Breakin’ for All-Stars
Mon, Jul 14, 2008
by Geoff Young
Regular readers know that I don’t do the All-Star Game. Adrian Gonzalez pretty well sums up why:
All it is is a reminder of the market we’re in. When it comes to voting for the All-Star Game, it’s all about publicity, all about what market you play for. It’s how ESPN puts you out there. They’re a big reason for who gets publicity and who doesn’t.
As I’ve said before, San Diego is not ESPN’s target audience — and for good reason. New York, Boston, and a few other markets pay the bills, so it only makes sense that players from teams representing those cities should dominate the rosters. I don’t have a real problem with that, but neither does it inspire me to invest any time or energy in the event.
Plus there’s the whole self-congratulatory nature of the thing. I won’t have anything to do with the Oscars for the same reason — just shut up and make me some more movies.
That said, I’m totally down with the concept of a break. I’ll be taking the next few days off as I continue my re-assimilation into the so-called real world. Then we’ll start examining some of the themes that have emerged over the first half of a disappointing season.
Until then, be excellent to one another. See you Thursday.
Picking up where last year's version left off, the Ducksnorts 2008 Baseball Annual provides in-depth analysis of and commentary on the San Diego Padres. Get your copy today.
July 14, 2008 at 8:46 am
I’m back in Oregon … last Friday night at Petco was a blast … thanks for the “drink”, Kris, I owe you one … Lance, as always, is the monster of The Field and asks the boldest questions … Didi & Geoff, thanks again for the ‘85 Padre jersey (fomerly owned by Joe Lynch) … and thanks to Oside Jon and BenB for saying hello long enough to get their pic taken up in secion 304 …
http://picasaweb.google.com/Ly.....EventPetco
The time with Paul DePodesta was very interesting … his presentation and answers to questions were pretty close to the vest … but he sprinkled in enough insights to make being there a Padre fan’s delight … I was most impressed at how many questions he took … I’m pretty sure the game was well underway by the time the Q&A broke up … and it wasn’t until the 3rd inning that he finished with all the followup chat and picture sessions …
I did most appreciate his “if you take one thing away from this evening” message … “be a Padre fan” … *hey*, I can do that!!! I was glad to be part of the Ducksnorts gang there … and I thought it was clear that we were doing just that (ie. being Padre fans)
July 14, 2008 at 8:50 am
According to Friar John …
Faris, Kulbacki snare minor league honors
Right-hander Stephen Faris and outfielder Kellen Kulbacki have been named the Padres minor league pitcher and player of the month for June.
Faris, 24, was 2-1 with an 0.84 ERA in five starts with Double-A San Antonio. He struck out 30 and walked four.
Kulbacki, 22, batted .329 with three doubles, nine home runs, 20 RBI, 17 walks and 19 runs in 23 games with Single-A Lake Elsinore.
July 14, 2008 at 10:07 am
#1@LynchMob:
Thanks for the pictures Lynch! Great meeting you!
July 14, 2008 at 10:25 am
In case you remember JJ Furmaniak … he’s blogging from Japan now …
http://jjbaseball.blogspot.com/
… good/fun stuff!
July 14, 2008 at 10:31 am
#1@LynchMob: In the picture of GY and Didi, it looks like the guy behind them is in a glam rock band from the late 80s. Except that’s probably when he was born.
I luvs me some Kulbacki. I just wish he or Huffman was a better fit in RF, but I have hopes that Chad will be better there. Maybe throw Venable into that equation; the best defender of the three (none of them have plus arms) but not typical OF power.
July 14, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Here’s a couple of pictures that Dave Pease’s brother took at the BP Event last Friday …
http://www.baseballprospectus......red/?p=940
July 14, 2008 at 12:50 pm
I have to say that I’ve been disappointed in some of the comments by Padres players the last week or so. I’m not sure I really understand the bitching by Gonzalez in the above quote — at best he’s the 3rd best 1B in the NL this season (clearly way behind Pujols and Berkman) and Derek Lee, Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard, and Mark Teixeira have all been better recently. Adrian is a really good player, but the 1B position in the NL is totally stacked — if Peavy hadn’t gotten injured he probably wouldn’t have even made the team this season.
