggling. He struck out looking on 3 pitches. Why?
I think the Padres need to tell all the batters to take first pitches. Because, that alone would force the opposing pitchers to throw 27 pitches in games.
I’m going to stop watching the Padres for the next series. It’s for my sanity than anything else. Go Padres!
August 10, 2007 at 9:40 am
#13: The only problem I have with Ankiel’s homer is that CY had been pumping fastballs by him all night. Seemed a little strange to speed up Ankiel’s bat with a curve.
As for Hairston’s play, Chris Duncan is a pretty lousy outfielder and I think Hairston was testing the arm. Unfortunately, in this instance, Duncan executed flawlessly and Hairston got hurt in the process. It wasn’t a horrible gamble.
August 10, 2007 at 9:47 am
#14 - Good point. And what was also annoying is that Brocail said in the post game interview that he threw away the scouting report on Ankiel -”threw it in the trash” w/o reading it.
“I pitched the report,” Brocail said. “I have no idea how he hit that ball. It’s good to see the kid back, though.
Brocail is funny to watch on the mound when he his pitching –a bit of a ham to say the least/
August 10, 2007 at 10:03 am
Is is just me or did the offense buoy a bit when Jenga came into the line-up and has ebbed back now that he is injured. A bit reductive to pin this all on one player, but maybe his consistent bat helped the line-up overall and can do so again once he returns???
August 10, 2007 at 10:07 am
14, 15: It’s Barrett’s fault.
August 10, 2007 at 10:17 am
I don’t think you can fault Black for putting in Brocail in that situation, they weren’t winning and Bell does need some days off (we don’t want to see a situation where a reliever comes in every game, ala Cla last year with Bochy). The simple fact is that they didn’t score any runs last night so the Ankiel HR didn’t matter.
I think that everyone is panicking a bit here. The D-backs are playing completely over their heads right now and the Padres are underachieving a bit. The Padres are only 2 game back in the loss column. So they lost 3 of 4 in St Louis. Remember last year when they took 2 of 3 there near the end of the season and then laid an egg in the playoffs? Remember, there are still a lot of games left in the season.
August 10, 2007 at 10:35 am
When Brocail comes into the game to pitch, I always think he’s going to blow it, but his performance this year doesn’t really support that thinking.
August 10, 2007 at 10:41 am
I am really starting to think we picked up a solid prospect in Will Garrisson
August 10, 2007 at 10:44 am
#19 Probably sums it up best. Brocail is no worse than any Tampa Bay reliever and as good as someone like Vinnie Chulk, who is the Giant set up man.
Season ends today the Pads are in the playoffs with two Cy Young candidates as their 1 - 2 punch. They got a shot to win it all with these two guys starting in a short series.
August 10, 2007 at 11:21 am
From padres.com via gaslampball, Jack Cassel has been called up from Portland to take Doug Brocail’s spot on the roster. Brocail has been put on the bereavement list. Seems like a good move for this series, with Cassel available for long relief of Ledezma or Germano. Cassel has put up a decent K/BB ratio in Portland and gets a bunch of ground balls, which is important in a park like Cincinnati.
August 10, 2007 at 11:22 am
Sorry, here’s the link to the news from the notes article on padres.com:
http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com.....mp;c_id=sd
August 10, 2007 at 11:51 am
23: You neglected to mention the news that will really make “Ducksnorters” happy: Shea Hillenbrand was released.
August 10, 2007 at 12:24 pm
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.c.....thru.0316/
The Philadelphia Phillies acquired infielder/outfielder Russell Branyan from Cleveland for cash Thursday.
… bizarre!
August 10, 2007 at 12:52 pm
#25 the drive towards 150 more career pa’s (wager I made with a few a month ago) . He will get 40 more in the last 2 months, if he gets hot (like end of last year) 75 more.
August 10, 2007 at 1:17 pm
#25: Hey, LM. Welcome back. It was good to see your comments last night. Hope you had a great trip.
August 10, 2007 at 2:12 pm
26: He’s headed towards the magic 150 number
August 10, 2007 at 2:50 pm
The Phillies really don’t have any other decent options at third, so they might as well just let Branyan bomb away in that bandbox.
Then, what they should do next year is, play Branyan full time at third, sign Adam Dunn and stick him in right or something, and have a crazy competition between Dunn, Burrell, and Branyan to see who can hit the most home runs, strike out the most, and hit for the lowest batting average. I’d totally become a Phillies fan if they did that.
August 10, 2007 at 2:57 pm
29: That’d be fun to watch.
August 10, 2007 at 3:07 pm
Apparently we claimed Igawa…either we work out a trade with the Yanks or they have to take him back.
August 10, 2007 at 4:02 pm
31 … hmmm, that’s interesting … here’s a link …
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7111274
ps. Derek - did you get to the HOF induction? I shouted “hello” as I was driving by Saugerties
Man, that weekend went by *FAST*!
August 10, 2007 at 6:41 pm
32 - I did get there and it was fantastic! Here are some quick pics:
http://www.tabblo.com/studio/stories/view/282221/
I take it you took the Thruway all the way towards Albany…definitely the easier way I think. How was the wkd?