| time: | 5:10 p.m. PT |
| tv: | 4SD |
| sp: | Jake Peavy (11-5, 2.38) vs Anthony Reyes (1-10, 6.07) |
| pre: | Padres.com, SI.com, B-R.com |
If you want to see what a “mismatch on paper” looks like, try this on for size:
| RA | Peavy | Reyes |
|---|---|---|
| Statistics are through games of August 6, 2007, and are courtesy of Baseball-Reference. | ||
| 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 1 | 6 | 0 |
| 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | 6 | 4 |
| 4 | 2 | 3 |
| 5 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | 0 | 1 |
Well, hot damn!
Wow. No one can stop Silent L’s bat.
Hairston is looking like the bat we’ve been needing all season.
Let’s go El Hombre. More runs!
The fact that Blum is hitting is pretty unbelievable. What are his numbers since he hit rock bottom, didn’t he start the season like 2 for 28 or something, my god what is hitting since then ?
Silent L is 24-61 the last 30 days. Wow.
The sample size is still too small to anoint Hairston, but it’s already enough to say that it was another good deal by KT (at least in the short term…)
Sixteen shutouts is awesome…
107: It was a good deal regardless of how Hairston performed because he traded a minor league roster filler for a player with potential.
Hard win, but I’ll take it.
Nice win today. Great outing by Jake, and nice clutch hitting late in the game. With any luck, AZ will lose (the Dodgers already did) and we’ll take the remaining games in this series.
107: Yup, so far so good. All the moves are paying off in the short term. Good for the Padres.
Good win tonight. Yeay!
I can’t believe we have sixteen shutouts. This team seriously averages a shutout a week.
Bucs up on the d-backs 3-1 in the fourth.
7: I’m a little late responding, but my channel 4 HD is always screwed up- both the video and the audio. It’s never watchable for more than a minute or two.
I am sure some of you hardcores already knew about this site but I am very happy I found it.
http://firstinning.com/user/report/
Bonds just went yard.
#109
As negative as I was about Hairston at the time of the trade – mostly because of his dreadful k/bb ratio and low OBP – the more I’ve read about him on sites like BP and BA, I like him. He has in the past been compared, as a prospect, to Ellis Burks, Jeff Kent and Gary Sheffield. Obviously, none of those are going to pan out, but perhaps this is the “change of scenery” moment a once-touted prospect needs to thrive. See Bay, Jason for a primer.
Anyway, Hairston’s been terrific, and I could very easily imagine an OF of Bradley, Hairston and Kouzmanoff next season not embarassing itself.
I am not sold on Kouzmanoff yet. He is not exactly a young phenom – He is only one year younger than Scott Hairston.
Headley will definitely be ready to challenge next year for third base and there is no guarantee for KK to get a spot in the outfield.
119: Kouzmanoff has more upside than just about anyone else in the organization.
#119 – I agree, the guy is really strong and still learning how to play. I think we are another 300 – 400 at bats away from making a better guess but I wouldn’t say he is a sure thing either from what I have seen. His swing is awfully long and he gets in ruts where he stops spraying the pull and ends of grounding out to third time and again or whiffing. One thing I do like is that he seems to be a pretty darn good clutch hitter. Seems like he isn’t scared off -after all didn’t he hit a grand slam in the first pitch he saw) His defense is average plus (though this is better than what we thought we were getting). If you look at his raw numbers, he has been a disappointment if you see him play everyday you like him which is why I like him.
I, like many who write here, am a numbers guy. I kind of see players like stacks of cards, where you get to see some of the cards (historical performance) and have to guess what is left in deck. But once you see trends, those players really are kind of locked into the cards that are in their deck. No matter how hard Blum works at it, he is never going to be a Chase Utley, etc. So, they hone their craft to maximize the cards they have, but do have limits to what they can do.
Jake, today, played the “grit” card, a card I don’t usually believe exists, but it just felt like he willed that win today. Can’t explain it better than that, but it was awesome to see. Tough win, but gritty.
With the addition of Milton Bradley (if he stays health—a big “if”== and the shoring of its bench, the Padres are simply one starting pitcher away from being arguably the best team in baseball. They are already on pace to win 88 games and they are just now recovering from a 20 – 27 (1/4 of the season playing .425 baseball ).
I see Maddux as a good fourth starter on a 95-100 win type team. I don’t think that it is beyond the realm of possibility that someone steps up and becomes this starter for the Padres. Germano could regain his form They got that sort of boost last year from Cla Meredith. Maybe a Ledezma steps up….maybe Hensley catches fire……maybe they pick up a waiver deal that helps them – The Padres are so close.
121: I’m a big fan of Kouzmanoff’s and I really hope he can learn to play left field. If he can’t, he’ll be missed.