It’s not simply because of “the market we’re in,” more because they 2nd worst team in baseball doesn’t ever get a regular player voted in (leaving out Ichiro! from the Mariners because of the overseas voting). I don’t think anyone from the Nationals got any votes either (and they were better then the Padres during the voting period).
I have an idea for A-Gon and Peavy — instead of bitching about run support or the low regard the “National Media” has for the Padres, how about playing better baseball and not choking in playoff games?
July 14, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Kevin Goldstein at BP IGD’d the Future’s Game …
http://www.baseballprospectus......cleid=7796
… including this tidbit about Inman …
Will Inman pitches the fifth for the US, and you can see how his motion makes him harder to hit; with a weird pause in it, then a drop in his arm angle to a low-low three-quarters delivery. It lets him miss a lot of bats, but scouts tend to hate low arm slots because of the platoon splits they can create. As a case in point, this year righties are hitting .190/.279/.286 against Inman, while lefties are at .263/.368/.404.
July 14, 2008 at 12:55 pm
AZL Padres 6-6 in top of 8th …
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.....k_pdrrok_1
July 14, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Also speaking of the All-Star Game, what idiot picked Carlos Marmol to replace Kerry Wood for the NL? Obviously, it wouldn’t shock me if it was Clint Hurdle as I don’t think he really has any clue on what’s going on (leaving out last year’s incredible run).
I feel sorry for Heath Bell — according to BP he was the 2nd best reliever in the NL last season (behind Saito) and the 2nd best so far this season (behind Brad Lidge). Marmol was unreal in April and May (36 IP, 54 K, 1.75 ERA, 0.805 WHIP) but has been the worst pitcher in baseball since June 1st (with at least 15 IP):
http://tinyurl.com/6nj5n6
What a strange choice that was.
July 14, 2008 at 1:07 pm
#9@LynchMob:
My latest man crush is playing Center Field. That’s pretty cool. Not that I can tell if he is any good at it but it might say something about his athleticism.
July 14, 2008 at 1:21 pm
#10@Schlom: He was the next guy up in the players’ voting. The players don’t do any better than the fans or managers in voting. It was a terrible idea.
July 14, 2008 at 1:29 pm
#7@Schlom: The Texas Rangers have 4 All Stars this year. Milwaukee has three. I think if the Padres had players who were worthy, they would have made the team.
July 14, 2008 at 1:30 pm
#12@Kevin: Actually I think the players do the worst (the fans do the best, while the manager are usually just picking players from teams that don’t have representatives). I guess if they made the vote on May 31st, Marmol certainly deserves to be there.
All you need to know about how bad the players vote is that they failed to pick Pujols — he had to be a manager’s selection. Good idea to not pick the best player in baseball, that’s going to do a lot for your credibility.
July 14, 2008 at 1:33 pm
1: Good to see you, too, LM.
On a side note to that BP thingy. GY asked me if I wanted to go since he had an extra tix, and I said yes. I just want to attend this shindig.
As it turned out, DePodesta was awesome, got to meet a bunch of DS’er, and Jake was pitching, the Padres scored runs and won, and Trevor got a save just like LM wanted it. Then, Lance led us for more merriments at Donovan’s.
Sometimes in life, just like in baseball, it’s better to be lucky than good.
Thanks again to everybody involved.
ASG, when is the craziness of Home Field Advantage going to end?
July 14, 2008 at 1:33 pm
#14@Schlom: Well, the managers used to pick all the reserves before this player nonsense. That’s why the Dick Williams picked so many of his own players in 1984. I didn’t have a problem with that practice. He’s the manager. He’s trying to win a game. They did win the game.
July 14, 2008 at 1:46 pm
acccording to mlbtraderumors.com the cubs are more seriously considering acquiring khalil Greene. Maybe ronny cedeno and felix pie?
July 14, 2008 at 1:50 pm
#17@Loren: The Padres allegedly aren’t interested in what they wants since Khalil’s value is so down.
July 14, 2008 at 1:55 pm
#18@Phantom: With 2 teams pushing for greenie it may raise his value again…but who will play SS if they trade Greenie for pie?
July 14, 2008 at 2:37 pm
#17@Loren: If they can get something good for him, they might as well trade him for two reasons — one, in that he most likely is going to become a free agent after the 2009 season; secondly, he looks absolutely horrible and any good prospect they could get for would be great.
