Friday Links (19 Oct 07)
Fri, Oct 19, 2007
by Geoff Young
I’m making excellent progress on the book. Drafts of two chapters — Best by Position in Padres History, Kevin Towers Trade Register — are complete, and I’ve gotten started on two more — Player Dashboards and Commentary, Overlooked ex-Padres.
I love my job. (And I’m trying hard not to become one of those annoyingly happy people that you just want to smack.)
Center Field
Great discussion on Thursday about how to attack the problem. We’ll pick it up again next week; meanwhile, here’s what other folks have to say:
- What are we going to do about center field? (Friar Watch). Anthony offers some suggestions.
- Will the Padres Offer Andruw Jones a One-Year Deal? (FanHouse). I’m not sold on the idea that in his prime, and after one down year, Jones will have to “settle” for less than a long-term deal. It’s fun to dream, but sorry, I don’t see this happening — and I’d say that even if Scott Boras didn’t represent Jones.
- Eight free agents for 2008 (Hardball Times). John Beamer has Jones and Torii Hunter listed at #1 and #2. His estimates put Jones at 6 years for $85-90 million, and Hunter at 4 years for $55 million.
- Schilling, Rivera on shopping list (PhillyBurbs, via Steve C in the comments). Reports have Aaron Rowand seeking a 6-year, $84 million deal. Follow Brave Sir Robin’s lead and run away.
Strikeouts
The relative importance of strikeouts came up in Thursday’s discussion. Here are a couple of (oldish) articles that may help shed light on the subject:
- Do Strikeouts Matter? (The Diamond Angle)
- Baseball Prospectus Basics: Just Another Out? (Baseball Prospectus, via Tom Waits in the comments)
Prospects
- Padres farm out Bryk (San Diego Union-Tribune). Bill Bryk shifts from field coordinator to American League scout. Tom Gamboa takes over Bryk’s old role. From the article:
When Fuson inherited Bryk, it meant the Padres’ two most powerful farm jobs belonged to baseball veterans of vastly different philosophies. Bryk was developed as a scout by the Pirates, who emphasized athleticism in players and fastball speed among pitchers. Fuson hails from an Athletics system that highly valued hitting discipline and pitching aptitude.
Interesting…
- San Diego Padres Top 5 (Project Prospect, via Friar Forecast). This is a fascinating list because it’s so different from what you’re likely to see elsewhere. I can’t say that I agree with it all (Will Inman ahead of Matt Antonelli and Chase Headley?), but it’s nice to see someone recognize Kyle Blanks.
Other
- Odds and Ends (MLB Trade Rumors, via Phantom in the comments). From the article:
Also note that Kevin Kouzmanoff is a butcher at third; maybe the Friars will be in the market for Mike Lowell this winter (a player they’ve expressed interest in in the past).
Three points:
- Kouzmanoff isn’t a butcher at third; he’s below average — there is a difference.
- Lowell is coming off a great season, but at this stage in his career, it’s not clear that he represents an upgrade from Kouz on offense going forward.
- Headley is just about ready in case something happens to Kouz.
- Three Padres on the mend (Padres.com). We knew about Brian Giles‘ knee and Trevor Hoffman’s elbow, now it’s Josh Bard’s turn. Bard had surgery on his right wrist. Remember when he stopped batting left-handed for a while back in August? This is why.
- EMERGENCY! (Hardball Times, via FriarFanDan in the comments). I love that Tuck is now doing stuff for us at Hardball Times. Hi-frackin’-larious.
Winter Leagues
- Surprise 10, Saguaros 3 (box). Will Venable, batting seventh and again at DH (a sore shoulder is keeping him out of center field), hit two solo home runs in four at-bats. Venable homered to right in the second off Fernando Rodriguez and to center in the fifth off Von Stertzbach. Both pitchers are right-handers in the Angels organization; neither is a top-shelf prospect. Jonathan Ellis worked a scoreless ninth.
- Escogido 7, Licey 2 (box). Results from the Dominican seem to take a little longer. This is Wednesday’s game. Yordany Ramirez started in center for Licey and batted ninth, singling and striking out twice in four at-bats. Vince Sinisi played left field for Escogido and went 1-for-3 with two RBI in the #5 hole.
- Licey 3, Azucareros 2 (box). Ramirez moved up to the #8 spot and went 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBI. Incidentally, there are worse places to play baseball in the winter than Licey:
- Hermosillo 7, Navojoa 1 (box). Oscar Robles led off and went 0-for-4 with a walk. Luis Cruz, back in center field, singled twice in four trips to the plate.
