Padres (20-34) vs Nats (23-31)
Wil Ledezma vs John Lannan
12:35 p.m. PT
no television
AM 1090, FM 105.7, XM 188
MLB, B-R
Afternoon game in San Diego.
Padres (20-34) vs Nats (23-31)
Wil Ledezma vs John Lannan
12:35 p.m. PT
no television
AM 1090, FM 105.7, XM 188
MLB, B-R
Afternoon game in San Diego.
98@ Tom Waits:
Corey or Adams, its obvious that Meredith has lost it and can’t go an appearence without giving up runs. He needs to go back to work seriously
#99@Schlom: Thought what? I would have drafted Porcello, but it’s a much easier argument when the target is a college pitcher from SD than a HS kid with a solid college commitment.
-I sense another 14+ inning affair coming on-
Yet another quality start for a Padres starter.
Yet another poor offensive showing……….
#101@Loren: A new face isn’t always a solution. Meredith has had a very bad week, no question. But from May 1 to May 18 he lowered his ERA by more than a run.
#89@Geoff Young: Touche. I’m working, too; I swear.
I wonder how many teams have had a pitching staff be stationed in the upper half of the league standings as far as stats (4.0-4.2 ERA) but yet be on pace to 100 losses ? This should tell you how sad this offense truly is.
Thus, how can we complain about Estes ? He is clearly not the problem.
**What a sensational catch by Langerhans **
#104@Tom Waits
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/gamelog?playerId=6269
Oh yeah between May 1-18 he lowered his ERA but since then he’s allowed 6 runs in 5 appearences.
In 07 he allowed 31 runs in 79.2 appearences, that’s 1 run every 2.55 appearences, this year in 24 appearences he’s allowing 12 runs. I’m sorry but Cla has absolutely tanked as of late, and if you think Hoffman’s scary as heck to watch in the 9th, dear G-d I panic when i see Cla coming in because he’s completely unreliable.
Damnit Langerhans!!!!!! Kouz got robbed
Do you bunt here to stay out of the double play?
Jody!
Obviously, no.
Was that a Petco Porch shot? Who has this on tv? Also, did Langerhans rob Kouz of a HR?
First in Diplomacy, First in Defense, Last in the National League East.
Thank you Jody Gerut for saving Cla Meredith’s backside
#100@Tom Waits: Let me re-phrase that for you then. An 0.93 ERA through 9.2 IP is impressive for a journeyman reliever who is nearly 35 years-old and has pitched on about 12 teams. Not a long-term answer but this bullpen just needs someone who can get outs.
Hold on, 3-Run HR by Gerut. Niiiiiiice!
Anyways, they are definitely missing the 7th inning guy they’ve had the last few years. I’d say Corey is probably our go-to-guy, at least for now.
I think it’s a little odd to single out Meredith as unreliable. He has had xFIP’s of 2.71, 3.01 & 3.34 the last three seasons.
Hoffy coming in? To face #s 5/6/7 … 6 will be PHer … with a 3-run lead … with a day of rest … I predict … success (ie. he’ll get the Save) …
#87@Schlom: You think finishing in last would give the fans some interest this year? Explain that one, please.
Is anyone actually watching this game? I’m listening on the radio. How did Hoffy look?
#116@Richard Wade: so you are playing the “small sample size” card? surely you’re not playing the “i’ve had fun watching his last couple of outings” card …
Does anyone else agree that Jody Gerut is a pretty damn good baseball player? He hits the ball hard, with some power. He’s fast. Good defender. I actually really like the Gerut/Hairston combo that will be our CF combo once Headley is recalled. Am I being too optimistic?
#119@Richard Wade: Looked good to me on Yahoo …
- T. Hoffman relieved H. Bell
- L. Milledge flied out to right
- R. Mackowiak hit for C. Manning
- R. Mackowiak struck out swinging
- E. Dukes grounded out to shortstop
#106@JP: The pitching stats look better than they are because of Petco; in honesty only 3 pitchers with substantial IP have been above-average. Then again, people complain about McAnulty and Gerut’s offense but Carlin is treated as the annointed one.