#19@Steve C: Who cares who plays SS? Even Luis Rodriguez wouldn’t be much of a step down at this point (well that’s not really true but since they aren’t going anywhere, who cares?)
July 14, 2008 at 2:39 pm
19: Rodriguez (not Alex), Manny (not Ramirez), etc. I don’t think Khalil’s value is going up much just because two teams are interested. Let him play out the season.
July 14, 2008 at 3:03 pm
#17@Loren: #18@Phantom: #19@Steve C: There just doesn’t seem to be many teams out there with a lot of SS depth, so I think Khalil still has some value despite the season he’s having. His stock is lower than it’s ever been, but if some team wants to give up some talent, I would pull the trigger. Khalil might just need a change of scenery. I think he’d be a 30+ HR gold glove-winner in Boston or Chicago.
The question is whether other teams believe in Khalil and would they give us enough back to make it worthwhile. If they were to trade him for talent other than a major-league ready SS, L-ROD would be our SS for at least the next few months. If I knew it would be easy to get another starting SS in the offseason, I would be OK with that. But I know it wouldn’t be easy and so I am really on the fence with all of this ‘trade Khalil’ stuff.
July 14, 2008 at 3:07 pm
#11@KRS1: Your Decker-dude led off the 9th with a single and scored the winning run in a 7-6 victory … gotta like that kid!
Several interesting notes in this UT article …
http://www3.signonsandiego.com.....le/?padres
… Latos is 2 weeks away
… Carillo got shelled in last outing … but was clocked 89-92
… Matt Bush threw his first bullpen session
… Luebke and Kluber were sent down to Ft Wayne due to “delivery problems”
July 14, 2008 at 3:09 pm
#22@JMAR: is “30+ HR gold glove-winner” redundant?
July 14, 2008 at 3:32 pm
#24@LynchMob: My point is that he would actually be considered as a gold glove winner if he played in one of those major markets. If he hit 30 HR’s in a huge market like Chicago or Boston, then he would be a mega-star and everyone would notice how good he is defensively.
If he hit 30 HR’s in SD, which he nearly did in ‘07 while playing a near-flawless shortstop for a competitive team, he would still be overlooked for the gold glove despite being the best defensive SS in the league, in my opinion.
July 14, 2008 at 4:04 pm
#25@JMAR: Yeah, that’s what Lynch was saying, but in sort of joke, I think. Because Gold Glove awards go to 30-homer guys.
July 14, 2008 at 4:12 pm
#22@JMAR: The good thing about playing Luis Rodriguez at SS (or even Edgar Gonzalez) would be that it will help the Padres to what I think should be their #1 goal the rest of this season — finishing with the worst overall record so they can take local boy (West Hills HS and SDSU) Stephen Strasburg next season!
July 14, 2008 at 4:16 pm
#20@Schlom: I agree, if we trade Khalil who cares who plays SS THIS YEAR. . .but what about next year? Given that Khalil still has some value, the cost (in either dollars paid or prospects given up) of obtaining another SS is going to be high.
If you can get back an advanced SS prospect in another trade, I’m ok with trading Khalil. Otherwise you are opening up a huge hole that won’t be easily filled. Just stick him in the #8 spot and don’t expect much. That wouldn’t be such a big deal if the rest of the lineup was solid.
July 14, 2008 at 4:18 pm
#25@JMAR: In 1999 Rafael Palmerio won the Gold Glove for first base. He started 28 games at first base, and was DH the rest of the time. His line was .324/.420.630, 47 HR, 148 RBI.
Based on that I would say yes, 30 Home Runs is a good starting point for winning the Gold Glove.
July 14, 2008 at 4:22 pm
#27@Schlom: Purposeful tanking in any walk of life is embarrassing and pathetic. I don’t care what the benefits may be.
July 14, 2008 at 4:22 pm
#1@LynchMob: I had a great time Friday night, and it was nice to meet some of you, if only briefly. Thanks for the pictures, Lynch, as weird as it is to see me hanging out in a couple of them. Depodesta was really impressive with the patience he had to take literally every single question anyone had. The best thing I took away from the event was that the front office is not stupid, they’re frustrated with losing just like we are, and they’re constantly evaluating the team and their methods of evaluations.
