Was that an insane series in New York or what? Thank goodness the Padres hung on to win on Thursday night (box score). Taking two out of three against the Mets in their home park is a pretty slick trick, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
We’ll postpone the weekly link roundup because today, with the Padres headed to Philadelphia for the weekend, I’ve got something much cooler. Tom Goyne, of the most excellent Balls, Sticks, & Stuff, asked me some questions the last time our two teams met and now the tables have been turned…
- As someone who follows a team that continually struggles to score runs, I find Philadelphia’s relationship with Pat Burrell fascinating. What’s the deal there?
First and foremost, the stereotypical Philadelphia sports fan wants a championship. Any championship. Outside of that, they want their players to appear as if they are giving it their all every second they are on the field. So, when Pat Burrell strikes out looking without ever taking the bat off of his shoulder, as he did over and over last year, they get peeved because it appears as if he is indifferent in the batter’s box. From everything I have seen and heard, that is definitely not the case with him, he’s trying his hardest, and recently in the last two months, he’s really stepped it up with Chase Utley out with a broken hand. It’s softened the blow.
- Why did the Phillies spend so much money on Adam Eaton?
Obviously it’s because they thought he would be better than this (league’s worst ERA), so really the question becomes, what did they see in him that other teams didn’t? Not only did they give him a lot of money, but he was one of the first pitchers to sign with a team in the offseason. Perhaps the quote of the year was when Eaton said after a bad start, “Maybe I need to pitch with more conviction. I’m not sure.” You can’t make this stuff up.
- Another ex-Padre, Shane Victorino, appears to have made a terrific recovery from rotting on a big-league bench for a year as a Rule V pick. Is he legit?
He certainly seems to be legit. He has a decent amount of power for a little guy, but his real asset is his speed. For a time, he didn’t have much confidence in stealing bases, but first base coach Davey Lopes got his ear this year and he has stolen 32 so far this year, despite missing the last few weeks with a calf strain. His second best asset is his right arm, it’s an absolute cannon. As if all of that weren’t enough, he seems to be a high-energy, joker type in the clubhouse. He’s a good fit on the club.
- I hate to keep focusing on players with San Diego ties, but what’s the latest on Cole Hamels and how far can the Phillies go if he ends up missing more than just a start or two?
Not far at all. With an ERA at 3.50, he’s been the best Phillies starter by far, one of the few that can consistently get strikeouts, a must at Citizens Bank Park. Reading the quotes in the papers, it seems as if Hamels is just being cautious with the discomfort, taking the “discretion is the better part of valor” school of thought.
- When last we spoke, the Phillies were looking up at a lot of teams for the wild card; now they’re right in the thick of things. What has changed since the middle of July?
The only thing that’s changed is better pitching from both the starters and in particular the relievers. The one constant is winning in spite of one injury after another. Chase Utley has lost time, and of the six starting pitchers the Phillies started the year with, only Jamie Moyer is still in the rotation. Thankfully he is immune to the effects of time.
- Who is badder, Clubber Lang or Ivan Drago?
Since Clubber was played by Mr. T, he had more of a cartoonish nature to him. Drago on the other hand was a weapon created by the communists to topple America. And, don’t forget, Drago was regularly injected with steroids from Balcosky.
Good point ‘about the ‘roids; still, I’d pity the fool that didn’t fear Clubber Lang. Thanks again to Tom for stopping by and chatting with us!
Padres Prospect Report
AAA
Brady Clark: 4 AB, 0 R, 1 H, 0 RBI; 2B (#5), 2 SO – .379/.438/.552 in 7 G
Craig Stansberry: 3 AB, 2 R, 1 H, 0 RBI; 1 BB – .274/.372/.448
Brian Myrow: 4 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 1 RBI; 2B (#29), 2 SO – .353/.434/.591
Will Startup: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO
AA
Matt Antonelli: 2 AB, 1 R, 0 H, 0 RBI; 2 BB, SB (#9) – .315/.418/.542
Will Venable: 3 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 2 RBI; HR (#7), SB (#21), BB – .283/.346/.376
Chad Huffman: 4 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 2 RBI; HR (#6), SO – .285/.362/.469
Will Inman: 5 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO – 3 HR, ouch!
High-A
Bakersfield 2, Lake Elsinore 1
Mike Baxter: 4 AB, 0 R, 2 H, 0 RBI; SB (#12) – .280/.347/.411
Low-A
All 10 runs came in the first five innings, which means the bullpen did a fine job. I guess if you’re into tracking Low-A relievers, that’s good news.
Short Season-A
Luis Durango: 5 AB, 1 R, 3 H, 0 RBI – .367/.413/.475
Rookie
Jeudy Valdez: 5 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 1 RBI; 2B (#7), SO – .293/.358/.437
Shane Buschini: 5 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 2 RBI; 2B (#9), SO – .250/.348/.427
Jose Mayi: 5 AB, 1 R, 4 H, 5 RBI; 2B (#4), 3B (#2), HR (#3) – finally, a cycle for the Padres!
Edinson Rincon: 4 AB, 0 R, 2 H, 0 RBI; 2B (#1), BB, SO
Stiven Osuna: 7 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO (4-6, 3.65)
Commentary:
Take the Arizona League stats with a giant vat of salt; the conditions there are barely gamelike. Don’t know much about the Dominican Summer League, but we probably ought to start tracking it as well.
Myrow turns 31 in a couple weeks, but he is just annihilating the PCL and probably deserves a look. Since May, dude is hitting .382/.454/.622 (OBP is (H+BB)/PA — couldn’t find HBP, SH, SF data). Not sure what more he can do.
Happy Friday, folks! Go Padres…
45: He broke in at LF. His bat would play there or at 1b.