- Obregon 5, Mexicali 2 (box). Jared Wells struck out three of the four batters he faced in the ninth (including Jason Botts and Carlos Rivera, both of whom have seen some action in the big leagues). Ex-Padre Jon “I Was Traded for Heath Bell and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt” Adkins picked up the save for Obregon.
There you go. Happy Friday!
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October 19, 2007 at 8:42 am
I too hope, in about a year, to be one one of those people that are stupid happy about their job. Congrats on moving forward so briskly on the book.
The CF issue is interesting, and it will be curious to see how it is resolved. Do we pretty much assume that this is our biggest need next year? I think that this would be a fair statement.
A couple people have expressed concern that Antonelli might not be ready yet (and I think we might deal him if we can get a good CF out of the deal. I should have also noted that the Mariners need a reliable 2B (Adam Jones)). Here are the 2B FAs:
Luis Castillo (32)
Damion Easley (38)
Marcus Giles (30) - $4MM club option for ‘08
Tadahito Iguchi (33)
Mark Loretta (37)
Kaz Matsui (32)
Jose Valentin (38)
There’s not much to get exciteda bout here, but I think Iguchi or Matsui could be valuable.
October 19, 2007 at 8:53 am
I think it will take more than Antonelli to get Jones
October 19, 2007 at 9:14 am
2: Agreed, but I think Antonelli is a starting point in that conversation. I don’t think the Mariners have a terribly pressing need for a 3B, but I think Antonelli could get the conversation going.
That said, would we do Antonelli/Carillo (or Hensley - I know, I know, he’s injured) for Jones.
What does everyone think it would take for Jones? Antonelli and a pitcher?
October 19, 2007 at 9:19 am
Antonelli/Leblanc would be my guesse
October 19, 2007 at 9:57 am
Jones may not even be available. Guillen may void his option if Seattle picks it up. Even if he doesn’t, they could go Jones/Guillen/Ichiro in the outfield and fly ball hits would be scarce.
Has anyone heard anything about Wladimir Balentien’s defense in CF? Wait, I just looked him up on BA and his scouting reports from a few years ago aren’t good.
October 19, 2007 at 10:03 am
Re: 5 if they could get Balentien for cheap it would still be a nice pickup even if he cant play CF.
October 19, 2007 at 10:10 am
I saw Balentien in the Cal League. Dude has sick power, but my recollection is that he played marginal defense in right field. Didn’t look at all like a center fielder to me.
October 19, 2007 at 10:12 am
How times have changed! I’m not saying Kouz is a defensive gem, but Caminiti had 20 or more errors every year he played for us, and Mike Schmidt, who some put at #1 or #2 on the list of all time third-basemen had 20 or more errors and won the gold glove at his position multiple times. Is it that our expectations have changed or have the official scorers gotten soft?
October 19, 2007 at 10:13 am
I know im getting a little ahead of things here but who will be in RF in 09, I dont think the Pads will pick up OG’s option. Will Huffman be ready by then?
October 19, 2007 at 10:22 am
re; Antonelli as a starter ? Mr. Waits - your correct, my flabbergasted tone re: folks/fans penciling Antonelli as a starter was a bit over the top but didn’t the whole possibility (not pure speculation) of Antonelli starting begin with an official confirmation from the front office and then lapped up and pushed forward by the quasi journalist/Padre propagandist Corey Brock ?
October 19, 2007 at 10:24 am
Anyway, I hope your writing me in June and reminding me just how wrong I was about Matt Antonelli.
October 19, 2007 at 11:00 am
10, 11: Other people, including people who are generally reliable (Baseball America) and those who often have their heads up their rears but still talk to the Padre front office (Nick Canepa) have said the Padres want Antonelli to grab the job. Could still be a PR effort.
I don’t necessarily think you’re wrong. I might even agree with you that Antonelli needs work, but I haven’t seen him play defense. I was more answering the tone of shock that anyone would possibly think he was ready.
October 19, 2007 at 11:02 am
8: Yes, scorers seem to be less prone to give errors, but errors are only a part of the defensive story. An immobile shortstop with good hands and a strong arm won’t make many errors, but he won’t make as many plays, either.