July 14, 2008 at 4:23 pm
I don’t know if everyone saw this or not, but the Padres signed 3rd round pick Blake Tekotte (U of Miami) yesterday. That leaves the following top ten round picks still unsigned:
Allan Dykstra, James Darnell, Jason Kipnis, Cole Figueroa, Adam Zornes, Beamer Weems, and Kyle Thebeau.
I’d be shocked if they offer Dykstra more then $250k so he probably won’t sign. The rest, except for Kipnis and Figueroa are all college juniors so they don’t have much leverage so I’m surprised they haven’t signed yet. Kipnis and Figueroa are both draft-eligible sophmores so they have some leverage and we’ll probably have to wait until the deadline to see if they get signed. For what it’s worth, Figueroa is scuffling in the Cape Cod League (176/231/247) while Kipnis is doing OK (253/372/304).
July 14, 2008 at 4:29 pm
#30@BigWorm: Well, they’ve been trying to win this season (or at least we think they have) and they are 1.5 games ahead of the Nationals (and tied with the Mariners) for the worst record in baseball. If they could trade Greene for useful players in the following seasons while at the same time just lose a slight bit more then they are doing, why shouldn’t they?
By your logic, they shouldn’t trade Wolf or Maddux (and maybe Giles and Bell) because that will obviously signal that they are giving up this season and playing for the future (and the replacements will most likely be significantly worse).
July 14, 2008 at 4:38 pm
#32@Schlom: At his talk DePo hinted they’d be willing to go over slot to sign guys with leverage. Take that for what it’s worth (almost nothing).
#33@Schlom: There’s a difference between trading players to build for the future and trading players with the goal of losing more in the present. I’ll support the former but not the latter, even if it’s a weak or illogical distinction.
July 14, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Lance Richardson has a look in his eyes that reminds me of an old Donald Hough story called “I Drink American.” Which isn’t about the genesis of one’s drinks, but how one goes about consuming them.
He has that gleam that turns “Come on man, ONE beer” into “First class tickets for Bali, please!”
July 14, 2008 at 4:43 pm
#34@Ben B.: This front office is tough enough not to sell low on Greene. What worries me is their attachment to players who they really don’t like that much in the first place (Ledezma is the prime example). IF they can get what they want for Greene, and IF they then lose enough to have the first pick, fine. There’s no way I see them trading him in some effort to guarantee a last-place finish, because they know too many other things must go wrong.
The Padres are still a team that can reel off 40 wins in August and September, with or without Greene, so trading him is no guarantee of finishing first in regard to the draft.
July 14, 2008 at 4:45 pm
#1@LynchMob: Cool pics. I’m bummed I couldn’t make it after all. I’ll definitely be there next time.
Props to Ben B. and KRS1 on the old school Padre gear. Why can’t the Padres just be different and bring back the brown and mustard? They look like 8 other teams right now with that boring old navy blue.
July 14, 2008 at 4:55 pm
#34@Ben B.: I didn’t say that they should give him away for nothing to make the team worse this season.
This season is over, I think that even the most optimistic fans would agree on that. All moves from now on that improve the team for next season and beyond are good moves. If they have to take a small step back to take a bigger leap in the future, they have to do that. If that means trading Khalil and starting Luis Rodriguez the rest of the season, if the return is good enough they should do that. And it has the added bonus of weakening the team this season to get the all-important (or for teams other then the 2004 Padres) 1st pick overall.
That’s a win-win situation as far as I’m concerned. Sure I don’t want to see them lose 100 games this season, but then again, I could care less if they won 62 vs. 70 games.
July 14, 2008 at 5:27 pm
#35@Tom Waits:
Um…thanks, I think?
And in response to Sclom’s statement that, “I’d be shocked if they offer Dykstra more then $250k so he probably won’t sign,” I can only ask from which region of your arse was that figure pulled???
July 14, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Ben Sheets is a cousin of Andy Sheets.
July 14, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Sheets has never won more than 12 games. I guess it’s better to be healthy.
July 14, 2008 at 6:21 pm
#39@Lance Richardson: My reasoning is perfectly simple. Since there is almost zero downside to the Padres not signing Dykstra (they’ll get the 24th pick next season so they will most likely get a player just as good as him) why not low-ball him? The Padres have absolute no reason at all to offer him anywhere near slot — in fact, I’d argue that they have almost zero reason to offer him anything. Why take the chance?
