IGD: Padres @ Cubs (13 May 08)

ToastPadres (14-25) @ Cubs (23-15)
Shawn Estes vs Jon Lieber
5:05 p.m. PT
Channel 4SD
AM 1090, FM 105.7, XM 183
MLB, B-R

Sorry I couldn’t find a more recent photo of Estes…

Tagged as: , , ,

115 Responses »

  1. GY, it’s his first start and you are already calling him toast?

  2. I am glad I didnt post that picture. Imagine the repercussions!!

    GY: good dialogue today!
    I think we are all just frustrated in different ways.

  3. #2@parlo: Are you experiencing a slow refresh rate in here?

  4. There’s gonna be a lot of HRs tonight with that wind blowing out like it is.

  5. This would be really funny if Estes were starting for the Cubs tonight. :-)

  6. #3 Turbine Dude: Yes, the whole site seems very slow. I thought it was my computer.

  7. #6@parlo: That’s what I thought. But I’m on four other sites including my e-mail and everything else seems normal.

  8. #6@parlo: It just sped up. Geoff must have tweeked something.

  9. I hope this game doesn’t get called on rain.

  10. #8 Turbine Dude: See if Geoff can tweak the offense too.

  11. #10@parlo: Yeah, I call him in a few minutes. He never returns my calls. But I can try.

    Shit, two more runs in.

  12. #9@Turbine Dude: Right about now, a rainout looks like the best possible outcome.

  13. Anyone still wondering why the picture of Estes looks like a piece of toast?

  14. #13 Pat: Cmon Pat, we dont have a large enough sample size yet.

  15. #13@Pat: Maybe Geoff’s subtle way of saying he doesn’t agree with bringing Estes back up. I don’t know, just speculating.

  16. Nice, for a tie game. I told you guys there are going to be some balls flying out of here tonight.

    Vic Power stole home twice on Aug. 14, 1958 (answer to the Aflac question). Am I correct?

  17. Estes keeping it alive…

  18. Gerut doesn’t pull off the ball and serves it into left field nicely. This bodes well for his future in the big leagues…

  19. I did some pretty shody research and didn’t pay attention to what came up on the Google search. DOH.

  20. Shawn Estes might not be the worst possible pitcher the Padres could give a start to but he’s close:

    http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/ERAplus_active.shtml

    He’s ahead of Josh Fogg, Adam Eaton, Glendon Rusch and Scott Elarton. He’s probably better then Elarton, Rusch and maybe Fogg and I’d rather have him then Eaton because of Eaton’s contract. There might be 10 or 20 starters in the minors that are probably worse as well (the rest of the Portland staff for example!). That’s not a ringing endorsement however. Also, any team that pitches Shawn Estes in a meaningful situation (and a start qualifies as one) will not make the playoffs. It’s pretty much that simple. Starting Shawn Estes is something the Pirates would do, not the Padres.

  21. Khalil getting it done with both the glove and bat tonight so far

  22. #21@Schlom: I will hold you to this because the Padres plan is to get some quality starts out of Estes and then move him to a contender for a decent prospect. Estes is hitting 90 on the gun and throws left handed, I can think of a lot of teams in September that may want to employ him.

  23. #21@Schlom: It sort of is something the Padres would do, since they are doing it. ;)

  24. #23@JP: I’ll take that bet. In a short stretch any player can look good, but Estes is a bad pitcher. We’ll be lucky to get a D prospect for him.

  25. #23@JP: I guess it’s possible but I’m going to guess highly unlikely. Basically, he’s been good one time in his career and it was 11 years ago! He’s had some league average since (2000, 2001) but why would you expect him to get better 7 years removed from his last average season? I wouldn’t have so much of a problem if it was a younger guy – at least that makes sense to gamble on someone young or coming into his prime — but why Shawn Estes? I didn’t understand it when they signed him 2 years ago and I don’t understand it now.

    Why in the world are the Cubs bunting here? Don’t they realize that it’s Shawn Estes on the mound?