46: They had short stints of success, but they weren’t regulars. There’s not a big jump between starting a rookie that you drafted and starting a catcher who had a fluke 2006.
47: Cabrera has two years to show he won’t eat himself out of baseball. But like Ben says, if he hits like this at a soft 260, then take the scale out of the clubhouse.
49: Yes, in that case it won’t be the 5 year length holding us up. If we want him, we have to trade for him, get 2 years, and wave good-bye.
Cabrera could not play LF in Petco, He played LF for the marlins 100lbs ago
Re: 51 (Re: 46) the major differeance is 744 ML AB’s
What about an OF of Hairtson in LF, Bradley in CF and Giles in right to start next season? Haiston seems to be getting left out of the conversation. They could pich up the option on Mackowiak (would they? I think it’s worth over 3 million) and bring back Sledge.
I suspect that Kouz has more value than we are giving him credit for. I believe his numbers are quite good on the road.
#18: Law’s argument would be much more compelling if he had a clue. Brocail has better numbers against LHP but scares the bejeezus out of everyone, Cameron and Hampson have trouble finding the plate, and Bell is your best reliever. I suppose you could argue for Bell; makes more sense than Wil Ledezma anyway…
I think Law just takes every oportunity he can to take a shot at the Pads (justified or not). I swear KT must have slept with his wife or something.
I think the most likely scenario is Kouz in LF, Headley at 3B, Antonelli at 2B (maybe not to begin the season but certainly by May 15th or so). Barrett is owed $4.6m next season which is a lot for a part-time players so either he’ll be gone or the starter full-time. The main question is CF obviously. I’m not sure that Bradley can handle the position, plus he is injury prone and seems to wear out his welcome after about a season. Remember that no matter who we play out there his hitting stats are going to look terrible (which will affect our ability to get good hitting free agents, no one will play here unless the Padres are the NL West dynasty). So the key is to get a good defender for that spot and hope that their offense is tolerable. I have no idea who that player is but I’m sure that Towers can find him.
Re: 57 Barrett is a FA at the end of the year
52: Of course he could play LF in Petco. He wasn’t 160 pounds when he was a rookie.
53: If the Padres had put very much weight on Bard’s major league at-bats, he wouldn’t have been here.
54: Who’s leaving him out? He’s my LF next year by default. But his road numbers are still bad, a 742 OPS with a miserable, just miserable, 284 OBP.
57: I think that’s the most likely to, maybe 55/45. Barrett’s a free agent, he’s not owed anything for 2007.
Re: 59 (Re: 52) I was kidding about the 100lbs but if Cabrera is 260 now then the Camera must add 30lbs not 10
Is Barrett a free agent? According to this http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2005/01/san-diego-padres.html he has a contract for next season.
the 4.6 mil is his 07 salary, he is a FA in 08 (next year)
Schlom, this is 2007. Have you passed by a quantum singularity recently?
D’oh….it’s this lousy Smarch weather that’s throwing me off.
Nice fun read:
http://tinyurl.com/35eaxm
64: …on the thirteenth hour of the thirteenth day of the thirteen month…
51: 260 seems gererous
Dude I agree with all you guys that Cabrera is one Tubby SOB but I don’t buy that he’s 260 at all. I would say 230 to 240 tops. 260 is huge you guys.
61 … what a *GREAT* link … I sent it to a friend of mine … who was already well aware of “Cot’s Baseball Contracts” and said that the most impressive part is that the guy usually updates his site within minutes of a new contract getting announced. It’s not a perfect site, however, as it still shows Billy Killian on the Padres (he was sent to Texas in the Young/Adrian deal) … I sent an update email to the owner of the site …
Is it too late to answer #1?
My pick for left field is Trevor Hoffman. He’s going the Rick Ankiel route, and will become the power-hitting outfielder the Padres have been looking for since they moved into Petco.
Re: 70 Trevor is a SS
65 … wow, that’s a *GREAT* link too! It increases my appreciation for Biggio … and Granderson … and our very own Kevin Cameron!
Why do people want to trade Giles? He’s been our best hitter outside of Milton Bradley this year.
68: 260′s really not that huge. Hell, he probably weighs over 260.
73: I think you trade him if you get something of value for him. Also, trading Giles gives you payroll flexibility.
That said, OG has been a beast in RF this year (at least defensively). He’s been a big key to our success this year.
73: Our best hitter is a low mark. I love his OBP, but it would be good to have OF power. Still, I don’t see how he gets traded. If his agent pays attention his 8 team no-trade list will cover almost anybody who might want him.
74: 260 is NFL linebacker. Prince Fielder was listed at 262 to start the season. It’s pretty huge. But I don’t care what he weighs.
Re: 73 I was talking about trading Giles if the Pads do a full Re-Build next year but if you see comment #11 I think they will make one more run next yaer with Giles in RF.
Re: 76 I would imagine OG would approve a trade to the NL central if the PAds decide to re-build, smaller ball parks to pad his career stats.
OT, but a nice article on turning two from MLB.com that features our own SS genius in the opening lines: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070823&content_id=2165769&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlbb
I haven’t got all the way through it yet, but I thought I would put it here. Also, anyone else notice the love Khalil got from Milton in the paper. I love seeing stuff like that from his team mates.
WC @ BP says this today …
Chris Young will get a cortisone shot in his back, but he’s still expected to make his next start.
OT: I just heard that Goodell suspended Vick indefinitely, without pay, telling Atlanta they can take whatever steps they want to consistent with the player’s contract and the union agreement. Goodell cited the gambling admission that Vick made, even though Vick tried to hedge it to call it “providing” money for gambling, or something like that. Nice call by the late John Butler who traded the rights to Vick for LT.