July 14, 2008 at 6:28 pm
#39@Lance Richardson: My match was off, I meant to put in $350k.
Stauffer took about 25% of the slot bonus in 2003 — $750k instead of $2.8m. 25% of $1.4m (about slot for the 23rd pick) is $350k.
July 14, 2008 at 6:32 pm
#43@Schlom: Math, not match obviously.
July 14, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Josh Hamilton, of Raleigh.
July 14, 2008 at 8:25 pm
#45@Kevin: Any team could have had him for basically nothing but only the Reds were smart enough to take a chance on him — every GM in baseball must be kicking themselves now.
July 14, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Kevin, you’ve completely lost me. Is this a new game, wherein we make random statements of fact?
Okay then… Ross Barnes hit .404 in 1876 to lead the fledgling NL… Christy Mathewson threw three complete-game shutouts in the ‘05 World Series… former Padre Gene Locklear is a full-blooded Native American who went on to great success as a painter after his playing career… when Bobby Thomson hit his “shot heard ’round the world,” in 1951, rookie CF Willie Mays was on deck.
And this to Schlom- the Padres have a good reason to make a solid offer to Dykstra: they think he has a good chance to be an outstanding big league hitter.
July 14, 2008 at 9:05 pm
#47@Lance Richardson: But there is obviously some huge injury concerns. Again, why take a chance? Also, since the Padres have some leverage, shouldn’t they use it? If they don’t need to pay him slot (and most likely they don’t) why should they? Why not save money?
July 14, 2008 at 11:28 pm
#1@LynchMob: Cool, thanks for the pix!
#5@Tom Waits: The times I’ve seen him, Kulbacki has looked legit in RF to me. Huffman has looked like… a pretty good hitter.
#7@Schlom: Your ability to see the worst in things continues to impress. Here’s the rest of Adrian’s quote:
Personally I’m glad he doesn’t give a crap about all that nonsense.
#30@BigWorm: Yeah, the minute I learn that my team is purposely tanking is the minute I cease to be a fan of that team.
July 14, 2008 at 11:33 pm
#47@Lance Richardson: Kevin likes to point out when people have some association with North Carolina.
July 14, 2008 at 11:34 pm
#49@Geoff Young: Agreed on the tanking sentiment. That’s worse than cheating.
July 15, 2008 at 1:12 am
#1@LynchMob:
Where’s my photo credit?
/joking
July 15, 2008 at 6:37 am
NC Times has this Milton Bradley story today:
http://www.nctimes.com/article.....7c7d29.txt
July 15, 2008 at 7:02 am
That Josh Hamilton…Holy Moly Batman. Frigg’n incredible last night!
I would have enjoyed seeing AGon hitting HR’s, but Hamilton made the entire thing worth watching. WowWee.
July 15, 2008 at 8:51 am
#54@Coronado Mike: I’ve read articles in a couple of magazines about Josh Hamilton … I’m a fan … my favorite is the scouts who say that he his the best baseball player they have ever seen … yo!
#52@Melvin Nieves: Tell me more? ie. are you in one of the pics? Were you the guy in the Reno Padres shirt?
#35@Tom Waits: You talk of Lance like you’ve known him for years!
#26@Kevin: Bingo … thanks for the translation! The correlation between offensive numbers and gold gloves is mind boggling …
July 15, 2008 at 9:53 am
#49@Geoff Young:
#51@Richard Wade:
So wait, should the Padres not trade all their veterans then? Replacing Maddux and Wolf in the rotation will make the team worse, so isn’t that really “tanking”? Same thing if they trade Giles.
I’m not expecting the FO to tell the players to strike out on purpose but if they trade away players and get worse replacements, isn’t that a form of tanking? But isn’t that good?
July 15, 2008 at 9:59 am
#49@Geoff Young: Well, you should have put the rest of that quote in there! Obviously I didn’t read the article. That was an interesting quote though. He starts out complaining about playing in a small market and then finishes it up by saying he doesn’t care.
July 15, 2008 at 10:50 am
#54@Coronado Mike: Here’s a live blog from the HR Derby …
http://yankees.lhblogs.com/200.....run-derby/
May favorite entry is this …
9:28 p.m.: Hamilton just hit the first ball ever out of Yankee Stadium. It flew over the Bank of America sign in right field. The other players made the “we’re not worthy” gesture. (10:23 p.m.: Hmm, wrong, seems he hit the top of the BoA sign. But pretty close.)