#107@Loren: That’s exactly the point. Relief pitchers are volatile. No one is saying he hasn’t been bad recently, but Hoffy and Bell both went through bad stretches. This, currently, is a bad stretch for Meredith. Why would 5-7 bad appearances in 2007 have more weight than very productive campaigns in 05 and 06? Especially when the players who would replace him are career minor league journeymen? I’m not opposed to shifting Meredith into a different role, but it’s likely that he’ll outpitch Adams and Corey anyway.
#121@JMAR: I like Jody Gerut. He won’t be an All-Star … but I’m with you that a team can win with him being a starting OFer … and that an OF of Headley + Gerut/Hairston + Giles will not inhibit this teams ability to win more games than they lose during the duration of 2008 …
#118@BigWorm: Only if they finish with the worst record in baseball so they can pick first in the 2009 Amateur Draft. Really, what’s the difference between 65 wins and 72? Not a whole lot.
123 Tom Waits
I concur with most of what you said: relief pitchers are volatile, Meredith has had two good seasons and is probably a better pitcher then Corey/Adams and that Meredith is going through a bad stretch. All that doesn’t change the fact that I feel incredibly uncomfortable right now giving the ball to Meredith in the 7th (or anytime otherwise) that the game is on the line. Meredith has something very wrong with him that he needs to fix. Until it is corrected, damnit, put him in a role where he won’t hurt us and let Corey/Adams/whomever step up and prove themselves. This is how Bell and Meredith and everyone else earned their stripes.
#115@JMAR: If we’re looking to predict future success, we need relievers with strong K numbers. Corey might pick things up, he’s only thrown 9 innings. But how you get outs is very predictive of how effective you’ll be in the future.
#121@JMAR: I have an unnatural fondness for Gerut, and he does seem to hit the ball hard. But I’d much rather have him as a 4th OF than a starter.
121; I haven’t seen ENOUGH out of Gerut to suggest he’s a damn good ball player, he has had limited time and with the exception fo today, hasn’t done much to show himself off. Still I do concur that he and Hairston (with one of the two coming in as a defensive replacement) is not a bad mix at all in the outfield.
What I like about Gerut/Hairston in CF is simply that they both seem to be bizarro-padres in that they seem to hit the ball when the rest of the team doesn’t, particularly coming up with big hits late in the game.
I have no stats to back up this assertion.
#126@Loren: I’m not qualified to say whether there’s something wrong with Meredith or not. Are his mechanics off? Is his pitch selection bad?
On a low-scoring team, every bullpen spot can hurt you. I don’t see any difference between giving up runs in the 5th and giving them up in the 7th. But I wouldn’t mind seeing Adams in more high-leverage situations; better numbers than Corey.
#127@Tom Waits: GB% and BB% are also predictive of future success.
Do you really think fans (average season-ticket holder type fans, not super-duper die-hards) will care that we get the first pick in the draft next year? Do you honestly believe that? If so, you are way off.
#127@Tom Waits:#128@Loren: If Gerut and Hairston were our 4th and 5th outfielders, I’d say our outfield would be in pretty good shape because that means we’d have three guys better than them and two capable defensive outfielders with speed and power coming off of the bench. With that said, I’m perfectly happy with an outfield of Headley, Gerut/Hairston, and Giles for 2008 unless they can somehow get a stud CF back in a trade.
#132@BigWorm: No kidding. This isn’t the NBA.
CNN (or was it FoxSports?) wrote yesterday that Peavy recently suggested the Padres pickup Kenny Lofton…
#132@BigWorm: I think many fans understand that very high draft pics are very valuable …
You didn’t say this, but neither did you specifically say what your post is in reference to … I presume is the question of 65 wins versus 75 wins … and I’d think that more fans would prefer 65 wins + 1st pick than 75 wins and 11th pick … if they were to actually think about it … don’t you?
Also, I’m not clear on the difference between a “season-ticket holder” and a “super-duper die-hard” … to me, if you’re a season-ticket holder, you’re pretty super-duper die-hard in my book …
#135@Marsh: iirc, Jake mentioned that a *long* time ago …
#116@Richard Wade: Cla’s overall numbers were OK last year but he was so bad early on that he lost the set-up man job. He was starting to look like the guy we saw in ’06 a few weeks ago but he’s back to his 2007 form lately. Very frustrating.
