I’m all over the place today:
- How to Quit Your Job and Write a Book (Or Two) (BallHype). I posted this in the comments on Wednesday, but here’s a little “behind-the-scenes” look at the process of writing the Ducksnorts Baseball Annuals.
- Arizona Dreaming (Baseball Digest Daily). In spring training, what happens before the game is at least as interesting as what happens during the game.
- Where Are They Now: Top Prospects of ’98, #41-50 (Knuckle Curve). The latest installment in my look back at the top young players from a decade ago includes ex-Padres Derrek Lee and Ben Davis. Ugh, Ben Davis.
Meanwhile back at the ranch, the Padres (well, some of them) are in China. Corey has photos. Over on this side of the pond, Chase Headley’s future appears to be in left field (i.e., the experiment worked).
On a more general note, I’m trying to keep up with game scores and individual performances, but the stories lack intrigue. Seems to me the only positions up for grabs are backup infielder, backup outfielder, fifth starter, and mopup guy. Be still, my beating heart:
- INF: Callix Crabbe, Edgar Gonzalez, Marshall McDougall, Brian Myrow, Oscar Robles, Luis Rodriguez, Craig Stansberry. Anyone care? I didn’t think so.
- OF: Chip Ambres, Jeff DaVanon, Robert Fick, Jody Gerut. Okay, Gerut is kind of interesting.
- SP: Shawn Estes, Justin Germano, Glendon Rusch. Yawn.
- RP: Michael Gardner, Edgar Gonzalez, Carlos Guevara, Jared Wells, Mauro Zarate. I liked what I saw of Zarate in a very limited sample, but still…
I’m fired up for the season, but these spring training “battles” just aren’t doing much for me.
Awww, come on Geoff. Ben Davis met the requisite “teen hearthtrob” quota.
Sources tell me that Colt Morton is ready to assume that role soon. Hopefully he delivers more production than Davis ever did.
Come on, get excited! Everyone knows pitching wins championships; ergo the 5th starter position is HUGE!! And that utility IF is the guy who supplies the grit needed to grind out some tough wins during the dog days of summer. Think about how crucial Tim Flannery was to those great Padres teams of the 80′s.
No P-Mac love GY?
The least you could be doing Geoff is pondering nicknames … we don’t have NOG, Jenga nor Blumhorn to kick around anymore.
2: Well, let’s be honest, the 5th starter killed us the last part of 2004, much of 2005, and most of 2007. I’m surprised the UT is still listing Estes as a candidate but has Rusch slated for the pen. Rusch has an uneven track record, but so do the other options (with LeBlanc, no major league track record), and he has been throwing well this spring.
Per the Boston Herald via RotoWorld, the Red Sox have released Doug Mirabelli.
#1: Morton could be the new Mark Parent, and that’s not intended as a back-handed compliment. Dude can hit the ball a long way.
#3: Totally spaced on P-Mac. Must be all the not-so-subliminal messages I was getting from Lance over the weekend.
#4: Good call; let’s get some nicknames going.
#6: Now we know that even Tim Wakefield has only so much pull.
That “Arizona Dreaming” article describes my morning at Peoria last week perfectly … just pure, dreamin’ fun! Thanks, GY!
3 – re: McAnulty … I’m assuming GY thinks he’s a lock for the #4 OF spot? I know I do
re: INF … “Anyone care?” … *I* do! And you will to if/when KG tweeks a hammy! I think those 7 names fall into 4 groups …
1. Having good spring but perhaps not able to handle role of backup SS … Edgar Gonzalez + Luis Rodriquez
2. Having pretty good spring and would be OK as backup SS … Callix Crabbe
3. A semi-decent backup SS because of his MLB experience … Oscar Robles
4. Will be at AAA Portland no matter what … Brian Myrow, Craig Stansberry, Marshall McDougall (note: Myrow is a *way* better hitter than any of the other 6 on this list … but it’s my understanding that he’s 1B only … so he’s stuck at AAA unless/until there’s an injury to either Clark or Adrian)
I don’t know how the Padres will decide between the options in groups 1/2/3 …
re: OF … the link above about Headley also has this note …
Center fielder Jeff DaVanon made two good catches and reached base four times.
… so I’m wondering if that keeps him more in the mix for a roster spot than I want him to be … an outfield of Gerut in LF, Hairston in CF, and McAnutly in RF does not scare me, especially offensively (perhaps it should defensively, but it doesn’t, based on what I saw in 5 games last week) … and that’s what I think the Padres will trot out there a couple of times if McAnulty is #4 and Gerut is #5 and both Giles and Edmonds need a day off at the same time (which is gonna happen) …
6 – Let’s pick him up and trade him back to the Sox in a month for Delcarmen & Okajima.
