Series Preview: Larry Borowsky Talks Cardinals
Mon, May 19, 2008
by Geoff Young
After a long and miserable road trip, the Padres return home and try to remain relevant in 2008. Their first opponent is the St. Louis Cardinals, who visit Petco Park for three games starting Monday night. To learn a little more about the Cards, I chatted with Larry Borowsky of the excellent Viva El Birdos.
Ducksnorts: Last year was the Cardinals’ first losing season of the century; this year the team is off to a strong start. What has changed, and do you see them remaining in contention?
Borowsky: Aside from the obvious changes (no [Walt] Jocketty, no [Jim] Edmonds, no [Scott] Rolen, no [David] Eckstein, etc.), the big difference has been the performance of the starting rotation. This year’s group is as rag-tag as last year’s — it includes two guys ([Joel] Pineiro and [Todd] Wellemeyer) who were DFA’d last year, and a third ([Kyle] Lohse) who nobody wanted until mid-March — but this year’s group has pitched pretty well. The Cardinal rotation leads the league in innings per start and is fourth in ERA and in opponent OPS. Another key change, related to the first: the Cardinal defense is vastly improved. They’ve upgraded significantly in the outfield and at shortstop, and Troy Glaus has been quite good at third base (the one position where they figured to take a hit). Offensively, their biggest change since last year is a quantum leap in patience: the 2008 Cards lead the league in walks by a wide margin, while last year’s club finished 13th in the league in that category. Will they stay in contention? I think they’re capable of it; the odds are against them actually winning anything, but simply playing meaningful games in August and (may it be so) September would be a big achievement for this team. At the outset of the season, their best-case scenario was to hang in there for the first 100 games or so, avoid getting buried, and then try to make a run at the playoffs once Chris Carpenter rejoins the team in August or thereabouts. So far, so good — the team’s 2 games out of first, and Carpenter is still on schedule to return at or just after the All-Star break.
Ducksnorts: Albert Pujols is supposed to be hurt. Why isn’t he acting like it?
Borowsky: Because he’s not human? …Actually, the injury (to his right elbow, the same ailment that has bothered him since 2003) may be affecting his power stroke. Albert’s groundball rate went up sharply in 2007 and is up again in 2008, and his isolated power the last two years is down about 45 points off his career average. The elbow might have something to do with that, or it might simply be that El Hombre simply never sees a pitch to hit anymore; he’s on pace for about 160 walks. He only had 71 extra-base hits last year, a career low; he’s only on pace for about 65 this year. But he has traditionally been a second-half hitter, and in any given month he’s capable of slugging .750.
Ducksnorts: Rick Ankiel is one of the most fascinating stories in baseball I can recall. For those of us who haven’t seen him since he was uncorking wild pitches in the playoffs some years ago, talk a little about his game.
Borowsky: Well, as you’d expect he can make some eye-popping throws from the outfield. A couple weeks ago in Colorado he nailed Willy Taveras trying to take third on a sac fly; then later in the same game he chucked it 300 feet on the fly from the centerfield wall to third base to nail another runner trying to leg out a triple… ironically, the throw was a perfect strike. It still kind of breaks your heart when you see that arm and think about what might have been. As a hitter Ankiel is very much a work in progress — few people realize that he only had about 700 minor-league at-bats after converting full-time to the outfield, and only about 500 at-bats above Class A. He’s still just learning the strike zone. At Triple-A last year he walked 25 times in about 420 plate appearances; this year for St. Louis he already has 20 walks in about 175 plate appearances, including one that came at the end of a 17-pitch at-bat. Some of us Cardinal fans were worried he’d hack at everything and put up a .270 OBP; he’s currently at .370. I think we’d settle for .335.
Ducksnorts: Ryan Ludwick? Todd Wellemeyer? Seriously, how do you guys do that?
