Links. Who doesn’t love ‘em? Short and sweet:
- Tony Gwynn talks about the Mitchell Report (San Diego Union-Tribune).
- MB analyzes the Jim Edmonds trade (Friar Forecast).
- Tom Krasovic offers his thoughts on Edmonds as well (San Diego Union-Tribune).
- Joe P. Sheehan examines similar pitchers by pitch type (Baseball Analysts, hat tip Friar Forecast).
- Chris Young is working with Tiger Woods’ physical therapist in an attempt to keep himself healthy (San Diego Union-Tribune).
- Tadahito Iguchi understands that Petco Park is big and looks forward to hitting doubles and triples instead (San Diego Union-Tribune).
- Dave Studeman discusses steroids and the Hall of Fame (Hardball Times).
- The Padres have re-signed catcher Michael Barrett and signed outfielder Jeff DaVanon and utility man Robert Fick to minor-league deals (San Diego Union-Tribune).
- Corey’s blog is back and he’s still thinking about Kosuke Fukudome. Bonus points for having the best blog name ever (Rich Folkers is throwing up in the bullpen).
There it is. Make a little birdhouse in your soul…
We never really talked about the Fick and Davanon signings yesterday, I really like both signings, we all know Fick and I really like the idea of having a 3rd guy who can play catcher but has other uses as well. I’m not to familiar with DaVanon’s defence can he play CF for 50 games this year?
I think Fick is a great signing. Very versatile with particular emphasis on his ability to spell AGon. Also, he’s a hustler.
2: Color me unexcited by Fick. From 2003 to now his high OPS+ has been 95 and it’s averaged 77. I love having a utility player who can catch, but he’s just not a good enough hitter to carry him, especially if he’s going to be the backup 1b.
3: I’d prefer to have someone like P-Mac back-up 1B if we’re gonna go that route.
By the way, which AAA guys do we expect to be on the team this year?
I’m guessing:
Robles
Stansberry
P-Mac
Rule V guys (don’t remember the names)
Any others?
4: Only one between Robles/Stansberry/Crabbe or something has gone wrong.
I don’t think the team thinks much of PMac these days. He didn’t even get a September callup.
It’s possible that they’d use Kouzmanoff or Headley to give Agon a day off.
There are still a few RH first basemen / pinch hitters on the FA market. Tony Clark, Matt LeCroy (who can catch in the direst of emergencies), Mike Sweeney.
5: I would assume it’s Crabbe since he’s the Rule V guy.
I was kind of thinking the same thing about P-Mac, but that’s kind of sad. Do we see more of Sinisi this year?
I don’t think Fick should be in the major anymore.
I will be pretty shocked if Fick makes the opening day roster. He’s got “Portland Beavers” written all over himself.
Glad to see I’m not the only person who thinks Fick is a waste of a roster spot…..it would be good to have MLB quality players on the bench, no?
DaVanon now is a nice get. The guy is suppose to be pretty good defensively and is a good bet to post a .360 OBP coming off the bench.
Given BB propensity to roll out his Sunday lineup and the injury history of both Edmonds and now OG….having a 4th outfielder who can actually contribute is key.
08 Bench:
Fick
Barrett
DaVanon
E-Gon
Hairston/Headley
DaVanon was pretty terrible last year. He was a good fourth outfielder before he got hurt in Arizona, but his numbers last year in very limited duty: .213/.308/[b].270[/b]. Ouch! If we wanted that kind of production we could have just kept Jose Cruz (or Hiram Bocachica or Brady Clark or Steve Finley or…).
UZR from 2003 to Mid-2007 seems to think DaVanon can actually play CF, which pleasantly surprised me. I know defensive metrics are in their infancy, but at least over 103 games in CF during the past 4-plus years UZR thinks he was +7 runs per 150 games. Hopefully he can spell Edmonds when needed and Edmonds can stay healthy enough to be effective out there the rest of the time.
Baseball Prospectus has Davanon right at average over his career in center although he’s been much worse over the past couple of seasons (but these are really small samples so they might not mean anything). Both Fick and Davanon were signed to minor league deals so I don’t think there’s any guarantee that they make the major league team (I don’t see that Fick has much of a shot, there doesn’t seem to be much need a left-handed hitting 1B).
I’m really amazed at how far Barrett has fallen. Just two seasons ago he was the starting catcher for the USA team in the World Baseball Classic and now he’s taking a 22% paycut for the next season. From 2004 to 2006 he put up OPS+ of 108, 110, and 121 and now he’s either going to be the backup here or maybe the starter for the Pirates (which one is worse?).
I think if Padres have a 5th OF’er on the roster that it will be Sinisi …
If Fick is on the Padres bench, then that will be worse than Edmonds starter or any of the others “starting” moves that have been derided on this blog. Of couse, a bench player doesn’t have the same impact, but it will be a worse decision anyway.