October 19, 2007 at 11:10 am
Tangential to CF: If the Padres make substantial improvements elsewhere, the CF offense gets less important. There’s speculation that Posada and other Yankee free agents will be more prone to leave because Torre’s gone. If we strike quickly after the WS, could we get Posada for a 2 yr plus option worth 9 or 10 per? That’s better offense than we get out of Cameron for about what he would cost.
October 19, 2007 at 11:14 am
Mary, as Tom pointed out errors are not the way to judge defensive performance, or at least not a very good way. Today’s analysts are trying to be much more rigorous and detailed in their defensive measures. This includes utilizing play-by-play data which was unheard of in Caminiti’s time let a lone Schmidt’s age. Positioning of the players is beginning to be accounted for, trajectory, velocity and location of balls in play are being hit is being included. It’s quite complex, imo, but seems to be beginning to yield some insights which errors and Fielding Percentage just aren’t capable of.
There also seems to be a bit of variability year to year as well. So even if Kouz wasn’t stellar this year, it may not mean he won’t be quite a bit better next year.
October 19, 2007 at 11:18 am
14: Excellent point about offense in CF, or any position, being offset by upgrades in other positions. Posada would be an interesting acquisition. I always wonder about guys like that though who’ve played for a particular franchise, in a particular region for a long time and whether they’re interested in moving to someplace which is drastically different than where they’re used to.
Posada has always been a Yankee, east coast, AL guy; would he consider a move to the Pads, out west and in the NL at this point in his career? I don’t know, I’m just curious as to what, if any, role these sorts of things play in a player’s decision.
October 19, 2007 at 11:23 am
14: I’d be surprised if the Pads managed to snag Posada. I’d love to do it, but I’d be surprised if we did.
I agree with your point though, that CF offense is not as important as CF defense. Hopefully a full year of Hairston/Bradley can out-hit Crudge/Bradley/warm-body-with-a-pulse.
I think Kouz will be better, and Adrian will probably make small improvements as well. I would have to imagine that whatever we plug into 2B (Antonelli or someone else) will provide more offense than the Silent L/OG combo. With any luck, Khalil will continue to crush the ball, and perhaps he’ll draw some more walks.
The only places on the team where I don’t anticipate general offensive improvement from this year to next year is RF and C. Giles is on the decline, and I think Bard will be consistent wtih what he’s done in the past (which, by the way, is surprisingly valuable - Bard’s .768 among regular catchers put him between Brian McCann and Kenji Johjima).
So if we improve on 5 of the 8 positions offensively, I think we’ll be doing fine (this assumes our CF solution will put up worse numbers than Cameron).
October 19, 2007 at 11:37 am
TW (13), How dare you talk about Chris Gomez like that…
October 19, 2007 at 1:12 pm
Following the other two links on the MLBTraderumors report that compares Kouzmanoff’s defense to that of a butcher (do butcher’s play bad defense?), reveals that two other metrics show Kouz as closer to the middle of the pack defensively and not in the same ballpark as Ryan Braun. Defense at 3B should not be a pressing concern for the Padres this offseason.
CF should be a pressing concern, and I think that I’d rank my preferences as follows:
1. Andruw Jones on a one-year deal. He’d be motivated to perform and would give us a RH power bat to hit behind Adrian. I think that this deal is pretty unlikely-someone will throw big, multi year money at Andruw.
2. Adam Jones from Seattle. Also might not be available-I’m not sure why they’d trade him. I’d also be a little concerned about adding a second rookie to the everyday lineup,
3. Reggie Willits-This seems like a semi-likely scenario. We could ship young pitching (Inman, Leblanc, Latos?) to LAA and end up with a leadoff hitter that bumps everyone down one slot in the lineup.
4. Rocco Baldelli-I’m still willing to take a chance on an oft-injured guy with big potential. I’m thinking that he would be relatively cheap…a good buy-low candidate.
5. Coco Crisp. I’m a little concerned about what he’ll cost to acquire and the lack of offense. His defense is a big plus and we seem to match up well with the BoSox.
October 19, 2007 at 1:49 pm
Re: I’m always curious what the point of your replies are.
If the Padres wouldn’t shell out $5-6 million a year for Ramon Hernandez, what is the likeleyhood they would pay twice that for a top-tier free agent like Posada.
Baffling.
October 19, 2007 at 1:55 pm
20 … huh?
Ramon was not worth what he was asking for (and go, I s’pose) … and the Padres’ FO knew that … so let him walk.
If Posada will sign for what the Padres’ FO thinks he is worth, why would you think they wouldn’t do that?