Borowsky: In Ludwick’s case, the Cards didn’t really do anything; they just gave him a chance to play, and his talent finally showed up. Ludwick has always been a quality player, but a couple of untimely injuries and poor play in very limited big-league trials got him unfairly labeled a failure. He’s always been a good hitter — not quite this good, but an .850 OPS season has always been within his range. In Wellemeyer’s case, I think Dave Duncan deserves a lot of credit. He got the guy to throw strikes, which he never could do before — his career BB/9 was well over 5.0 before this season. I don’t know if Duncan changed his mechanics, changed his repertoire, or simply changed his mind-set — maybe some combination thereof. You’ll see him pitch tonight — so far this season he has missed a lot of bats and induced a lot of weak contact.
Ducksnorts: One guy we kind of fantasized about for center field over the winter (before you dumped Jim Edmonds on us) was Brian Barton. I know he’s not out there every day, but how has he looked?
Borowsky: He hit a triple to right-center early this season, and watching him sail around the bases was a joy; the guy’s feet don’t touch the ground. He has a good eye at the plate, seems to pick up the ball well and can lay off a pitcher’s pitch, leading to a decent walks total. But lately teams have stopped trying to set the guy up and have simply been blowing fastballs by him. He has a weak throwing arm, and despite the great speed he hasn’t stolen a base. He’s got clear potential, but like most Rule Vs he’s not quite ready for the big leagues. The Cardinals like him; if they ultimately decide they can’t keep him on the MLB roster, I imagine they’ll try to work out a trade with the Indians so they can keep him in the organization.
Ducksnorts: What’s the deal with Anthony Reyes, and if the Cardinals can’t fix him, would they consider trading him to… oh, I don’t know, the Padres?
Borowsky: Fix him? The Cardinals broke him. They changed his mechanics and his repertoire (costing him 3-4 mph off his fastball), jerked him back and forth between the big leagues and the minors, and expressed very clearly (in word and deed) that they didn’t believe in him. He reinstalled his old mechanics this year, and his velocity is back, but his confidence isn’t; he’s now getting knocked around in Triple-A, which he dominated for the last three seasons. A new organization might be able to salvage him, but the repair at this point will need to be as much psychological as physical. The Cards are actively trying to trade him, but they haven’t come to grips with the fact that Reyes is ding-n-dent merchandise; they’re still asking full price for the guy, and they’re not going to get it.
Ducksnorts: T.S. Eliot or Vincent Price?
Borowsky: The Abominable Dr. Phibes rules.
There you have it. Thanks again to Larry for swinging by and chatting with us. Here’s hoping the series is entertaining and totally free of abominations…
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May 19, 2008 at 8:00 am
Rough road trip. Had a mostly good time in Seattle despite us blowing Saturday night’s game. Yesterday’s probably sucked worse.
I think it’s high time we start bringing some of our guys up to see what they can do. I think the Huber and P-Mac experiments have run their course, and I would rather we slot some guys in the OF from Portland.
On the other hand, Jody Gerut has looked like a smart little pick-up. I wonder how long he can man CF for us.
May 19, 2008 at 8:11 am
#1@Phantom: I think that the Padres will wait until mid June to start calling guys up…
Looking at Portland though it does not seem like alot of guys are ready for the show. Antonelli and Hundley have been scuffeling, Geer and LeBlanc have yet to figure out AAA hitters and Ambers is hardley an everyday player in the pros.
May 19, 2008 at 8:30 am
#2@Steve C: Yeah, I was only thinking Headley and Veneable for the time being (assuming he’s healthy).
If we’re sellers, who would be leading candidates to ship out? A few of my thoughts are below:
1) Tony Clark - He’s got no place on an NL team to begin with, but he allegedly has some pop left in his bat. He’s got a good rep, which might help us out.
2) Greg Maddux - Veteran presence that most teams would like to have in a post-season run. He’s got a full no-trade, though.
3) Michael Barrett - Once he proves he’s healthy, I fully expect him to be dealt to a contender. Maybe a team that unexpectedly sees a catcher go down.
4) Khalil Greene - Much as it hurts me to post this, I think Khalil’s time in San Diego is likely nearing the end. I would hope that they don’t sell low on Khalil right now and are able to reap an impressive bounty in return. The total lack of SS in the system could complicate such a move.
Now, given prospective moves, what would we like in return? Potentially high-upside pitchers that are years away (could we even get this)? IF help? OF help?