If I remember correctly, the bullpen was most dominant when it had the Meredith-Linebrink-Hoffman combo in 2006. We definitely need a consistent 7th inning guy again. I’m not sure if they have that guy on their roster right now. By the way, I noticed Linebrink was back to his old form with an ERA in the low 1.00′s for the White Sox. Maybe he was hurt last season?
#131@Richard Wade: Yes, but K/9 is more important than either. And it’s not that Corey won’t strike out more in the future, but so far he’s been a lot luckier than good.
#136@Lynch: A couple of points: Yes, I would prefer 65 wins and the #1 pick over 75 wins and the #11 pick if the #1 pick was such a known quantity that we knew we were getting at least a #3 starter / stud position player. We don’t. In six months, we might understand a little better what we are getting, but more than likely it will be this time next year that we really understand what our pick is getting us. And even then, it isn’t netting us a step-right-into-the-rotation guy. The MLB draft never does, it just takes too long to develop.
Second, most fans of the team are more likely to remember Matt Bush than they are to get excited about the #1 pick. Our FO hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire in the last 5 drafts. Your non-Ducksnorts-type fan doesn’t want high draft picks and probably couldn’t pick any of our minor leaguers out of a two-man lineup.
Third, super-duper fan would refer to your average ducksnorts daily visitor. We follow the minor-league guys, know who is available in this years AND next years draft, etc. . .Your average season-ticket holder is a upper-middle class baseball fan who likes taking his family to the games and enjoys baseball. They may know Headley and Antonelli and Mat Latos, but they are certainly not going to hope for four more months of futility to nab a guy who could potentially start for the Padres in 2011.
#138@JMAR: I said this long ago about sidearm pitchers: They are good for one maybe two seasons in one division. After that, EVERYBODY has got their number. Sidearmers are limited to the number of types of pitches they can throw simply because of the angle of the release. I didn’t want Cla in 2K6 and I don’t want him now.
Schlom, can you please show me where you said (prior to last season) that we should take a chance on Josh Hamilton? Hind sight is 20/20 and it’s pretty easy to say that now. Did you think Dewon Brazelton was going to work out? He was a former #1 pick who had a ton of potential.
#141@Turbine Dude: You keep saying that despite people showing you several sidearm pitchers who were good for longer than two seasons in the same league.
#140@BigWorm: I agree that most fans don’t care about the baseball draft, but there’s no greater difference in value than that between the 1st overall pick and every other one. If people want talent in the organization, drafting high is a great way to get it. Unfortunately it means you have to lose games.
#141@Turbine Dude:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/t/tekulke01.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/q/quiseda01.shtml
… good for one maybe two seasons? I’m just sayin’ “not always”
#141@Turbine: I agree with not wanting Cla in 2006. . .who would want a guy with a 1.07 ERA, 37 K’s against 6 BB’s in 50 innings?
#141@Turbine Dude: Yeah, pitchers with funky deliveries are usually successful as rookies but struggle once hitters figure them out. Some have gone on to have great careers (Tekulve and Quisenberry are the most famous) but a lot of them come and go pretty quickly.
I really think this year’s version will be Carlos Guevara, who should be up soon. He’s not a side-armer but he’s a right-hander who throws a screwball, which I’m not sure I’ve ever seen. He hasn’t given up an earned run in AAA during his rehab. It seems like he’ll be tough to hit the first few times around the league.
#143@Tom Waits: to be fair, TD has admitted that his feelings about side-armers are a bit on the irrational side … at least I think I remember him admitting that … did you, TD? but then I do gotta side with TW that leading with “I said this long ago about sidearm pitchers” does seem to void that caveat …
Bottom Line: smells like a dead horse to me … and we’ve had plenty o’ them today …
#143@Tom: “There is no greater difference in value than that between the 1st overall pick and every other one”.
That’s just not true. Not even close. Every draft is different. Some drafts may have one guy who is head and shoulders above everyone else. Some may have five guys who are tightly bunched, and any one would be a great first pick. Some may have two guys who are neck and neck.
I know absolutely nothing about next years draft, but I’m guessing that there are some other guys who have talent close to the kid at State. If not, if he is a Mark Prior or an A-Rod and the next guys are Mark Vanderwals, then I am all for losing 130 games this year.
#139@Tom Waits: No argument on any of those points. I wasn’t actually responding specifically about Corey anyway, just making the more general point about evaluating pitchers.
#148@BigWorm: It’s true most years.