… yow!
July 15, 2008 at 11:08 am
#56@Schlom: I think you are confusing the “trade veterans for prospects” view with the “tank the rest of the season” view. If we trade Wolf, Maddux, Greene, etc. . . before the trade deadline and get something back that is more useful than magic beans, no one will be upset (well, a few people might be because they like Khalil’s hair). That isn’t tanking. The Nationals, Mariners, etc. will do the same thing, you start playing for next year when your team is this bad.
Tanking is losing games on purpose. For instance, if the Padres didn’t trade any of these guys but kept them on the bench the rest of the year while bringing up the entire AAA roster, that would be tanking. If you make moves not with an eye towards 2009 and 2010, but an eye towards getting the #1 pick in the draft, that is tanking.
Your comments on the kid from State continually ride this line but then you jump back to the non-tanking side of the line when people question you. “The Padres’ goal should be to lose a lot of games so they can draft Strasburg”. Then when people tell you that is an awful stance for any professional sports team you respond with “are you saying we shouldn’t trade Wolf, Maddux, etc. . .”.
July 15, 2008 at 11:09 am
For those missing info on the minor leaguers, JMAR’s blog has a daily minor league tracker that’s worth checking out …
http://sdpadrefan.com/
… shows Bard DH’s at Lake Elsinore yesterday … Sawyer Carroll is back on the field for Eugene (3-for-5 with a HR yesterday) … Blake Tekotte is in CF now for Eugene …
July 15, 2008 at 11:13 am
Jaff Decker walks during a 2-run rally in the top of the 1st for the AZL Padres today …
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.....k_royrok_1
July 15, 2008 at 11:14 am
#61@LynchMob: Oops, check that … his walk (and SB) came later …
July 15, 2008 at 1:11 pm
#61@LynchMob: Just another day at the office for Jaff Decker … so far (thru
he’s 2-for-4 with a double + a walk + 2 SBs with 2 RsBI …
July 15, 2008 at 1:48 pm
#59@BigWorm: You can take that view but unfortunately the best thing for the Padres to do this season is to finish with the worst record in the majors. And let’s face it, it won’t take much for them to do this. Since they are going to lose Greene anyway after next season, they might as well trade him now as that weakens the team for this season while strengthens it in the future.
I think the Padres are already thinking about using this strategy, why else would they sign Brett Tomko?
July 15, 2008 at 1:56 pm
#64@Schlom: Because any time Tomko or Estes are available mid-season towers is required to sign them…I think it’s clause #132B in his current contract, right below the clause that states that he must say the trade deadline is not over on July 31st at least 10 times durring the season.
July 15, 2008 at 2:10 pm
#55@LynchMob:
I took the photo of everyone with Paul Depodesta after his presentation.
July 15, 2008 at 2:20 pm
#64@Schlom: Because he didn’t want to bring Hensley at that time.
July 15, 2008 at 2:26 pm
#64@Schlom: Long term, it may be that finishing last would be a positive. . .but when a team intentionally loses it is indefensible, no matter what the positives might be.
And I think it is more than a stretch to say that the “best thing for the Padres to do is to finish last”. What if they made a few trades that set the team up with some major league ready prospects, the team gelled at the end of this year and started winning which carried over into next season? Wouldn’t that be a better alternative to tanking? What if they kept everyone and Bard, Greene and Kouz had turnaround seasons next year while the Pads went deep in the postseason? Would you prefer tanking to that?
July 15, 2008 at 2:34 pm
#68@BigWorm: What is the real difference between trading all their better veterans and putting in worse players this season and “losing on purpose”? Aren’t we just arguing over the words?
Trading Wolf and putting Tomko in the rotation makes them much worse, so is that “tanking” or “playing for the future”? Whatever you want to call it, isn’t the end result the same?
July 15, 2008 at 2:42 pm
#69@Schlom:
Yes, trading Wolf for players who will be good in the future is playing for the future.