May 19, 2008 at 8:44 am
#3@Phantom: I dont think the Pads can expect to get much in return for those players…
Tony Clark - a 36 year old DH who can’t run or hit LHP
Greg Maddux - If they move Maddux it will be to the Braves or Cubs for nostalgic reasons and I don’t think they will be willing to give up much to get him. Maddux is a serviceable #3 pitcher but he wont make a huge impact in anyone’s rotation.
Michael Barrett - Barrett intrigues me, he has the track record of a good hitter and if he can get back on track and prove that he is healthy he may net the Padres a decent prospect from a team in contention that feels like they can improve at the Catchers spot, but then again that is a big IF IMO.
Khalil Greene - Greenie may have the most value but he would have to net the Padres an everyday SS in return so im not really sure how much the team could upgrade themselves in moving him.
The one player that I do see value in trading is Giles, If he can stay hot like he has been since the Pads moved him to the #3 spot he may be able to get some value in return if traded to a contender who need veteran OF help.
May 19, 2008 at 8:48 am
#4@Steve C: I thought about putting in Giles, but I was concerned about his age. But you’re right. If he continues to rip the cover off the ball, I could even see him getting picked up by a smaller-stadium team like Chicago.
May 19, 2008 at 8:53 am
#3@Phantom:
Add Wolf to that list. He might be in front of Maddux, because he’s cheaper, without the no-trade complications, and isn’t a draw like Mad Dog. He also can’t be counted on for innings, and SOMEBODY has to throw for this team.
It’s not going to be all that easy to move OG without paying some of his salary (which increases by 3M if he’s moved) or accepting junk in return. The best move for 2009 there might be keeping him.
I could see Greene going to Tampa to help sustain their surprising run. Bartlett is not hitting at all for them, and Reid Brignac is not impressing in AAA. Maybe we get Bartlett back; he’s always been a pretty good OBP guy. But they may want to wait for Greene to rebuild some value (hopefully) the rest of the year and then move him in the winter.
May 19, 2008 at 8:55 am
#5@Phantom: Yeah I could see Giles going to the Cubbies or possibly the Indians.
May 19, 2008 at 8:59 am
#6@Tom Waits: I could see Giles waiving that though if he is being moved to a contender like the Cubs or Indians.
I agree that from a win/loss standpoint thatit may be a good idea to pick up Gile’s $9 mil option for 09 but I just don’t see the Pads going that way, I think they are going to go into full re-build mode next year and will not want to pay him that much to take AB’s away from the development of their future players.
May 19, 2008 at 9:04 am
#8@Steve C: I could see Giles waiving the No-Trade Clause. I can’t see him ever waiving 3 million dollars. The other team might demand that WE pay it if we want good prospects, or ask us to split it.
Maybe if the other team immediately picked up his option, but…..it doesn’t seem likely in any case.
May 19, 2008 at 9:07 am
#9@Tom Waits: I dont know I think Giles would be willing to take the same slary that he is making now to play for a team that has a shot at making the WS. I guess I just think/hope that winning means more to Giles than money.
May 19, 2008 at 9:08 am
#10@Steve C: but then again im prob a little delusional.
May 19, 2008 at 9:25 am
I would think Maddux and Wolf could get them the type of prospects, they got in the Linebrink deal.
May 19, 2008 at 9:28 am
#10@Steve C: 3 million. And he’s coming to the end of his career. Would anyone you know turn down 3 million dollars? Billionaires don’t turn down 3 million dollars.
May 19, 2008 at 9:31 am
What about Estes? If he can string together 3 or 4 more good starts I think he could provide (perceived) value to a contending team looking for a lefty.
May 19, 2008 at 9:35 am
Yankees, Phillies, and Braves all have pitching needs. Maddux and Wolf make sense.
May 19, 2008 at 9:37 am
#14@Anthony: #14@Anthony:
TRADE ESTES NOW! House of cards, etc.
May 19, 2008 at 9:38 am
#13@Tom Waits: I do not believe the 3 million is as big an issue as the stars aligning correclty. If a contender suddenly finds itself one outfielder short, the 3 million won’t be a big concern.