October 19, 2007 at 1:56 pm
21 … typo … change “and go” to “and got” …
October 19, 2007 at 1:58 pm
15- Pat, if errors are not a good judge, where’s the data that is, and does it require a subscription or a Masters in Calculus to understand it!? ;>) In just the last 15 years, I’ve seen clear errors now being judged a hit with no explanation forthcoming(not that I expect one).
If the ball is in your glove, and then it’s not, I don’t care how hard the ball was hit, that seems like a error to me. And if positioning is such a big deal, why don’t the coaches get a Gold Glove as well(unless we assume that the players make those decisions themselves)?
I seem to recall a better than average hitter who worked like crazy on his defense and won five Gold Gloves. Kous can get better, but it’s mainly up to him. (I’m hoping of course.)
And to chime in on the Antonelli thing, my connection (tangential as it is), thinks Matt needs more chances at 2nd base before he moves up, which leads me to believe that post All-Star break makes more sense, unless the Padres decide to do what AZ did and throw the young guy into the water and wait till his can swim. Spring Training ought to be fun!
October 19, 2007 at 2:13 pm
With Colorado’s success in the post season, I think it adds luster to the good year that the Padre’s had. We just missed by a whisker, in fact we almost knocked one of the hottest teams in the history of the game !W ith the past minor league failures REALLY hurting usand rearing their ugly head this year (ie - Brady Clark fiasco, 30 year old Termel Sledge getting more than enough opportunites, Geoff Blum as a starter at second, Tomko getting a crucial start in game #162). Heck, we had 89 wins with one hand tied behind our back. The future looks great !
October 19, 2007 at 2:29 pm
#9: I’m skeptical of Huffman’s ability to play right field, especially at Petco Park.
#12: The thing to bear in mind with Antonelli (and this isn’t directed at you specifically, TW) is that he’s had a half-season above A-ball and his power came out of nowhere. I really like his long-term prospects, but if he wins the job in spring, folks seriously need to temper their expectations. Like be happy if he cracks a 700 OPS.
#14: I’m not opposed to the concept, although a) I don’t think catcher is an area of need and b) Posada’s profile (36-yo catcher) terrifies me.
#20: Thank goodness we’re not on the hook for Ramon. Must suck to be an Orioles fan right about now.
#23: Bill James has an excellent discussion on this topic on pp. 177-181 of his ‘82 Baseball Abstract. He used range factor at the time, although there are more sophisticated (and often confusing) metrics available nowadays. The general idea is that a fielder should receive credit for the balls he gets to and not just take blame for ones he doesn’t field cleanly. To use a very crude example, who was the better defensive shortstop this year, Rafael Furcal or Jose Reyes? Well, Furcal committed 19 errors in just over 1200 innings, while Reyes committed 12 in a shade over 1400. But Furcal got to 686 balls, versus 660 for Reyes. Breaking these down to rates, we get:
Furcal: 0.14 errors/game, 5.10 chances/game
Reyes: 0.075 errors/game, 4.15 chances/game
So, every 20 games, Furcal commits one more error than Reyes, but he also gets to 21 more balls. Again, this is a very crude example using imperfect methods, but the point is that Furcal must receive credit for those extra balls he gets to and Reyes must be penalized for those he cannot reach. In the case of Kouz, his range factor (or more accurately, advancements on that measurement) is relatively poor. This doesn’t tell the whole story, of course, but it tells an important part of the story.
Eh, sorry for the length there…
October 19, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Re: 21
I am only pointing out that the Padres had a catcher in Hernandez that, in his time in SD, provided another offensive threat to the lineup. Fortunately for the Padres, they did not retain him, deeming his asking price way out of their price range.
Now if Posada can command anything longer than a one year deal, why would anyone expect the Padres to fork at $20-30 million for an aging, albeit, very productive catcher.
I would like to see them go after the Andruw Jones; and Jorge Posada’s of the free-agent world, but unless one-year contracts become the norm rather than an anomaly, hoping to land a big fish is just wishful thinking.
October 19, 2007 at 2:35 pm
20: Yeah, huh? Who was that in response to?
The Padres have paid 9-10 million contracts. They prefer to keep them short. Ramon wasn’t that good and wanted 4 years. If they could get Posada for 2 years and an option at 10 per, they’d look at it HARD. It’s basically a Maddux deal with an extra option, except that Posada is still an elite player.
