Triple-A — Iowa 3, Portland 0 (Game 1); Iowa 3, Portland 2 (Game 2)
Craig Stansberry (SS): 1-for-6
Matt Antonelli: 0-for-5, BB
Chase Headley (LF-3B): 2-for-6
Will Venable (CF): 0-for-3
Brian Myrow: 2-for-5, 2B, BB
Edgar Gonzalez (RF): 0-for-3, BB
Chip Ambres (CF-LF-RF): 2-for-6, 2B
Wade LeBlanc: 4 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 HR, 1 BB, 2 SO
Adam Bass: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 0 BB, 2 SO
Enrique Gonzalez: 4 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 HR, 3 BB, 5 SO, WP
Mauro Zarate: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 1 BB, 0 SO
Edgar Gonzalez reportedly will be recalled to the big club (h/t Bruce) on Monday… Good to see Venable back in center… Headley started in left field for the first game before shifting to third base for the second.
Double-A
No games scheduled in the Texas League.
High-A — Modesto 11, Lake Elsinore 0
Cedric Hunter: 0-for-4
Eric Sogard (DH): 0-for-3, BB
Kellen Kulbacki: 0-for-2, BB
Corey Kluber: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 1 HR, 2 BB, 3 SO
Another shutout loss for the Storm. A double off the bat of Robert Perry with two out in the sixth is all that stood between Modesto right-hander Aneury Rodriguez and a no-hitter.
Low-A
Fort Wayne at South Bend, postponed.
What is the chance a Neil Jamison or Greg Burke gets called up. Do relievers ever get called up from AA? Both these guys are pitching well…
Interesting Boston Globe article about the Padres. Other than the comment about Edmonds fielding, I thought it was pretty good.
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/articles/2008/05/11/its_a_one_sided_argument/?page=1
They both are pitching well – especially Burke, who had a nice run as a starter in FW in ’06 but not quite as good in LE last year. The bullpen move seems to be working with a 33/4 K/BB ratio.
However I think right now with Cameron and Thatcher not on the 25 man they would probably be the first to get called back. Also, Hayhurst is having a very good year in Portland and seems like the perfect long guy for the pen right now.
#2@parlo: thanks for the link – that was a good read
wow Antonelli numbers are crazy he is only hitting .185 but has an OBP of .329 dude knows how to work the count.
#3@John Conniff: Mr. Conniff, I wanted to get your take on Headley’s mental makeup. Twice now in the last year, Padre management has blamed Headley prolonged slumps (after All Star break last year & beginning of this year) on the fact that he was upset at not being on the major league roster and it affected his performance. For example, Alderson commented recently that Headley, after a great Spring Training was upset that he didn’t make the big club and the ensuing disappointment led to a bad April. What is your take on this ? Is the organization simply covering for Headley or is this legit. and therefore cause for some concern as any career has its usual ‘ups and downs’ and his lack of coping skills may cause future issues or problems.
Good for E-Gon!
#7@Rain Delay: Hey Rain Delay how did E-Gon look in RF when he was playing for the Beavers? did he look like he could play the OF in petco?
#6 – Personally, I think attributing performance to assumed psychological factors is a risky game.
#9@Alan: Agree. All players have ups and downs, and unless Alderson spent a lot of time talking to Headley he may just be making an easy assumption.
I’m sure some players let their emotions get the better of them, but that would seem to be a learning experience rather than a chronic problem. Trevor has talked many times about Brian Harvey teaching him that he had to forget the day before if he wanted to be a successful closer. Some teams don’t want to promote their prospects until they’ve faced disappointment in the minors so they can learn to handle it.
I’m a lot more worried about Headley’s play in LF, and the future of Kouzmanoff at 3b, than I am about Chase’s mental toughness.
#6 JP; Headley strikes out too much, and I think that makes him more vulnerable to slumps. The pop psychology just seems to be an easy way to dismiss Headleys flaws.
#6@JP: (1) you can call me John, “Mr. Conniff” always sounds like someone is talking to my dad.
(2) I think Headley’s struggles had more to do with getting behind in counts than being dissapointed at being sent down. He knew all along that the Padres wanted him to spend some time in AAA, especially after switching to a new position.
Also he started to come out of the slumps when he started looking occasionally “middle-out” early in the count instead of always looking “middle-in”. He started to hit more weak breaking pitches and changes instead of always looking for the fastball early in the count. He was making hard contact and fouling a few balls off that he should have hit.
He also mentioned too in an interview with him in Portland that he started over analyzing things too much because in the OF he had a lot more time to think as compared to 3b.
http://padres.scout.com/2/753791.html
Finally the weather conditions in Portland in April are god-awfull. When I was there in late April it rained every day, the games were played in 40 degree weather, all batting practice was indoors – so it just wasn’t really condusive to playing baseball.
I think he’s fine and is one of the stronger players mentally in the organization. When he went back to San Antonio he was a little dinged up and then came down with a bad flu – which didn’t keep him out of the lineup or should serve as an excuse – but it is a reason why his performance tailed off a little.
#12@John Conniff: Thanks John.
#13@JP: Anytime JP. We have an interview with him on Madfriars.com if you are interested.
http://padres.scout.com/2/753791.html
#8@Steve C: He looked fine in Right Field. Though PetCo’s right field is a bit larger than PGE Park, heck its only 320 down the line.
#15@Rain Delay: Cool thanks!