May 19, 2008 at 9:39 am
Re 16: Sorry about that. The spirit of Schlom suddenly took over my keyboard.
May 19, 2008 at 9:39 am
#14@Anthony: I was skeptical that anyone would see him as valuable, but if his ERA stays low despite the lack of strikeouts I’d definitely move him. Better to do it before anyone peeks behind the curtain.
#12@Field39: I’d be giddy over that. With the Cubs I’d target Murton (and Rich Hill, but that would be a much bigger deal than just Maddux). Pie would be nice, but not sure there’s a fit with us.
May 19, 2008 at 9:41 am
#16@The Fathers: You wouldn’t get anything for him now, though. If he, like Anthony says, can string together a couple more good starts, then we’ve got some chips.
May 19, 2008 at 9:51 am
#17@Field39: It’s a pretty big poison pill for a guy who is now known to lack power, but it would be great if somebody was so desperate they didn’t care about the 3 million. I’d expect it to seriously cut into the quality of player we received in return.
May 19, 2008 at 9:58 am
I’ve written about this a few times, but Giles would be a perfect fit for Cleveland right about now. Going back to the playoffs with the team that drafted him would be great for him. While it’s not always the best thing to trade your hottest hitter, his value might be at its peak right now with his average over .300. He does tend to go in slumps that drop his average 25 points in a matter of weeks. I’d hate for them to wait too long.
KT was on 1090 this morning, talking like a guy who is ready to blow this thing up. He said his mind was pretty much made up about most of the players on this team and if they were going to be part of the team’s future. When asked about P-MAC’s future, he gave the proverbial, “no comment”. When asked something along the lines of if he believed the Padres had any championship caliber players on the current squad, he answered, “a ‘couple, but very few”. My guess is that the next roster shakeup is going to be much bigger than the last one.
May 19, 2008 at 10:01 am
#19@Tom Waits: The Cubs and Braves would probably be interested in CY. I think CY could bring in quite a haul and I wouldnt be opposed to trading him, if it were a big haul.
May 19, 2008 at 10:05 am
#22@JMAR: In Giles’ mind you think going back to the team that drafted him would be better than staying with his home-town team and living at home. I am sure he doesnt like that the team is so bad, but I dont know if he would waive his no trade just to go back to the team the drafted him.
May 19, 2008 at 10:07 am
#24@SDSUBaseball: Giles has a limited trade, not a no trade, and he gets if he gets traded.
May 19, 2008 at 10:08 am
#25@Field39: Giles has a limited trade, not a no trade, and he getsa raise if he gets traded.
May 19, 2008 at 10:12 am
#25@Field39: Yeah, it depends on how close the no-trade list that Giles and his agent put together before this season matches the teams that might want him now. The 3 million would probably go a long way to erasing even the 8 teams on that list.
#23@SDSUBaseball: Me either, but they’ve got to be diligent about it. Even when Young struggles, he’s a good pitcher signed for several years at a reasonable price. Even if they think they’re two years away from competing, Young could still be a part of that team.
May 19, 2008 at 10:22 am
#22@JMAR: I caught the tail end of that interview and it was extremely dark. Very little in the way of roster changes, would suprise me.
May 19, 2008 at 10:30 am
#24@SDSUBaseball: I’m pretty sure Giles’ no-trade doesn’t include Cleveland. I’m also sure he’d rather stay in San Diego, but considering they’re not going anywhere this year and he might not be here next year anyways, I think he would welcome the chance to play in that environment in a pennant race once again. He’s 37 and doesn’t have a World Series ring. I’d guess that he’d welcome a trade.
Of course, if the Padres are as inactive next off-season as they were this past off-season, they might be better off picking up his option for more year.
May 19, 2008 at 10:32 am
#26@Field39: Isn’t Giles a 10/5 guy now?
May 19, 2008 at 10:44 am
#30@Steve C: I do not know how the rule works concerning mid season trades. He was traded to the Padres on Aug 26 of 2003.