The Yankees may offer him 4 years and 48 million, making this moot. But Posada is not Ramon Hernandez.
October 19, 2007 at 2:36 pm
OT … if you’ve got a BP sub, this is a good read …
http://www.baseballprospectus......cleid=6850
… rant on both the umps and the Buck/McCarver tandem re: Manny’s non-HR last night … another blown call which is not ack’d as a blown-call by the announcers/commentators …
October 19, 2007 at 2:38 pm
24: We also got some luck. Peavy had the kind of year that may only happen once. Germano didn’t totally blow. Heath Bell’s arm stayed on. We got 19 home runs from the Bradley-Hairston cast-offs.
25: They forked over 30M for 3 years of Brian Giles. Roughly 20M for 2 years of Greg Maddux.
October 19, 2007 at 2:42 pm
#29: Forgive me, it’s Friday, but I’m missing your point on Giles and Maddux.
October 19, 2007 at 2:44 pm
25 (Antonelli): Agreed. I’m not disputing that Antonelli may not be ready to do much. It was the idea that anybody who thought he might get the job was silly that instigated my responses to JP.
25 (Catcher): We have to get better somewhere, esp. if we go backwards in CF. Posada sure isn’t the only way to do it, but he and Bard make a very strong catching duo. I’d rather they focus on getting good pitchers for the 4th and 5th spot, but we have to be honest with ourselves, there’s some chance we end up with Tomko and a scrap heap / rehab pickup (Clement, Jennings). If they do that, we should try to acquire more offense.
October 19, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Re: 27
With your reasoning, the Padres are going to take a HARD look at Hunter/Jones, Posada, Abreu, maybe even a Westbrook with the caveat that they are going to ask for a short term contract.
This is flawed thinking. The only free-agents asking for one or two year deals are guys that are nearing or over 40 years of age. Hence, the ability to sign Maddux last off-season.
Realistically, the only guys the Padres could land with a short term offer would be Smoltz, Schilling, or God Forbid, Jeff Kent. Not exactly awe inspiring.
October 19, 2007 at 2:48 pm
30: That’s because I put the wrong RE number in there. That was supposed to be in response to Surfin Bird (26) and the Padres supposed refusal to sign multiyear deals.
October 19, 2007 at 2:52 pm
32: I specifically said that IF they could get him on 2 years + option, they’d look at it. I made no projections as to the likelihood of him accepting such a deal. We don’t know what Posada will ask for. He’s an older catcher.
They will try to make a one-year offer to Jones, if he seems at all amenable. They won’t talk to Hunter, there’s no point. Jones, Hunter, and Posada are not the same guys.
I’d take Jeff Kent as a one-year bridge to Antonelli. Probably precludes resigning Bradley.
October 19, 2007 at 2:53 pm
#31: Gotcha on Antonelli. As for Posada, he would be a nice addition but I’d hate to see him on more than a 2-year deal. Someone will give him more, though, whether or not it’s a smart idea.
#32: I wouldn’t mind seeing Schilling or Smoltz here on a 1-year deal at all. Even Kent could have value.
#33: Thanks, I thought maybe I was being even denser than usual.
October 19, 2007 at 2:59 pm
RE:32
If you are seriously considering Kent, how about a Jeff Kent/Barry Bonds package?
October 19, 2007 at 3:01 pm
35: I don’t know. Posada probably has three years left in him.
October 19, 2007 at 3:09 pm
36: If it wasn’t for their clashing personalities, and if the cost was reasonable, absolutely. We get hugely better offensive production from two spots that weren’t too good last year; LF was good for about 1/3 of the year.
37: I think so too. If he’s good for 2 years and then slows down, he’s still probably the best-hitting backup catcher in the game. You’d have to manage his workload that third year.
October 19, 2007 at 3:14 pm
#37: Could be. Scares the heck out of me, though. He’d be at 1600+ games behind the plate for his career headed into that third year. There have been 15 guys to catch more than 1600 games over the past 40 years. The only one who retained his value without shifting positions is Carlton Fisk, who was a freak. Granted, most of them weren’t as offensive minded as Posada to begin with, but still, that’s a tremendous amount of wear and tear.
October 19, 2007 at 4:22 pm
Jeff Kent on a one year deal sounds like a great option for us. He bridges the gap nicely to Antonelli, and he can still hit enough to compensate for his terrible defense. He’d be a hell of a lot better than Blum or Marcus Giles. But his option with the Dodgers vested, so I don’t think he’s a free agent.