July 15, 2008 at 3:43 pm
#70@Melvin Nieves: I guess I’m asking what is the difference is between “tanking” and “playing for the future.” I’m saying they are the same while others think they aren’t. I mean, isn’t the definition of tanking putting out a worse lineup then you possibly could? And isn’t that exactly what the Padres would be doing if they trade Wolf and replace him with Tomko (or Baek or whoever)?
July 15, 2008 at 3:49 pm
#66@Melvin Nieves: AH, who knew? THANKS!
I’ve updated to caption to give credit where credit is due …
http://picasaweb.google.com/Ly.....5609679058
THANKS for being there … for steping up to the plate in a time of need
So, your blog says you took a pic after the event … but I didn’t see it posted? C’mon … share it!
July 15, 2008 at 4:06 pm
#71@Schlom: It’s all about intent.
Tanking would be putting out a worse lineup than you might otherwise be able to IN ORDER TO LOSE.
Playing for the future would be putting out a worse lineup than you might otherwise be able because it will help you succeed next year or the year after. Right now you might win more, you might lose more. . .but your intent is not to lose games. Your intent is to make the team better for next year.
July 15, 2008 at 4:15 pm
#60@LynchMob: Thanks for the plug, LM. Yeah, I realized how helpful it was to look at the all of those on one page when Geoff was posting it. Especially now that the short-seasons have started, most people don’t have time to look at box scores for every minor league team in the organization.
#63@LynchMob: Decker seems to be a man among boys in the AZL. Besides Cedric Hunter, are there any other high school draftees by the Pads that did as well in recent memory?
July 15, 2008 at 4:24 pm
#73@BigWorm: It’s the same thing! I don’t want them to lose for no reason — I want them to get rid of their older players to make themselves better for the future. And as I said before, that has an added bonus of making them worse this year, probably bad enough that they finish with the worst record in baseball. Again, you can call it what you want but the result is the same — you give up this season for the following seasons.
July 15, 2008 at 4:39 pm
I think it’s a crack up that the Dogs have been “accused of pinching pennies” …
http://www.latimes.com/sports/.....214.column
In a report in the Daily News, sources told veteran scribe Tony Jackson that McCourt had killed a proposed deal for Cleveland Indians pitcher CC Sabathia because of money concerns.
July 15, 2008 at 4:45 pm
#74@JMAR: Geoff Vandel in 2005. He struck out 32 in 21 innings with 5 walks and a WHIP of .81. Then he went to the Northwest League and for 10 innings was almost as good, playing against guys 3-4 years older. Then he got hurt and has never really been the same.
#75@Schlom: Yeah, it’s really not all that different. You trade your vets, you know you’re going to lose more games. I expect what people object to is the word “tanking,” which suggests management forcing players to take a dive. No player is going to do it and no baseball team is going to take the chance of somebody talking about it to the press. But in practical terms there’s not much difference between selling off veteran players (and giving the good players you retain a lot more rest days) and deliberately sitting your good players.
July 15, 2008 at 4:46 pm
#61@LynchMob: Rats, Lynch blows the save by giving up 4 runs in the bottom of the 9th … AZL Padres lose 7-6 … he’s obviously “done”
(hey, I wonder if I could get his jersey?)
July 15, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Here’s a fun fact … Padres’ catchers this season are hitting better (defined as better OPS) than the Seattle Mariner’s DH’s! My source for this is Jay Jaffe at BP, who wrote this …
Barrett, Josh Bard (still DL’d himself) and their various replacement backstops have combined to hit just .188/.266/.260, and that 526 OPS is the lowest to be found on any team at any position this side of the shortstops for the Royals (.192/.224/.280) and Giants (.201/.282/.234), and—take a bow, John McLaren—the Mariners’ designated hitters (.188/.247/.278).
July 15, 2008 at 4:59 pm
#77@Tom Waits: This article at BP …
http://www.baseballprospectus......cleid=7788 (sub only)
… has this interesting comment …
There’s something of an implicit social contract between teams and their fans: a ballclub doesn’t have to compete every year, but it does have to look like it’s trying.
… and I think when *anyone* says “it’s good to get the #1 pick”, they are not understanding this social contract … which, admitedly, may be more about perceptions (ie. “look like it’s trying”) than reality … but it’s still a spade.
July 15, 2008 at 5:10 pm
This is pretty funny …
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/ne.....;type=lgns
… I’m an AL-hater … ‘cept for Ichiro a