May 19, 2008 at 10:46 am
Here’s a Baseball America writeup only Brian Myrow:
At 31, Myrow is your classic Four-A slugger. After Myrow spent three years with Winnipeg in the independent Northern League, the Yankees purchased his contract in 2001. He spent time with the Dodgers and the Red Sox as well before the Padres signed him as a free agent before the 2007 season. Myrow hit .354/.440/.579 last year in 414 plate appearances, and he’s off to a .351/.473/.567 in 169 plate appearances. It’s hard to see a scenario in which Myrow, who has just 30 major league at-bats, gets any playing time in San Diego, which has Adrian Gonzalez at first base and of course can’t put him at DH. But his performance certainly merits at least a trial period with a team that could use an upgrade at first base or DH.
May 19, 2008 at 10:52 am
#30@Steve C:
#31@Field39:
The 10/5 rule is applicable no matter when a trade occurs, but I don’t think OG is there yet. He joined the Padres in late August 2003.
May 19, 2008 at 11:06 am
#33@Tom Waits: One more reason, to not pick up his 2009 option.
May 19, 2008 at 11:22 am
#33@Tom Waits: Remind me what the 10/5 rule is again…
Myrow could easily fill the Tony Clark role on this team. Could he be much worse than P-Mac in LF?
May 19, 2008 at 11:24 am
#35@SDSUBaseball: Any player that has been in the League for 10 yeaers and with the same team for 5 gets an automatic no trade claws.
May 19, 2008 at 11:54 am
Just for discussion sake, the pirates are going to be needing a 3 bagger soon…
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/.....68107.html
May 19, 2008 at 11:57 am
WC @ BP says this about Jake …
http://www.baseballprospectus......cleid=7542
The idea that Peavy will be “held back” because the Padres are in last place in their division is wrongheaded and shows a lack of understanding of the Padres, of Peavy, and of the modern game. Peavy is headed for an MRI instead of his next start due to persistent soreness in the elbow. It’s worse after starts, but the key word here is ’soreness.’ “It’s not pain,” one source told me, while another points to a slowing of Peavy’s recovery; Peavy is not a “rubber armed modern warrior” as I recently heard him described. He’s an excellent pitcher who’s been able to adjust to varying issues and remain effective because he’s not just a thrower. The Pads are being very careful about the language they’re using here, and giving no indications about where the soreness is. It could be a recurrence of the flexor tendon problems he had a few years ago, or it could be some muscular issue. The worst-case scenario is that there’s damage to the ligaments, but given his performance during his last couple of outings, it’s unlikely that’s the case. We’ll all have to wait on the MRI and further information, but I’m cautiously optimistic that this is a one- or two-start problem where the Pads could be conservative.
May 19, 2008 at 12:02 pm
#33@Tom Waits: So Giles would reach 10/5 in August. I remember reading somewhere that he could block a trade to a handful of teams (mostly bad teams) now and in August, he would be able to block any trade.
#37@Coronado Mike: That’s why I was hoping Kouz would heat up. He’s a huge upgrade to Jose Bautista at 3B but he’s not hitting enough right now to get us anything back in return.
May 19, 2008 at 12:06 pm
#38@LynchMob: Rich Hill’s name comes up every once in a while in trade talk here … here’s a note from WC @ BP today …
Down in Triple-A, things are getting even worse for Rich Hill. He’s hurt his back while working on some mechanical changes. That’s always a risk in the midst of establishing a new motion.
May 19, 2008 at 12:17 pm
OT … one more note from WC @ BP …
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05.....ref=slogin
Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick… Boom
by Will Carroll
Forget Mindy McCready or … well, any of the superfluous items that surround the steroid story in baseball. This is the story that could be most damaging, and it looks like the names are close to being released, though we’ve heard that before. Beyond bigger legal issues of medical privacy, this one is the nuclear bomb that both the Commissioner’s Office and the Players Association had hoped would never explode. That it hasn’t significantly leaked tells you just how big it is. I don’t anticipate anything imminently, but that ticking you hear isn’t an alarm clock–the Mitchell Report could be more than just an expensive waste of time once this comes out. It could be the book that Jeff Novitzky throws at American sport.