1 … Ben Davis has OPS+ of 88 in 448 ABs in 2001 and 92 in 228 ABs in 2002 … http://www.baseball-reference.com/d/davisbe01.shtml
Colt Morton will not deliver more production than that … I hope I’m wrong … but I just don’t see anything “eye-popping” about Colt Morton … if he does do better than this, it will be because of hard work, not raw ability …
Here’s what I see happening in April wrt the Padre OF …
– between Headley, Hairston, and Edmonds, they each get 20 starts in LF/CF in the first 30 games
– Giles gets as many starts as he can handle in RF, with Gerut getting the remainder
– McAnulty gets traded to an AL team for an RP or a prospect
– Portland’s OF will be Ambres, Macias, McAnulty (if not traded) (with Sinisi on DL)
– San Antonio’s OF will be Huffman, Venable, Baxter
– Lake Elsinore’s OF will be xyz1, Hunter, xyz2
– Ft Wayne’s OF will be Durango, Payne, xyz3
Spring stats available here … http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/padres/spring.htm
LM, there’s no way anyone’s giving up a “prospect” for P-Mac. We’d be lucky to swap him for a case of beer.
I’m still surprised that you didn’t snap him up in last night’s draft!
12 … xyz2 = Kulbacki
DaVanon will make the Padres if either Edmonds or Giles are on the DL on Opening Day …
Fick doesn’t seem to have a spot … unless they feel compelled to keep him as OF #5 because he can catch … but I don’t think he’s caught since the intrasquad game, has he?
13 … uh, what draft last night? oops
12: It’ll be interesting to see what they do with their 3 lower-level CF candidates. Payne and Chalke should both be able to handle the Cal League, and, like Hunter, they’re not going to be very valuable in the corners. Maybe Hunter starts to hit with more power.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Venable as the CF in Portland, but it wouldn’t be a shock to see him repeat AA, either.
Re: 12 P-Mac is out of Options so its Big League or Bust this year because I dont think he would clear waivers.
I guess we are assuming that Headley starts the season in the majors so he’d be the 4th outfielder (assuming neither Edmonds or OG is on the DL).
5th OF: Either Davanon or Gerut. Neither is on the 40 man roster so one spot would have to be cleared. It seems like Davanon is more likely to be kept since he’s a switch-hitter and has played more CF.
5th starter: I think Germano will be the initial 5th starter with Rusch moved to the bullpen as the backup plan. He had a good season as a reliever/spot starter in 2004.
Bullpen: I only have 4 relievers (Trevor, Bell, Cla, Thatcher) as locks. Adding Rusch would leave two more spots open. I think Guevara is going to make it (although he might start the season on the DL) with the final spot going to Kevin Cameron.
Re: 15 the draft was last ngiht huh? D’oh!
TK @ UT has today’s lineup posted … http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/padres/weblog/2008/03/maddux_vs_cubs.html … Gerut in CF, McAnulty in LF, Ambres in RF …
18 … Cameron might start the year on the DL also?
I don’t see McAnulty as having a future with the Padres. He’s good enough to play for bad teams but he shouldn’t be starting for a contending team. I don’t see him having much use on the bench here either as Gerut or Davanon are better fielders and not much worse (if at all) with the bat. However, he certainly better then some of the starting OF’ers in the majors, that’s why I think he’ll get unloaded for a minor prospect at the end of spring training.
#15, 19: Sorry you missed us. For those in Ducksnorts 2, we’ll be drafting tomorrow night at 7 p.m. PT. Yahoo! should be sending you a reminder, but just in case…
Of course, if they didn’t carry 12 pitchers they could carry another bench player like Edgar Gonzalez or Craig Stansberry. If they carried Rusch as their long reliever, they wouldn’t need to carry 7 relievers. By only having 5 bench players, someone other then Barrett should probably be able to play catcher, which helps out Edgar Gonzalez and Robert Fick (who I don’t think has any shot at making the roster).
21: Yeah, McAnulty on his own is a minor deal. He might be involved in a bigger deal, but he’d be a marginal part of it.
23: Completely agree. Unfortunately the rotation looks to be good for only 800 innings or so, and that cascades into the pen.
Fick doesn’t belong anywhere near this team.
OT: I got an email asking how to send fan mail to a Padres player. I honestly have no clue; anyone know?
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/spring/nllead.htm
I know spring stats don’t mean much, if anything … but it sure is fun seeing the top 4 in SLG so far …
SLUGGING PERCENTAGE
Pujols, StL .926
Headley, SD .840
Gerut, SD .826
McAnulty, SD .826
25 … my guess is to write it to the Padres … http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/help/email.jsp?c_id=sd&primarySubject=Other&secondarySubject=None&dest=fanfeedback@padres.mlb.com …
San Diego Padres
P. O. Box 122000
San Diego, CA 92112-2000
… and put “Attention: Paul McAnulty” on it somewhere (for example).