Similarly, Barry Bonds would be awesome in left.
I don’t think Posada makes sense for us because the dropoff from Posada to Bard isn’t as large as the dropoff in center field from Cameron to a replacement there or from Curt Schilling to Germano. So I would think it would be better to spend the money at those positions, since Bard is an above average hitting catcher.
October 19, 2007 at 4:59 pm
40: Good point on Posada not being that big of an improvement over Bard. Probably not big enough to take a risk on his being able to stick behind the plate for three more seasons.
Also, Bonds in left would be outstanding
October 19, 2007 at 5:37 pm
40, 41: I don’t know that Bonds in left would be wonderful. He is missing enough time now and playing bad enough defense that I’m not certain that he is a huge asset at this point-certainly not worth what we’d have to pay him (15M+, right?).
His average season over the last three years: only 369 plate appearances a year. He’s missing almost two months a year and that’s only going to get worse. I don’t know that he’s a great risk at this point, especially with court proceedings looming.
October 19, 2007 at 6:00 pm
40 (Kent): You’re right. He didn’t pop off about the kids until his option vested.
40, 42 (Posada): The dropoff from Posada to Bard isn’t that big? Posada’s averaged 25 HR a year, with a 381 OBP and a 479 SLG. The last 4 years his HR are more like 20….10 to 15 more than we can expect from Bard. A 127 OPS+ vs 102 for their careers is a major gap. That’s basically the difference between Mike Cameron and a mid-80s OPS+ CF, which aren’t that hard to find.
42 (Bonds): The court issue is important. Reporters speculate that the Feds and maybe baseball will go after him hard after the Mitchell report. But in baseball terms, 350 plate appearances of 480 OBP and 565 SLG is huge. Start him 3 games out of 5 and when he’s not starting he’s an awesome pinch hitter. I don’t think anyone knows what his contract will be, but Petco won’t be the first place he wants to call home.
October 19, 2007 at 6:22 pm
43: Given that we can expect a drop off in Posada’s performance, the gap isn’t *that* big, but fair point. I guess I was thinking more along the lines that Bard isn’t “part of the problem” offensively.
As for Bonds, I seem to recall him referring to PetCo as “baseball proof,” so maybe he wouldn’t want to call it home.
October 19, 2007 at 7:02 pm
I love that Youtube video of those hot chicks. I’m moving to Mexico.
October 19, 2007 at 7:08 pm
Looking over Posada’s BR page, I hadn’t realized he was such a good hitter. The .338 batting average this year came out of absolutely nowhere (previous career high .287), but he has a lot higher walk rate than I thought. But I’d guess the 122 and 109 OPS+ numbers he put up in his previous two season are much more accurate predictors of the numbers he’ll put up going forward than his 155 number from this year. Similarly I’m guessing the 107 Bard put up this year in full time duty is about his true talent level for the next couple of years.
That was my thinking on downplaying the gap. Posada would definitely help this team. As with everything, it all comes down to the dollars and years he’s actually going to get.
October 19, 2007 at 8:37 pm
Uh oh. In his recent mailbag at padres.com Corey Brock guesses that it’s probably just going to be some combination of Hensley, Germano, Cassel, Tomko, and maybe Geer at the back of the rotation.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/articl.....red=rss_sd
October 19, 2007 at 10:17 pm
I’m fine with Bard as the primary catcher but we really need to get a strong defensive catcher as a backup. I know the opponents SB rate isn’t a huge concern to the team and it’s more a function of the pitcher than the catcher but I’d like to see a guy with a gun back there on Bard’s days off.
47: If the Padres don’t sign some starters they’re basically throwing in the towel on 2008. We got lucky with Germano, the league caught up to his mediocre stuff toward the end of the year. I’m cautiously optimistic about Tomko as a #5 guy but we really need to sign at least one innings eater for the #4 slot, Livan Hernandez, Carlos Silva, someone like that. And it would be nice to have a decent swingman who can step in if someone goes down. Ledezma reminds me of Dewon Brazelton….
October 19, 2007 at 11:04 pm
Garry Templeton is not my Padre either.
October 20, 2007 at 7:14 pm
45: Pretty girls in Mexico, too, but that video is from the Licey team in the Dominican Republic.
October 20, 2007 at 9:52 pm
GY, I saw your post at KnuckleCurve about Crisp sitting might drive down his price. I agree, but I can’t help but wonder if his value is dropping along with the price…