May 19, 2008 at 12:27 pm
#39@JMAR: A lot of players won’t put bad teams on their no-trade lists because those teams aren’t going to have any interest in trading for them. That’s how Nevin wrote his list so well when he was a Padre; he and his agent looked at the teams that might want him and that the Padres might deal with. Other players will list the teams they don’t want to go to, even if those teams are unlikely to be in the trade market.
May 19, 2008 at 12:30 pm
#41@LynchMob: Is there anything more here than what you posted? I don’t remember my NYT login and don’t want to get another.
May 19, 2008 at 12:32 pm
#40@LynchMob: I’d love to get Hill, but he’s probably a stretch, anyway. The Cubs know that he’s got top-of-the-rotation potential.
Matt Murton, Ronny Cedeno, Eric Patterson (in CF), and Sean Marshall are possibilities if we deal with the Cubs. Not all of them unless the trade turns huge, but Murton and Patterson for Maddux seems realistic.
May 19, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Don’t know any of these prospects you all are referring to, but I hope one thing, that they are young. Would not trade for anyone over 29, frankly because in very rare cases it seems (anecdotally) they simply start a slow and torturous decline.
How many upside players on the current roster. Agon, Green maybe, Kouz, maybe. At this point we have one plus player, Agon. No wonder we can’t hit the ball.
May 19, 2008 at 1:16 pm
#44@Tom Waits: Yeah, if they were willing to deal Hill, which they probably aren’t, I’d take him. As long as he doesn’t ever have to pitch to Mike Cameron (I think Cameron was 4-for-4 with four homers against him last season, right?), he looks like he could be a pretty good pitcher.
May 19, 2008 at 1:33 pm
#43@Coronado Mike: I didn’t need to “login” to NYT to see/read this article … if you do, i s’pose an alternative is to use bugmenot.com to get something that works short-term …
OT … as a reminder that it’s not just the Padres who think that all the pitchers they draft get hurt … this from BP’s Kevin Goldstein’s “10-pack” today …
Brad Lincoln, RHP, Low-A Hickory (Pirates)
Lincoln achieved the box score surprise over the weekend. It’s not that the Pirates concealed the fact that he was returning to action, it’s just that we hadn’t seen a pitching line for him since August 6, 2006. The fourth overall pick that year, Lincoln continued in the tradition of Pirates draft picks suffering catastrophic injuries, in his case when his elbow went pop during last year’s spring training, which caused him to miss the entire year recovering from Tommy John surgery. His first outing in nearly two years was an unmitigated success, as he allowed one run and four hits over five innings, didn’t walk a batter, struck out three, and retired eight of the remaining 12 on ground outs. There’s no timetable for Lincoln, just a hope that he can stay healthy and get his career going at this time and reclaim his status as the top pitching prospect in the system.
May 19, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Just as an FYI, there was an explosion at a hotel near PETCO today. Some people at GLB are saying they’ve heard the game is cancelled, but I haven’t seen anything official yet. Here is some information on the blast: http://www.signonsandiego.com/.....osion.html
May 19, 2008 at 4:06 pm
#48@Phantom: I’ve heard from a couple different people that the game is still on.
May 19, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Lightning Ledezma to the rescue!
May 19, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Did anyone else hear Nevin on the BP show? After KT’s remark this morning that we only have a couple championship caliber players on the roster, Nev was insinuating that part of the reason may be that KT doesn’t have as much control over the makeup of the team as he used to. He was just speculating of course, but it’s interesting to think that maybe bringing in guys like Alderson and DePodesta may have made things too crowded in the front office.
May 19, 2008 at 5:18 pm
#48@Phantom: The Padres WILL PLAY as expected…here is the press release saying so.
http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com.....mp;c_id=sd
May 19, 2008 at 5:24 pm
#52@Coronado Mike: I hold out some hope that they will play better than expected.
