Comments on: Shadow Puppets

By: Tom Waits

Tom Waits — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:57:44 +0000

#123@JP: Until 2 weeks ago Gonzalez had hit worse than PMac. How was a worse hitter going to prevent the start we had? #124@JP: It's still true, unless you can name a team that wouldn't have turned to a Brady Clark if their 2 best CF went down the last week of the season. Any team that loses its two top catchers has 3 options: 1. Promote a youngster (and if you read about the minor leagues, there are very few good catching prospects) 2. Rummage in the Gary Bennett / Corky Miller scrap heap. Bennett has a career OPS of 64. That's fairly typical of the veteran stopgap catchrs. Yippee. 3. Make a trade for a good catcher, if they feel they can contend.

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By: Kevin

Kevin — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:30:39 +0000

#100@Schlom: I haven't analyzed the Padres' draft history -- Geoff, maybe something for the book? -- but why would you point out only the first round? The Padres drafted Tony Gwynn (third round), Jake Peavy (15th) and Ozzie Smith (fourth). Those are just the biggies. Not sure how many other productive, but not great, players they drafted after the first round.

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By: JP

JP — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:22:33 +0000

BTW, and it again makes Schlom’s point. ‘Who would have thought we would lose a catcher ? sounds an awful like (therefore justifying Brady Clark in center) :”What team could have replaced two outfielders that late in the season. We have NO farm system now outside of two to three good prospects.

#122@Tom Waits: But wait, Waits.

I am talking of course about when Barrett went down. It seemed like the obvious question for KT (in which he received) at that time from sportswriters was “will you get someone in here to help at the catching spot”. KT hardly brushed the question away but rather took it like head on as if a legit. query, answering “maybe, we will see how things go”. Things went awful and may continue as there is no guarantee that Barrett makes it back or Bard gets/stays healthy.

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By: JP

JP — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:12:32 +0000

Ho hum. Luis Gonzalez year in and year out fashions an OPS that hovers right around the high .700's to low .800's. I wanted him in the Padre camp as a reliable platoon guy to 1 year stop gap until Chase time in late 2008 or early 2009. I was roundly hissed at by many of this blog when it offered it as a suggestion. Our in house guys are better. Remember the Winter 2007-2008 articles about how PMAC was looking to battle back from the fringes and the deep cellar on the depth chart. Little did he know, he would be relied upon as the main platoon guy with the other in house candidate Jody Gerut.

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By: Tom Waits

Tom Waits — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:08:51 +0000

#112@JP: They had a 3 million dollar backup in Michael Barrett, who is good enough to start. There aren't many ways to plan for both your top catchers to go down that don't involve replacing them with the Carlins and Mortons of the world.

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By: Tom Waits

Tom Waits — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:06:26 +0000

#118@JP: That’s not quite how I feel. I don’t necessarily want to give Kouz more time, but if he’s just a throw-in to a trade, we may be better off keeping him so he can produce as a platoon player for us. If he could bring back a good player, I’d move him without much worry. He’s struck out 35 times and walked……4. That doesn’t sound like improved patience to me.

I’d much, much rather have Headley playing 3b in the future, with Huffman in LF, than Kouz (3b), Headley (LF), Huffman (RF), and a necessarily superhuman CF covering 70% of the outfield.

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By: Tom Waits

Tom Waits — Wed, 21 May 2008 00:51:09 +0000

#93@Schlom: There's a big difference between 03/05 and 04. In 03 and 05, they picked good players who got injured later. Carrillo, in particular, was a potentially huge return, a shorter, slimmer RHP who had fantastic stuff. 04 was the only year the whole process was broken.

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By: Didi

Didi — Wed, 21 May 2008 00:46:04 +0000

116: Because we are scrapping the bottom of the barrel for….anything.
Crisp shouldn’t be in the discussion for anything. He’s not going to be better than Gerut/Hairston in CF.

All this suppositions and conjecturings is making me hungry.

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By: JP

JP — Wed, 21 May 2008 00:44:53 +0000

Waits is right. Kouzmanoff should be given another full year. I know he looks more and more like Wes Helms but I am not sure yet. I sure like the way KK hits to all fields and this year, though the bat this year is powerless, he seems to be more patient at the plate and better again at fighting balls off and shooting into right instead of pulling off. I think the homeruns will come again like last year.

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By: Didi

Didi — Wed, 21 May 2008 00:43:16 +0000

Newsflash: The Aztecs lost to the Rebels 6-2 in the ninth on a bases loaded 2-run hit and another flyball that got lost in the sun that scored 2 more runs. Crappy day getting crappier.

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