  26. Thank you Lou Piniella!

    Seriously, you bunt with your #2 hitter with Shawn Estes on the mound in a game where the wind is blowing out? At least that keeps the Cubs from hitting a Grand Slam this inning…

  27. If they call this game after 5 completed innings, do we win?

  28. All right, time to call the game!

  29. #28@Turbine Dude: Yes, but the chances of that happening are very slim.

    #23@JP: Here’s the type of trade the Padres would like. The Cubs traded Scott Moore and Rocky Cherry for Steve Trachsel on August 31st last season. Moore is a somewhat intriguing prospect (8th pick in 2002, one pick after Prince Fielder and one before Jeff Francis). However, Trachsel is a hell of a lot better then Estes, not only career wise but recently as well. Of course, most thought this was a baffling move for the Cubs last season as well but I guess you only need to find one sucker.

    http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/M/Scott-Moore.shtml

  30. #25@Tom Waits: You may owe me a steak dinner for the 150 PA’s bet on Russell Branyan.

    Yes. I accept this bet as well. Estes is not a bad pitcher. I wouldn’t say he is good, but he is not bad.

    The bet is : will a contending team pick up Estes and/or will the Padres give him 10 starts with an ERA under 4.5

  31. #28@Turbine Dude: Actually, I think they would call the game only if there is no chance of a makeup date. Since there are two more games in this series I would assume they would just suspend it and finish it tomorrow or Thursday.

  32. I want Carlin in the lineup every other day

  33. #31@JP: You might would to look again if you don’t think Estes is a bad pitcher.

    http://www.baseball-reference.com/e/estessh01.shtml

    Sure, he’s better then you or me and a lot of pitchers currently in the minors but I’ll bet his trade value is only slightly higher then zero. Who would want him?

  34. Why is Estes hitting?

  35. #30@Schlom: Trachsel is just awful this year -based on what I have seen so far from Estes as far as velocity and stamina, I wouldn’t say that Trachsel is a “hell of a lot better”.

  36. #34@Schlom: I don’t know. Who wanted Jeff Tabaka ?

    http://www.baseball-reference.com/t/tabakje01.shtml

    He (Estes) throws left handed doesn’t he ?

  37. #32@Schlom: I should know this having lived there for so many years. But living in San Diego for 23 years, I forgot all the foul weather rules. :)

  38. #33@JP: JP, I tend to agree with that. I like this kid.

  39. I hope the extra 1/3 inning Estes was able to pitch (while allowing a baserunner) was worth sacrificing his out in the top of the inning.

  40. Despite all the bashing, Estes is holding his own in a pure downpore.
    Glad to see Black not wait as long as he did with Wolf.

  41. #40@Ben B.: It was as Estes retired the lead off left handed batter with a weak grounder to second.

  42. #31@JP: We must have different ideas of what “bad” means. He’s below-average for his career and for the last 6 years. In most of those seasons, substantially below average.

    GY ran the numbers. There’s a handful of pitchers worse than Estes over the last half decade. How is that not bad?

    #40@Ben B.: Yeah. Not like Clark or McAnulty would have made sense there.

  43. Yet another quality start by Padres starters who lead the majors with 24.

  44. #43@Tom Waits: Actually I just re-examined Estes numbers and they are indeed pretty bad. But hey its a new day and the guy still has decent stuff and again….he’s lefthanded. For what little it may be worth – Bob Brenly on WGN was commenting that Estes has more zip now on his fastball then before the surgery.

  45. #44@JP: How so? Estes only threw 5 1/3, not 6.

  46. #46@Tom Waits: I stand to be corrected. It is NOT a ‘quality’ start.

  47. Good news ! Good news ! Cla Meredith now looks like the Cla Meredith of 2006. Cry it from the highest mountain top…..

  48. That was a beautiful play by Claw and AGon on that bunt to start the last inning.

  49. Cla Meredith is so cool. He’s thrown 12 pitches to get 5 ground ball outs.