25/27 … or if they want to try to do something during spring training … http://www.springtrainingonline.com/teams/san_diego_padres.htm … says the address there is …
Peoria Stadium
16101 N. 83rd Av.
Peoria, AZ
8: I really think I’d rather have Myrow than Clark at this point.
4: And my absolute All Time favorite, Silent L.
5: True, I was making light, but the 5th starter does have an impact.
25-28: The Padre players may have email addresses, too. I seem to remember writing one of them a few years ago and it didn’t bounce back as undeliverable. First initial, last name @ padres dot com.
29: Everybody’s gotta believe in something. They’re both limited, but Clark knows what its like to stay ready as a bench player. I guess Myrow has a weensy bit more experience in the OF.
30: Mine too.
19.
Yes. I missed it too and when I saw the team that I had auto drafted I was stunned! I had no idea it was an NL only draft and why the hell I couldn’t find a bunch of players I wanted. Once I read the notes and stuff I got it. As of right now my starting Catcher is Robbie Hammock and my starting 3rd baseman is Ian Stewart. My team is going to rule!
33: I’ve got JR Towles. Ugh.
#27, 32: Thanks, guys!
#33, 34: I got Bard & Barrett. My browser exploded at the beginning, so the computer made my first three picks.
33: Auto Draft sucks. I had to do it last season and I never recovered.
35: You know, it’s probably better to have that happen at the beginning because you’re still going to get quality in the first few rounds, but the difference comes up later when you’re trying to separate the wheat from the chaff.
35 & 36: After a detailed examination of my roster, I only have a couple of dead spots. SBs are going to KILL me unless I make a trade.
But, on the plus side, Autodraft netted me:
Wright
Penny
Hamels
Glavine
Saito
Isringhausen
Griffey
Berkman
So I probably shouldn’t complain too much. That said, I’d be willing to trade a pitcher to shore up my lack of SB & Avg if anyone is interested.
Since its NL only I think we are all in the same boat of having only one or two big name guys 3 or 4 good players 3 or 4 marginal gys and the rest guys that we just hope make the team that they are on.
Also I always like B(l)um as his nickname. We just have to wait to see who this years scapegoat is before we can come up with nicknames.
34-38
Well If anyone is looking for a SS I have Jimmy Rollins and Troy Tulowitzki on the block. I really want both of them but I am going to need some outfield and 3rd base production more. Scope it out and let me know if you are interested I am open to litterally anything. I kept reminding myself all day about the draft because I wanted to make sure to snatch of some rookies like Maybin, Rasmus and Bruce in the later rounds and instead I went home and folded the endless amounts of laundry my 6 month old daughter creates. Then around 9 I remembered that I forgot to do something today…. I was pretty pissed about the whole thing because I did the exact same thing last year.
29 … after seeing Myrow in several PAs last week, I’m with you … Clark did look good also … but right now, Myrow’s got a swing working that is MASHing the baseball every time up … i’ll just say this: the padres are in good shape if Clark gets hurt in the early going …
29/40 … it’s pretty grainy, but here’s a look at Myrow’s swing …
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2esY_Yx2EE
39: How could you do the same exact thing last year? Your daughter is only 6 months old.
I know the feeling. One year, I got Nevin on my squad after I saw him got hurt in person in Spring Training. Urgh.
39: We might be able to reach a deal. I don’t have a ton of depth at 3B, but lets see if we can make a deal.
42.
Haha. Yeah well yesterday I read something about Chris Carpenter and his slow rehab and then last night I auto drafted him in something like the 8th or 9th round I think. I wanted to punch myself in the face.
43.
For sure!
Maddux left the game early today. I guess he got hit on a comebacker from D Lee. I hope it’s not serious.
From today’s LA Times: Willits could end up in minors for Angels
http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/angels/la-sp-angrep13mar13,1,628049.story
Maddux: Bruised left leg
http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2008_03_13_sdnmlb_chnmlb_1
Maddux pitched 2 good innings … currently 1-1 in top of 6th …
Maddux “bruised but OK” … according to TK @ UT …
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/padres/weblog/2008/03/maddux_bruised_but_ok.html
Joe Sheehan @ BP takes a look at the problem the Padres are facing in CF …
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=7234 (sub only)
… he makes many “rip”able points (ex. “They’re not a good offensive team”) … but does explore the status and possibilities quite well. His conclusion is this: “in a post-Cameron world, they’re about to find out just how much of what they thought was pitching was actually defense”.