123: I think if the Padres make it to the playoffs being able to drop a starter from the rotation will have a similar effect.
Sorry..I control the airwaves out of pure excitement about my Padres. I have been a Pads fan for almost 30 years and it is nice to have a legitimate chance to win it all on a yearly consistent basis and so I excite easily about them come August. Nothing is more exciting than those last September games with the expanded rosters and guys like Paul McAnulty or Darrin Jackson (magical 1989 – 89-72) hit blasts to win games in extra innings. When it starts getting dark early and the Pads are in a pennant chase my life becomes magical.
Don’t look now, but the Rockies are now tied for third place, four games out (e.g, only half a game worse then the Braves are in the East). It could turn into a 4-team race.
Funny – I keep seeing stories on the Cubs and the Braves, but the NL West teams keep being left out of the conversation, despite the fact that they make up three of the six teams chasing the wild card…
Here are my roster expansion players and some of them, I believe could win a ballgame or two.
Brian Myrow (lefthanded bat – he should be rewarded for having a fine AAA season at Portland and for holding up the fort when things could have been even worse up there. He doesn’t strike out much and has decent power (kind of a poor mans Mark Grace) but I have already wasted too much time on him because he is a first baseman and he is 30 years old. But he is more than capable of delivering a big hit in a wacky crucial late September game in the 11th inning.
Hiram Bocachica – I thought this guy deserves a big thanks from the Padres brass for stepping in here and doing a decent job. In a early 3 game series in Washington, DC, I thought that he even won a game or two with excellent defense and a big blast. The following homestand he delivered a few needed hits as well. At the end of his cup of coffee here he was exposed – lots of holes in that swing and a bit erratic in the field (seems rather excitable which seemingly affects his play ig-overthrowing cut off men and getting his spikes caught up on some throws) – But I think that this was also a pickup that Towers should get credit for. Good guy to have for depth until we develop some of these San Antonio guys and mayve Yordany Ramirez at Portland and a typical Towers patchwork delight. If we never see him again I want to say thanks Hiram.
Paul McAnulty – One of the biggest disappointments this year. Next year will be a big year for him. Probably should get one more go around next year. Slash hitter that has potential to be solid bench player or platoon option. This guy HAS won in game in September which is why I like him on this expanded roster to do it again.
Frank Menechino – For the fans who know why KT signed this guy than I won’t insult you with going over the obvious. The guy can still help you win a ballgame, feisty as all hell -not much raw talent (and yes, he is 37 years old) but he’s been there before, knows the game, and may lay done a 13th inning bunt to win a game and mess with the Giles Brothers to keep the clubhouse loose in late September.
Shane Hillenbrand – Not the role that Shane wanted to step into as he was surely expected an August call but with Ensberg coming aboard his roll changed. You know what though—I think that this is a pretty darn good expanded roster pickup, this guy may have some hits left in his bat.
Pete LaForest – I have been looking at his 6 for 16 (.375) cup of coffee stats all year.. Heck, in the bad old days of the 70 and early 80′s Padres that would have guaranteed him 300 at bats the next year. La Forest has a homer-strikeout-walk guy (you know how I love them
, he may get 100 at bats for a major league team next year and who knows maybe he will become Rick Wilkins.
Scott Cassidy – another disappointment this year but still throws 90-95 miles an hour. His performance last year is a prime example of a KT bargain move that paid off.
Chase Headley – a reward for a great season and a chance to hang out with MLBers that can share experiences and knowledge.
others – Mike Thompson – wishing nightmare of 2007 would end – I don’t see him getting a call this year again but KT seems to like this guy and right now the Padres cupboard is pretty bare. So bare that a kid from Eugene just got a start there in the cluster**** of a rotation Tim Stauffer – that Sunday was a weird one and he does show flashed, I would like to see him get another 4-5 starts at this level to see him some more. I will always appreciate Stauffer for that big clutch start last year against the LA Dodgers. Thatcher (besides the brain cramps he had in his second outing I thought he looked good/Startup-good minor league numbers -been shaky in his latest Portland outings/Estes (wonder if this guy has anything left in the tank ? With Wells ineffective, Estes had to see opportunity knocking -though he got bombed his first night out)
#121
Gotta say I completely disagree with your assessment of Kouzmanoff. His defense is not average plus – by just about every legitimate defensive metric he’s one of the very worst 3B in baseball defensively. The Padres have minor league options at third, as well as Ensberg if he plays well, but pretty much no OF prospects aside from McAnulty, who has played poorly this season. I think Kouzmanoff ends up as a left-fielder, and I think once he’s no longer struggling with the hot corner his offense will improve.