May 19, 2008 at 5:28 pm
#51@Bryan: I think that he would be more frustrated with his limited payroll for the major league roster and the limited financial resources to sign top players in the draft and in Latin America. John Moores sets the budget, not Alderson. And I can’t envision Alderson telling Towers what kind of players he could or couldn’t bring in. This team has had four straight winning seasons, mainly because Towers has pulled off some amazing one-sided trades and made some terrific low-cost signings. It’s just hard to do that year in and year out. This was bound to happen sooner or later. When they’re competing against clubs who are spending a lot more on their product, it makes a GM’s job that much harder to do. It has to be frustrating for him, especially when the team is going so bad. If I had to take a guess, though, I’m pretty sure he’s mostly frustrated at the way his team is performing. It sounds like he really thought they would be much better.
May 19, 2008 at 5:28 pm
#51@Bryan: The same front office crowd led to 89 wins last year (which is good, not great), and 3 pretty good (again not great) drafts in a row.
Everybody’s frustrated, but how does two bad months invalidate 4 straight years of success, 3 of them with “the crowd?” DePodesta was the main instigator behind the acquisition of Jenga last year, which was huge.
Towers has been successful when it was just him (96 ,98) and in the new system. When the Padres flailed in 97, it wasn’t because Towers became stupid, it was because injuries devastated the pitching staff. They’re not flailing now because Towers didn’t have a free hand; they’re flailing because most of the position players are at the bottom of their expected performance curve, nowhere near the mean where you’d expect them to be.
May 19, 2008 at 5:29 pm
#53@Geoff Young: Hah!
May 19, 2008 at 5:31 pm
Padres manager Bud Black said the San Diego Padres ace is likely headed for the disabled list, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=3404021
May 19, 2008 at 5:40 pm
#57@Kevin: Good. No reason to take chances. If Jake goes down the near-future does get bleak.
May 19, 2008 at 6:14 pm
#51@Bryan: I don’t see how Nevin would know anything about it.
May 19, 2008 at 6:15 pm
#58@Tom Waits: Tim Redding is a guy that doesn’t strike many out but has had about a year of pretty successful work. Tonight he is spinning a shut out through 7.
Redding’s success is a shocker I will admit.
May 19, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Bosox hurler Jon Lester is one inning away from a no hitter.
May 19, 2008 at 6:26 pm
#60@JP: The Nationals have five rotation spots that are as uncertain and inconsistent as the Padres No. 5 spot.
May 19, 2008 at 6:32 pm
#61@JP: Lester’s over 120 pitches too…luckily it’s 7-0 or he may be outta the game.
May 19, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Lester just threw a no-hitter.
May 19, 2008 at 7:06 pm
#60@JP: Redding is striking out 6 per 9 inning this year (it was 5 last year, which borders on unsustainable). 6 isn’t bad at all. Estes is at 4, which is unsustainable, but his strikeouts may climb. Or he could pull a Germano and find to his chagrin that balls hit into play don’t always find gloves.
Both Estes and Redding play in good home parks, and spend a lot of time in favorable away parks, too. The NL East only has one hitter-friendly stadium, and Redding appears not to have pitched there, ever.
May 19, 2008 at 7:09 pm
#55 Tom, but the fact remains that regardless of the players current or past performances it is KT’s publicly stated opinion that only a couple of the players on this team are “championship caliber” It’s hard to imagine that that opinion is based on just the few games played this year, or based on that statement that KT is ultimatley responsible for the assemby of the season opening roster. Let’s hope this i$ a wake up call for somebody.
May 19, 2008 at 7:23 pm
#66@malcolm: I’m sure Towers is more frustrated than anyone, but the 2008 team shares its core with the 2007 squad. On paper we were slightly better this year than last.
What does “championship caliber” mean, anyway? Agon, sure. Iguchi was a key part of the White Sox World Series and was a big help in Philadelphia’s playoff drive last year. If they thought Greene was C-C, why sign him for 2 years? Why keep Kouzmanoff at 3rd base and move Headley to left if they honestly though Kouz is a second-division player? OG is killing the ball now. Bard was an above-average catcher the last 2 years. Peavy, CY, Maddux, even Wolf are good enough to start on championship clubs. Seems to me there are a lot of championship-caliber players who aren’t playing well, which is compounded by the fact that they brought in Edmonds to play a critical role and went to the waiver wire well one too many times in the bullpen.
If Towers really thought that his hands were tied, or that the players on this team couldn’t compete, why did he sign a contract extension in January?